| 4 people marked this as FAQ candidate. |
I have a strong feeling this question has been asked multiple times, and I tried to find it else where in the forums, but I couldn't locate the most simple explanation possible, and I'm not the smartest guy in the world, so hopefully I can get someone to help with the clarification.
I am playing a Ranger of the Guide variant right now. I started to look at the Horizon Walker because not only does it appear to have some great bonuses, but I also feel like it fits in my dude's background. I saw what the Horizon Walker gets at 3rd level, Terrain Dominance, and it made me think...
Since I am lazy, I can only assume others out there are too. Here is the Terrain Dominance ability: At 3rd level, a horizon walker learns total dominance over one terrain he has already selected for terrain mastery. When dealing with creatures native to that terrain, the horizon walker treats his favored terrain bonus for that terrain as a favored enemy bonus (as the ranger class feature) against those creatures. This bonus overlaps (does not stack with) bonuses gained when fighting a favored enemy.
Here is Guide's Focus: At 1st level, once per day, the guide can focus on a single enemy within line of sight as a swift action. That creature remains the Ranger’s focus until it is reduced to 0 or fewer hit points or surrenders, or until the Ranger designates a new focus, whichever occurs first. The Ranger gains a +2 bonus on attack and damage rolls against the target of his focus. At 5th level, and every five levels thereafter, this bonus increases by +2. At 4th level, and every 3 levels thereafter, the Ranger can use this ability one additional time per day. This ability replaces favored enemy.
Ok. Since the bonus granted by Focus isn't a Favored Enemy bonus, and Terrain Dominance specifically says that its bonus doesn't stack with Favored Enemy bonus, then, do they stack together?
I am always good with examples:
I end up going Guide 6/Horizon Walker 3. Here is the Focus ability updgrades and here are all the Favored Terrains with their bonuses that my character picks up...
Guide 1 - Focus +2 once a day
Guide 3 - Favored Terrain: Jungle +2
Guide 4 - Focus +2 twice a day
Guide 5 - Focus +4 twice a day
Horizon Walker 1 - Favored Terrains: add Underground +2, Jungle bumps to +4
Horizon Walker 2 - Terrain Mastery: Jungle
Horizon Walker 2 - Favored Terrains: add Plains +2, Underground still at +2, but bump again Jungle to +6
Horizon Walker 3 - Terrain Dominance: Jungle. Now, he earns a Favored Enemy bonus of +6 against enemies native to the jungle.
So, the party is strolling along through the forest when they are surprised by a group of lizardmen and they are ticked that we stumbled in their territory. First off, my Guide gets a bonus of +6 against all the lizardmen, right?
Then, of the group of lizardmen, one of them seems to be a pretty powerful cleric. The guide sees this and Focuses on this threat and his Focus ability (at +4 twice a day due to Guide 6), kicks in. Does the Guide character get both the +4 from Focus and +6 from Terrain Dominance (aka newly acquired Favored Enemy bonus) for a total of +10 to hit and damage?
Thanks - this stuff is always bewildering and sometimes I read too much into it, so other opinions are always valuable to me.
A friend of mine says this is just an issue of rule as intended (RAI) vs rule as worded (RAW). I guess the game creators haven't officially decided about this, but my GM basically said that the Guide's Focus and Horizon Walker's terrain dominance abilities don't stack.
Anyone disagree?
By RAW, yes, they would stack as the Horizon Walker ability only calls out Favored Enemy bonuses, which Ranger's Focus is expressly not. However, RAI seems to indicate to me that, since Ranger's Focus replaces the normal Favored Enemy bonus equally and at the same levels, that the two abilities ought to be considered equivalent in regards to their effects for the purposes of abilities and feats and such. At my table, I would rule that you would only get the higher of the two bonuses (overlapping, not stacking) as it seems intended by the Horizon Walker ability.
That said, it could use some clarification so I will click the FAQ button as well.
A friend of mine says this is just an issue of rule as intended (RAI) vs rule as worded (RAW). I guess the game creators haven't officially decided about this, but my GM basically said that the Guide's Focus and Horizon Walker's terrain dominance abilities don't stack.
Anyone disagree?
Agreed.
Although it could become nice, when the combined bonus for a Guide 10/Horizon Walker 10 reaches +28 to attack and damage. But since the Ranger/Horizon Walker can get a +22 favored enemy bonus, then I am satisfied:)