[PF] Face Skills Question

[JohnStone]

I am looking to make a charming charismatic character that is good with people. possibly a cleric (evangelist) or a bard, or maybe a little bit of both.

as i see it i really only need Diplomacy and Sense Motive to accomplish this as far as skills.

mix in a few charm type spells and that should do the trick correct?

Intimidate does not seem necassary but what about Bluff, i dont see myself as a lier or scoundrel just very personable.

[Fouredged Sword]

One can go a long was on just diplomacy and sense motive.

Be a cleric of Adabar and get his scales. Now you can diplomacy as a standard action.

Get the goblin bandits to realize that the real money is in maintaining a safe and well maintained toll road rather than raiding. See, raiding causes caravans to seek other routes, decreasing wealth the better you are at it. Guarding the road causes caravans to divert through your passage, increasing trade the better you are.

[NightbringerGGZ]

You'll probably want to invest in Linguistics. Each rank nets you a new language learned, letting you talk to more races.

[Karoht]

Diplomacy 101:

The Identity
Disguise is very handy. Take the time to disguise yourself, so you look like one of 'their people' and are less threatened by you.
You also want plausible deniability should things go wrong. Multiple identities and aliases are always good things to have. Especially if you enjoy playing both sides.
To enjoy your fake ID, you will want nondetection, to avoid any pesky scrying revealing you.
Example:
Say you want to broker peace between an orc tribe and an elf town. You are an Elf. So you disguise yourself as a Human envoy. The humans are not the immediate threat to either party, so they are more likely to give you pause to speak. And should things go poorly, a human who doesn't exist is blamed, not you.

The Approach
Sometimes you want to walk up with a big white flag, alone. Some times you want an armed procession. Knowledge of when to do which is critically important. And some times, you want to walk up and not be seen at all. Or you want to use a proxy. Illusions, Invisibility, Charm Person, Dominate Person, all good choices. Mirror Image is a good precaution, though obvious.
Example:
So, walking in as a Human failed. You make a Knowledge check to know that the Orcs of this particular tribe WILL honor a surrender or an obvious sign of non-hostile intentions. Knowledge history tells you that it has worked before. But ONLY if you are by yourself. You chose to make your escort invisible, and have him fly over the camp as you approach just in case.

The Talk
Maxing out Diplomacy and Sense Motive are solid suggestions. Occasionally the odd lie is going to come out, this is negociation. Like poker, you need a good poker face for when your cards are weak. A well placed Bluff can make a good deal sound even better. It can make a bad deal sound less terrible. It can allow you to bend the truth rather than completely break it. Sooner or later though, you will need to stare someone in the face and say something that you know isn't true.


The Walk
Know when to hold, know when to fold, know when to walk away, know when to run for your life before you catch a crossbow bolt in the rear end.