Action bonuses

[hdghg 0]

How do bonuses to actions/activities work? I'd been assuming that they give a +1 to the roll but I've just failed the difficulty 13 wit roll for "match wits with the emperor's sphinx" despite having wit 11, and the "Bold" and "Look Ahead" passive abilities. These each say they give a +1 bonus to all my actions & activities.

[Dreamweaver 0]

Huh I'd forgotten about those passive. Good point, they should make it a guaranteed roll. Maybe the description is wrong and it's really adding percentages or something.

 

Does anyone know if they even work? Or how the % bonus to success interacts with a dice roll?

[Albert 1]

One thing is that the skill tends to say it's at maximum when it isn't.

It might say that the maximum is 11, and that it is at maximum. Then you might have 3 different +1 bonus skill levels from whatever ability.

If that skill shows up as 11 then that means you have trained it to level 8, and then the additional is added to it.

 

What I usualy do is that I look at the expressed skill maximum, compare it with the current skill, and detract the bonus levels.

If the skilllevel - bunus skill = the maximum, the the skill has been maxed out. If not then you can still train it even if you are told it's at maximum.

 

11+3 should show a skill of 14 when maxed.

[Metis 1,119]

By the way, I'm entirely convinced that Match Wits with the Emperor's Sphinx has some secret failure chance or something. I've failed that roll with ridiculous stats before. Repeatedly. It's insane.

[Dreamweaver 0]

I don't know about that, once I've gotten past 13 wit I don't fail it anymore. Even at 12 wit I fail fairly often though, but it may just be confirmation bias.

[Albert 1]

By the way, I'm entirely convinced that Match Wits with the Emperor's Sphinx has some secret failure chance or something. I've failed that roll with ridiculous stats before. Repeatedly. It's insane.

You do fail if your skills are maxed already. If all involved skills are maxed then it counts as a failure no matter what. If one skill is sucessfully increased then you suceed.

[Metis 1,119]

Confirmation bias is definitely possible, but when I fail with 12 Insight/Wit twice I think I'm justified getting suspicious.

 

EDIT: True, but I don't make a habit of training skills that are already maxed out.

Edited April 26, 2014 by Metis

[Albert 1]

Confirmation bias is definitely possible, but when I fail with 12 Insight/Wit twice I think I'm justified getting suspicious.

Maybe your student stole the Sphinx cake, which resulted in a very, very upset Sphinx that refused to talk to you

[Dreamweaver 0]

Confirmation bias is definitely possible, but when I fail with 12 Insight/Wit twice I think I'm justified getting suspicious.

 

EDIT: True, but I don't make a habit of training skills that are already maxed out.

It may be a funky mechanic but if you have the 13 wit you should be theoretically unable to fail and as far as I remember I've never failed after that point even with hundreds of visits.

[Mikka 5]

I haven't played this patch yet, but I can guarantee I have failed the Sphinx when I had Insight/Wits way over 13 on DLC 15/CP3.

 

Personally, I just assume the Sphinx hates me (which is why it keeps trying to teach me forbidden magic that will get me killed).