Perform [Cha]
Like Craft, Knowledge, and Profession, Perform is actually a number of separate skills.
You could have several Perform skills, each with its own ranks, each purchased as a separate skill.
Each of the nine categories of the Perform skill includes a variety of methods, instruments, or techniques, a small list of which is provided for each category below.
- Act (comedy, drama, mime)
- Comedy (buffoonery, limericks, joke-telling)
- Dance (ballet, waltz, jig)
- Keyboard instruments (harpsichord, piano, pipe organ, synthesizer)
- Oratory (epic, ode, storytelling)
- Percussion instruments (bells, chimes, drums, gong)
- String instruments (fiddle, electric guitar, guitar, harp, lute, mandolin)
- Wind instruments (flute, pan pipes, recorder, shawm, trumpet)
- Sing (ballad, chant, melody)
Check
The table below lists expected earnings for street performances and impromptu acts. A reputation for solid work will earn you regular gigs or even professional contracts.
| DC | Performance |
|---|---|
| 10 | Routine performance. At this level, people pay you to stop playing. You earn 1-10 credits per day. You might land a minor role in a community theater. |
| 15 | Enjoyable performance. People are willing to pay for your performances. In a city, you earn 2-20 credits per day. You could be the lead in a local performance. |
| 20 | Great performance. You earn both applause and money. In a city, you can earn 10-50 credits per day. You could get a minor role in a major production. |
| 25 | Memorable performance. People love your work. You can earn 50-100 credits per day. You could land the lead in a major production. |
| 30 | Extraordinary performance. You could be a star. You can earn 100-500 credits per day. You could win a major studio contract. |
| 35 | Stellar performance. You're at the top of your craft. You can earn 500-1,000 credits per day. You win awards for your work. |
A masterwork musical instrument gives you a +2 circumstance bonus on Perform checks that involve its use.
Action
Varies. Trying to earn money by playing in public requires anywhere from an evening's work to a full day's performance. The bard's special Perform-based abilities are described in that class's description.
Try Again
Yes. Retries are allowed, but they don't negate previous failures, and an audience that has been unimpressed in the past is likely to be prejudiced against future performances. (Increase the DC by 2 for each previous failure.)
Special
A bard must have at least 3 ranks in a Perform skill to inspire courage in his allies, or to use his countersong or his fascinate ability. A bard needs 6 ranks in a Perform skill to inspire competence, 9 ranks to use his suggestion ability, 12 ranks to inspire greatness, 15 ranks to use his song of freedom ability, 18 ranks to inspire heroics, and 21 ranks to use his mass suggestion ability.
In addition to using the Perform skill, you can entertain people with sleight of hand, tumbling, tightrope walking, and spells (especially illusions).