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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dausuul" data-source="post: 4978621" data-attributes="member: 58197">Because I don't want to play a freeform RP. I want my stats to determine "What happens when I try to do this?" What I don't want is for them to determine, "What do I try to do?"The fallacy here is the idea that you define a character's personality completely at the start of the game and it never evolves or gains depth. In my experience, and that of most players I've talked to about it, characters start out as rough sketches; it takes a few sessions to really develop a persona and get into the character.So I'm making a barbarian, and the concept I come up for him is "Big brute who's always in trouble because he does stupid things." Okay, great. I give him an 8 Intelligence. Ready to play!But then I play him for a while, and I start to think he's got some hidden depths. He's not truly stupid, he's just been brought up to believe that careful thinking and reasoning are unmanly, the sort of thing effete wizards in towers do. A real man acts instead of standing around wringing his hands, that's what his dad always said.So he blunders through life, not thinking things through, not using the brains he's got, and everyone thinks he's a just big oaf. Even I, his player, thought he was a big oaf until I got a better feel for him.Then he gets into a situation where his back is up against the wall, his friends can't help him, and the fate of thousands depends on his solving a complex puzzle... and he realizes, Hey, I can do this. He puts his mind to work for what might be the first time ever, and solves the problem.This could be the start of a sea change for the character. He might start showing a newfound respect for the party wizard whom he previously disdained. Maybe he even asks the wizard for lessons and starts trying to fill in the enormous gaps in his education. There are all sorts of places it could go.But at this point, the Voice of the Stats says, "Uh, dude, you've got an 8 Intelligence. You can't possibly figure out something like this. If you're going to play fair, you have to stand there like the big oaf you are and stay in character!"So he stands there like a big oaf and that's that. End of story. Setting aside the dismissive tone, that's exactly what they are there for. The whole point of having rules for D&D in the first place is to help the DM decide how the world reacts to the PCs' actions; it's not to dictate those actions (except in the case of mind control spells and the like).I absolutely wouldn't! That's the point. If I'm supposed to roleplay my stats, then how in hell am I supposed to play a guy with Intelligence 24? I'm not that smart. Nobody in my gaming group is that smart. It's entirely possible nobody in the world is that smart. Therefore, no character should be allowed to have an Int that high and anyone playing such a character is guilty of bad roleplaying, because they aren't coming up with the brilliant strategems and solutions their Intelligence says they should.I'd rather throw the whole thing out the window. Let the number in the Int box stick to making knowledge checks. Let me decide what my character does.</blockquote>

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