An opposed Profession: Lawyer check when negotiating an infernal contract.There are no DC 30 profession checks.challenge_accepted.png
And some how the Devil ended up owing the Lawyer $1,000,000 gp in a settlements and has to serve the lawyer for eternity....
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I have a level 5 human wizard in PFS with Fast Learner. I am tempted to go for it and switch over to Evangelist, picking up Improvisation at 7th level. I can change him to slow progression at that point and still have plenty of play time with him.You have Deific Obedience?
Sadly, no. My character predates that feat. I've not played him since last year.
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And some how the Devil ended up owing the Lawyer $1,000,000 gp in a settlements and has to serve the lawyer for eternity....An opposed Profession: Lawyer check when negotiating an infernal contract.There are no DC 30 profession checks.challenge_accepted.png
Silly Mortal.
The devil has a back room with 6/60/600 legal assistants, each aiding him with the contract.
Playing by the rules =/= playing fair.
dotting for future interest.
And some how the Devil ended up owing the Lawyer $1,000,000 gp in a settlements and has to serve the lawyer for eternity....An opposed Profession: Lawyer check when negotiating an infernal contract.There are no DC 30 profession checks.challenge_accepted.pngSilly Mortal.
The devil has a back room with 6/60/600 legal assistants, each aiding him with the contract.
Playing by the rules =/= playing fair.
I am now tempted to make a Bard Soundstriker with Profession Lawyer... His legalese physically causes pain lol...
How viable are
1- using skill focus feats?
2- using a synthesist summoner with 'skilled' evolutions(+8 to a skill)?On a slightly different note, I think 'the most interesting man in the world' probably has relatively high charisma...And also be a gnome. There's an alt racial attribute that lets them learn two languages per linguistic rank.
I'm not an expert on the mechanics of the summoner, but it's definitely something to look into.
If I really wanted to replicate "The Most Interesting Man in the World", as faithfully as possible, then I would likely be a Human Bard, and instead of the Breadth of Experience feat, go for Fast Learner > Improvisation > Improved Improvisation. I'd take the "Focused Study" alternate racial trait to grab the three skill focuses at 1st, 8th and 15th.
25 pt buy: Str12 Dex13 Con13 Int15 Wis13 Cha17 (including +2 CHA)
Middle-age: Str 11 Dex 12 Con 12 Int 16 Wis 14 Cha 18
Levels: Str 11 Dex 12 Con 12 Int 16 Wis 14 Cha 20
Enhancement: Str 13 Dex 14 Con 14 Int 20 Wis 14 Cha 24
Level feats (in order): Fast Learner > Improvisation > Deific Obedience > Improved Improvisation > 9th of choice > Skill Focus (Perform skill for third Versatile Performance)
1st level skill focus goes into Perform for your first Versatile performance (which you get at character level 8).
8th level skill focus goes into Perform for your second Versatile performance (which you get at character level 7).
With ZERO ranks in knowledge skills (using the same luckstone/Fate's Favored combo as my other build), you have
4 profane (Deific Obedience) + 4 sacred (Evangelist) + 4 feat (Improved Improvisation) + 5 bardic knowledge + 5 int + 2 luck = +24. Can add 2500gp Mossy Ioun stones for a +5 to knowledge checks of choice. You're useless at knowledge for levels 1 and 2, though.
Total skill points = 11 human + 5 favored class + 55 intelligence + 66 classes = 137.
33 of these go into your three versatile performances, say:
Dance (Acrobatics, Fly)
Oratory (Diplomacy, Sense Motive)
Act (Bluff, Disguise)
Your fourth (at character level 15) will be Percussion (Handle Animal, Intimidate), and you'll get a skill focus for it the same level.
You can switch these around obviously.
For the time being, this leaves 104 skill points to distribute. I would max Perception, Spellcraft, Stealth. *Any* skill with no ranks in it will have +2 luck + 4 feat + 4 sacred + ability modifier + (tools), which ain't bad.
[/spoiler]
Versatile performances happen every 4 levels. 2, 6, 10, 14, 18.
Focused study happens at 1, 8, 16.
You can't have a profane and a sacred bonus. They are polar opposites determined by alignment. You chose a profane bonus from one and you will get a profane bonus on the other.
