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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jeremy Ackerman-Yost" data-source="post: 5142724" data-attributes="member: 4720">Using base stats has knock on effects that break the flavor to pieces.Let's do a human-chimp, pound for pound comparison again....Bench press: Chimp with a bulletDead lift: Human, with a bulletSled pull: Human, but I'm not sure about the degree of differenceCaber toss: pretty sure this goes to the human, because I don't think chimp physiology supports it, eventhough the relevant muscles are stronger in the chimpArm wrestling: the chimp has this one lockedHow about two that really test the same muscles?Leg press: Chimp as a function of body weight, but human for total weightSquats: Human, even pound for pound, because our back and hips are better built for itOr how about something we don't think about as humans... bite strength?Chimp by a huge amountThese are all "raw" measures of strength, but they aren't remotely comparable to each other.Why are we tracking all these things with the same stat?Because it's cleaner and easier, but it is terrible simulation and has always had ludicrous consequences for flavor if you actually stop to think about specific tasks.  If you were statting out a chimp and gave him +2 strength, by the book he would be better than a human at every one of those tasks, whereas in reality, a fairly educated set of guesses on my part puts the human a clear winner at better than half, and overwhelmingly better at some.  And the ones the chimp is better at would look more like a +4 strength difference.Strength or Dexterity mods have many, many effects, most notably on combat.  You are better to say "Chimps have a racial bonus to arm wrestling and bench pressing, and a racial penalty to dead lifts and sled pulling" than "Chimps have a +2 strength."  After all, a +2 strength would also give them bonus attack and damage with a spear.... and their elbows aren't hooked together properly to use the fool thing.</blockquote>

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