a weird title hiding a rather simple issue that made me wonder..
there are things that give bonuses to tripping and against getting tripped
then there are things that can trip without going through the trip manouver (like overrun..or failing your own trip attempt badly)
question is - do those trip bonuses apply to getting tripped by something that's not primarily used to trip? i.e. if someone has a +2 bonus against getting tripped and is subject to an overrun - would the attacker need to beat his CMD by 7 instead of the normal 5 to trip him as a result of the overrun? and would that person be tripped if he fails his own trip attempt by 10 or 12+?
Being tripped knocks you prone, but you can be knocked prone (or fall prone) without being tripped. If you have a +2 bonus against being tripped, it does not help you against an overrun because an overrun does not trip you, it knocks you prone without tripping you. But if your bonus is a +2 bonus against being knocked prone, then it applies. You must check carefully.
EDIT: For example, Dwarves get a +4 racial bonus to CMD when resisting a bullrush or trip attempt. This does not help them resist falling prone from the Awesome Blow monster feat.
wait..isn't getting knocked prone actually synonymous with getting tripped?
if you fall, and someone elses action was the reason for it - that's called tripping isn't it?
or does my english fail here in light of an effect like "it's not the meaning of the word trip here, it's the word itself that counts"?
Trip means someone made you fall.
If you walk down the street and pass out from heat exhaustion.. you fell prone.
If you walk down the street and your friend kicks out your legs.. you were tripped. If you had been aware such maneuvers existed (took improved trip) you might have avoided it.
In the NFL, tripping is illegal but knocking someone prone is OK (so long as it's not helmet to helmet contact).
Tripping implies grasping or pulling or preventing the motion of the legs, while being knocked prone could just be a BIG hit.
but in pathfinder it's about stability on ones legs, so the question remains
Just because something knocks you prone does not mean it is a trip.
Examples: If you take lethal damage when falling from a height, you land prone. If a monster has Awesome Blow and succeeds on the maneuver, you take damage, fly 10 feet and land prone.
None of those are trips. In general, if the description says it's a trip, then it's a trip. If it doesn't, then it's not.
wait..isn't getting knocked prone actually synonymous with getting tripped?
Nope. Trip has a few rules-specific definitions:
1. The trip combat maneuver.
2. The weapon quality that provides benefits when that weapon is used for the trip combat maneuver.
3. The universal monster ability allowing a creature to execute a free trip combat maneuver on a successful hit.
Since the word has a specific rules definition, that's the only one that applies--the plain English definition is superseded.
Apart from that, the plain English definition usually implies that the prone status was caused in a specific manner--by obstructing the feet or sweeping them out from under the creature. There are ways to be knocked prone without being tripped, as you've already noticed. Getting knocked unconscious is a particularly effective way.