- For one, there is no deterministic breaking point, that could be seen as "minimal Ability score to speak properly" ...
True, that is the case for every stat. Some rulesets have defined ranges, but I believe DnD doesn't. We still have to make these calls. There isn't a definite threshold where your character becomes a clutz if you dump Dexterity, but that doesn't mean a character with 8 Dexterity and a character with 20 don't have differences in how careful/graceful they are. Same for Intelligence. If it influences language skills, there should be differences between high- and low-stat characters.
- For two, any of your characters (basicaly except Wizard) who will dump Intelligence and have score 8 is totally able to create full sentence without litteraly any obstacle ... it would be kinda weird, if your companions would be sudently stupid just bcs their ability score is just as high as yours (asuming you dump your aswell). O_o
This is more of a matter with implementation and resource allocation than what the stat represents. Resources are not infinite, and rewriting every line of dialogue based on different levels of Intelligence is simply not a realistic goal. That says nothing about the system itself though.
Ideally, speech patterns
should change both for you and your companions who have dumped the stat, and I see no problem with this. If you're dumping a stat, you're saying your character is worse than average in some way. If your character is worse than average, it should be reflected with an appropriate penalty/drawback. If you don't want to be penalized, don't dump the stat. It's possible to play without min-maxing.
- For tree, even tho there are creatures (like those ogres) who speak ... well, the way they do, i dunno how to describe it ... like Tarzan prehaps?
We dont quite know if this is bcs common is not their native language and they dont use it well enough, of if their brain (they have Int 7 as far as i know) is simply unable to create anything more sophisticated.
Ogres have Intelligence of 5, and their languages are Common and Giant. Although I don't know if BG3's ogres' ability scores follow the official statblock, there is no reason to believe one of their languages was excluded.
- And last but certainly not least (and that is its own problem) there are beings in this game like Spar ... the squirell that is listening to Alfira ... if you have Speak with Animals active, she litteraly tells you "our brains are melting" ... wich shows both surprisingly well created sentence, and surprisingly deep knowledge of anatomy ... for an animal who have Intelligence 2. :-/
You
are using magic to communicate with animals, that changes things. When a bird chirps at you and you cast Speak with Animals to talk to it, the spell doesn't translate the chirping into Common or vice versa. It's a completely different process, or else you'd be able to use Comprehend Languages to understand animals, which you can't. What the animal says to you when you're under the influence of the spell is not a literal translation of the noises it makes, it's magic supplying you with the closest approximation of whatever the animal is trying to express (what it saw, how it feels, et cetera) in a form most natural to you, speech.
Also, using the same rule for other ability points ...
Take Astarion for example ... with Strength 8 he is are able to drag 48Kg (or up to 80, but encumbered).
While his own body weights 50Kg (acording to his examine tooltip)
That either means that his own muscles are so weak that he is unable to carry his own weight ... or that he is able to carry almost double of his own weight without visible problems.
Since he is totally able to move, and even drag many other things in his inventory ... i would dare to presume that second option is the right one here.
Weighing X kg does not necessarily mean you're able to carry X kg on your back. I know I wouldn't be able to lift my own weight, but I have no trouble moving my body around. A better example would be how Astarion, with his 8 Strength, somehow manages to maintain a full set of abs
But yes, I do agree that being able to lug around more than your own weight when you dumped Strength is silly. As I said before, dumping a stat should be penalized accordingly.
None of the carrying capacities are sensible. You can carry multiple sets of armor and a small militia's worth of weapons on you like it's nothing. Where are you putting this stuff? How are you able to fight or stealth in this state? And so on, it's all been said before. Inventory management has been a difficult balancing act for as long as CRPGs existed.
Therefore similar as Str 8 still allows our characters to exists as regular human(oid) being ... move, jump, drag something, etc.
A Int 8 should certainly allow them to act like regular human(oid) being ... speaking, understanding, learning, remembering ... they will simply not reach as great results as character with Intelligence 20 ...
But simmilary as Str 8 does not mean that your character need to spend all his willpower to even make a step ... an Int 8 doesnt mean that your character is mentally retarded. -_-
Agreed, a character with 8 Intelligence shouldn't speak like a troglodyte. Intelligence 5 Ogres are a good reference point for caveman speak in my opinion. But you also said
So the character who have 8 Intelligence should certainly be able to speak exactly the same as character who have 20 Intelligence
which I disagree with. Compared to a character with 20 Intelligence, a character with 8 should have a smaller vocabulary at their disposal, or if they have the vocab, they tend to use the more complicated words incorrectly. Or some other quirk, the specifics don't matter that much as long as the dumped ability score is reflected.
