Intimidation is a matter of perspective.
This sounds to me like argument for variants skill check, rather then against them ...
I mean if something is matter of perspective, it should be potentialy achievable by different ways, rather than only following single exact path. :P
Maybe the gnome facing the half-orc is nimble enough to dodge any attack. Maybe he's a mage who can cast Hold Person or Misty Step.
This is fair point ...
But they both can aply even if that Half-Orc is beside of being big, bulky and obviously strong ... also skilled with his words.
I mean our ability score does not affect what other NPC can or cannot do, or what they do believe (that they will be able to dodge) ...
And if we would like to dismantle this situation to stats ... the tiny Gnome is more likely to dodge attact from Half-Orc Barbarian who invested some of his points into Charisma, than the same Half-Orc Barbarian who put them all in Strength to incerase his hit chance.
(Just a joke)
Your orc showing off their muscles would just make the gnome laugh. An intimidating barbarian can project confidence, i.e : I'm not telling you how, but trust me when I say I can hurt you. It's a distinct skill from strength.
Here is where that matter of perspective comes to play ...
I could aswell claim that Gnome can call YOUR barbarian a bluff and dare him to do his worse, bcs his strength score is not high enough to fulfill his threat.
And that is exactly why i believe we should have alternative options.
You see this, i see that and none of us is exactly wrong.
If you're using strength to intimidate me, you've just attacked me.
You probably realize that this responce can be aswell used even for your example.
Its more like the sentence NPC would use for failed roll ...
It does not matter in the end if your Barbarian is intimidating by reciting some classic Mafian quote ... or by bending a steel tube in front of your eyes ... or simply stare you down and frown let their very presence done all the work for them ... the threat is there in all 3 cases and it either works, or not.
If you need help building an intimidating barbarian, might I suggest the Thaumaturgy cantrip? One of the Tiefling subclasses has it, and it proved invaluable in my fighter run, even with a 10 in charisma.
Nah, my Barbarian WILL be Half Orc ... anything else simply dont feels right enough, once this option is (read as: will be) there.
Yes, it's quite absurd. No DM would ever make the druid roll to identify the wolf.
One can also argue that no DM would ever make the druid roll to identify a plant with huge thorns to be dangerous ... but here we are.
Firstly, I think 5e requires a druid to have seen a creature in order to change into it.
Yes ... that is exact wording, "seen" ... not "known".
I can watch wolves for years and have no idea they are called wolves.
And that is exactly the difference between Intellect (learned knowledge) and Wisdom (experienced knowledge) rolls.
DO you know this image?
Secondly, not every last action needs a roll. You don't roll Dex every time you try to drink a glass of water.
That is why we dont talk here about things that game dont require rolls for us, there is different topic for that (yep, also mine
)
We are talking here about rolls we do.
If you need help with nature lore for your Druid, you could take Nature proficiency. Also, Enhance Ability can give advantage in intelligence checks.
I can also not play a Druid if i want to have good Nature checks ...
I dont see any relation to point of this topic.
I mean its even part of rules:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/b...ores#VariantSkillswithDifferentAbilitiesVariant: Skills with Different Abilities
Normally, your proficiency in a skill applies only to a specific kind of ability check. Proficiency in Athletics, for example, usually applies to Strength checks. In some situations, though, your proficiency might reasonably apply to a different kind of check. In such cases, the DM might ask for a check using an unusual combination of ability and skill, or you might ask your DM if you can apply a proficiency to a different check. For example, if you have to swim from an offshore island to the mainland, your DM might call for a Constitution check to see if you have the stamina to make it that far. In this case, your DM might allow you to apply your proficiency in Athletics and ask for a Constitution (Athletics) check. So if you're proficient in Athletics, you apply your proficiency bonus to the Constitution check just as you would normally do for a Strength (Athletics) check. Similarly, when your half-‐‑orc barbarian uses a display of raw strength to intimidate an enemy, your DM might ask for a Strength (Intimidation) check, even though Intimidation is normally associated with Charisma.
The outcomes proposed here are not different at all. The danger of the situation is that Nettie is trying to poison Tav. If both outcomes amount to telling Tav they will be poisoned, the only difference between the options is that one is more difficult than the other.
In first case its certain ... in second case its possibility ... if any (or both) fails all they know is that is a plant.
There also could potentialy be [Wisdom - Medicine] check, bcs as you possibly know, many poisonous substances are used in medicine as a remedy (in smaller doses) ...
So the other option could easily be: "You know many posionous healing herbs, but none of them looks like this ... you are not sure if this even is healing herb."
And, lets be honest with each other for a second ... just looking at that plant me as a player i was DEFINIETLY sure that i dont want to offer my hand to her.
I'm not saying that's a bad thing. There are plenty of places in the game where one outcome can be achieved with different ability checks. I'm glad it's not everywhere, though, for reasons I hope I've made clear.
I also dont want it everywhere ...
I would quite honestly not even concider it a bad thing that if some of them would be just traps ... or actualy even harder than the original one (as i said earlier) ...
Make Itelligence + Nature check to indetify Nettie herb Difficiulty 10 and Wisdom + Nature check for the same Difficiulty 15 ... and i have no problem with that even tho it completely negates the whole point of using Wisdom.
I just want the option to be present in certain scenarios, since it simply feels right.
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/LIkBuLC.jpeg)
