Greater Synergy

[Dakkareth]

I quite like the synergy effects of skills related to each other, but I feel the current system is a little too fixed - especially at higher levels it 'runs out of sense'. Take for example the synergy between Sense Motive and Diplomacy. Even very early you can be at 5 ranks in Sense Motive get a +2 synergy bonus. Much later in your career you might have become a true master at reading other people's intentions (20 ranks), but this increased understanding doesn't help you one bit when negotiating - sounds a little strange to me. Now take this into 'Epic' levels and the discrepancy becomes even greater.

I'd change the synergy rules as follows: At 5 ranks in a skill that gives synergy to another you gain a +2 bonus as is the case normally. However for every five additional ranks the bonus increases by one.
Hence 30 ranks in Knowledge (Arcana) provides a +7 bonus to spellcraft checks.

I'd also change the Aid Another action in a similar way - for every five-point increase to the DC the bonus increases by one.
For example two bards are working together on a new epic. Their Craft: Epic modifiers are +17 and +24 (they're good!) with bard #1 helping bard #2, who is better at writing. Bard #1 gets a 28 (for a +6 bonus), bard #2 reaches a 33. The combined result is 39 - together the two have written an extraordinary piece.

Thoughts?

 

[Moleculo]

I like the idea, but I am not sure that the thirds need any more in terms of skill boosting. I mean people can already get obscenely high checks any way. I would probably cap it, or make greater synergy an epic thing, because there is probably some roof to the whole "well, because I am a good liar, becoming a better liar will make me a better public speaker" thing.

 

[IndyPendant]

Hmm. It's actually not a bad idea. However, if I were to implement it in my campaigns, I might then have synergies be a flat +1 per five ranks. Then it only gains more than you would normally get at 12th level earliest, and you only go beyond a +4 bonus at Epic levels.

I...may pass this by my players for feedback...: )

 

[Terraism]

One thing I'd recommend if you're going to do that is toning down when synergies apply - especially with Diplomacy, which has three separate skills that provide synergies, you could be moving from a net +6 bonus to +15.

 

[DMH]

Alchemy and Herbalists has a feat that does something similar- take 2 related skills and they each get +3. You can't boost the same 2 skills over and over, but you can boost them multiple times them if they are linked to others (of course that burns a lot of feats).

 

[Bront]

I think it's a good idea. It stops the 5 and forget mentality with several skills.

The enherant problem with skill numbers is that with a somewhat fixed dificulty system for many things, low levels stuggle occasionaly with things they probably shouldn't, and high levels can automaticly do many things that others couldn't.

 

[UltimaGabe]

I quite like the synergy effects of skills related to each other, but I feel the current system is a little too fixed - especially at higher levels it 'runs out of sense'. Take for example the synergy between Sense Motive and Diplomacy. Even very early you can be at 5 ranks in Sense Motive get a +2 synergy bonus. Much later in your career you might have become a true master at reading other people's intentions (20 ranks), but this increased understanding doesn't help you one bit when negotiating - sounds a little strange to me. Now take this into 'Epic' levels and the discrepancy becomes even greater.

I'd change the synergy rules as follows: At 5 ranks in a skill that gives synergy to another you gain a +2 bonus as is the case normally. However for every five additional ranks the bonus increases by one.
Hence 30 ranks in Knowledge (Arcana) provides a +7 bonus to spellcraft checks.

I'd also change the Aid Another action in a similar way - for every five-point increase to the DC the bonus increases by one.
For example two bards are working together on a new epic. Their Craft: Epic modifiers are +17 and +24 (they're good!) with bard #1 helping bard #2, who is better at writing. Bard #1 gets a 28 (for a +6 bonus), bard #2 reaches a 33. The combined result is 39 - together the two have written an extraordinary piece.

Thoughts?

That's exactly what we do in our campaigns, and everyone seems to like it.

 

[Scion]

I use exactly that mechanic for synergy in my games.

I would love to use the effect for better aid another, but I already do something slightly different. If two people are trying the same skill and helping one another I have the both roll, take the better of the two, and give a +2 to it if the other person got at least 10.

Anyone think it'd be ok just to tack on the extra, 'it could be higher if you do better than 10' or would it be too much with the double roll already?

 

[Aust Diamondew]

IMC for every additional 5 ranks you put into a skill that provides synergires the bonuses go up by 1.