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Sharp Senses... HELP!

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 3:04 am
by treant_on_fire
Why is the Illusionist's Sharp Senses class ability linked to Wisdom if illusion saves are made with Intelligence? Am I missing something here? ._.

Re: Sharp Senses... HELP!

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 11:03 am
by koralas
Simply ignore the Wisdom link as this is a flat bonus to saving throws vs. illusion; that is, this is not an ability that you must test to see if successful, it is always active.

If you do want to speak to the link to Wisdom, the Illusionist wisely discerns that something about what is being seen/heard/etc. isn't quite right, thus aiding his intellect in determining whether or not it is real (Int save).

A lot of it goes back to how you view the attributes...

Int = What you know
Wis = How you apply what you know

The people running our government may be very Intelligent with their high degrees; however, they are not all that Wise in that they have mismanaged the country running up staggering deficits and long-term debts over the last five decades.

Re: Sharp Senses... HELP!

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 12:02 pm
by Lord Dynel
I agree with koralas - just ignore the Wisdom tag. This ability falls into a similar category as the monk's Mind Over Body ability and note that it doesn't have a attribute tag, either.

Re: Sharp Senses... HELP!

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 12:37 pm
by Omote
What those guys said.

~O

Re: Sharp Senses... HELP!

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 5:20 pm
by serleran
Technically, the bonuses are only granted when the character succeeds at a Wisdom check. However, this is the only ability that has such a rule -- a dwarf does not have to make a save to get his racial bonus versus poison, for example, and so it is often assumed (and I believe correctly that it should be) to provide the modifier as a flat bonus. However, doing so is a house-rule. This has been brought up many times as "errata" and not fixed, hence, it is not considered to be "wrong" by the people who wrote it.

It is one of those things I would like to see stripped out. It makes a little sense, sure, but in overall context, it is overly complex.

Re: Sharp Senses... HELP!

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 9:29 pm
by Arduin
Well, it isn't a saving throw. Like other classes, it is an ability that relies on Wisdom (Ranger as an example) & should be viewed in that light. It is no more complex than that really.

Re: Sharp Senses... HELP!

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 10:34 pm
by serleran
It is more complicated in the need to make one roll to then get an adjustment on another when no other modifiers in the game require such a double check, excluding Spell Resistance. Would you have someone make an attack roll to get a +1 bonus to damage or would you just give the damage bonus?

I can see reasons for both but simplicity would tend to favor the flat, always applied, method.

Re: Sharp Senses... HELP!

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 8:53 pm
by kreider204
It's a typo - it's a flat bonus, not a SIEGE check, and even if it were, INT is used against illusions, not WIS. I put this in my list of errata which I sent to the Trolls, so I hope that it will be corrected in the 5th printing.

Re: Sharp Senses... HELP!

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2012 9:47 pm
by Arduin
kreider204 wrote:It's a typo - it's a flat bonus, not a SIEGE check, and even if it were, INT is used against illusions, not WIS. I put this in my list of errata which I sent to the Trolls, so I hope that it will be corrected in the 5th printing.
After reading again, the (Wisdom) part is a typo. It is just a bonus that is level dependent.

Re: Sharp Senses... HELP!

Posted: Sat Apr 21, 2012 7:16 pm
by treant_on_fire
kreider204 wrote:It's a typo - it's a flat bonus, not a SIEGE check, and even if it were, INT is used against illusions, not WIS. I put this in my list of errata which I sent to the Trolls, so I hope that it will be corrected in the 5th printing.
That makes a lot more sense than having to roll twice! Thanks! ^_^