Coffee_Dragon
2017-04-01, 06:04 PM
Another question that's a little too fuzzy-wuzzy for the Simple RAW thread.
The backgrounds chapter has a rule that goes, "If a character would gain the same proficiency from two different sources, he or she can choose a different proficiency of the same kind instead." It's phrased as a general rule and is simple enough as far as backgrounds go. Either you take a predefined background, in which case you may duplicate a proficiency and the rule kicks in as intended, or you take a custom background, and then you get a free choice of proficiencies anyway.
But there are other things that give limited-choice proficiencies outside of your first base class: there's racial proficiencies, some multiclassing, and some class features. For instance, if you're an elf you have Perception when the time comes to pick class proficiencies, so if Perception is a class proficiency, you can choose that, find with shock and surprise that it duplicates a proficiency you already have, and get any proficiency of your choice. A Knowledge Domain cleric might very well have Religion from the base class, so they could just say, "Whoops, I get Religion from my subclass ability as well and now I get a free choice."
Or can they? It might seem reasonable to say, "Obviously there's an implied rule that whenever you're choosing one or more proficiencies to gain from a subset, you can't pick one you already have, because derp." But assume you already have all of them, isn't the general rule supposed to kick in then? For that to happen, you'd have to amend the implied rule to, "Whenever you're choosing one or more proficiencies to gain from a subset, you can't pick one you already have, unless you have them all, in which case you do get to pick any of them, which then turns into any free choice as per that rule buried in the backgrounds chapter." And I think that rule is not written anywhere.
How do you play it?
That the intent of any limited list of proficiencies is to stick to that list to the greatest extent possible?
And if so, that limited lists are strictly limited and overlapping choices are not allowed, even if they are lost? Or that forced overlaps give free choices?
Or that limited lists turn into free choices to the extent that you can match that subset up with proficiences you already have?
As a bonus question, there's the case of a rogue gaining proficiency in Wis saves through Slippery Mind, though they may already have this from a feat or another class or some other unholy source. Would you allow the duplicate proficiency rule to kick in even though it doesn't cover saving throws (as written for backgrounds)?
The backgrounds chapter has a rule that goes, "If a character would gain the same proficiency from two different sources, he or she can choose a different proficiency of the same kind instead." It's phrased as a general rule and is simple enough as far as backgrounds go. Either you take a predefined background, in which case you may duplicate a proficiency and the rule kicks in as intended, or you take a custom background, and then you get a free choice of proficiencies anyway.
But there are other things that give limited-choice proficiencies outside of your first base class: there's racial proficiencies, some multiclassing, and some class features. For instance, if you're an elf you have Perception when the time comes to pick class proficiencies, so if Perception is a class proficiency, you can choose that, find with shock and surprise that it duplicates a proficiency you already have, and get any proficiency of your choice. A Knowledge Domain cleric might very well have Religion from the base class, so they could just say, "Whoops, I get Religion from my subclass ability as well and now I get a free choice."
Or can they? It might seem reasonable to say, "Obviously there's an implied rule that whenever you're choosing one or more proficiencies to gain from a subset, you can't pick one you already have, because derp." But assume you already have all of them, isn't the general rule supposed to kick in then? For that to happen, you'd have to amend the implied rule to, "Whenever you're choosing one or more proficiencies to gain from a subset, you can't pick one you already have, unless you have them all, in which case you do get to pick any of them, which then turns into any free choice as per that rule buried in the backgrounds chapter." And I think that rule is not written anywhere.
How do you play it?
That the intent of any limited list of proficiencies is to stick to that list to the greatest extent possible?
And if so, that limited lists are strictly limited and overlapping choices are not allowed, even if they are lost? Or that forced overlaps give free choices?
Or that limited lists turn into free choices to the extent that you can match that subset up with proficiences you already have?
As a bonus question, there's the case of a rogue gaining proficiency in Wis saves through Slippery Mind, though they may already have this from a feat or another class or some other unholy source. Would you allow the duplicate proficiency rule to kick in even though it doesn't cover saving throws (as written for backgrounds)?