In the old game I realize using Con to base the skill Concentration was a good idea, sort of even ground for all the classes.The more durable the caster, the easier it was to continue casting a spell under duress. I agree the Concentration skill needs to go and the Spellcraft skill is the obvious choice, however, not all casters are intelligence based. What of Bards, of Clerics? Should a human wizard be harder to make fumble a spell than say a dwarven cleric? No, we want even chances for all classes no matter what spells they cast.
Here is what i suggest.
Option one, tailor the skill to suit the class using it. Primary ability score as its base. This would be an easy fit. as i read the list of what Spellcraft allows a player to do, I feel the first benefit ( identify spell as it is being cast) is more befitting the Knowledge Arcana skill than the rest of the spellcraft uses, but that is another subject.
Option two.
Create a rule more like a save or a caster level check. If you take damage, you roll D20, add your caster level, primary stat, against DC 10,+ damage taken, + level of spell being cast. In cases where someone is entangled, bad weather, distracted.. the GM can add +2 Circumstance bonus to the DC.
Your thoughts?
thanks
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This question has arisen with other skills that have been combined where ability modifiers have changed - Jump (Str) is now Acrobatics (Dex).
I'm pleased that skills have been combined - ranks spent on Acrobatics will simultaneously increase your skill at Balance, Jump and Tumble. However, I would prefer ability modifiers apply to Acrobatics according to specific uses of Acrobatics, for example, Dex improves Acrobatics (Balance and Tumble), but Str improves Acrobatics (Jump).
Likewise with Con for Spellcraft (Concentration) vs Int for other Spellcraft checks.
This solution might not be as simplified, but it does seem more realistic and backward-compatible and keeps closer to the tradition of the game.
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Actually, I'm holding my breath that Paizo separated Concentration from Spellcraft and merged Knowledge (arcana) and Spellcraft.
As much as it pains me to agree with a Andoran bluebird, I'm beginning to think the same. Bring back Concentration, or at least Autohypnosis, and fold the functions of Spellcraft into the various knowledge checks for spellcasters.
Well...this is heresy...but I like it the way it is in Alpha 3.
Spellcraft is all about making magic work. It seems reasonable to have "casting under duress" part of this skill.
Knowledge Arcana is how magic works -- more book skill than practical application.
I know that this is an unpopular stance -- but it is what I believe. As a GM I would alter PrC's that have a Concentration requirement to something like a minimum WILL save.
CJ
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I have thought about introducing a new WIS-based "superskill" into my campaigns: Discipline. It would have such "subskills" as Concentration and Autohypnosis, but no matter how I spin it, it does not feel as good a solution as having CON-based Concentration in 3E. I have also thought about another skill, Endurance, which would be CON-based, but it also feels like a less elegant solution in this regard.
Perhaps the old skill *should* be brought back?
I am actually liking the change as is, despite some of the difficulties.
Take your average Raistlin for instance. 17-18 Int, 6-7 Con. Should Raistlin, he who fights back to back with his warrior twin, be bad at *concentrating* on his spells because of his ill health?
Plenty of arguments, in-game and out, for either position. I really just don't think it matters so much though. In my games rarely is it even chanced - it's always a 5 ft step back to cast.
All that said... Spellcraft (Int) for Arcane, Discipline (Wis) for Divine wouldn't be all that bad.
Take your average Raistlin for instance. 17-18 Int, 6-7 Con. Should Raistlin, he who fights back to back with his warrior twin, be bad at *concentrating* on his spells because of his ill health?
Plenty of arguments, in-game and out, for either position. I really just don't think it matters so much though. In my games rarely is it even chanced - it's always a 5 ft step back to cast.
All that said... Spellcraft (Int) for Arcane, Discipline (Wis) for Divine wouldn't be all that bad.
And it was a big issue in the Dragonlance novels, for one, distraction and fatigue. Distracting or tiring mages (and succeeding) is a recurring plot element in the DL novels. More than health, it was an issue of willpower (Raistlin casts many spells in bad situations by pure force of will, getting hurt or battered in the process).
All in all, I would actually support merging Kn-Arcana/Religion and Spellcraft. I don't see how identifying a spell is any different from other arcane / religious procedures based on the character's learning.
On the other hand, I could see the 3.5 Concentration mechanic being taken care of by a Will save. Maybe some adjusting is needed in the DCs (and some feats to produce more "disciplined" casters), but that seems to be what Will saves cover, keeping focused through concentration when some event tries to mess up your mind processes.
Big amounts of damage would produce insanely high DCs (except for very high level characters), but I don't see too much of a problem. Unless you're good at Combat Casting, spellcasting in melee should remain risky business. By keeping it as a skill, together with the skill concentrations in PF (which leave PCs with more skills by level)and by making the skill be based on a spellcaster's prime ability (for Wizards at least), maybe we're making melee casting too easy.