Do skill synergies stack? If not, where does it say they don't; or where does it say they do?
I'm particularly interested in Diplomacy, which offers a +2 if you have 5 ranks in Bluff, Sense Motive or Knowledge (nobility and royalty). What if you have 5 ranks in all? I read it as a flat +2 but do people read it differently?
Personally I would say they do not stack as they are all "synergy" bonuses. Unless that is one of the types of bonuses that stack with each other (I dont have access to books here at work and SRD isnt very clear).
Do skill synergies stack? If not, where does it say they don't; or where does it say they do?
I'm particularly interested in Diplomacy, which offers a +2 if you have 5 ranks in Bluff, Sense Motive or Knowledge (nobility and royalty). What if you have 5 ranks in all? I read it as a flat +2 but do people read it differently?
PHB3 page 62: In general, having 5 or more ranks in one skill gives you a +2 synergy bonus on skill checks with its synergistic skills, as noted in the skill description
Diplomacy: If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff or Sense Motive, you get a +2 synergy bonus on Diplomacy checks. These bonuses stack.
The rules in my opinion are a bit vague. I can tell you that I have seen it both ways and that most generators including one used by WotC is set up to stack 'em. I for one though have a problem with gaining a +4 or more bonus on something that maybe I'll only ever take one rank if any with all three synergies working it is possible to have a larger bonus in Diplomacy than the other three skills even if you have no ranks in it.
That said in the previous edition of D&D (3.0) it clearly said:
If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff or Sense Motive, you get a +2 synergy bonus on Diplomacy checks. These bonuses stack. -PHB 3.0 pg 67
Now the removal of that last sentence and the wording:
If you have 5 or more ranks in Bluff, Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty), or Sense Motive, you get a +2 bonus on Diplomacy checks.[/i] -PHB 3.5 pg 72
...found in the current edition leads me to believe the designer's intent was to remove the multiple synergies to Diplomacy (which by the way are "unnamed" bonuses). Why leave it out otherwise? Though from what I've seen that's not how most interpret it.
Now the DM has the ultimate out provided at the top page 66 of the current PHB.
Your DM may limit certain synergies if desired or he may add more synergies for specific situations.
Suddenly those 5 ranks in Craft (blacksmithing) can help you climb chains.
Personally I would take this option and limit Diplomacy to one synergy - standard, and then open it up more for certain situations (addressing nobility, etc...)
GGG
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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My group has always allowed synergies to stack, but we've also had a few occassions where a character would go synergy-crazy and end up with some pretty ridiculous skill totals. It's a double-edged sword. You want the ability to make your character an effective one, so you obviously want to maximize your capability in a certain field. On the other hand, my level 12 rogue with his +31 Bluff check was a bit much.
Synergy stacking is a good idea until someone gets the idea to abuse it, imo. Sadly in our group, that person was me. :(
My group has always allowed synergies to stack, but we've also had a few occassions where a character would go synergy-crazy and end up with some pretty ridiculous skill totals. It's a double-edged sword. You want the ability to make your character an effective one, so you obviously want to maximize your capability in a certain field. On the other hand, my level 12 rogue with his +31 Bluff check was a bit much.
Synergy stacking is a good idea until someone gets the idea to abuse it, imo. Sadly in our group, that person was me. :(
Whoa you are good. I almost fell for that. Your one mistake was the fact that there is no synergy to enhance Bluff in the Player's Handbook.
;)
GGG
I've just popped over to the Wizards site and found this:
Do Synergy bonus stack in 3.5?
There are no more Synergy bonus in 3.5.
Skills bonus are now unnamed, and then they stack.
I found this here: [url]http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=305458[/url]
When checking the SRD, they are definitely not called Synergy Bonuses per se, they are called skill synergies. So it looks like they stack.
Am I reading it right?
Technically they are unnamed bonuses; unnamed bonuses always stack.
TK
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Whoa you are good. I almost fell for that. Your one mistake was the fact that there is no synergy to enhance Bluff in the Player's Handbook.
;)
GGG
You're right! Heh, it was my Sleight of Hand check which GOT a synergy from Bluff, Diplomacy (I think?), and... something else. :P
It's been like a year since I played that character. I don't even remember what was involved, but there were lots of synergies.