In general, most typed bonuses do not stack with other bonuses of the same type. Effects that give a bonus to attack rolls generally give a bonus to CMB. Certain effects also give a bonus directly to CMB. Does a typed bonus to attack roll not stack with a typed bonus directly to CMB, or are they considered separate types of bonuses for the purposes of stacking?
Specifically, I'm looking at the background traits "Opportunistic" and "Bred For War". One gives a straight up +1 trait bonus directly to CMB, and one gives a "+1 trait bonus on attacks of opportunity".
It seems to me that this is analogous to having a +2 trait bonus to strength, which would ultimately result in adding a +1 to your CMB as well, but it still stacks because it's a different type of bonus. My interpretation is that a bonus directly to CMB stacks with a bonus to attack roll, since they're two different values that ultimately get added together, rather than bonuses to the same value, just like a bonus to strength would stack.
However, I'd like some clarification/opinions on this interpretation.
Related to that, what exactly is a "bonus on attacks of opportunity?" I'm assuming that's only to the attack roll and not damage, even though some traits explicitly say they're for the attack of opportunity attack roll.
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It seems to me that this is analogous to having a +2 trait bonus to strength
How are you getting that idea?
But anyway, if you were to make an attack of opportunity, you would have a +1 trait bonus to that roll. If you make a combat maneuver, you would have a +1 trait bonus to that roll.
If you did something that was both an attack of opportunity and a combat maneuver, then you would get a +1 trait bonus and another +1 trait bonus.
Now you're looking at two +1 trait bonuses to a single roll. Saying that you now have a total of +2 means that you have stacked them, because that's what stacking means.
But they have the same bonus type (trait), so they don't stack.
So they don't add up to +2.
They overlap each other, giving you a total of only +1.
It seems to me that this is analogous to having a +2 trait bonus to strengthHow are you getting that idea?
I didn't say they were equivalent, I said they were analogous in a way that I went on to explain in the context that you cut out. If you were to get a +2 trait bonus to strength, it would indirectly result in a +1 to the attack roll or CMB. Yet bonuses to attack rolls stack with bonuses to strength that cause bonuses to attack rolls. Because a bonus to strength and a bonus to an attack roll are not the same thing, even if they ultimately end up being added together.
At any rate it's not so much where the bonuses are going, but rather where they're from.
So if you have a +2 enhancement bonus to strength and a +2 enhancement bonus to dex, you only get a +1 to your CMD? Because they're both the same type of bonus and enhancement bonuses don't ever stack?
Analogous and equivalent are synonyms.
Analogous literally means that an analogy is being made. I was drawing an analogy between how a strength bonus works and how I think a CMB bonus may work, not claiming that they are equivalent and CMB is a form of strength bonus.
Analogous: "comparable in certain respects"
Equivalent: "equal in value, amount, function, meaning, etc"
The meanings of the words are loosely related, but it's not a subtle difference between them. They are not such close synonyms that they are interchangeable in all contexts and you can just ignore the difference. In this case it's an important distinction.
Hmm. I think I see what you're trying to get at, although I don't think the strength example is a good example. I think a closer example would be:
1. A +1 trait bonus to caster level.
2. A +1 trait bonus to dispel checks.Since a dispel check uses "your caster level", these two bonuses would each affect the ultimate result of a dispel check, but when you're making the dispel check, you don't have "base caster level, +1 trait bonus, +1 trait bonus", you have "caster level, +1 trait bonus". Even though caster level itself contains a "+1 trait bonus" as part of its calculation.
Yes I suppose that's a reasonable comparison. Though it's another situation where I'm not positive what the answer is. Dispel checks are a simpler case though, since they are straight up caster level checks, and the trait in that case might well be worded "+1 bonus to caster level for dispel checks" or similar. Whereas CMB is a complex amalgam of several different features, and there are lots of precedents for things that give a bonus directly to CMB rather than linking it to any of the specific components that make up the CMB.