In my 3.5 game I came up with an additional use of the Perform skill to draw traveling merchants to a settlement and temporarily increase the GP limit of the settlement. I modified this skill usage to match the Pathfinder settlement rules. May you find it useful in your game:
Perform (any) [Draw merchants]
Check: By having a public performance in a settlement word can spread and attract traveling merchants to the settlement and temporarily add beneficial economic settlement qualities.
Performance check results:
19 (or lower): Failed performance. Any bards participating in the failed performance (only) treat the settlement as Impoverished for 1 week following the failed performance. See Try Again.
20: Routine performance. Settlement gains the Faire quality (Economy +1; increase base value by 10%; increase purchase limit by 20%)
25: Enjoyable performance. Settlement gains the Convention quality (Economy +2; increase base value by 15%; increase purchase limit by 25%; +1d4 Minor Magic Items)
30: Great performance. Settlement gains the Summit quality (Economy +3; increase base value by 20%; increase purchase limit by 30%; +2d4 Minor Magic Items)
35: Memorable performance. Settlement gains the Exposition quality (Economy +4; increase base value by 25%; increase purchase limit by 40%; +2d4 Minor Magic Items; +1d4 Medium Magic Items)
40: Extraordinary performance. Settlement gains the World Faire quality (Economy +5; increase base value by 35%; increase purchase limit by 50%; +2d4 Minor Magic Items; +1d4 Medium Magic Items; +1d4 Major Magic Items)
Duration: Any merchants encouraged to travel to the settlement of the performance will arrive in, at minimum, 1d4+1 days after the performance and will remain in the settlement for a maximum of 1d4+1 days thereafter. Any new settlement qualities resulting from the performance begin when the merchants arrive and end as soon as they depart. A settlement can not draw additional merchants while it already has one of the above qualities in effect.
Magic Item increase note: These increases are in addition to any existing magic items already in the settlement. These additions ignore settlement size (if in a Metropolis increases to Minor Magic Items have no effect). Any unsold magic items are no longer available in the settlement once the settlement loses quality listed above.
Action
Trying to draw merchants by performing in public requires 1 day for all participants (includes time spent preparing material and informing the settlement of the upcoming performance and time spent during the actual performance) and an audience of at least 10 voluntary audience members that can hear, see, and understand the performing bard(s) and are capable of spreading word of the performance after its completion.
Try Again
Yes, after 1 week. Retries are allowed the following week of a failed performance, but an audience that has been unimpressed in the past is likely to be prejudiced against future performances. (Increase the DC by 2 for each previous failure for all bards participating in the performance.)
Special
Only a bard can draw merchants with a performance. Any bards participating in the performance must have at least 5 ranks in a Perform skill to attempt to draw merchants to a settlement. The settlement of the performance must be located in an area where merchants are likely and able to travel to via any means available to the merchant in the established time frame.
When multiple bards are performing in the same performance one bard is considered the primary performer while the other bards use the Aid Another rules to augment the primary performer. All bards participating in the performance must provide at least a Routine performance (including those using Aid Another).
The primary bard alignment can have an effect on her performance as it relates to the settlements alignment.
Primary bard alignment and Perform adjustment:
Opposes settlement alignment on 1 axis: -2
Opposes settlement alignment on 2 axis: -4
Matches settlement alignment on 1 axis: +2
Matches settlement alignment on 2 axis: +4
