Operatives of the Performance sphere are creators of various creative endeavors, be it brilliant ballads, complex choreography, or musical melodies; a performer’s ability to draw the eye and instill hope and emotion into those around them is astounding.
Associated Skill: Perform (depending on your chosen package below).
You gain the following benefits when you gain the Performance sphere.
When you gain a package, you choose one of the package’s associated skills to determine the effects of its talents, and you gain 5 ranks in the chosen associated skill, plus 5 ranks per additional talent spent in the Performance sphere (maximum ranks equal to your Hit Dice). If you already have ranks in the associated skill you may immediately retrain them.
Skill Leverage: You unlock skill leverage with the Perform skill chosen as your package’s associated skill, in addition to one Artistry or Perform skill of your choice.
Package: When you gain the Performance sphere, you gain one of the following packages with its included abilities. You choose one of the package’s associated skills to be the associated skill for that package and its effects. You may take the Expanded Repertoire talent to gain additional packages.
Bonus Talent: You gain a single (act), (dance), (instrumental), or (lyric) talent, depending on the package you chose. It cannot be an exceptional talent. If the bonus talent you choose is a [utility] talent, you can take the base sphere as a [utility] talent.
Performance Sphere Packages
Act Package
You can begin an act as a move action by adopting the approach associated with it. Starting an act provokes attacks of opportunity. An act grants its effects to all enemies or allies within a 20-foot radius + 5 feet per 5 ranks in this package’s associated Perform skill for as long as the act is active, up to a maximum of 1 minute.
While an act is active, allies in the area that can perceive you may spend actions to contribute to the act’s scenes, completing them. Once a scene has been completed, it confers its effects to the act until it ends, and cannot be completed again (unless otherwise specified).
All acts have a finale, which requires all of the act’s scenes to be completed before you may use it. Once you activate an act’s finale, it ends the act and its associated benefits other than the finale’s effects at the end of your next turn.
Associated Skill: Perform (act or comedy).
Dance Package
As a move action, you can move up to half your speed to begin a dance, gaining the benefits of a single (dance) talent you possess. Allies within 10 feet + 5 feet per 5 ranks in this package’s associated Perform skill of you may either spend a move action and move up to half their speed, or take a 5-foot step, to gain the benefits of your dance until the start of their next turn. For every 10 minutes that a dance is maintained, you become fatigued; you cannot begin a dance while exhausted.
Creatures benefiting from your dance (including yourself) are called dancers. You must maintain the dance each round by moving up to half your speed (minimum 10 feet), usually as part of any action spent to move, or it ends at the end of your turn. Movement made as part of a dance still provokes attacks of opportunity.
Associated Skill: Perform (dance).
Instrumental Package
As a standard action, you can play an instrument to create a 30-foot radius area centered on you that moves as you do, applying a single (instrumental) talent to the area. An instrumental must be maintained each turn as a move action, which does not provoke attacks of opportunity. For every 10 minutes that an instrumental is maintained, you become fatigued; you cannot begin an instrumental while exhausted.
Unwilling creatures may attempt a Will saving throw (unless otherwise specified) at the start of each turn they remain within the area (or if they move within the area) to ignore the instrumental’s effects for 1 round; a creature can only attempt a saving throw in this way once per round. Instrumentals are mind-affecting, emotion, and auditory effects.
Associated Skill: Perform (keyboard, percussion, string, or wind).
Lyric Package
As a standard action, you may inspire or discourage a single creature within close range with a lyric that lasts for 1 minute (Will negates if unwilling). A lyric grants a constant effect, which can be expended as a swift action (unless otherwise stated) by the creature affected by the lyric, for a stronger short-term effect, after which the effect ends. When expended, the lyric’s initial effects persist until the end of the target’s turn (or action if used as an immediate action). A creature can only benefit from a single lyric at one time; if a creature uses a lyric on a creature currently under the effects of another lyric, the previous effect ends.
All lyrics are mind-affecting, emotion, language-dependent effects that rely on auditory components (unless using Perform (comedy), which can instead use visual components, chosen when using the lyric), and do not provoke attacks of opportunity.
Associated Skill: Perform (comedy, oratory, or sing).