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- Thread starter Soulknife_Infiltrator
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James Gasik
We don't talk about Pun-Pun
I think it really depends on the feat of strength in question. But if I saw a 7' tall muscle man coming for me with a sword (because this is D&D, so of course he has a weapon), I'd be damn intimidated, and I think anyone who wouldn't be has a serious lack of survival instinct!
James Gasik
We don't talk about Pun-Pun
And now I have this mental image of a mighty Barbarian attempting to throw a puny Wizard up against a wall only to be foiled by Shield.
But is this strength? You can have a 20 strength Fairy or a 5 Strength Goliath in 5E, and either could carry a sword.
I think this speaks directly to my position. That big, weak Goliath is trying to intimidate someone with size (and a sword) which are not tied to any ability, but the mere act of intimidating would usually be tied to Charisma.
James Gasik
We don't talk about Pun-Pun
Well...if you could be a walking mass of muscle with 5 Strength, I'd have a chat with my DM about verisimilitude.
EDIT: although if you look upthread, as far as the game mechanics are concerned, I would prefer Charisma to be used, with the high Strength character to potentially gain advantage. All I'm saying is, things do not need Charisma to be intimidating in real life.
CreamCloud0
Hero
"intimidation with charisma doesn't really intimidate me at all, it's just a load of hot air and posturing. anyone could say anything about how strong they are or what they're going to do, but those muscles, i can see those and they're very real"
James Gasik
We don't talk about Pun-Pun
I just realized what thread this is. How did we get to Intimidation in a thread about Rogues again?
Yaarel
🇮🇱 🇺🇦 He-Mage
In the sense that an Elephant cannot effectively climb or jump, it is a "mass of muscle" that lacks Strength Athletics.
The D&D 5e Strength ability handles two conflictive concepts: agility and weightlifting. These two concepts can and should separate from each other.
They need to be different skills with different proficiencies: Athletics and "Weightlifting".
Strength can be agilely athletic without being brute-forcing, and vice versa.
It is ok for Strength to handle both skills. People who are athletic tend to predispose toward lifting heavier weights, and people who can lift twice their body mass can, maneuver their own body weight while climbing and jumping. The Strength Score exhibits an aptitude for both, but Weightlift training and Athletics training can produce drastically different results.
While I realise that 5e did away with formal skill challenges, I took what I learned about using skill check as the basis for imaginative syorytelling from 4e and ported that across. Hence, while I agree that Charisma remains the go-to stat that you can always use, if you want to use strength as the base skill instead, justify it narratively and I am there with you.
Yaarel
🇮🇱 🇺🇦 He-Mage
The 5e DMs Guide gives the example of using Strength for Intimidation as an example, when discussing the variant rule of applying any skill to any ability.
I myself wouldnt use Strength for Intimidation. But I like the idea by @James Gasik that very high Strength (say +3 thru +5) gives an advantage, since the "credible threat" is clear and present.
