Boosting Concentration Checks

[Thrawn183]

What ways are there to boost your concentration checks? I'm looking to make a Tome of Battle build that uses concentration checks for damage (Insightful Strike and Greater Insightful Strike). Magic items? Feats other than skill focus? Any help would be appreciated.

[Zherog]

Well, the obvious one is anything that raises your Constitution score, such as the amulet of health.

[Thrawn183]

Right, my build is supposed to be a tank, so that's going to be either number one or two on the list of things for him/her to do.

[Merlin the Tuna]

Tunic of Steady Spellcasting, CAdv.

[Person_Man]

One level of Marshal (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20030906b) allows you to add your Cha bonus to various Skills and checks, depending on which Aura you take. Marshal also synergies well with Crusader, Bard, Paladin, Hexblade, Blackguard or the variant Paladins.

Three levels of Bard gives you Inspire Competence (do they sing "Under Pressure" by Queen to inspire Concentration? Or maybe just the Jeopardy song?)

One level of Exemplar will give you Skill Artistry (+4 to one Skill) and will allow you to Take 10 on Int+1 Skills.


You can also just boost your Con as much as possible. And because it also increases hit points and your Fort Save, increasing your Con is usually the best way to increase the survivability of any build.

Two levels of Deepwarden (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20040807a&page=4) will allow you to replace your Dex bonus to AC with your Con bonus to AC, allowing you to dump Dex and boost Con (assuming you don't care about your Reflex Save, or can find a way to replace your Reflex Save with something else (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=320889&pp=30)).

Dwarf Paragon (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/unearthedParagon.html#dwarf-paragon) will give you a +2 from Racial mod and +2 from Dwarf Paragon 3.

Various Rage effects (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36238&highlight=rage) also increase your Con.

And anything that grants you Wildshape or Polymorph will increase your Con, depending on what you turn into.

Enough levels of Cleric or whatever will also grant you access to Bear's Endurance and Eagle's Splendor (if you're a Marshal, any increase to Cha means increase to your Aura's effectiveness).

[That Lanky Bugger]

Per the magical item rules, a Ring of Concentration would cost (Bonus Squared) x 100 Gold for a competence bonus. That means a +5 ring would be 2500 gold, and a +10 ring would be 10,000 gold.

[reorith]

if they are spell like abilities, there is combat casting

[Suvarov454]

Both a Pale Green Ioun Stone and a Stone of Good Luck give a +1 to skill checks (via compentence and luck, respectively). They're pretty hefty at 30k and 20k GP each, but they also both boost saving throws (and the Ioun Stone boosts to-hit rolls). A Candle of Invocation is a single use item (burn time is 4 hours) that gives a +2 to skill checks (and to-hit rolls and saving throws, via morale bonus), and you can keep it inside a lantern without dissipating it's effects. Don't forget spells: for example, Prayer gives you a +1 luck bonus to skill checks (and to-hit rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws); as such, it doesn't stack with a Stone of Luck, but a 3rd level spell may be much easier to come by (a wand of Prayer is 11,250, so a Stone of Luck is a better buy). I'm probably forgetting a whole bunch of other spells that boost skill checks.

For feats, there's Steady Concentration in Races of Stone that always lets you Take 10.

[clericwithnogod]

Not a boost, but the Steady Concentration feat from Races of Stone allows you to always take 10 on a Concentration check which is nice if you like doing consistent damage.

[Suvarov454]

Various Rage effects (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36238&highlight=rage) also increase your Con.

Yeah, but Rage explicitly forbids using Concentration (and Cha-, Dex-, and Int- based skills, and anything else that requires concentration or patience). :smalltongue:

[Thrawn183]

Tunic of Steady Spellcasting, CAdv.

I had to check to make sure that it was all concentration checks and not just for spellcasting and it is! Interestingly it also comes out to exactly the price predicted by lankybugger for the custom made ring that would do the same. I thought rings are slightly more expensive...

It's too bad rage has so many restrictions (I've certainly never run into a mounted barbarian)

[ExHunterEmerald]

I was going through Miniatures Handbook and I found a feat that gives you a large bonus to Concentration checks when mounted. It's sort of out there, but...

[Person_Man]

Yeah, but Rage explicitly forbids using Concentration (and Cha-, Dex-, and Int- based skills, and anything else that requires concentration or patience). :smalltongue:

Whoops, right you are. Though I think the Rightous Wrath feat from Book of Exalted Deeds gets around that problem. Though that would probably be really silly for this build anyway.

I'm thinking Gold Dwarf Marshal 1/Warblade 6/Pious Templar 1/Deepwarden 2/Exemplar 1/PrC X

Aura: Motivate Constitution
Skill Artisitry and Skill Mastery in Concentration
Equipment: Ring of Evasion
Mettle from Pious Templar
Maneuvers: Moment of Perfect Mind, Mind Over Body, Action Before Thought, Insightful Strike/Greater Insightful Strike

Your Saves will be replaced by a Concentration check. Your Concentration check should be (Level+3+Con+Cha+4+10), so at level 11 you'll probably have a Saving Throw of at least 36ish, before piling on useful magic items. And with Mettle and Evasion, you won't even take secondary effects. You just have to remember that you can only pull this off once per round, because the Maneuvers are Immediate actions, and you can only make one Immediate/Swift action per round.

With Insightful Strike you'll deal your Concentration as damage with a melee attack, or *2 Con with Greater Insightful Strike. Though Insightful Strike is a Standard Action, so the lack of iterative attacks will catch up on you at high levels.

