Concentration checks


Rules Questions

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Are there any uses of these that do NOT apply to spellcasting? Do non-spellcasters make any kind of Concentration check?


TriOmegaZero wrote:
Are there any uses of these that do NOT apply to spellcasting? Do non-spellcasters make any kind of Concentration check?

Absolutely!

Picking a lock, disarming a trap, balancing (arguable): just about anything that takes consistent thought. Difference is, most of these aren't factored in with the "Concentration Check"; outside interference while trying to concentrate on something instead just becomes modifiers on the original skill check.

EX: Picking a simple lock (DC: 20). Picking a simple lock while someone's trying to carry on a conversation with you (DC: 22+ (total DM call)).

A lot of things require concentration; it just makes performing that action harder. Since spells don't require a roll to accomplish, they need something else to reflect difficulties along the way.


The only non-spellcasting use of a Concentration check of which I am aware is "The Rheumy Refrain" masterpiece from Blood of Fiends. It forces victims to make a Concentration check if they do anything more than move or attack once in a round.

However, I think this is a rules error. There are no rules for how a non-spellcaster would make such a check, as it is caster level + prime casting attribute, neither or which a non-caster has.

Liberty's Edge

TriOmegaZero wrote:
Are there any uses of these that do NOT apply to spellcasting? Do non-spellcasters make any kind of Concentration check?

In 3.5, yes. "You must make a Concentration check whenever you might potentially be distracted (by taking damage, by harsh weather, and so on) while engaged in some action that requires your full attention. Such actions include casting a spell, concentrating on an active spell, directing a spell, using a spell-like ability, or using a skill that would provoke an attack of opportunity. In general, if an action wouldn’t normally provoke an attack of opportunity, you need not make a Concentration check to avoid being distracted." (3.5 SRD)

In PF, no. The 3.5 application to non-spellcasting tended to be pretty rare. Personally, I think I've seen it once in the 3.5 era. PF changed it from a skill that had (theoretically) broad application to focus on just the spellcasting elements that made up the vast majority of when it was used. Trivia: in 3.5, monks have Concentration as a class skill.

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Conspicuous wrote:
TriOmegaZero wrote:
Are there any uses of these that do NOT apply to spellcasting? Do non-spellcasters make any kind of Concentration check?

Absolutely!

Picking a lock, disarming a trap, balancing (arguable): just about anything that takes consistent thought. Difference is, most of these aren't factored in with the "Concentration Check"; outside interference while trying to concentrate on something instead just becomes modifiers on the original skill check.

EX: Picking a simple lock (DC: 20). Picking a simple lock while someone's trying to carry on a conversation with you (DC: 22+ (total DM call)).

A lot of things require concentration; it just makes performing that action harder. Since spells don't require a roll to accomplish, they need something else to reflect difficulties along the way.

Actually, there's a mechanic for handling distractions while attempting a skill, and it's not an adjustment to the DC. It's called "you can't take 10". Adjustments to the DC are for when the task at hand is actually harder (or easier).

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Mort the Cleverly Named wrote:

The only non-spellcasting use of a Concentration check of which I am aware is "The Rheumy Refrain" masterpiece from Blood of Fiends. It forces victims to make a Concentration check if they do anything more than move or attack once in a round.

However, I think this is a rules error. There are no rules for how a non-spellcaster would make such a check, as it is caster level + prime casting attribute, neither or which a non-caster has.

Indeed, it sounds like this should have been a saving throw instead.

So I take it there are next to no situations where a character makes a Concentration check beside spellcasting.


TriOmegaZero wrote:
So I take it there are next to no situations where a character makes a Concentration check beside spellcasting.

That's correct. In the PFRPG RAW, concentration checks are specifically defined in terms of spellcasting. Concentration isn't a skill, as it was in 3.5, so you can't put ranks in it.

PRD wrote:
To cast a spell, you must concentrate. If something interrupts your concentration while you're casting, you must make a concentration check or lose the spell. When you make a concentration check, you roll d20 and add your caster level and the ability score modifier used to determine bonus spells of the same type.

So, by extension, there is no "making a concentration check" for anything other than spellcasting.

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