Switching "Guidance" orison to focus only on skills

[Kafana]

Hey guys,

The Guidance spell gives the player the ability to add +1 to an attack roll, save, or skill once during the next minute. I was wondering what would be the appropriate modifier if Guidance was changed to only add a + on a skill roll within the next minute. Would +2 or +3 be of approximately equal power level?

[Reversefigure4]

Honestly, skills are probably it's best use anyway, since you can often reliably pick when you'll be using a skill in the next minute.


Time to climb this cliff - Guidance.
Let's sneak up on them. Guidance.
I need a Performance that will impress the queen. Guidance.
Let's open this lock. Guidance.


In contrast, the bonus to saves requires you to know a save is coming within the next minute, and the bonus to attacks is only usually in combat or when combat is imminent, but you still have a standard action to use on a cantrip. Even the Aid Another action, hitting an AC of 10, gives a +2 to hit and is usually a better bet in combat than Guidance.

Personally, I wouldn't change it at all, but I certainly wouldn't give it more than +2 if you are going to change it.

[Thurbane]

Using other 0 level spells as a guide, Fine-Tuning gives a +2 bonus on Perform, so +2 should be OK.

[ExLibrisMortis]

In Pathfinder, orisons are at-will, and you can expect players to cast guidance whenever they're not in a hurry. A +1 bonus is not a bad tradeoff for one standard action when you have plenty of time. Increasing the bonus buffs spellcasters a bit more, and might edge out skill-using classes a bit more (or encourage them to dip a caster), but I'm not a Pathfinder expert, so I can't tell how a +2 guidance compares to other (unlimited) skill-boosting spells or available class abilities.

In 3.5, orisons use precious 0th-level spell slots, and you could increase the bonus to +2 relatively easily, even without limiting the rolls it can affect.

[Zanos]

Using other 0 level spells as a guide, Fine-Tuning gives a +2 bonus on Perform, so +2 should be OK.
Versatility is power. A spell that gives a +2 bonus to a single skill is not equally as good as giving a +2 bonus to any skill.

[Thurbane]

Versatility is power. A spell that gives a +2 bonus to a single skill is not equally as good as giving a +2 bonus to any skill.

Fine-Tuning is one minute per level.

Guidance is one check only which must be used within a single minute.

Seems like a fair trade-off to me.

[Goaty14]

Fine-Tuning is one minute per level.

Guidance is one check only which must be used within a single minute.

Seems like a fair trade-off to me.

I'm inclined to agree, but my experience dictates that the difference between knowing 1 minute in advance and 20 minutes in advance is relatively negligible, mainly due to DMs not really caring.

[Kurald Galain]

The Guidance spell gives the player the ability to add +1 to an attack roll, save, or skill once during the next minute. I was wondering what would be the appropriate modifier if Guidance was changed to only add a + on a skill roll within the next minute. Would +2 or +3 be of approximately equal power level?

+1, really.

Because using Guidance in combat is a waste of an action; so its most practical use is on skills anyway.

[Geddy2112]

I will +1 to keep guidance at +1, and that using it in combat is a serious waste, even at low levels. I have seen it done and done it myself, but I can count those times combined on one hand.