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I would think it'd be possible to be the "face" with only one of those skills, but I wouldn't want Intimidate to be that skill. After using Intimidate to influence someone, their attitude of you worsens later on. Meaning that you may get through a social situation fairly well, but if you have to deal with the same NPC's multiple times, you'll be digging your party quite a hole to climb out of.
I don't know much about the Magus, but if Charm Person is on their spell list, or if you're a good roleplayer, I'd try to do it that way instead of intimidating everyone. Or maybe take Skill Focus(Diplomacy) to make up for it not being a class skill?
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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If your campaign allows traits, there's one called World Traveler that can get you a +1 to Diplomacy and make it a class skill. So that would be "cheaper" than spending a feat on Skill Focus (and would also stack with Skill Focus, if you wanted to go all-in).
I would say at most you could only drop intimidation or diplomacy and still be the face of a party. Perhaps traits could be used to pick up bluff/sense motive though or another class other than inquisitor.
Dr. House is a good example of a face/leader character that does not have diplomacy, but can fake it enough with bluff, sense motive, and intimidate. As noted, it tends to worsen social standing in the long run, but that in itself could be half the fun.
I would think it'd be possible to be the "face" with only one of those skills, but I wouldn't want Intimidate to be that skill. After using Intimidate to influence someone, their attitude of you worsens later on. Meaning that you may get through a social situation fairly well, but if you have to deal with the same NPC's multiple times, you'll be digging your party quite a hole to climb out of.
I don't know much about the Magus, but if Charm Person is on their spell list, or if you're a good roleplayer, I'd try to do it that way instead of intimidating everyone. Or maybe take Skill Focus(Diplomacy) to make up for it not being a class skill?
You could also take Cosmopolitan out of the APG and gain 2 languages and make 2 CHA-, INT-, or WIS-based skills into class skills.
It doesn't get you the +6 w/ ranks, but it will get you the +3 in Diplomacy and a +3 in another skill (Perception, Sense Motive, Bluff, etc.) and the 2 additional languages can come in handy if you're the face.
Benefit: You can speak and read two additional languages of your choice. In addition, choose two Intelligence-, Wisdom-, or Charisma-based skills. Those skills always count as class skills for you.
I have seen parties with no face. I have seen parties with only intimidate. I have seen parties with only sense motive. I have seen parties with only diplomacy. They have all been successful.
When you lack an ability, you approach problems differently. Certain options close to you, so you work arround the issue. Sure, if you don't have diplomacy it becomes difficult to Gather Information. But is that the only way to get that info? Knowledge checks and bribery can get you pretty far, as can various scrying abilities. Gather info using diplomacy may just have the lowest cost to use. Any piece of information that is that important will have multiple means of obtaining it. Players just have to be creative enough to get it.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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I have seen parties with no face. I have seen parties with only intimidate. I have seen parties with only sense motive. I have seen parties with only diplomacy. They have all been successful.
I guess it all depends on what you are looking for when you say "Frontman". You are completely right, a party can get by with no Diplomacy/ etc.
Grog: WHERE is the LIBRARY! GROG WILL RIP OFF YOUR HEAD!
Little Old Lady: Down the block on the left!
Time passes Little old lady returns with a constable.
Little Old Lady: He threatened me!
Constable: What do you have to say for yourself?
Grog: GROG RIP OFF STAR BADGE MAN"S HEA.. ow.. ow.. ow. .ow.. ow...
I think of intimidation as generally being tactful, since it's a Cha skill. You don't need to roll intimidate if you're holding a sword to someone's throat, the possible near future is quite apparent enough to them.
You can use intimidate to ask a question without making or implying a threat, just by having a dangerous seeming demeanor.
Intimidate is also useful to stress negative consequences. I know a lot of people think that using it against a ruler means you're actually threatening violence against them. This is the wrong way to use intimidate in that situation. While with Diplomacy, you would bootlick ala "My liege, you are known for your wisdom and munificence, won't you please grant us better equipment for this quest."
Intimidate in this scenario could be something like "Lord, we will undertake this mission for you, but the harsh reality is that if you don't grant us access to your armory, we will be a red smear on the earth and the Demon Evildemon will continue wiping out your villages, one by one."
Intimidate is adaptable to be used more subtly than "I'm gonna skewer you if you do not comply." (though not all GMs will agree). But I wouldn't want to have it as the only social skill in the party.
I think of intimidation as generally being tactful, since it's a Cha skill. You don't need to roll intimidate if you're holding a sword to someone's throat, the possible near future is quite apparent enough to them.
You can use intimidate to ask a question without making or implying a threat, just by having a dangerous seeming demeanor.
Intimidate is also useful to stress negative consequences. I know a lot of people think that using it against a ruler means you're actually threatening violence against them. This is the wrong way to use intimidate in that situation. While with Diplomacy, you would bootlick ala "My liege, you are known for your wisdom and munificence, won't you please grant us better equipment for this quest."
Intimidate in this scenario could be something like "Lord, we will undertake this mission for you, but the harsh reality is that if you don't grant us access to your armory, we will be a red smear on the earth and the Demon Evildemon will continue wiping out your villages, one by one."
Intimidate is adaptable to be used more subtly than "I'm gonna skewer you if you do not comply." (though not all GMs will agree). But I wouldn't want to have it as the only social skill in the party.
Actually, it's not GMs that are going to disagree, it's the rules themselves.
Intimidate is all about being a jerk to the person and using fear to coerce actions from them. This is why they choose to help you, and then after a few minutes immediately default to unfriendly.
If you're not speaking/acting in a way that would cause a person to become unfriendly towards you after less than an hour then you're not intimidating them; you're using diplomacy.
Sean, I'm starting to think we are the same person. I was about to say that. lol
A friend of mine named Patrick played a Barbarian with a 7 Int and 12 Cha. He maxed Intimidate and then spread out his other skill per level to basics to get the class skill bonus. Other friends and I are considering a Batman Inc. campaign with everyone imitating Batman with a different class to see who is best. I told him about it and he called dibs on Barbarian. Good times.
If you want more class skills as a Magus, consider a 2 level dip in Rogue. This is especially good if you're a Dex Magus. Evasion and a ton of skill points. Take the +2 CL trait to even that out. Though, to be fair, many Magus abilities use class level instead of caster level.
If you just want class skills, how about Druid 1 / Rogue 1 / Wizard 1? Gotta love having them all long before a Bard could dream of. : P
Ah, you're right. I forgot that Intimidate is more restricted in Pathfinder than in 4e, where it's more of a "making people feel bad" skill while diplomacy is "making people feel good".
My apologies then, this would be a completely houseruled use in Pathfinder, as the RAW does state that they become unfriendly to you if you use intimidate.
That being the case, intimidate is definitely a poor choice to have as your only social skill, as you'll be unable to socially interact with people in a way that requires influencing them without making them hate you afterwards (unless the DC is trivial).
I agree with prior suggestions of picking up a trait to make diplo class.
Intimidate is the go-to social skill for the half-orc cleric in our game. She has comparable diplomacy but she often loses her temper and finds intimidation tactics to be more expedient. One thing I would recommend is to have someone else put ranks into sense motive (even if it isn't a class skill). Your magus makes with the bullying and your teammate makes sure your target's reactions are genuine.