Initiative while I dislike it being under perception-intellgience I can at least understand that. You are emphasizing the identify danger ability above the split seconds you have to react to it. Makes sense in a game without guns I guess.
Yeah. Perception can anticipate danger.
But also in the sense of the five senses, Perception can recognize the meaning of, and respond more quickly to, subtle movements.
In a game of guns, ‘reaction time’ is meaningless. The goal is to avoid ever entering a location where a bullet might be traveling. So, intelligent and perceptive anticipation of danger is more important for gun scenes.
Deception shouldn't be the skill that counters deception?
Speaking of deception - the best deceivers are charismatic not intelligent. Intelligence plays a very small role in being able to pass off a lie - instead it's how you present yourself which is charisma 99%.
Charisma can help with building rapport and establishing trust.
However, whether the deception itself is convincing or not relies exclusively on Intelligence.
The best deceivers are the ones who know their stuff, and can pull it off. This is necessarily true when trying to pass off a replica as an original. The creator of the replica has to know everything that an expert would look for. But it also applies abstractly, like an accountant creating a convincing investment fraud. Intelligence-Perception is everything. To be a competent liar requires being able to keep track of the lies that one is telling, whence Intelligence, and know how and when to present a lie, whence reasoning.
The same skillsets that discover a fraud, are the same skillsets that create a fraud.
Deception can also be used to create a convincing disguise, in the sense of a replica, like a fake nose or so on. Here too, Intelligence-Perception is everything.
My biggest fear right now is that your skill brackets are drastically less useful than each other. Str characters get hosed. Int and charisma characters have flat out baller skills. I'm not seeing how you can make this fair in relation to the stats in any way.
It is important to get Strength-Constitution right.
So far, my rationale is:
A high investment allows the existence of Large characters.
Brute force, like bending bars, can be useful and flavorful.
Carrying is occasionally useful for carrying other characters.
Most importantly, Strength-Constitution = hit points. Players are loath to ever dump this.
Strength might need some oomph, but hit points are a big big deal.
Why the heck is stealth in intelligence - perception?
I am more iffy about stealth, but Intelligence-Perception is often the more necessary ability.
For example. Your character crosses a lake under the cover of night and fog. Reaching shore, the character camouflages the boat with nearby shrubs to hide it from any onlookers. This is all about perception.
Similarly, the same locations that Stealth selects to avoid attracting attention − whether in shadows or in a crowd − are the same locations where a bodyguard would routinely scan to detect any intruders.
Camouflaging a boat would require perceptive Intelligence
Walking on dry leaves silently might require athletic Dexterity − but it might require perception to discern the quieter patch of leaves.
The Stealth skill, if proficient, might apply to either.