Not every battle is fought with guns.
On Accord capital worlds, a single song broadcast across the infosphere can calm rioters or start revolutions. In outer-sphere cantinas, a ballad about fallen mercenaries can earn more allies than a dozen successful contracts. And in the shadow of Riftstorms, there are places where the right chant, in the right rhythm, sung by the right voice, can nudge the flow of Mana itself.
When a character steps up onto a stage, a crate, a comms channel, or an improvised altar—and chooses to Perform, they are doing more than “entertaining.” They are claiming the narrative of the moment: directing eyes, hearts, and sometimes the very currents of Devotion.
The Perform action is the core way to turn the Performance skill into concrete effects in play. Whenever a character deliberately uses music, speech, dance, acting, ritual, or spectacle to achieve a mechanical outcome in the moment—not just color—the GM should look first to the Perform action.
Perform is intentionally flexible:
In encounter mode, it can distract, inspire, or tilt a social scene.
In exploration, it can build trust, open doors, or test the waters of a new culture.
Perform Untrained
One Action
Source Player Core pg. 203
When making a brief performance—one song, a quick dance, or a few jokes—you use the Perform action. This action is most useful when you want to prove your capability or impress someone quickly. Performing rarely has an impact on its own, but it might influence the DCs of subsequent Diplomacy checks against the observers, or even change their attitudes if the GM sees fit.
Critical Success: Your performance impresses the observers, and they're likely to share stories of your ability.
Success: You prove yourself, and observers appreciate the quality of your performance.
Failure: Your performance falls flat.
Critical Failure: You demonstrate only incompetence.
Sample Perform Tasks
Untrained casual audience
Trained audience of corporate professionals
Expert audience of wealthy influencers
Master audience of discerning industry pros
Legendary audience of planetary leaders
Online Presence
Performing online can attract the attention of entire civilizations across an infosphere, propelling your character to untold heights of stardom. However, Infosphere users can develop dramatically different opinions of a performer, and once you post a performance, your career can change or sour in a day without you spending downtime monitoring it.
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