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A character just acquired a Serpent Belt which gives a +4 bonus vs all poisons.

This belt’s wearer gains a +4 bonus to all poisons.

The same character also has a Comfort's Cloak which gives a

+4 competence bonus to saves against disease, energy drain, effects that cause fatigue or exhaustion, and poisons.

Because of the wording, I assume the bonuses stack as one is a straight bonus, and the other is a competence bonus, for a total of +8 vs poisons. However I could very well be wrong, so I wanted to ask for help.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ KRyan had a great response, I was going to mark it as the answer I needed, but it was deleted. \$\endgroup\$ Oct 10, 2017 at 22:13
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    \$\begingroup\$ KRyan deleted it with a note explaining that it was quoting the wrong game, and that the other answer was already good enough. \$\endgroup\$ Oct 10, 2017 at 22:20
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    \$\begingroup\$ I have a major issue with that item. It doesn't say what this bonus affects on your character. Saving Throws? Damage? Duration? DC? Bonus to all poisons sounds a lot different from bonus against poisons. \$\endgroup\$
    – ShadowKras
    Oct 10, 2017 at 23:18
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    \$\begingroup\$ @ShadowKras Good catch. Apparently that's an error in the first printing and should read “+4 bonus on saves against poisons” (as it reportedly does in the 2nd printing), but that SRD text has not been updated to match. \$\endgroup\$ Oct 11, 2017 at 1:20

1 Answer 1

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Untyped bonuses stack with everything (except other untyped bonuses originating from the same source). So the character would have a total of +8 from these 2 items.

From the SRD:

Bonuses are numerical values that are added to checks and statistical scores. Most bonuses have a type, and as a general rule, bonuses of the same type are not cumulative (do not “stack”)—only the greater bonus granted applies.

The important aspect of bonus types is that two bonuses of the same type don’t generally stack. With the exception of dodge bonuses, most circumstance bonuses, and racial bonuses, only the better bonus of a given type works. Bonuses without a type always stack, unless they are from the same source.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Huh, that wording is less clear, IMO, than in 3.5. Weird. Still, the question is tagged PF so PF wording it is. \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    Oct 10, 2017 at 22:13

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