The gnome insists I have totally maxxed persuasion to get the quest, so I have to waste a talent point capping the skill from 90%. After he gives me the quest, though, he mentions my having the Ashbury monument reputation. So my questions are: 1. Is there an Elixir of Persuasion available anywhere as a magic user unable to make it? Can any followers make it? 2. Are there any other reputations that impact the selection process? Does the Ashbury monument reputation even affect it or is this just a fork in the dialogue? 3. Does having Bates' mansion or betraying Bates affect eligibility negatively?
If I recall correctly, no one has one in the game (based off my exhaustive scavenger hunt thread days where I checked most people's inventory for unusual items). There may be one in a container somewhere, but I really can't remember now. Jayna Stiles can create one for you, however she requires you to already have tech aptitude. However, Franklin Payne can make every first level tech item from each discipline and as far as I know doesn't care about aptitude or alignment so he's a good bet. You get him when you need to travel to Thanatos, which if you know what you're doing you can do regardless of whether you're following the good or evil main quest path. Other alternatives are the Ring of Influence off the Haggle master in the central bar in Tarant which offers a minor Persuasion boost (use a fate point to pickpocket it, etc.), or if you aren't too fussy about getting all the blessings then just make one to Kerlin to get it to max. As far as I know, no. And the Ashbury thing doesn't impact the selection process anyway (it doesn't actually provide a tangible benefit in terms of selection), it's just him acknowledging your reputation - which is pretty cool in terms of attention to detail when you think about. Again as far as I know, it doesn't matter a jot and I've never heard of any other reputation interfering with the quest.
