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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gort" data-source="post: 3365838" data-attributes="member: 11239">I'm thinking of trying a new houserule for my next game - the elimination of the charisma stat and all charisma skills. The reason behind this is that a player with a strong personality will, in almost all cases, play characters with strong personalities, and shy players almost always play shy characters, regardless of how many ranks in charisma skills the character possesses, or what their charisma score is.Charisma is also the weakest stat in the games I've played, as it lacks any unique effects, unlike the other stats. All the other stats do something other than simply adding to skills. Strength lets you lift things, hit harder and more accurately in melee, and so forth. Dexterity increases armour class and reflex saves. Constitution increases hitpoints and fortitude saves. Intelligence increases skill points. Wisdom increases will saves. Charisma doesn't do anything like that.Sure, it's used by paladins for their abilities, and bards and sorcerers to fuel their spells, but wisdom could just as easily be substituted. ("force of will" and "force of personality" are pretty synonymous in book)With charisma gone, dumping a stat is always going to have tangible negative consequences, without direct intervention from the DM. Low charisma was dumped so often simply because it's the least effective stat.So, the short version of the house-rule:The charisma stat is removed.The bluff, diplomacy, and intimidate skills are removed, replaced by roleplaying.The gather information, handle animal, disguise and use magic device skills now have intelligence as their key ability.The perform skill now has dexterity as its key ability.Sorcerers and bards now use wisdom to determine their spellcasting abilities.Paladins now use wisdom for their class abilities.Dwarves now suffer a -2 penalty to dexterity instead of charisma.The feint action is now a combat maneuver, requiring an opposed attack roll between feinter and target, provoking attacks of opportunity. If the feinter wins, the target is flat-footed against their next attack. Improved feint now gives a +4 bonus on the opposed roll, and removes the attack of opportunity.</blockquote>

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