Quote Originally Posted by Ashtagon View Post
If a chaotic character has a reputation for being chaotic, wouldn't that more logically be a penalty to Bluff, since everyone knows they're chaotic?

I think social skills are too context-driven to say reputation for alignment X gives bonus to skill Y.

In d20 Modern, reputation was simply a check to see whether your reputation was known - literally, to see if you were famous or not. The exact kind of reputation would be based on RP and past actions, so the typical PC would eventually be famous for being a "murder-hobo".

The modifier for being famous was always +2 or -2, and it would depend on how that particular PC reacts to your kind of fame. Personally, I'd expand that, so that particularly strong reputations could grant bigger modifiers.

If I were going to base things on alignment at all, I'd give serious thought to having a reputation for being lawful grant a bonus on Bluff checks. Because, ya know, no one expects that. Plus a bonus on Intimidate checks against chaotic creatures, and Diplomacy with other lawful creatures.

A reputation for being good might grant bonuses to Diplomacy with good creatures only (and penalties with evil ones), plus penalties for Intimidate with everyone.

A reputation for evil might grant a bonus to Intimidate and a penalty to Diplomacy.

A reputation for being chaotic would grant a penalty on your Bluff checks (because people know to watch you), but a bonus on Intimidate against lawful creatures (because that much weirdness is unnerving for them). It could also grant a bonus on Perform checks because your unpredictable antics are more entertaining.

All reputations should grant penalties to Disguise checks when disguising yourself, and a bonus on Profession when used to generate incomes.
I know both alignments and social skills are a sticky issue, and applying simple bonuses to them is going to open up a worm can of debate - but I want to make alignment mechanically mean something, and at the same time keep the ruling simple enough to make sure it gets used.

Complex rules with multiple contingencies tend to either slow play down while we look them up, or get thrown out altogether.
I really want to keep the reputation bonuses simple and as non-situational as possible - so that rules out having bonuses that change with alignment. I've already got alignment sympathy / antipathy bonuses for Sense Motive, and rep bonus to Diplomacy for having the exact same alignment.

Agreed - "Law is trustworthy": This was my first gut-feeling / reasoning for why Law ought to get a bonus to Bluff - so I've fixed the OP to show that.

Regarding penalising Chaos on Bluff, and penalties in general: I have to say no to that - I want to reward players for their alignment choices, never punish them.

I did think about a rep bonus to Perform for Chaos - but as much as I want to agree, it wouldn't really be applicable to performances where discipline and precision are key.

In the E6 game, the bonus is going to top out at +3: comparable d20M's and Unearthed Arcana's +2.

Reputation modifiers to Disguise and Profession make god sense, I'll add those in - thanks.