Scott Christian
Hero
I'm sorry, I am confused by your question. "Athletic training" and "bodily power" are definitions used for strength in D&D 5e. They are its literal definition along with "natural athleticism" and "extent to which you can exert raw physical force." So this has nothing to do with describing. The number next to your strength literally is one or a group or all of those things. There is no describing. If you have a 6 strength it is assumed you do not have strength, and therefore, do not have strength's descriptors. If you have an 18 strength, you can use one or two or three of the descriptors. It's your call.What about the other way around? Would you expect DMs to accept that a low-strength PC could be described as having athletic training and bodily power but lacking in the third component (the ability to exert raw physical force)?
Would it be a problem to have two characters, each with athletic training and bodily power, with highly disparate strength scores? One is strong due to described bodily power; one is weak despite having described bodily power.
Again, I am confused. How many players are running around describing their lowest ability, and then how many of those DMs are questioning them. My guess is zero.