D&D (2024) Size, Carrying Capacity, Strength, Athletics, Mobility

[Yaarel]

I apologize if you took that as gatekeeping. That is not how it was meant. What I meant was to go and try a game that doesn't use abilities. I was thinking you might find you really like it, or vice-a-versa (maybe it will make you like D&D system even more). Who knows?

There are players, even here in ENWorld who want D&D to discontinue Abilities.

But I like the D&D Abilities. I see them as "aptitudes" that describe the kinds of things a character tends to be good at, even without training. In other words, natural talent.

At the same time, it helps to make the meaning of each Ability clearer and mechanically function better and more usefully − and for the Abilities to balance better compared to each other.

But that is the point I keep making over and over, the skills do not reflect reality - in any way shape or form. Doing a backflip and landing on a small chair when you are 300 pounds requires way more strength than it does balance.

Body balance itself is a skillful Strength Climb check.

If one wants the character concept to do agile gymnastic stunts of any kind for any Swashbuckling theme, invest in Strength Athletics.

Doing the same trick when you are 120 pounds probably requires more balance than strength. Both of them require strength and dexterity, and one could argue constitution if being done during a fight. But that is not what the skill system for D&D is set up to be.

It is still variations of skillful Climb and skillful Jumping, and the Athletics skill handles both.

It is set up to be a general and non-specific (hence, the swapping of abilities) skill set that gives the greatest number of characters "a chance" at most attempts. But more importantly, it is built to be a give and take. A way, during character creation, to be able to do this at the expense of that.

The 2014 Athletics Skill is barely viable. Acrobatics sucks.

There is no "give and take" here. The Abilities and the Skills are wonkily unbalanced compared to each other.

The Strength Ability sucks. The Athletics Skill needs help.

Splitting Athletics between Athletics and the impossible Acrobatics, is all kinds of wrong.