Before I get to the meat of my post, a preface: I've been gone from the forums here for a while due to financal/internet access issues, and my access is still limited. So if any of this has been covered or rendered moot in the last 6 months, my apologies. Also, while there is some PF application to this question, it does stem from a d20m campaign, so I won't be devastated if it gets moved.
I'm currently putting together a campaign with a buddy using a heavily modified version of d20 Modern. One of the biggest changes has been adopting the PF skills mechanics (1 point/rank, +3 for ranked class skills) and several PF skill conventions (Stealth, Perception, Linguistics ). It was, in fact, my frustration with certain limitations of the original d20m language mechanics that caused us to institute the PF mechanics. We've made it a class skill only if you take the academic, investigative, or religious starting occupations, or if you take the (highly modified) linguist smart talent. This obviously affects other uses of the skill but not languages spoken.
And now the part that is universal, a new application of the Linguistics skill, and a request for input: the application is the ability to recognize and mimic accents and dialects of a language you speak, and the input regards difficulty andmodifiers for things like the obscurity of the dialect. I was also thinking that in specific situations a GM could require a roll for this application of the skill and use the margin of success/failure as a modifier to a subsequent disguise skill roll.
Thoughts?
Recognizing regional dialects is already a DC 10 Knowledge (geography) check. You can always adjust this as you see fit for more obscure accents/dialects.
To be able to properly mimic the accent/dialect I would say a Linguistics check of equal DC to the Knowledge (geography) check. Totally faking it would be a special Bluff check more than a Disguise check. Against what, I haven't the slightest clue. Probably Knowledge (geography) with the DC to spot the fake dialect going up by a certain amount based on your check.
I totally missed the K:G check. Makes sense.
Regarding what you said about totally faking it being bluff vs. Disguise: I didn't address totally faking it. The idea was more along the lines of what happens when your disguise / fake identity includes posing as a specific ethnicity. Being able to actually sound cockney makes it easier to disguise yourself AS a Cockney, eg.
As for spotting the fake accent, a K:G roll opposing the Linguistics roll would make sense.
You know, the more I think about it, the more it bugs me that recognizing dialects falls entirely in the realm of the Knowledge: Geography skill. It really should also be within the purview of the Linguistics skill (as described), if not MORE so.
Bump
If it's what I recall trying before, it didn't suit me. I'm pretty happy with the system I'm using - granted, it's cobbled together from 3 different d20 games AND my own firearms system, but there's a reason for that, and to embrace any one of the parent games would run counter to that reason. All I'm really asking, I suppose, is for I.put on the difficulties for my new application of linguistics. It seems that obscure or extreme dialects should be harder to mimic than more common or familiar ones. Going back to the Cockney example, as an American, I can easily mimic a southern US accent, but a Cockney accent is a bit beyond my skills.