Versatile Performer

[mirtos]

Which is in the complete adventurer. I have the feat, but it makes you type inan input box, which isnt how the feat is supposed to work. I assume its from the lawful G set, but this doesnt seem to do anything. anyone have any ideas on how to get it to work, or is it too general a thing?

[Kendall-DM]

Actually, that is probably the best way to make the feat in HL. Versatile Performer allows a number of Perform categories to be chosen equal to your Intelligence bonus and use them as if they had the same number of ranks as your highest ranked Perform category. It does not actually give them any ranks. In other words, your Hero doesn't gain any more ranks because of this feat, it just allows you to chose a number of Perform skills (typed in the user text associated with the feat) that act as if they have ranks. I'm not sure of any other way this would work, seems to be working as intended.

For example, a bard with an Intelligence of 13 and Perform (Singing) with 8 ranks takes Versatile Performer and chooses Perform (Oratory). He can now use Perform (Oratory) as if it has 8 ranks, which will operate as if it had the same number of ranks as your highest ranked Perform skill gets ranks, in case another Perform skill later got more ranks. However, the Perform (Oratory) skill itself has no ranks in it. If you choose to put a rank into Perform (Oratory), it will still operate at 8 ranks if you use it (because of the feat and the Perform (Singing)); the one rank you put into Perform (Oratory) does not stack with the ranks you are operating as due to Versatile Performer.

Hope that clears that up. If not, then I'm misunderstanding what you are asking.

[mirtos]

Originally Posted by Kendall-DM

Actually, that is probably the best way to make the feat in HL. Versatile Performer allows a number of Perform categories to be chosen equal to your Intelligence bonus and use them as if they had the same number of ranks as your highest ranked Perform category. It does not actually give them any ranks. In other words, your Hero doesn't gain any more ranks because of this feat, it just allows you to chose a number of Perform skills (typed in the user text associated with the feat) that act as if they have ranks. I'm not sure of any other way this would work, seems to be working as intended.

For example, a bard with an Intelligence of 13 and Perform (Singing) with 8 ranks takes Versatile Performer and chooses Perform (Oratory). He can now use Perform (Oratory) as if it has 8 ranks, which will operate as if it had the same number of ranks as your highest ranked Perform skill gets ranks, in case another Perform skill later got more ranks. However, the Perform (Oratory) skill itself has no ranks in it. If you choose to put a rank into Perform (Oratory), it will still operate at 8 ranks if you use it (because of the feat and the Perform (Singing)); the one rank you put into Perform (Oratory) does not stack with the ranks you are operating as due to Versatile Performer.

Hope that clears that up. If not, then I'm misunderstanding what you are asking.

I agree. Thats how its supposed to work. The problem is it doesnt let you chose the various performs. I took the feat, and there was one input box, but only one, and in reality, there should have been four. (+4 int modifier) it seems to do one per feat. It also didnt modify my skills. Like you said, it doesnt give you the skills, ubt my modifier in the performs should be as if i had them.

[Kendall-DM]

The text box is there to hold multiple items. If you got four, you would type in, for example, "Oratory, String Instruments, Wind Instruments, Percussion Instruments". Furthermore, there is no modifier (other than that from Charisma), so you don't change it. In fact, unless you have Skill Focus in your Perform skill, all the other skills will have the exact same skill roll.

I get what you want to do though, you want HL to do all the work. This is one of those cases when it could be done, but it clutter the Hero. It's better this way, mainly because you can't select multiple items from a list (such as multiple Perform skills). That is why there is a text input box for the whole list. Because you can't select multiple items, there is really no way to know which Perform skills are "acting" as if they have ranks. If you would like to do that kind of thing, use the Adjustment tab, and give bonuses to the appropriate number of Perform skills. That's really your best option, otherwise, you are looking at a nightmare of programming (I've thought of ways to do things like this, and as a proficient programmer, even I don't want to do that much complicated work when something like a few adjustments would do just as well). Hope that's helpful.

[Aaron]

I, not surprisingly, agree with Kendall on this. When I entered the feat, I put the space for you to list all appropriate skills because making it work mechanically was not practical.

[mirtos]

Fair enough. As a programmer myself, I get that it might not have been practical. I was just curious. Ok, thanks.

The only reason i was hoping was, I use hero lab as the DM, and i print character sheets. (not everyone at my gaming group has a laptop). If the user was looking at the printed character sheets they wouldnt see they had the other performs, and they wouldnt neccesarily know what their modifier is. I can do the adjustment tab, i just have to remember each level to modifiy it as appropriate.