Skill focus gives an insight bonus.
As such, it does not stack with any other insight bonus.
When multiple bonuses apply to the same value, different types of bonuses all apply, but in most cases bonuses of the same type do not add together (or “stack” with each other), unless a source specifies otherwise. (For an exception, see Circumstance Bonus below.) Bonuses that do not list a bonus type do stack, both with each other and with all typed bonuses. Such bonuses, often referred to as “untyped” bonuses, are among the most utilitarian of all bonuses in the game.
That section then goes on to describe the individual bonus types. Insight is not listed as stacking with itself.
This is critical to the Operative, since their Edge is an Insight bonus. People have mistakenly stacked that with Skill Focus.
Correct, Neoliin. That is why they get to Take 10 on any skill they have skill focus in once the Operative’s Edge bonus is as high as the bonus from Skill Focus.
Envoys also get a nonnumerical bonus from skill focus after a certain point when the insight bonus is no longer helpful.
Envoys also get a nonnumerical bonus from skill focus after a certain point when the insight bonus is no longer helpful.
Hmmm? What exactly?
Beginning at 9th level, you have even greater expertise with skills to which you can add your expertise die that you have also selected with the Skill Focus feat. For each such skill, once per day when rolling your expertise die to add to that skill, you may roll the expertise die twice and take the better of the two results.
That doesn't seem that great compared to the +3 from skill focus.
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Brute number crunching, but unless i did something wrong when you have a D6 the reroll is only worth +.97 on average
And a mere 1.31 when it's a d8
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Also there is an ability envoys can get to forgo their expertise die to allow a reroll. When you do that the skill focus still gives you a +3 whereas without it you'd get nothing.
The problem with the reroll skill focus abilities is that it doesn't come online till level nine.
The skills you want to use it with are probably taken before then
Putting the d6 into say, diplomacy, then putting skill focus into diplomacy at 9 to help the reroll is a big opportunity cost: skill focus in something else could have gotten you an entire new skill to tack the d6 onto.
You wouldn't want to buy Skill Focus at level 9 just for the re-roll. That would be wasteful.
You'd take skill focus at level 1 (or 3) to get the higher bonus when you need it to succeed on the skills at low levels. Ideally, you'd put it on a skill that you don't immediately take skill expertise on (but will later), so you're not wasting your expertise dice where you already have a bonus. The envoy feature you get at nine is just so that level 1/3 feat expenditure isn't completely wasted.
Also, there are tons of other feats that would fill that level 9 slot better, such as the last feat of your chosen feat tree.
You wouldn't want to buy Skill Focus at level 9 just for the re-roll. That would be wasteful.
You'd take skill focus at level 1 (or 3) to get the higher bonus when you need it to succeed on the skills at low levels. Ideally, you'd put it on a skill that you don't immediately take skill expertise on (but will later), so you're not wasting your expertise dice where you already have a bonus. The envoy feature you get at nine is just so that level 1/3 feat expenditure isn't completely wasted.
What I think makes it a terrible idea is that the expertise talents are very MEH. I think i might take the diplomacy reroll one, and convert the other three into extra expertise dice. Which means you're going to pick up diplomacy well before level 9.
The reroll ones can be really good for certain other abilities... like Convincing Liar makes Unfriendly Fire twice as likely to work.