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Sornjss Lichdom
2007-10-26, 09:33 PM
Can anybody explain this for me, I know its a no no to copy paste the stuff here, but a basic run down is all i need, im not really sure what it is, but i really just need it for fluff instead of crunch. ty in advance.

reorith
2007-10-26, 09:46 PM
brb finding the book
edit: found it, it was under my pillow :smallfrown:

you can use it to cause a fear effect, improve your caster level at the4 expense of cha, break some items or unit vermin or animals with hivemind

Sornjss Lichdom
2007-10-26, 09:54 PM
hm.. sounds intresting, I'll hav to scan my local book holder. ty.

Chronos
2007-10-27, 02:42 PM
If you just want it for flavor, it's probably cheaper to spend a couple of skill points on Language: Infernal or Abyssal. Most characters can afford a couple of skill points (or only one, for a bard or a few other classes) a lot more easily than a feat.

lotofsnow
2007-10-27, 02:55 PM
brb finding the book
edit: found it, it was under my pillow :smallfrown:

That's kind of creepy. You sleep with the Book of Vile Darkness under your pillow?

goat
2007-10-27, 02:57 PM
A interesting, but largely unrelated, thought this has given me:

Let's consider core-example Mr Bard. He gets (6+int)*4 SP at level 1, of which he can put no more than four into boosting ranks of any one skill.

Speak Language, does not work like a skill. It has no ranks. There are 20 languages listed in the SRD. Can Mr Bard use some of his say... 32 skill points to learn to speak the 18-19 that he doesn't know? That would still leave him with 11-12 to put into perform, diplomacy and bluff.

What's the going rate to hire someone who can can sing songs, and tell diplomatic lies in any language?

Quietus
2007-10-27, 04:16 PM
A interesting, but largely unrelated, thought this has given me:

Let's consider core-example Mr Bard. He gets (6+int)*4 SP at level 1, of which he can put no more than four into boosting ranks of any one skill.

Speak Language, does not work like a skill. It has no ranks. There are 20 languages listed in the SRD. Can Mr Bard use some of his say... 32 skill points to learn to speak the 18-19 that he doesn't know? That would still leave him with 11-12 to put into perform, diplomacy and bluff.

What's the going rate to hire someone who can can sing songs, and tell diplomatic lies in any language?

Depends, how often do you find people who can't speak Common walking around? Or who speak, say, the Elemental languages?

I do find that idea incredibly amusing, though.

triforcel
2007-10-27, 04:27 PM
I've found that being able to converse with people in their native tongue offers a slight bonus to such checks and encounters. Especially with haughty races such as elves who probably feel that common is a vulgar and primitive language.

Thoughtbot360
2007-10-28, 12:41 PM
That's kind of creepy. You sleep with the Book of Vile Darkness under your pillow?

That, or....*gets out a flashlight and puts in below his chin, light facing skyward* IT CRAWLED UNDER HIS PILLOW WITHOUT HIS KNOWLEDGE!:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Collin152
2007-10-28, 04:53 PM
That, or....*gets out a flashlight and puts in below his chin, light facing skyward* IT CRAWLED UNDER HIS PILLOW WITHOUT HIS KNOWLEDGE!:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Or maybe, insteda of sleeping with the Book of Vile Darkness under his pillow, he sleeps with a pillow over his Book of Vile Darkness.

bugsysservant
2007-10-28, 05:04 PM
I always found spending skill points on Speak Language to be the height of idiocy. A custom item costs, what, 100 gp for a language? And even if you don't go by the custom items, I am pretty sure there is a RAW item (somewhere psionic maybe) that lets you speak five for 2,500. My skill points are far to valuable to waste on something that can be replaced by a 100 gp investment.

Lord_Butters_I
2007-10-28, 05:06 PM
God of all books with feats in them (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/datafind/feats.shtml). Just throught I'd post this for readers who don't have BoVD or Fiendish Codex I.

Riffington
2007-10-28, 05:25 PM
I always found spending skill points on Speak Language to be the height of idiocy. A custom item costs, what, 100 gp for a language?

Unless your DM is the kind of guy who thinks "So their entire communication relies on an item this guy bought at bargain-basement prices. A spell to pervert such an item and make it say whatever the caster wants should be... 3rd level?"

goat
2007-10-28, 07:53 PM
I always found spending skill points on Speak Language to be the height of idiocy. A custom item costs, what, 100 gp for a language? And even if you don't go by the custom items, I am pretty sure there is a RAW item (somewhere psionic maybe) that lets you speak five for 2,500. My skill points are far to valuable to waste on something that can be replaced by a 100 gp investment.

But to equal it, that would cost 1500 GP at least! Where is a level 1, wannabe diplomat with a flair for languages going to get that sort of money?

Also, my initial estimates were a bit off. Assuming a level one bard from a race that speaks one language, who gets a +2 int boost, he speaks three languages for free, and so only needs another 16 to get all 19 (The 20th is druidic, which I suppose he COULD know, but gives him something to work on later). That leaves him with 16 free skill points! So he can max perform, diplomacy, bluff AND Knowledge (history or nobility or something).

Then he can go travelling, spend some time with the trees, pick up a level in druid for Druidic and Speak with Animals. He'll have read magic, he can cast message and purify food and water... And he gets a free horse.
A level 2 character could make a very effective agent when you think about it.