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It's early, but I want to sound out an idea...
This is a general playtest observation of Aid Another, which relates to SRD and 3.5 more than Pathfinder, but since Pathfinder uses the ruleset as-is, my comments apply.
One of the things that I feel is the problem with Aid Another is the fact the effects are minimal, the DC doesn’t scale, and it slows down game play. And if someone fails their DC 10 check, there is no penalty, further rendering the need for a dice roll an annoyance rather than a game-building rule.
Whether the roll is to aid another in a skill, or to aid another in combat, the DC is 10, which means the odds of making the roll are almost guaranteed, meaning the roll only slows down the game. The second part is that the effect is minimal – at 1st level, a +2 to a skill or to hit is huge, but by 10th level this ruleset is discarded as useless.
I would propose the following improvement to the SRD ruleset. If a character chooses to aid another, and it is a valid skill or circumstance to allow one or more personsto aid, it adds half their ranks (minimum +1) as a stackable bonus to the skill user. That way, when the party’s diplomat decides to persuade the gate guard to let them by, the two other party members with ranks in Diplomacy aiding his Diplomacy check are useful, and there is no roll to slow things down.
Further, I would pass this mechanic to aiding in combat. If someone wants to aid another, they can grant half their BAB (minimum +1) to an ally’s attack roll or AC. Again, no annoying roll, and the effect scales to be useful through all levels of the game.
What do you think?
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I get your point, but respectfully dissent. At low levels, I think it a necessary annoyance because it adds some enterting realism. In real life, I would have to roll for helping with fixing a car.
Perhaps it could be at the discretion of the DM.
Third, IMHO, Aid Another rolls for skill monkeys become unnecessary by fourth or fifth level because they they had +10 as their modifier in certain skills. That has a real world analog, as well. My Knowledge (Music History) Aid Another would be automatic. I hope, anyway.
I know this is leaving core, but Complete Adventurer had a mechanic where the aid another scaled by +1 for every 10 that you beat the DC. Maybe something similar to that could be implemented, but instead of every 10, it is instead every 5? Also, it may be an idea that if someone trying to aid gets a 5 or lower, they actually hinder instead of help, giving a -2 to the check, AC, or atk bonus.
A version of this that I have used (I forgot were I got it from though) is if you have 5 ranks or a BAB of +5 you potentially add a higher bonus to the person doing the check.
Aid Another Roll:
10-19:+2
20-29:+3
30-39:+4
40-49:+5
My group is 12th level and this has worked very well.
Thanx!
Erik