Signature Skill + Rogue Edge: Define "Stacks"

[Regrs]

As it is presented in PRD:

Signature Skill (General)
Your ability with a particular skill is the stuff of legends, and you can do things with that skill that others cannot.

Prerequisite: 5 ranks in the chosen skill.

Benefit: Choose one skill. You gain the ability listed in that skill's 5 Ranks entry. As you gain more ranks in the chosen skill, you gain additional abilities. If you have 10 or more ranks in the chosen skill, you gain the appropriate abilities immediately. If your chosen skill is Craft, Knowledge, Perform, or Profession, you gain the listed powers only for one category of that skill, such as Craft (bows). This feat can be taken only once, but it stacks with the rogue's edge ability and the cutting edge rogue talent.

Can someone define if it stacks as having number of ranks for skill unlock, for example "Rogue Edge: Craft:bows + Signature Skill: Craft:Bows" with ten ranks of Craft:Bows, does this means that it unlocks rank 20 skill ability?

[wraithstrike]

No, it does not give mean you can unlock the 20 rank ability if you only have 10 ranks.

Here is how it works.

Quote:

Rogue's Edge (Ex): At 5th level, a rogue has mastered a single skill beyond that skill's normal boundaries, gaining results that others can only dream about. She gains the skill unlock powers for that skill as appropriate for her number of ranks in that skill. At 10th, 15th, and 20th levels, she chooses an additional skill and gains skill unlock powers for that skill as well.

What this means is that you get to choose one skill at 5th level, and that one skill gets to use the skill unlocks. Later on you get more rogue's edge again so you can apply it to more skills.

Quote:

Signature Skill (General)

Your ability with a particular skill is the stuff of legends, and you can do things with that skill that others cannot.

Prerequisite: 5 ranks in the chosen skill.

Benefit: Choose one skill. You gain the ability listed in that skill's 5 Ranks entry. As you gain more ranks in the chosen skill, you gain additional abilities. If you have 10 or more ranks in the chosen skill, you gain the appropriate abilities immediately. If your chosen skill is Craft, Knowledge, Perform, or Profession, you gain the listed powers only for one category of that skill, such as Craft (bows). This feat can be taken only once, but it stacks with the rogue's edge ability and the cutting edge rogue talent.

This basically gives you more skills that work with the skill unlock, however you can only take the feat once. The feat itself only gives you access to skill unlocks up to 10 ranks, but since it stacks with rogue's edge you also get the 15 and 20 rank unlocks also.

Quote:

Cutting Edge (Ex): A rogue with this ability immediately selects two additional skills with her rogue's edge ability. She can select this advanced talent multiple times.

This talent allows you to choose 2 more skills to unlock as if the rogue had rogue's edge two more times.

Basically the feat and the rogue talent you get to choose more skills to unlock if the four granted by the rogue class are not enough.

[GM 1990]

Was just looking at this last night when we were leveling up.

It's confusing what they're referring to when saying "it stacks". That term is most often used to let you know some modifier from the feat/ability can be added to modifiers from another feat/ability to improve your chance of success/AC/etc.

Sometimes with feats like Weapon Focus, it'll explain you can take it multiple times but -not- the same weapon, which helps clarify that you can't focus twice in long-sword to get a +2 to hit.

In this case you can't take skill-unlock twice for the same feat - which wouldn't make sense anyway, as the unlock doesn't actually give you some kind of modifier per se, but lets you use a new ability based on the number of ranks you have in that skill (which for many of them does have some kind of DC or roll modifier).

Although poorly worded, and using a term that already has a game mechanic context which doesn't apply to this feat, I believe the intent of that last sentence was as Wraith points out was to let you know you can take the feat even as a Rogue to get an additional skill unlocked in addition to those you can unlock with your rogue's talents.

[Bacondale]

wraithstrike wrote:

Quote:

Signature Skill (General)

Your ability with a particular skill is the stuff of legends, and you can do things with that skill that others cannot.

Prerequisite: 5 ranks in the chosen skill.

Benefit: Choose one skill. You gain the ability listed in that skill's 5 Ranks entry. As you gain more ranks in the chosen skill, you gain additional abilities. If you have 10 or more ranks in the chosen skill, you gain the appropriate abilities immediately. If your chosen skill is Craft, Knowledge, Perform, or Profession, you gain the listed powers only for one category of that skill, such as Craft (bows). This feat can be taken only once, but it stacks with the rogue's edge ability and the cutting edge rogue talent.

This basically gives you more skills that work with the skill unlock, however you can only take the feat once. The feat itself only gives you access to skill unlocks up to 10 ranks, but since it stacks with rogue's edge you also get the 15 and 20 rank unlocks also.

Signature Skill provides the 15 and 20 rank unlocks as well, note that "abilities" is plural.