Aid Another and Magical Skills?

[genshou]

I came up with this question while writing the still-in-the-works update to Pledge of Tyranny. Is it reasonable to allow a caster to use a magical skill as a cantrip (DC 10 check) in order to grant a +2 bonus to an adjacent caster's skill check?

 

[RangerWickett]

Interesting. I never thought of that. I'll give you points for original thinking, certainly.

If you could just use a cantrip, though, it's likely to be overpowered. You could get 8 folks to aid you, and you'd never fail. I'd recommend either limiting the number of people who can aid (perhaps based on the primary caster's skill ranks, Intelligence mod, or something similar), or require the assisters to spend the same amount of MP as the main spell.

I do, however, have something similar in the modern EOM rules for group ritual spells.

 

[genshou]

Interesting. I never thought of that. I'll give you points for original thinking, certainly.

If you could just use a cantrip, though, it's likely to be overpowered. You could get 8 folks to aid you, and you'd never fail. I'd recommend either limiting the number of people who can aid (perhaps based on the primary caster's skill ranks, Intelligence mod, or something similar), or require the assisters to spend the same amount of MP as the main spell.

I do, however, have something similar in the modern EOM rules for group ritual spells.

I forgot to mention that I'd be limiting it to only one person aiding the caster. If you need more aid, you're probably looking to do something best covered by an extension of the ritual rules.

I don't think it would be appropriate to make the assisting spellcaster sacrifice the full MP of the primary caster's spell. That prevents the party Mageknight from ever being able to assist the party Mage with the Mage's better magical skills It also effectively nullifies the benefit of Aid Another (you only have to succeed at a minor attempt in order to provide a little aid to someone else). I'd look at it as similar to the Aid Another rules for Wealth checks from d20 Modern. No matter how much Wealth the purchasing character has to sacrifice, the character making the Aid Another check only need sacrifice one Wealth point.