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The listing is: Versatile Performance (Ex): At 2nd level, a bard can choose one type of Perform skill. He can use his bonus in that skill in place of his bonus in associated skills. When substituting in this way, the bard uses his total Perform skill bonus, including class skill bonus, in place of its associated skill’s bonus, whether or not he has ranks in that skill or if it is a class skill. At 6th level, and every 4 levels thereafter, the bard can select an additional type of Perform to substitute.

The types of Perform and their associated skills are: Act (Bluff, Disguise), Comedy (Bluff, Intimidate), Dance (Acrobatics, Fly), Keyboard Instruments (Diplomacy, Intimidate), Oratory (Diplomacy, Sense Motive), Percussion (Handle Animal, Intimidate), Sing (Bluff, Sense Motive), String (Bluff, Diplomacy), and Wind (Diplomacy, Handle Animal).

The debate is:
Does Versatile Performance Automatically allow a bard to substitute his Performance skill rank in place of the related skill rank automatically or does he have to actually 'perform' to get the increased value (assuming he jacks his performance skill up)? That is...does he actually need to sing, dance, string, wind, etc.... or just automatically substitute his Versatile Performance skill anytime? All it states is: "He can use his bonus in that skill in place of his bonus in associated skills."

For example, let's say that a bard maxes out his perform skill and does not put any skill pips into specific skills like Dance or sing. Now in combat he wants to bluff (total rank is say 5), but using Sing (total rank is say 15) under versatile performance, he wants to substitute his bluff and jack it to a 15 (without actually singing) because his argument is that is the whole point of Versatile Performance.

I would contend that you would need to actually perform an act of singing (Bluff or sense motive) to gain the Versatile Performance rank or dance in order to gain the performance level of acrobatics or fly.

His argument for dance would be that since his performance skill is so high, Versatile Performance means that his dancing is so high (took at 6th level)therefore he is so skilled, that he can always use Perform in place of a normal acrobatics check since dancers are just more agile.

Please see if we can get a clarification. Thanks.

I agree, if you feel you need a mechanically crunchy method to track player's reputation, thats fine, but its far from a "needed" component.

There does not have to have a mechanic, but in Star Wars as well as the Game of Thrones, it is a nice feature to have...even if an optional rule. It helps on the Role-playing aspect in situations.

The one thing that has been missing from the WOC DND is some way to track reputation. Reputation should have a bearing on the characters as they gain renown for either being famous or infamous thus impacting bluff, intimidate, and diplomacy checks. Other systems include simple version that just increase per character level such as Star Wars Revised Core rules. Others have detailed systems such as the Game of Thrones d20 RPG that allow a lot of options but are a bit more cumbersome. Other games incorporate it much more integrally, such as 7th Sea.

Personally I like the idea of event based reputation. “Rather than determining reputation increases purely by class levels, the DM can enhance characters' reputations based on the characters' actual adventures. At an adventure's conclusion, he can hand out awards to the characters who were known to have participated, representing how much more famous (or infamous) their recent actions have made them.
This variant doesn't change much about the game (beyond what the reputation variant does in general). Characters have a slight incentive to choose adventures that will earn them more fame, because their later social interactions will be more likely to succeed. But reputation is a double-edged sword in the D&D game, because it can turn into notoriety with a simple twist of the plot.

The same peasants who buy the PCs drinks at the tavern one night might try to turn them in for a reward later after the sheriff frames the PCs for murder.

If the characters earned public acclaim for ending a threat to the community's safety, aware each PC a 1-point increase in his or her reputation score at the adventure's conclusion. If the accolades came from a narrower circle of people, then each character gets a 1/2-point increase. A single 1/2-point increase has no effect on reputation-related skill checks, but two such increases combine to provide a fill 1-point increase. Of what the characters accomplishes in the adventure directly affected, or came to the attention of, only a few (or no) other people, the PCs don't get a reputation boost. This determination is obviously a judgment call.“

No matter the final version, I think this type of system is a necessity of the game to add more ‘roleplaying’ in lieu of just more combat abilities. These make for great plot and story devices.

Sound off and let me know what you think and how it would work best in the Pathfinder mechanics.