How can you be so averse to pageant of the peacock, but all for versatile performance? It's the exact same idea. You play the drums and scare people. You play a guitar and bluff people. Your dancing allows better use of your wings.
Versatile performances happen every 4 levels. 2, 6, 10, 14, 18.
Evangelist PrC slows down the Bard class features by 1 level, so he will get Versatile performance at 2, 7 and 11. Thanks, though.
Focused study happens at 1, 8, 16.
Ah, you're right on that. I thought it was 1, 8, 15. We'll, he'll have to wait until 16th level, then, to get the Skill Focus for his 4th Versatile Performance
You can't have a profane and a sacred bonus. They are polar opposites determined by alignment. You chose a profane bonus from one and you will get a profane bonus on the other.
Hmm... is there an actual rule on that somewhere? I thought if you were neutral you could get both from different sources.
How can you be so averse to pageant of the peacock, but all for versatile performance? It's the exact same idea. You play the drums and scare people. You play a guitar and bluff people. Your dancing allows better use of your wings.
Two reasons. One, the big one, balance. Big difference between using one skill to replace two, and using one skill to replace a dozen or so.
Second, big difference between scaring people with drums, or flying gracefully with your dancing ability (both of which make sense), and identifying a monster or crafting a sword by dancing/lying (which doesn't)
Spoiler:PotP uses 1 skill (bluff) in place of all Int ability checks and Int-based skills. That covers all your knowledge, crafts, linguistics, appraise, and spellcraft. Then just pump your Bluff through the roof. Skill Focus, Viper familiar, Deceptive, Glibness, and Charisma as high as it will go. Get yourself the Fabricate spell and start knocking out high-DC crafting items, bluffing the crafting check the whole way through. "Oh, yeah, I totally know how to make one of those." You could make an Adamantine O-Yoroi armor at crafting DC 18 and easily take 10 on the craft check. The armor is 32,000 gold so you'd need just shy of 11k worth of raw material and can sell the final product for 16k (5k gold profit). It takes 1 round per cubic foot of material and 1 cubic foot of Adamantine, presuming it has equivalent density to carbon steel, weighs about 490 lbs. That's enough to construct 10 O-Yoroi armor sets with a single casting. So, 1 round earns you 50k gold worth of profit... by faking your crafting proficiency. At that point, you can just hire people to do everything else.Furthermore, it costs a standard action to activate, but then the effect lasts for 10 minutes. You don't start strutting your stuff right when you're in combat; it's no different than casting a preperatory spell before a situation you suspect will be dangerous.
For reasons I've already gone into, I won't be using this ability. You're welcome to do so yourself, but I have no right to build an NPC that uses an ability that I wouldn't allow my players to use, and that is definitely an ability I would not allow. Thanks for the suggestion, though.
You can't have a profane and a sacred bonus. They are polar opposites determined by alignment. You chose a profane bonus from one and you will get a profane bonus on the other.Hmm... is there an actual rule on that somewhere? I thought if you were neutral you could get both from different sources.
Nothing beyond each individual entry saying once chosen it can't change. It just doesn't make sense that your god would give you both a profane and a sacred bonus. One is a bonus for performing an obedience where the other is only granted by the Evangelist class by performing your obedience.
How can you be so averse to pageant of the peacock, but all for versatile performance? It's the exact same idea. You play the drums and scare people. You play a guitar and bluff people. Your dancing allows better use of your wings.Two reasons. One, the big one, balance. Big difference between using one skill to replace two, and using one skill to replace a dozen or so.
Second, big difference between scaring people with drums, or flying gracefully with your dancing ability (both of which make sense), and identifying a monster or crafting a sword by dancing/lying (which doesn't)
I agree with the balance point. Your other one is just being arbitrary. Why would dancing have anything to do with flying. Wings don't affect dancing so why would the reverse be true. I can't see drums causing fear without some magic to back that. How about a triangle, chimes, xylophones, cowbells, or a tambourine? Truly scary instruments.
Playing a keyboard allows diplomacy to gather information? Playing a flute allows diplomacy to negotiate item prices? Singing allows sense motive vs feinting?
