Originally Posted by praxidicae
I have to disagree with a lot of OP's points, but one thing I would agree on is:

Originally Posted by Milkfred

4. Stat/Class (Im)Balance

The fact that Charisma controls all of the 'roleplaying' skills is pretty much absurd. I understand that it's how the 5e system is, but that's my point - the system sucks when it's being run by a machine. If the Nettie scenario was a tabletop session, I'd probably be allowed to posit that I could intimidate Nettie with Strength. And I mean, look at the way you talk to her in that scene, all about how you'll destroy the whole grove - if that isn't a threat based on how immediately physically imposing you are, I don't know what is.


However I'm not sure that this is really a fault with 5E, it's a fault with Larian's implementation. Skill checks in 5E are not necessarily supposed to be tied to a specific attribute, It is explicitly supposed to be "Make a Skill (Attribute) Check", and the Attribute involved can/should vary as needed. The situation mentioned (an Intimidation (Strength) check) is specifically mentioned in the book as an option. Similarly other skills could be used in other ways i.e. to break the abjurative magics
surrounding Shadowheart's cage early on the game allows you to make an Arcana check to identify them (no matter what you do you can't get her out though), another way to do this would have been an Arcana (Dexterity) check to correctly erase the right rune, a tumbler or strongman would make a Performance check with Strength or Dexterity instead of Charisma.
Just because a skill looks to be tied to a specific attribute doesn't mean that every check would necessarily rely upon that attribute.


What you're thinking of, with the exception of a DEX-based Arcana check (what?) is simply substituting other skills that would accomplish the same purpose, with the exception of STR-based Intimidation, which is explicitly mentioned in the DMG. Your tumbler or strongman wouldn't use STR- or DEX-based Performance checks, they would use Athletics or Acrobatics to accomplish the same purpose, or just straight up STR or DEX checks. Flexibility is there, but only if it makes sense - a DEX-based Arcana check to get lucky and wipe away the correct rune makes no sense, but say having the Wisdom to have perceived these kinds of patterns before, an argument could be made to do a WIS-based Arcana check, or simply perform Perception or Investigation, depending on what you're proficient in.

Honestly, I don't think that's something we could get in a cRPG without being inundated with choice overload and decision fatigue.