Versatile Performance seems like a a way to replace Intimidate/Deception/Diplomacy, at first.
Once you realize the limitations, it still seems good for scaring people in combat and making friends out of combat, oh, and impersonation.
But Bon Mot doesn't work with Versatile Performance, and it's really really good, so you might really want to boost Diplomacy.
Versatile Performance does work with a lot of the Intimidate feats, but not with Scare To Death, which is also really good
Should a bard just skip Versatile Performance if they plan on using one or both of these feats?
Yeah, if you're looking to do anything other than Make an Impression, Demoralize or Impersonate, you should consider skipping versatile performance.
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For the record, Versatile Performance doesn't let you roll Performance for Scare To Death, but it does qualify you for it, your bonus will be based on Intimidation but you are permitted to acquire it with Legendary Performance even if you only have Trained Intimidation. Which seems a relevant note.
But yes, if you intend to use both Bon Mot and Scare To Death, you should probably just grab Diplomacy and Intimidation. Of course, that's two of your three Legendary Skills right there, while Performance would've only been one of them.
So it's a matter of whether you want to invest that much in those two skills or not.
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Let's say you want your Bard to be legendary at performance (because Bard), Occultism (because legendary occult caster), and Society (you want to play someone who knows everyone). Versatile Performance wouldn't be a bad pick in that case, since it would let you do some of the social stuff bards do without skimping out on those other skills.
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I would say it is quite good. It turns performance into a really good skill. You can only get 3 skills to legendary by default so you have to choose between...
The go to Bard skills
-Performance
-Deception
-Diplomacy
-Intimidation
Some others depending on the buid
-Medicine
-Athletics
-Occultism
Other than that depending on the character every skill is a decent pick up.
I am not sure how getting part of 4 skills for one is bad.
As a Polymath Bard, you get it anyway.
Other muses can only access this through the multifarious muse feat, which also has the benefits of giving you access to polymath class feats. The main ones I consider useful are probably the Esoteric Polymath skill feat and the polymath cap that lets you cast spells of all traditions.
(The book feat is a nice versatility boost, or if you're an annoying munchkin like me, gives you easier access to spells you wanna cast during off time only, like glyphs of warding loaded with black tentacles on a bunch of boxes)
As a maestro bard, you want your performance to be high anyway, and you're probably gonna buy items to boost your performance and get the virtuosic performer skill feat. So if you're planning on demoralizing, you're much better off using your performance.
The interaction with scare to death is indeed annoying but it's only relevant at level 15. At that point though it does hurt, a lot.
Other muses don't really have to invest in performance though, so it might not be worth it, unless you really want the Esoteric Polymath feat.
Also I don't understand the whole fuss around Bon Mot - It has the linguistic trait, so you can't use it on a lot of enemies...
Bon Mot is pretty good on a bard because occult spells have tons of will saves. That said, I agree a feat not working with another feat isn't that big a deal. You can just not take the second feat.
Hmm.
I'm wondered if there is feat you could take in its stead.
Marshal boosts a Trained Diplomacy or Intimidation to Expert.
Of course the rest of Marshal is redundant at best.
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Hmm.
I'm wondered if there is feat you could take in its stead.
Marshal boosts a Trained Diplomacy or Intimidation to Expert.
Of course the rest of Marshal is redundant at best.
Rogue or Investigator Multiclass leads to Skill Mastery, which can help a lot with rounding out Skills. That's Feat intensive, but heavily investing in multiple Skills can definitely be worth it.
On a Bard specifically, Rogue Multiclass can also allow Dread Striker which combos with Dirge of Doom for some very nice offensive advantages as well. If wanting a Bard more focused on physical attacks and skills, this combo is really very good.
Hmm.
I'm wondered if there is feat you could take in its stead.
Marshal boosts a Trained Diplomacy or Intimidation to Expert.
Of course the rest of Marshal is redundant at best.Rogue or Investigator Multiclass leads to Skill Mastery, which can help a lot with rounding out Skills. That's Feat intensive, but heavily investing in multiple Skills can definitely be worth it.
On a Bard specifically, Rogue Multiclass can also allow Dread Striker which combos with Dirge of Doom for some very nice offensive advantages as well. If wanting a Bard more focused on physical attacks and skills, this combo is really very good.
Wouldn't that combo work better on a Rogue/Bard, rather than a Bard/Rogue?
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Wouldn't that combo work better on a Rogue/Bard, rather than a Bard/Rogue?
Depends on what you want out of it.
The Rogue version gets less out of the Bard multiclass (basically just Dirge of Doom, which they arguably don't even need...they can make people Frightened without it, and at 15th level with Scare To Death can do so almost automatically) and doesn't get it as early (the Rogue/Bard gets Dirge of Doom at 12th, the Bard/Rogue gets Dread Striker as early as 8th).
A Rogue will always be a better martial character (and skill character) than a Bard, but multiclassing into Bard doesn't actually do much for them unless they want spells for utility (which, IMO, they don't need), while going Rogue Multiclass on a Bard gets them quite a lot.
This made me look at the skilled heritage for the first time.