You're probably right on it not making sense about getting both profane and sacred bonuses. I wonder why there are two kinds of bonuses, though? If they aren't meant to stack, it would make more sense to just call them "divine" bonuses or something.
Anyway, it's a moot point, because I discovered the Deific Obedience to Shelyn gives you a +4 sacred bonus to Craft and to Perform checks, AND gives you an extra Versatile Performance choice. That a better choice for the bard Interesting-Man build, both thematically and power-wise.
Again... I direct you to O Brother, Where Art Thou? specifically Ulysses Everett McGill. That is what using Pagaent of the Peacock to let you make Bluff checks in place of INT skills looks like. And it doesn't seem so ridiculous to me. Seems pretty awesome actually.
I'm not going to use Pageant of the Peacock. I feel it is absurd and broken. You do not agree. We agree to disagree. Thank you for the suggestion.
Alright, I've worked out the Bard / Evangelist version of this guy. A follower of Shelyn, this is definitely more in the flavor of "The Most Interesting Man In The World".
The Short: He's definitely the superior skill monkey in comparison to the Wizard / Evangelist; he really can do everything the party needs skill wise, except for disarming magical traps (mechanical ones he's got just fine). He peaks at level 11, which is where I've built him; at that point he's got Versatile Performance covering all 8 skills it possibly can cover (he got an extra Versatile Performance from Deific Obedience to Shelyn), and his knowledge skills only go up past that point from Bardic Knowledge.
In the long run, the wizard / evangelist wins out on knowledge and intelligence based checks, but this guy has the skill edge in everything else. The wizard is probably more useful at non-skill stuff since he's, you know, a wizard, but Bard-fellow is an unbelievable utility member, having Bardic music and casting only one level lower than a full bard, handling every skill that's needed, and even wielding a Glaive in combat (favored weapon of Shelyn).
Favored Class Bonus: First five levels, get +1 skill point AND +1 hp from fast learner.
Human
Point buy: Str 12 Dex 13 Con 13 Int 15 Wis 13 Cha 15
Racial: Str 12 Dex 13 Con 13 Int 15 Wis 13 Cha 17
Middle Age: Str 11 Dex 12 Con 12 Int 16 Wis 14 Cha 18
Levels: Str 11 Dex 12 Con 12 Int 16 Wis 14 Cha 20
Enhance: Str 13 Dex 14 Con 14 Int 20 Wis 16 Cha 24 (assuming he can use his Craft Wondrous Items; lower if not)
Traits: Fate's Favored and Armor Expert (will allow the wearing of Mithral Breastplate at no penalty, even though not proficient).
Level 1: Bard 1. Feat: Fast Learner, Racial Feat: Skill Focus (Perform(Oratory)), Bardic Knowledge, Countersong, Distraction, Fascinate, Spellcasting, Inspire Courage +1
Level 2: Bard 2. Well-Versed, Versatile Performance (Oratory): Diplomacy & Sense Motive
Level 3: Bard 3: Feat: Improvisation (now you can actually knowledge checks, and most other things), Inspire Competence +2
Level 4: Bard 4: Not much happenin'
Level 5: Bard 5: Feat: Deific Obedience (Shelyn) (Create a work of art and give it away each day: +4 sacred bonus on Craft and Perform checks), Lore Master (take 10 on knowledge, take 20 1/day), Inspire Courage +2
Level 6: Evangelist 1: Weapon Proficiency (Glaive), Skilled (add Disable Device and Survival as class skills). Now everything except for Fly, Handle Animal, Ride and Swim are class skills, and the first two are/will be handled by Versatile Performance.
