Artistic Ability

[the Jester]

What ability score would you say is tied to artistic ability?

If you were to make an ability check to evaluate a pc's work of art, what stat would you use?

 

[Ahnehnois]

Too complicated a question.

It could really be all three. The aesthetic merit and craftsmanship fall under Int; I would use that as the default. However, if we're talking about evaluating how emotionally affecting it is, there's a case for Cha, and certainly for how insightful it is, Wis.

 

[Mercurius]

It a combination of things - WIS, CHA, DEX, and INT. If I had to go with one I'd say WIS.

 

[Mallus]

It depends on the art form/specific workand how the player describes making it. I've used INT, WIS, CHA, and even DEX.

In our D&D 4e campaign, my playwright/paladin used 3 separate skills checks to write his masterpiece, a musical about a divine pig --Porky and Bless'd -- yes, this was key part of actual adventure: CHA for general appeal, WIS for it's insight into the human(oid) condition, and INT for the plot.

He wound up with a terrifically entertaining work with profound insights and a nonsense plot -- in other words, an opera.

 

[delericho]

IMO, 3e got it about right: Craft (Int) for creating static works, such as paintings, sculpture, or even composition; Perform (Cha) for performances.

 

[Celebrim]

Creation of art is normally a function of Intelligence.

Performance of art is normally a function of Charisma.

I have a feat cycle that lets you switch the base ability that a skill depends on. One of them turns 3 skills, one of which is Craft, that normally depend on other abilities into Dex based skills.

Understanding what the artist meant to say is a function of Wisdom.

Being able to explain your understanding clearly to others is a function of Intelligence.

Being persuasive is a function of Charisma.

If I was going to get heavy into the creation of pieces of Literature and Art as a major part of the game, I'd probably create a subsystem that determined the success of your art off of multiple skill and ability checks, so that we could say, "You create a wordy tedious but clever work that ends up appealing mainly to academics and other artists", or "You create a best-selling work that is nonetheless derided by academics for its lack of showy craftsmanship and intellectual heft." and so forth.

 

[the Jester]

Hmmm.

Well- My players stay out of this spoiler block, it's about secret stuff for the urban game:

[sblock]I'm working on a room in a dungeon where- well...

The walls of this room appear to have beautiful images or abstracts painted on them, but with smears of bright colors all over the lower sections, as if fingerpainted and smeared across by juvenile vandals.

Trick: Anyone who touches the wall leaves colors behind, currently bright yellow. By speaking the name of a color, a creature can change the color that its touch leaves behind, and it is possible to create incredible works of art with one's hands. However, the room itself judges the aethetic merit of any work done on the room as a creature exits.

I'm trying to work out the mechanics for the room's passing of judgment on a work that a pc consciously intends to make (instead of meritless smearings caused by e.g. searching).[/sblock]

 

[Ahnehnois]

Sounds like an Int thing to me. We're not really talking about communication or insight.

 

[delericho]

[sblock]I'm trying to work out the mechanics for the room's passing of judgment on a work that a pc consciously intends to make (instead of meritless smearings caused by e.g. searching).[/sblock]

Which edition? And how much time do you want to spend at the table on it?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'd say the D&D core stat for creative endeavors is Charisma- and the key skill is "Perform"- though others may be involved.

It may take Str, Con or Dex in various combinations to be able to physically create a work, particularly if it is challenging. Some creative processes can even be dangerous.

It may take Int to analyze your skills and materials, to plan the project, to grasp the aesthetics of what it is you intend to do.

It may take Wis to understand your audience and how your work will be perceived...and how you want to control your creation's accessibility- will you reach out more or draw them in?

But all art is an expression of the artist's perceptions, moods, skills, intellect- his or her inner self-in a non-direct, not necessarily explicit way. All art is performance, no matter if the end result is permanent as a sculpture or as ephemeral as a poem composed and recited on the fly, never written down. That's all abut Charisma and performance.