Perform vs Bluff (aka consequences of the bard item nerf)

[Itikar]

Before bard items were nerfed it made sense to choose whether one wanted to invest in perform over bluff, for any character, not just bard.

This was the case because while bluff had some useful extra features perform had items that allowed to reach a higher value, at the price of taking levels in a class that allowed to allocate point in it (mostly bard, swashbuckler, specialist and some others).

With the nerf to these items, however, barring some special items like jester jubilant attire that was not touched (and whose bonus is anyway comparable to inception of nightmares, i.e. +4), the advantage of perform over bluff vaporized.

In other words, now perform is a skill tax for bards, which for them works mostly like bluff, but not entirely.

The biggest difference I could find is essentially area skill checks for entrance, like the silver mines, which are not extremely big for many characters.

If there are advantages of perform over bluff, in any context, I am missing them.

At this point logic would want two courses of action though:
a) Make perform work as bluff in almost every circumstance, as it already does for 99% of the things, after all pretending to be another person falls within acting, i.e. in the case of the area checks acting as a person with access.
b) Find some opportunity where perform offers options that bluff does not. Like being able to perform in some inns, gaining access to areas for bards or anyway performers, etc.

Of the two I would prefer the latter personally, but I realize it would require a lot of work. The former, on the other hand, is not truly necessary as bards do get a lot, and the people who chose perform over bluff are perhaps not that many, still, it would be consistent with how perform is used in the context of mimicry and disguise already.

[TooManyPotatoes]

Is there any particular reason to not simply combine the two skills into one?

[AstralUniverse]

Is there any particular reason to not simply combine the two skills into one?

Eeehhh I'm not sure. But I know that some foig things have bluff check and it would be silly if all bards will just auto-succeed them just for existing. Maybe that's the reason.

[a shrouded figure]

I would look at this similarly to the upcoming (TBD) intimidate change and barbarians. I’d say you’re lucky that a required class skill (perform) also does some sweet stuff like disguises. One of my concerns with intimidate changes is that every barbarian will instantly be /heavily/ invested. In the current state, perform is not a skill tax at all in that it offers a class feature improvement (songs) while also offering an added outside cookie. That was not always the case for some classes (IE Barbarians and intimidate where it was literally a skill tax in that intimidate affected very very little outside of terrifying rage).

[Itikar]

In the current state, perform is not a skill tax at all

In the current state perform is a skill tax, as it is necessary for a bard to use their main class feature. Bards could as well have one less skill point per level as a matter of fact, because every single bard needs to take it, no exceptions.

The added benefits, apart for being logical as they fall into the purvey of acting, offer some redeeming value, but if one is not a bard, they should invest in bluff now, never in perform. Before, the bonus to perform on items allowed a little more nuance to this, on the other hand.

[DangerDolphin]

Is there any particular reason to not simply combine the two skills into one?

This was our option #1, But Irongron would like to expand on Perform (I will let him explain about it if he chooses to), so we went to our backup option of equalising perform and bluff items, so you can pick either to be good at disguising.

I am aware of Deluxe Costume items giving +6 and +4 bluff bonuses, I will probably nerf them down to +4 and +3 respectively and throw perform on them too.

[Itikar]

This was our option #1, But Irongron would like to expand on Perform (I will let him explain about it if he chooses to), so we went to our backup option of equalising perform and bluff items, so you can pick either to be good at disguising.

Oh, this is really awesome and now I am excited to see what you guys do with perform. <3

[TooManyPotatoes]

It's nice when a topic is resolved quickly.