Scaling Aid Another

[Mauril Everleaf]

My group was discussing some changes to the Aid Another ability. At low levels, that +2 might be significant. At high levels, that +2 isn't going to help a non-specialized character succeed on the relevant check. So we decided that Aid Another should scale somehow, either by level or by success on the relevant check.

Here are our two options.
Option 1
The base check for Aid Another is DC10, this provides the basic +2 bonus. For every 5 points that the ally exceeds that check, she offers another +1 bonus (+3 for DC15, +4 for DC20, etc.) The player rolling for the Aid uses her full skill bonus for this roll. Only one ally can Aid Another for any relevant check and the DM has the right to rule that Aid Another cannot be used for a particular skill or for a particular use of a skill.

Option 2
The base check for Aid Another is DC10, this provides the basic +2 bonus. For every 4 skill points a character has in the relevant skill, the Aid Another bonus increases by 1. The player rolling for the Aid does not apply any skill bonus to the roll. He rolls a D20 and succeeds on a 10 or greater. Only one ally can Aid Another for any relevant check and the DM has the right to rule that Aid Another cannot be used for a particular skill or for a particular use of a skill.

I am thinking that Option 1 needs some sort of hard cap on the bonus that can be offered, but I couldn't think of a reasonable one. What do you think?

[Fax Celestis]

Cap the Option 1 bonus at 1/2 level or 2, whichever is higher.

[jiriku]

Why cap it? Should the aid of someone who can crush a DC 40 Aid Another check with Bluff be worth a +8 to the roll? Remember that for most rolls, the character performing the Aid Another check is going to be less skilled than the person he's aiding. That means that in the above example, The fellow who makes the DC 40 check is helping someone who can probably pull off a 45 or 50, even unaided. Plus, it seems to me that mundane skill-users could use the help.

[UglyPanda]

There's a scaled Air Another option (At least, I think it's an option, I've never seen it used) in Complete Adventurer. It's not very good and is pretty much the same as the OP's option 1, but weaker.

[MrCelsius]

I like this idea. I'm going to talk to my group about using a scaling Aid Another in our 4e campaign. I think 4e is a bit more sensitive to bonuses, so I think I'll halve the progression to +3 at 20, +4 at 30, +5 at 40, +6 at 50, etc. I like the balancing factor of letting only one person aid; I've already houseruled to allow only two aids to keep skill checks down so I think my players will be all right with it. We'll see. Thanks for the idea.

[Heliomance]

We use Aid Another gives +2 for every 10 you score on the Aid check.

[Mauril Everleaf]

So consensus seems to be that Option 1 is the better way to go? I'll toss it at the group and see how they feel about the max bonus being 2 + half hit dice (so that you can get the stock +2 from level 1).