I'm in the middle of what seems to me to be a fairly pointless argument with one of my players about the way I worded a special ability. In my wording, a player gains "+2 to combat maneuver checks" and he's harping on how it should say that it's a +2 to CMB. I explained to him that I was following the model provided by feats like improved/greater trip, disarm, etc. but he continues to press the matter saying that the only reason those feats are worded in that way is that they provide a bonus to a specific type of check.
Anyway, to get to the point, IS there a good example of a situation/reason where this distinction makes a practical difference? It would be helpful to be able to cite something that would get him to shut up about this.
There is no distinction.
A +2 to combat maneuver checks is a +2 to CMB, which literally translates as combat maneuver bonus.
A combat maneuver bonus is what you add to your attempted combat maneuvers to determine their success or failure. A +2 to CMB is a +2 to the bonus to determine the success or failure of combat maneuvers.
Why won't you say that it's a +2 to CMB? They're literally the same thing.
Example from the book:
Combat Maneuver: This is an action taken in combat
that does not directly cause harm to your opponent, such
as attempting to trip him, disarm him, or grapple with
him (see Chapter 8).
Combat Maneuver Bonus (CMB): This value represents
how skilled a creature is at performing a combat maneuver.
When attempting to perform a combat maneuver, this
value is added to the character’s d20 roll.
Finally, your claim "I explained to him that I was following the model provided by feats like improved/greater trip, disarm, etc." is kind of moot because those feats specifically say "+2 bonus on checks made to disarm a foe" or "+2 bonus on checks made to overrun a foe," not "a +2 bonus on combat maneuver checks to disarm a foe" or otherwise. Almost all other references to bonuses or penalties to combat maneuver checks, such as the racial description of the size penalty in the halfling section or the steady description in the dwarf paragraph, say "a -1 penalty to combat maneuver bonus" or "a +4 bonus to combat maneuver defense," etc.
Well considering that CMB stands for Combat Maneuver Bonus (the bonus you add to your combat maneuver checks) it really is the same thing.
You are doing rigth following the gerenal rules wording imo.
Note that you use CMB to things like setting the DC for Feint or Escape Artist, which has nothing to do with combat maneuver checks.
Edit: Furthermore you may avoid unexpected synergies with other feats and PrCs.
Feinting is against the opponents BAB or Sense Motive
As for Escape Artist, it treats the opponents roping abilities as a combat maneuver
You are doing rigth following the gerenal rules wording imo.
Note that you use CMB to things like setting the DC for Feint or Escape Artist, which has nothing to do with combat maneuver checks.
Edit: Furthermore you may avoid unexpected synergies with other feats and PrCs.
Good point. This is the only reason why I could see a bonus to CMB being described as only a +2 bonus to combat maneuver checks. If this is specifically what you're going for-- a bonus to checks, but not tertiary effects of that bonus such as increased tumble difficulty-- then this would be the most correct interpretation.
Good point. This is the only reason why I could see a bonus to CMB being described as only a +2 bonus to combat maneuver checks. If this is specifically what you're going for-- a bonus to checks, but not tertiary effects of that bonus such as increased tumble difficulty-- then this would be the most correct interpretation.
This is, in fact, my exact intent. There's a lot of mechanics out there that I'm not fully aware of, and I don't want to accidentally "break" something.