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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 6513419" data-attributes="member: 4937">I'm not sure those are misconceptions.Different conceptions aren't necessarily wrong.  Almost all the above would be as preconceptions wrong for my game.For example, "[Nuetral Evil is] the alignment of schemers, plotters, and those who'll plan their way to whatever advantage they can get.", would for my game show a serious misunderstanding of what alignment is, since it conflates a personality (schemer/mastermind) with an alignment.  Neutral Evil is the alignment of those who don't believe that good exists, that the world is fundamentally and inextricably evil, that under real conditions good isn't even possible but is just a sort of dishonest evil, that nothing has real value not even yourself, that there is no such thing as virtue, and that whether you like it or not the world is just going to get worse and worse.  How you respond to these beliefs, how you intellectually rationalize these beliefs (if at all), how faithfully you follow the implications of these beliefs, and the distinctive quirks of your person aren't a part of alignment per se - though obviously holding those beliefs sincerely will tend to color your actions and behavior.  I tend to see Strength is of little use in intimidation but in my conceptions it is not necessarily for the reasons you suggest.  When you say that, "your attempt to intimidate may be wooden, lacking conviction, dull, or otherwise not inspire fear.", you are ignoring the most important aspect of intimidation.  An intimidate attack isn't merely meant to inspire fear - its meant to force compliance.   A big bulging dangerous looking brute may well inspire fear, but be unable to force compliance.  Scared people do strange things.   The big hulking dangerous looking brute, in attempting to intimidate may well inspire so much fear that the person involved stops thinking and moves immediately into a fight or flight response - panicking, screaming for help, and so forth.  Think of Fezzik trying to "jog the memory" of the albino.  Muscles were of little help.  Compare with Fezzik's successful Intimidate check when he wants the Man in Black to drop his sword so that they can both "fight fair", where Fezzik is actually charming and the strength is only secondary.   If Fezzik had emphasized his own strength to much, presumably his quarry might have decided that he had no hope of winning without a weapon and done something else instead (like trying to trick Fezzik, or trying to find cover, etc.)  Intimidate is a subtle skill, and is much more than just the ability to inspire fear.   Fear is the lever, but you have to apply it correctly if you want to achieve a particular result.  Those that are good at it figure out what levers they can pull for a particular person and how much force to use to achieve a particular result.</blockquote>

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