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Had a discussion come up in a game recently regarding the Stealth Synergy feat. Relevant text is-
"While you can see one or more allies who also have this feat, whenever you and your allies make a Stealth check, you all take the highest roll and add all your modifiers to Stealth", emphasis mine.
The question is, when it says that you all take the highest roll and add all "your" modifiers to Stealth, who does the "your" refer to? Does this simply let everyone affected use the best roll from the group and apply their individual modifiers, or are you also adding all the group's modifiers to the check as well? For example, say a goblin cavalier is using his tactician ability to share this with his allies, will they also add the goblin's +4 racial and +4 size bonuses to their rolls?
The way I'm parsing it is that "your" associates to the "you" used in the beginning of the feat text and the feat only allows you to share the highest roll, but my player is pointing out that the way the sentence is structured the "your" should be referring back to the "you all" after the comma, which would mean that you also stack all the group's various modifiers.
Your player is wrong.
You all (each individual in the group) each take the highest roll and add only your (individual) modifiers.
I read it as each character uses their own bonus. If you stacked bonuses areound the group it would be completely out of line in strength of effect with other skill modifying feats, teamwork or otherwise.
Or, let's consider a team of 4 level 3 goblin ninjas ambushing a party using this feat. That's around a +60 or 70 stealth mod. Does that sound right? Should this teamwork be more than twice as strong as invisibility in this case?
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I read it as each character uses their own bonus. If you stacked bonuses areound the group it would be completely out of line in strength of effect with other skill modifying feats, teamwork or otherwise.
Or, let's consider a team of 4 level 3 goblin ninjas ambushing a party using this feat. That's around a +60 or 70 stealth mod. Does that sound right? Should this teamwork be more than twice as strong as invisibility in this case?
Typed bonuses wouldn't stack per the normal rules on stacking.
The way the player is interpreting it is closer to having a goblin cavalier in a group with a heavily armored human paladin, a half-orc warpriest, and an armored magus where Stealth Synergy is basically adding up to them gaining the goblin cavalier's modifiers to stealth (which the party doesn't normally have) with the highest shared roll from the group, which actually isn't absolutely insane since Stealth tends to be all or nothing and it can be nearly impossible to e.g. sneak a mixed group of adventurers into a guarded keep otherwise.
Should have read "Your Own" bonuses I guess.
Having a shared "best roll" allows better team scouting than solo with the competently stealthy. Without it, having multiple sneaks has too high a chance for someone getting a bad roll ruining it for everyone. It does NOT turn Mr. Clanketty-Clank into a ninja. Even with Mr. CC, he at least doesn't have his penalties plus a totally random roll.
I would allow your sneaky cavalier (Really?) to make an extra Assist roll with some move rate penalty to assist his less subtle partners on their rolls. He certainly cannot grant his Size bonuses to stealth to his larger friends. Reasonably, a party of plate types SHOULD be hard to sneak past a guard. I don't know if there is a rule for it, but there are easy ways to make plate and chain armor a lot quieter.
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Should have read "Your Own" bonuses I guess.
Having a shared "best roll" allows better team scouting than solo with the competently stealthy. Without it, having multiple sneaks has too high a chance for someone getting a bad roll ruining it for everyone. It does NOT turn Mr. Clanketty-Clank into a ninja. Even with Mr. CC, he at least doesn't have his penalties plus a totally random roll.
That was my initial (and current) interpretation as well, but the player made a pretty reasonable argument (and respectfully waited until after the game to discuss my ruling) so I wanted to make sure I wasn't the one being unreasonable here.
I would allow your sneaky cavalier (Really?)
He does a solid job of making it all make sense at the table, so I'm good with it. He relishes coming up with creative goblin insults to yell as his challenge when he rushes out of hiding.
to make an extra Assist roll with some move rate penalty to assist his less subtle partners on their rolls. He certainly cannot grant his Size bonuses to stealth to his larger friends. Reasonably, a party of plate types SHOULD be hard to sneak past a guard. I don't know if there is a rule for it, but there are easy ways to make plate and chain armor a lot quieter.
Fair assessment all around. Thanks for the input!