Ability scores are actually pretty bad in describing what a character is, without considering how those stats help them do things in a framework of game mechanics. The best possible explanation of what charisma is would be: "It helps you perform, lie, persuade and intimidate, and helps you cast spells that you didn't memorize, or didn't receive by ways of divine revelation or communion with nature."
A character that has low charisma doesn't have to be rude, but an explanation of why he failed his persuasion check could be that he was rude. Ugly Ogre that would don a Headband of Charisma and tried to convince a party not to attack him, wouldn't suddenly grow enormous eye-lashes and get his high-cheekbones, but rather something about him would make him more convincing. Maybe he looks adorable with that small crown on top of his giant head and a party would be more likely to consider his words. Or perhaps there is something magical about the words he says that he doesn't even realize. Or yeah, it makes him attractive in the eyes of the party, but that would be lazy on the part of DM.
And charisma is not some exception compared to other scores. Strength and Dexterity scores are not really representative of strenght and dexterity in real life. Using bows are obvious example. Or that fighting something with a two-handed sword in real life is more about proper movement,edge-alignment and constitution/endurance, but with maul it's mostly about strength. In DnD it's just strength for both.
Or f.e. adjective smart is sometimes used to describe a high intelligence score (even in this thread). But is Gale smart? He definitely is well-versed in arcana and history as he tries to show off his knowledge in every conversation. The way he talks about the deal with Rafael after you first get that offer shows that he has capacity for critical thinking. Those are sings of high intelligence score and those might be things we associate with smart in real life. But if you consider his current predicament is he smart? I wouldn't say that. Here of course there is some parallel with real life and what we mean by smart in this case is better shown in his wisdom score.
Racial ability scores are not really there to explain, what exactly an average exemplar of that race is, but what he is most likely to do. If you know you might fight a group of high elves, you could expect them to have archers and wizards, as long as, there is no other context provided. The expectation would be different if you would have to face dwarves. If you are looking for a weapon of a famous half-orc adventurer, you probably wouldn't think it is a gilded rapier, that a drow you just killed dropped. Of course you might be wrong, but it wouldn't be a bad assumption. If your party threatens a tiefling, DM might be inclined to make that NPC lie or try to persuade you rather than have them react violently. Racial ability scores do allow for participating in better stories especially for those who might not be educated in every little minutia of race lore and I think that's good.
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You can explain tieflings charisma bonus by a number of ways. The one I would use is that they have +2 thanks to their fiendish ancestry granting them super-natural powers - "devilish powers" as some more xenophobic Tavs might say. And in previous editions super-natural powers are governed by charisma. And because those powers are defining characteristic of tieflings, they need charisma score to be able to express that.
Half-elves are hard, and their current bonuses stats don't really track with previous editions. People bring up that they get charisma bonus since they are persecuted and I don't find it a bad explanation, but funnily in Pathfinder 1st editon Kindred-Raised half-elves: "feel less like outsiders, making them more confident, but less adaptable without the exposure to a human parent. They gain a +2 bonus to Charisma and one other ability score of their choice."
Last edited by Elebhra; 13/06/22 05:48 PM.
