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Originally Posted by
Lymnus
I'll try to explain my opinion mathematically, just so you can understand where I'm coming from.
We'll assume an average concentration here. 19 ranks+13 item+7 con(24 con; 16 base+6 item+2 tome)+2 luck (Head of Good Fortune)=40 concentration. Obviously, this can be raised, but a 40 will be used here just for the purpose of explanation.
To make a concentration check, the DC is how much damage you took. I.E., if you got hit for 50 damage, the DC of the check is a 50.
So, with a concentration of 40, the highest we can roll is a 59 (40+19, roll of 20 is an auto-success, so we won't assume that). Now, at end game, Orthons obviously hit for you more than 59 damage when they hit you. They'll hit you for 60+ damage, which means you have a 5% chance of rolling that saving throw. However, at the same time, a cleric that invested no ranks into concentration will also have that 5% chance of saving.
Quicken is what is important here. There will be times when a cleric knows he'll be hit, like when the fire room pops up in Rainbow. At these times, a cleric turns on quicken, and never worries about concentration checks. Now, of course, you can't quicken scrolls or wands. But, by the same reasoning, a cleric probably isn't making the save on that hundred point hit.