Concentration checks under multiple distractions

[harzerkatze]

How do concentration check rules work under multiple distractions?

Say you try to cast a spell while grappled on a ship in violent motion in a hailstorm while being sickened from an ongoing spell. Would that be only one concentration check against the highest DC (probably from being grappled), ignoring all the other effects? Would that be four concentration checks? Would it be one with a DC that is somehow higher?

A more typical example would be casting while under the effect of e.g. Elemental Touch (acid). You both take 1 point of ongoing damage, which calls for a DC 11 + Spell Level, and are sickened for the duration, which calls for a check against Spell save DC + Spell Level.

[Lifat]

By RAW I believe you roll concentration against each effect. Remember though that you do not fail automatically on a 1.

[Mapleswitch]

The penalty of each distraction stack to the DC:
"The more distracting the interruption and the higher the level of the spell you are trying to cast, the higher the DC." This quote gives two distractions and says that the DC goes higher.

[FireberdGNOME]

Maple, so you take the highest single DC and then add the other modifiers to make it near impossible to cast in simply impossible conditions? If so, I am down with that sickened hailstruck tackle dummies should have a hard life :p

[Lifat]

Mapleswitch wrote:

The penalty of each distraction stack to the DC:

"The more distracting the interruption and the higher the level of the spell you are trying to cast, the higher the DC." This quote gives two distractions and says that the DC goes higher.

That particular quote doesn't say that you stack the DC's from multiple sources together. It is simply describing how finding a specific DC is done. I will grant you however that I have not proven my hypothesis of rolling against each individual effect separately.

[Malag]

I tend to believe that you take the hardest penalty and ignore the weaker, but this is how it would seem logical to me. I don't have rules to back it up. I would also be interested into this answer. It came up once in a home game between my players.

Malag

[thenobledrake]

I would run this scenario as individual concentration checks because I can't figure out how to set the DC otherwise (besides just making it up) - and because passing 4 or so checks with moderately good chances (say 50% for this example) is pretty much the same chance as 1 really stupidly hard check (6.25% chance that all 4 succeed), but doesn't result in a "you can't succeed no matter your roll" situation quite as easily as being force to roll just 1 check with an elevated DC.