Fake out

[The Total Package]

Just had a question I am a Bard with Expert prof with my weapon, I have Helpful Halfling which boosts Fake Outs bonus to +3. My question is I have this harrow card that does the following:

The Publican represents friendship, shelter, and insight. As long as you have The Publican invested, treat critically failed checks made to Aid as regular failures instead. If you are at least 14th level, the circumstance bonus you provide for succeeding or critically succeeding at checks to Aid increases by 1.

Does this mean the +3 would become +4?

[NorrKnekten]

As written the publician makes it sound like it would indeed become a +4,

Helpful halfling, fakeout and the card don't have any particular text to make us believe that the card increases the regular bonus to aid which would be moot as a +3 doesnt stack with a +3.

Instead it just says that the circumstance bonus you provide.. which in this case is +3 increases.

[Finoan]

I agree that the way it is written - with Helpful Halfling overwriting the results of Aid, and The Publican adding a bonus - that the two will synergize rather than fail to stack.

I can understand a GM balking at that and expecting Helpful Halfling to also be an increase to the Aid bonus that wouldn't stack. But it is really hard to say that this ruling is still RAW at that point.

[NorrKnekten]

Exactly my thought, Something like the cooperative blade however makes it rather clear that you give +3 instead of +2, And thus doesn't stack with helpful halfling. But The Publician just states to increase the bonus you provide to an ally.

[Finoan]

And that would be the other way to make the Publican card not stack too.

Untyped bonuses aren't supposed to be a thing. Increasing an existing bonus of some very different effect is also really rare (the only other place I can currently think of that does that is the Horse animal companion increasing the bonus for Jousting trait weapons).

So it could also be thought of and ruled that the wording of the Publican card effectively does the same as those other abilities like Helpful Halfling and Cooperative Blade. It increases the bonus that Aid normally gives to +2 for success, +3 for Critical Success at Trained or Expert level, +4 to Critical Success for Master level, or +5 to Critical Success for Legendary level. At that point it also wouldn't be compatible with other effects that set the circumstance bonus for Aid explicitly as an override.

That still isn't what the Publican ability says... But RAW is sometimes a troll ruling.

[NorrKnekten]

I think RAW is intended though, Considering the item itself, rarity and AP it comes from I can't imagine the cards are meant to be items a character can outgrow. Its not really untyped either just increasing an already existing circumstance bonus.

[Finoan]

I am considering the fact that the item is from an AP. Being from an AP makes it more likely that the item was created by an AP writer rather than a game developer and may therefore have different wording or unforseen interactions with other abilities (i.e. the RAW may not be intended).

I'm not saying that people shouldn't run it as written. I'm just saying that not running it as written because it seems a bit too powerful isn't a bad ruling either.

[NorrKnekten]

No I agree that it isn't a bad ruling, just not one I agree with, The other cards do have their bonuses specified and numbered, but with aid giving a variable bonus its understandable why they werent writing it out more clearly and detailed, simply because thats a lot of words to cover both success and critical success with varying profiency.

as for to powerful though, Well you only gain that effect after level 14, So I suppose 'to powerful' depends on what reading of Aid DC the table subscribes to... and in that sense it really isnt a bad ruling at all.