Using the Bard Celebrity or Demagogue archetype from Ultimate magic you get the 'Famous' class feature, it basically gives a local bonus to Diplomacy & Intimidate or Intimidate & Bluff respectively.
Does this mean that it does not help with the Versatile performance?
i.e i have Versatile performance (Oratory) and no ranks in Diplomacy (as its now redundant with the performance), do i gain the benefit of my fame with Oratory?
For that matter if I was an Aasimar would my racial +2 diplomacy add to it?
It would seem a great waste if they didn't but I could do with some help on this one :)
Thanks!
for magic items, I would rule that something like boots of elvenkind WOULD grant you the bonus even if you were using versatile performance by using your Perform skill. The boots are supposed to make your Acrobatics work better, and it makes no sense at all for a character specialized in being all Acrobatic to suffer just because the rules allow her to use a different skill check.
Versatile performance is supposed to widen a bard's skill selection, in other words, not to have stealth punishments that prevent you from using items.
When you use Versatile Performance to make a skill check using Perform, and you would get situational bonuses to that check based on what you're doing... I think that they should probably stack. The point of the ability is to basically give the Bard the ability to spread out his skill ranks more efficiently.
And then This Whole Post in which James agrees with a poster that VP includes: Ability Score (Cha), Ranks (Perform), Class Skill (from Perform), and random bonuses to Perform (skill focus, etc.). You -can't- use a masterwork tool or instrument (That affects Perform) because you're using that tool to enhance an actual performance, not a substituted skill. (which doesn't make any sense to me) And then, finally, Gold! "I'd certainly allow trait bonuses to stack as well" in response to a question about traits like "Fashionable" and "Fiendish Presence" which is similar in that they grant a bonus to a skill which applies even when using VP to sub that skill.
If it's good enough for Big-J it's good enough for me. Also, Bards are cool and you should be nice to them.
Thanks Grick! :)