Better Bluff-Based Feats for Pathfinder 1st edition (Patreon)

Bluff is a GREAT skill in Pathfinder 1st edition. It's classic, cinematic, and has both in-combat and out-of-combat utility. AND there are a lot of feats that have Bluff as a prerequisite!

(Because we all want our sly, sneaky characters to look OOL now and then. Art by Digital Storm.)

Often VERY niche, SUPER restricted, HARD to qualify for feats. Sure, Mightnight Stalker and improved invisibility are a hell of a combination, but when was the last time you saw someone take Blood Ties,? And Babble-Peddlar lets you use Bluff to convince someone something is worth more. ... Can't Bluff ALREADY do that?

I understand why designers don't want someone to be able to pull off weird tricks all the time in every game session. And, sure, feint can be a powerful option against some foes. But having designed official content for PF 1st edition for the entirety of its official run, I think for a lot of the VERY niche options, you should just lump a range of niche options

Trick Up My SleeveYou don’t play fair, you always have an angle, and there’s usually a trick up your sleeve. You can’t pull these things off all the time, but when the circumstances are just right, you can unleash a nasty surprise. Prerequisite: One of the following feats: Babble-Peddler, Bewildering Koan, Blustering Bluff, Broken Wing Gambit, But a Scratch, Confabulist, Deceitful, Empty Threats, Fall Guy, Lifeless Gaze, Moonlight Stalker, Osyluth Guile, Out of the Sun, Sliding Dash, Surprising Combatant, Unspoken Bond, or Voice of the SibylBenefit: Once per day you may choose one of the following surprise tricks to perform.1. Declare an attack against a flat-footed opponent, or one you have concealment against, to be a sneak attack. It must meet the normal sneak attack rules. You gain sneak attack dice on that attack equal to 1d6, +1 per 4 ranks of Stealth you have. These cannot be combined with any other precision damage dice you can deal.2. Deal unarmed damage as a monk with a level equal to your base attack bonus for a single attack. You are also able to immediately perform a dirty trick maneuver as a free action against the same target, as if you had Improved Dirty Trick and Superior Dirty Trick.3. Cause one attack to act as if you were using the gunslinger’s Targeting Shot deed.Special: This feat may be selected a second time, allowing you to use each option once per day.Special: You can use this feat in place of a species-specific prerequisite for any feat that also has 1 or more ranks of Bluff as a prerequisite.

THAT feat is going to let you do cool, surprising stuff fairly often, but never dominate a game session with them.

While we're at it, let's beef up an existing Bluff-locked feat that is WAY too weak, Animal Call.

Here's the original.

Animal CallYou’ve learn (sic) how to replicate a number of animal calls native to wilderness environments.Prerequisites: Bluff 1 rank, Knowledge (nature) 1 rank.Benefit: Pick one of the ranger’s favored terrains. You can use your Bluff skill to mimic the calls of animals native to that terrain. Creatures with ranks in Knowledge (nature) can use that skill in place of Sense Motive to detect your mimicry and realize that the sound is false.Special: You can take this feat multiple times. Each time you do, select an additional favored terrain to which this feat applies.

I'm sorry... I can take Dodge, or Power Attack, or Toughness (which are going to come up and potentially made a difference nearly ever game session) OR, I can mimic the sounds of animals... of one terrain... if someone can't beat me with one of TWO skills?!

Yeah, I don't see Animal Call getting selected that often! Let's see if we can take some of the pain out of this option.

Animal Call (Revised)You’ve learned how to replicate a number of animal calls.Prerequisites: Bluff 1 rank, Knowledge (nature) 1 rank.Benefit: You can use your Bluff skill to mimic the calls of creatures of the animal type, and monstrous beasts with an Int of 2 or less. You must have heard and be familiar with a creature to mimic it. You are normally able to mimic the all the animals of your home region (select one of the ranger’s favored terrains to represent the area you are already familiar with the animals calls of). Work with you GM to determine if you know enough about other animals or low-int magic beasts to mimic their calls. Normally a Knowledge nature check (DC 20+DC) allows you to mimic an animal's call.Creatures with a CR or ranks in Knowledge (nature) that meet or exceed your ranks IN Bluff may attempt an opposing Knowledge (nature) or Sense Motive check to detect your mimicry when they hear it, and realize that the sound is false.

I mean that's STILL not tearing up the utility rankings, but it is MUCH better. If I added this revised version to my game, I'd also add it to the list of feats that are acceptable prerequisites to Trick Up My Sleeve.

If there's enough interest, I could make some feats that take other super-niche Bluff-based PF1 feats, and give them the Trick Up My Sleeve treatment.