Quick Question[3.5]

[Ishcumbeebeeda]

Okay, this is a dumb question, and I'm fairly sure of the answer, but I can't cudgel my sleep deprived brain into giving me a location for RAW on the subject. So, to the point; I can't get the same (or very similar) bonus twice, regardless of source right?

Okay, that could have been clearer... Here's the situation. Two classes, one grants Nat Armor = Con Mod, the other grants Nat Armor = .5 Con Mod. The character only gets the better of the two yes?

[Rhynn]

So, to the point; I can't get the same (or very similar) bonus twice, regardless of source right?

You can, generally.

If the bonuses are untyped or of different types (as is presumably the case here, if you're getting a bonus to your natural armor, not a natural armor bonus; that is, they would stack if you had, say, +1 natural armor from your race), and don't come from the same source (e.g. an ability of the exact same name), you get them both.

For instance, stacking Cha to saves etc. is a standard "trick."

[Cog]

It depends on the wording of the abilities in question, so it might be helpful to know where you're getting them from. Based on the wording you gave, though, they would not stack, because each of them is simply setting your natural armor to a certain number, instead of giving you a bonus to your natural armor.

[Ishcumbeebeeda]

Ah, that makes sense. The wording of the class features in question would be
At first level you gain a bonus to natural armor class equal to half your Constitution modifier(which doesn't stack with any other natural armor gained from this class) (emphasis mine)

and


A wererhino gains natural armor equal to its con bonus while in rhino or hybrid form.

So the consensus would be that the character in question would get Con + 1/2 Con since the one specifies it as a bonus to the existing Nat armor? Cool. For some reason I thought I'd come across a no same ability mod to any bonus twice rule somewhere.... maybe it was a houserule in an old campaign. Or maybe it's cuz I haven't slept in, er, 30someodd hours. Anyway, I'm rambling again, so thanks guys.:smallsmile:

[Diarmuid]

You've actually left out one of the most important parts of the abilties which is the ability name.

Using the previously mentioned "Cha to Saves" example, you couldnt stack "Divine Grace" from two separate classeses as they are considered the same "source" even though the bonus type is untyped.

But if one class has "Divine Grace" and the other had "Grace of Divinity" (making something up) but both have the exact same mechanical function of giving an untyped bonus equal to your Cha mod to all saves, then the bonuses would stack.

From reading the two abilities, I'd imagine they do stack as the wererhino ability sets your base NA value, and whatever the first one is from applies a bonus to your existing NA.

[Rhynn]

Yeah, transforming into a wererhino gives you a base natural armor bonus of something other than +0, and the class ability (slightly weirdly worded; there's no "natural armor class") improves it.

So yes, these stack.

There absolutely is no ban on stacking bonuses, that would be completely weird and unmanageable. "Sorry, you can't use an amulet of natural armor because you have natural armor from your race." "You can't get a bonus to your Will save because you already get a different bonus to your will save."

As a side note, the class (?) ability does not say what type of bonus this is. What class is that from, and where is the class from? "Half Con modifier" (should be "bonus", IMO; modifiers can be negative) seems very unusual to me.