Playing a deaf neutral good character?

[Zhentarim]

How disruptive to a game would a deaf character be? I can learn to read lips as a deaf oracle, but how would I communicate to other players...especially since my INT is 5 and my CHA is 18?

Can a deaf character make diplomacy checks?

[Name1]

Can a deaf character make diplomacy checks?

I'm pretty sure you can. I mean, when was the last time a politician actually... nvm, not gonna make that joke.

Still, I don't see any rules that say you can't make one while deaf.

How you'd communicate... I suppose that with Cha 18, you might be able to pick up Perform (Expression Dance). You could also learn sign language, but... Yeah, Perform (Expression Dance) seems valid.

[Zhentarim]

I'm pretty sure you can. I mean, when was the last time a politician actually... nvm, not gonna make that joke.

Still, I don't see any rules that say you can't make one while deaf.

How you'd communicate... I suppose that with Cha 18, you might be able to pick up Perform (Expression Dance). You could also learn sign language, but... Yeah, Perform (Expression Dance) seems valid.

Now, my race (pitborn tiefling) gains abyssal as a bonus language. Is abyssal sign language a thing?

[Firest Kathon]

but how would I communicate to other players...especially since my INT is 5 and my CHA is 18?
How about talking to them? You only need Int 3 to be able to speak, so you should be just fine.

[Zhentarim]

How about talking to them? You only need Int 3 to be able to speak, so you should be just fine.

even if deaf?

[SethoMarkus]

How deaf? Can't hear at all? Legally deaf, but still able percieve sound (just can't decipher)? Needs a hearing aid? Somewhere in between?

What is the cause of the deafness? From birth? Infection? Accident? Physical deformation prevents hearing (lacks organs to hear), or developmental/neurological/psychological issue the prevents the ear from sending signals to the brain or prevents the brain from interpreting those signals into meaningful information?

I have known several individuals who were deaf, and two of them could speak just fine (albeit with a little slurring and lack of diction, they were perfectly understandable).

[Zhentarim]

How deaf? Can't hear at all? Legally deaf, but still able percieve sound (just can't decipher)? Needs a hearing aid? Somewhere in between?

What is the cause of the deafness? From birth? Infection? Accident? Physical deformation prevents hearing (lacks organs to hear), or developmental/neurological/psychological issue the prevents the ear from sending signals to the brain or prevents the brain from interpreting those signals into meaningful information?

I have known several individuals who were deaf, and two of them could speak just fine (albeit with a little slurring and lack of diction, they were perfectly understandable).

Oracle Curse...Actually one of two. The other curse is having a wolf face.

[grarrrg]

There's a FAQ (http://paizo.com/paizo/faq/v5748nruor1fq#v5748eaic9os8) for that.
It also wouldn't be that hard to make "Sign Language(Common)" a valid language choice. Although that one should obviously take penalties if you are holding something.

[Vizzerdrix]

The comic, runewriters, may give you some insight into this as one of the main characters is deaf.

[Telonius]

Your character can still read, even if they can't hear; so if people are patient you can communicate textually. It'll just take a bit more time for any interaction, and you may run into trouble if they happen to be a Barbarian. Drow Sign Language is an in-game language, so there is that. Lip reading is also a thing, but (if you're going for verisimilitude) it's not going to pick up more than about a third of what's going on, at best. And you're out of luck if more than one person is talking at a time.

Telepathy might be the way to go.

EDIT: You might be able to make do with charades, even if the DM rules you can't speak. Bluff gives the ability to transmit a "secret" message. Personally I'd allow it to transmit to anybody "listening" since you're not actually trying to conceal what you're doing (Bluff DC 15 to transmit a simple message, DC 20 to transmit a complex one, no sense motive necessary).

[JonVMD]

Well, you can do diplomaticy checks, but it will have a huge penalty. My adivice: Let your friends talk, just be pretty.

[lunaticfringe]

People who can't hear can speak. They learn through watching people speak and Tactile sensations. Touching someone's mouth and feeling the breath & vibrations. Take your penalties & play the game normally. Speaking oddly is offensive & using sign language will start to wear on your game group. That's my advice, I have a disability. Just don't.

[ekarney]

From what I've seen in one of the Drow books, Drow Sign is closer to SWAT hand signals than to any sort of conversational language. So lip reading might be your best bet.