The Adept Champion feat allows paladins to forego their bonus smite damage until the start of their next turn. In exchange, they gain half of the bonus to CMB checks.
So A 10th-level paladin could gain a +5 bonus on his CMB check.
However, CMB checks are also attack rolls, which smite applies to. Say the above paladin has a 20 Charisma, and therefore gains a +5 bonus to attack rolls when smiting.
Does that mean that this paladin could have a total +10 bonus to CMB checks (or +15 against evil undead, dragons, and outsiders on the first successful attempt)?
If so, that means paladins can totally rock evil bad guys with their maneuvers. Disarm the big bad of his weapon, follow up with a trip, end with a grapple and hog tie. Send that bastard off to prison the right way.
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L10 Paladin Engages Smite Evil vs a Blue Dragon:
*Charisma 20 offers a +5 to hit, and a +5 deflection bonus to AC.
*CMB goes up by 5 and CMD goes up by 5 as a result (assuming no deflection gear already on the L10 paladin).
*The Paladin activates Adept Champion, raising his CMB by another 10 (half of twice his level, for using smite against an evil aligned dragon).
*The Paladin then proceeds to knock the large sized blue dragon down, then stabs him where he lays.
*Next round when the dragon stands up, the Paladin will stab him again, still without a bonus to damage and with only a +5 to hit, but he can then grapple him and prepare to give a deadly Smite Nuggie that grinds through the dragon's skull to his brain after judicious juggling of this feat.
When you attempt to perform a combat maneuver,
make an attack roll and add your CMB in place of your
normal attack bonus. Add any bonuses you currently have
on attack rolls due to spells, feats, and other effects. These
bonuses must be applicable to the weapon or attack used to
perform the maneuver.
100% legit and well worth taking. "NO EVIL SHALL ESCAPE MY GRASP!"
*CMB goes up by 5 and CMD goes up by 5 as a result (assuming no deflection gear already on the L10 paladin).
Just to be clear, you mean that the CMD is going up 5 points due to the deflection bonus, and not just because CMB went up, right? Bonuses to CMB =/= bonuses to CMD.
As long as they aren´t of the same bonus type, or are untyped, it seems pretty clear that they stack.
If I was writing it, I would have repeated that fact just because it´s wierd for one effect (Smite) to doubly affect a roll (i.e. wierd enough to specifically mention how the ability works).
Probably if they were looking for space to cut word-count, this would have been one where they didn´t NEED additional explanation, since RAW is straight foward.