And as a nifty side bonus, you'll also make a great party face. Of course you can dump Marshal if your Cha is low. And you might be able to get even higher numbers with the right ToB PrC, but I don't have mine in front of me, so I can't say.

[Thrawn183]

Wow, that really makes what I had been thinking of look kinda sad *tear*.

But we're playing at level 8 right now (this is a backup char. for if my bard dies).

My basic plan is to get Iron Heart Endurance, Iron Heart Surge, Lightning Recovery, Pearl of Black Doubt, Moment of Perfect Mind and Insightful Strike/Greater Insightful Strike as quickly as possible. As the build's supposed to be a tank in the indestructible sense of the word while still being dangerous enough that mobs won't just ignore him, I thought this would be the best combo.

I've always wanted to play a small sized character with a rapier that can tank really well.

[Bears With Lasers]

Just a note: Moment of Perfect Mind and such replace your save entirely. Saving throw boosters like Cloak of Resistance do not apply on top of the concentration check result.

You can also only use one such maneuver per round and you have to recover them (note that the immediate action eats up your swift action, which means the Warblade can't recover MoPM on his turn if he used it on his enemy's). They don't entirely replace saving throws.

A good idea is to take 2 levels of Psychic Warrior; bonus feat, plus snag Psionic Meditation with the other bonus feat. Now you can expend psionic focus to take 15 on concentration checks (and recover the focus as a ove action).

For a small-sized tank, check out the Melee Killer Gnome (http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=633443). Basic premise is, you shrink yourself and get huge bonuses versus Medium or larger creatures.

[Ramza00]

Nobody has mentioned the items in the xPH and cPsi that boost your concentration check? Third Eye Concentrate is +10 for only 10,000 gp (instead of doing the custom crafting rules)

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/universalItems.htm#concentrate

[Cruiser1]

If you want a SRD sanctioned item that boosts your Concentration (as opposed to having to get a custom magic item approved, or looking in a supplemental book), then get a Third Eye of Concentrate (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/universalItems.htm#concentrate), a glasses slot item which gives a +10 bonus to Concentrate checks. It follows the standard formula for a skill boost items, where +10 costs 10000 gp (and +5 costs 2500 gp).

Edit: Ack, simu-ninjaed! ;)

[Thrawn183]

According to the SRD, gaining your psionic focus provokes an attack of opportunity. And requires a concentration check (DC=20). I've played with psionic characters before and they never seemed to be worrying about any of that.
I think that psionic meditation only shortens it a move action. Is there information (ie. not in the SRD) that would indicate you don't have to make the concentration check or worry about the attacks of opportunity with psionic meditation?

Edit: I really like these the info. on where to find these items. It gives me the ability to go to my DM and say: "This is how much the math says the item should cost and here is a WoTC product that puts it at exactly that much, it isn't something that should be treated like a ring of invisibility."

[Jasdoif]

Psionic Meditation (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#psionicMeditation) reduces the time to a move action. That's all. It still provokes an attack of opportunity as normal since the feat doesn't specify anything that negates it.

[Solo]

A psicrystal with the personality of "Single Minded" gives you a +3 to Concentration checks.

[Thrawn183]

Well my DM doesn't allow psionics (because he's too lazy to learn how the system works, power lists, etc.) but man would some of those combos be nice. I finished the build and it reaches completion at level 12 (11 if you don't mind sacrificing Iron Heart Endurance and the ability to heal yourself). If anyone would like to see it, PM with an email address and I'll send it to you. I may actually give it to my DM so that he can use it against us:smallbiggrin: , though I'd have to make sure he doesn't use greater insightful strike because it would end up killing pretty much anybody in the party about 90% of the time in one hit.

[Ikkitosen]

You could get a masterwork item - I've seen it done, in the form of a strand of prayer beads or whatever - that adds a very cheap +2 to your skill. Seems a bit cheesy to me, but since you asked...

[Bears With Lasers]

You could get a masterwork item - I've seen it done, in the form of a strand of prayer beads or whatever - that adds a very cheap +2 to your skill. Seems a bit cheesy to me, but since you asked...
How is this cheesier than getting a masterwork tool for any other skill? Like MW Thieves' Tools?

[Ikkitosen]

There are uses of concentration that require your movements to be defensive or sto act whilst grappled, and it's difficult to imagine a strand of beads directly helping with this. For concentration uses outside of combat I think they'd be fine, but otherwise it's difficult to reconcile them supplying a bonus.

[cupkeyk]

Feats

Blade Meditation (Diamond Mind), you get +2 to concentration, +1 to hit with a diamond mind weapon when using a diamond mind maneuver.

Disciplined, gives you +1 to will saves and +2 to concentration

Of course there is Skill Focus (Concentration)

Then the Tunic or the Ring. That's a +12 excluding constitution modifier and ranks.

[Piccamo]

if they are spell like abilities, there is combat casting
You're better off getting Skill Focus (Concentration) instead of Combat Casting. SF gives you a +3 bonus all the time, while CC gives you a +4 bonus only some of the time. In this case only when casting a spell or spell-like ability defensively.


There are uses of concentration that require your movements to be defensive or sto act whilst grappled, and it's difficult to imagine a strand of beads directly helping with this. For concentration uses outside of combat I think they'd be fine, but otherwise it's difficult to reconcile them supplying a bonus.

You can make the fluff whatever you want, but mechanically its not cheesy. Maybe there's no power in them at all, but he is given extra confidence in his ability to concentrate when he has them. Maybe the beads have a small amount of magic offered from the way they were crafted that offer him a steadier mind.