Circumstance bonuses

[Darrell Impey UK]

RAW Do circumstance bonus from different circumstances stack?

I'd assumed not, as they just grant a circumstance bonus, but I've just read an official product which grants "a +2 circumstance bonus to this check for each of the three listed languages they speak".

[YuriP]

No there's no circumstances that allows circumstance bonus to stack with other circumstance bonus in any circumstance! :P

About "a +2 circumstance bonus to this check for each of the three listed languages they speak" this is just saying that the bonus is valid for each of the 3 languages that these creatures speak. Why did you think that this means that they stack?

[shroudb]

Darrell Impey UK wrote:

RAW Do circumstance bonus from different circumstances stack?

I'd assumed not, as they just grant a circumstance bonus, but I've just read an official product which grants "a +2 circumstance bonus to this check for each of the three listed languages they speak".

what this product means is that each of the three listed languages get a +2 circumstance bonus, not that you add all three different bonuses for a +6.

so, if you had common, dwarven, and elven, you would get a +2 when you used common, a +2 when you used dwarven, a +2 when you used elven, but you would not get a +2 when you'd use goblin.

[Errenor]

It also theoretically could mean 'gives a circumstance bonus which is equal 2 times number of languages they speak from the three listed ones'. Which is valid even if a bit overboard, but that could be the point. If it's an adventure, we know it's possible it had sloppy language.
Which is this product actually?

[Darrell Impey UK]

'Wildwood volume 2.

[Finoan]

Errenor wrote:

It also theoretically could mean 'gives a circumstance bonus which is equal 2 times number of languages they speak from the three listed ones'. Which is valid even if a bit overboard, but that could be the point.

Nicely spotted on the ambiguity of the language.

I would also go with the +2 to the check if any of the qualifying languages were involved.

Not a stacking +2 for all the qualifying languages that you know. That is (without some pretty extreme mitigating balance considerations) definitely a bit overboard.

[Castilliano]

Note that in previous incarnations (3.X/PF1) differing circumstances could allow stacking at the GM's adjudication. But not so in PF2 where bonuses carry more weight and stacking as a principle is discouraged, hence the consolidation of so many bonus types into so few. A +6 net bonus for example, is an instant warning sign to reread a rule which unfortunately in this case could be read both ways. But yeah 3 +2s in breadth, but not in depth.

[Ferious Thune]

I don’t know the adventure, but I would look at the context of the check. There are definitely situations where a check is extremely hard unless you have multiple things increasing your bonus. I think it’s usually phrased differently, but it is possible.

[Errenor]

Darrell Impey UK wrote:

'Wildwood volume 2.

Sorry, don't have it. So without more context can't say anything more.

Ferious Thune wrote:

I don’t know the adventure, but I would look at the context of the check. There are definitely situations where a check is extremely hard unless you have multiple things increasing your bonus. I think it’s usually phrased differently, but it is possible.

Finoan wrote:

Not a stacking +2 for all the qualifying languages that you know. That is (without some pretty extreme mitigating balance considerations) definitely a bit overboard.

It could be as Ferious Thune said. Or it's normal difficulty, but the idea is that with all languages you should be almost guaranteed to succeed. And it could be some unimportant thing, so balance is not that essential.