Level 7: Evangelist 2 (Effective Bard 6): Feat: Improved Improvisation, Versatile Performance (Act): Bluff & Disguise, Suggestion, Protective Grace +1
Level 8: Evangelist 3 (Effective Bard 7): Racial Feat: Skill Focus (Perform(Act)), Start Bardic music as a move action, Inspire Competence +3, Divine Boon 1: silent image 3/day, minor image 2/day, OR major image 1/day
Level 9: Evangelist 4 (Effective Bard 8): 9th level feat: Craft Wondrous Item (assuming this allows a wealth advantage; if not, maybe Arcane Strike instead?), Dirge of Doom, Bonus Language
Level 10: Evangelist 5 (Effective Bard 9): Inspire Greatness, Multitude of Talents
Level 11: Evangelist 6 (Effective Bard 10): Jack of All Trades (Redundant with the Improvisation feat), Versatile Performance (Dance): Acrobatics & Fly, 11th level feat: Skill Focus (Perform(Dance)), Divine Boon 2: Extra Versatile Performance with +2 bonus (Percussion): Handle Animal & Intimidate. [Now Versatile Performance covers all eight skills it is possible for it to cover]
So, at level 11,
Perfom (Act(Bluff&Disguise)), Perform(Oratory(Diplomacy&Sense Motive)), Perform (Dance(Acrobatics&Fly)) all have
11 ranks + 7 charisma + 3 class skill + 4 sacred + 6 skill focus + 2 luck = +33
Perform (Percussion(Handle Animal&Intimidate)) has
11 ranks + 7 charisma + 3 class skill + 4 sacred + 2 bonus from Deific Obedience + 2 luck = +29
Obviously you could move around the order of these if desired.
Big 6 Knowledges have
0 ranks + 5 bardic knowledge + 4 sacred + 4 feat + 5 inteligence + 2 luck +5 competence = +25. Always take 10, take 20 1/day.
(Includes bonus from Mossy Green Ioun Stones)
Other 4 knowledges don't have the Ioun Stone, so +20.
Craft skills have
0 ranks + 4 sacred + 4 feat + 5 intelligence + 2 luck = +15, plus any bonus from tools.
Profession skills have
0 ranks + 4 sacred + 4 feat + 3 wisdom + 2 luck = +13.
His total skill points are 11 human + 5 favored class + 30 bard + 36 evangelist + 55 intelligence = 127. 44 of these are used on perform skills, leaving 83.
He's best off picking 7 skills to maximize, since he gets a +8 bonus to any skill without ranks. I would do Perception, Disable Device, Sleight of Hand, Spellcraft, Steath, Survival, Use Magic Device. Pick others as desired. Put the remaining 6 ranks into Linguistics, so he can speak a dozen languages.
This leaves Appraise, Climb, Escape Artist, Heal, Ride and Swim as rankless, and they will "only" be 4 sacred + 4 feat + 2 luck = 10+ability score. +11 Climb&Swim, +12 Escape Artist&Ride, +13 Heal, +15 Appraise.
Not bad, I would say.
At level 11, this guy is clearly the superior skill monkey, compared to the Wizard / Evangelist, and can really do it all.
After level 11, he suffers diminishing returns:
* His knowledge skills will really only be increasing by 1 every two levels from Bardic Knowledge; he'll still be *okay* at high level with knowledge, but not *amazing*. In the long run, Irorian Wizard/Evangelist wins at knowledge, but the Bard/Evangelist follower of Shelyn is just as good at knowledge at mid levels, and the superior skill monkey in most other ways (Wizard has the edge on intelligence based skills).
* He's gotten everything he can out of Versatile Performance, due to the bonus one Shelyn gave him, so the last two he gets at character level 15 and 19 do exactly nothing.
Overall, Bard build wins at skill monkey, and is definitely more the flavor of "The Most Interesting Man in the World". The Irorian Wizard/Evangelist is probably the superior option for non-skill purposes, but I really think they are both excellent.
Self-Crafted
20,000 Headband +4 Int, +4 Cha
4,000 Ioun Stone +2 Wisdom
8,000 Belt +2 Str, Dex & Con
8,000 Cloak of Resistance +4
2,500 Jingasa of the Fortunate Soldier
10,000 Luckstone, +1 luck on saving throws, skill checks, ability checks.
7,500 6x Mossy Ioun Stone
1,000 Handy Haversack
1,000 Amulet of Natural Armor +1
Purchased
2,308 +1 Glaive (free Proficiency from Shelyn, so why not?)
5,350 +1 Mithral Breastplate
315 MW Longsword
2,000 Ring of Deflection +1
2,000 +1 Mithral Buckler
2,450 +1 Composite Shortbow [+1 Str Rating]
5,577 remaining for mundane equipment, wands, arrows, and other stuff I'm forgetting
