Hello,
I joined this community a bit ago, but it has taken this long to get a campaign going.
A few posts tonight, starting with a rules clarification:
Animal companions. Let’s say my Ranger, Robyn, has a wolf with scouting. They are poking around a forest together and we decide Discern Realities gets activated. The Ranger has a wis of +2, and the wolf has a cunning of +2. Do we add 4 to the roll? In the moment I handled it as “you can add your bonus, or the wolf’s, but not both”. If I allow both, the only way they fail that roll is if the dice show a 2. What is correct?
If you’re working with your animal companion in something it si trained in, add its cunning to your roll. If you think the wolf’s training in scouting helps here, add the +2, for a total of +4.
I’d be very shy about handing out a +4 to any roll. That said, be a fan of the characters and let them have an “I got this” moment when the fiction and the moves come together.
I design playbooks to build in those moments, so I’m not gonna say you’re doing it wrong if someone manages to wring a +4 out of their moves.
As Peter J said, whenever the Ranger works with their animal companion in something its trained in, you get both bonuses. So in this case, yes. The Ranger gets to roll with a +4 bonus.
Also, remember that a 6- is not a failure. It’s a miss. It doesn’t necessarily mean the Ranger didn’t succeed at what they were attempting. It just means you, the GM have to make a GM move.