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Message: <blockquote data-quote="sinmissing" data-source="post: 1803478" data-attributes="member: 1960">I've been pretty frank in saying that INT can compensate for a lack of natural talent, such as STR, but it seems that it should only compensate so much.  When you take d20 as a whole, over 20 levels, it seems that an INT bonus is greatly inflated when compared to a person's physical or social gifts. This is all within the context of the d20 mechanic, which I feel is a point I have failed to make since I used so many personal examples in presenting this idea.  Oh well, I said RL examples can be terrible, and highly argumentative, to bring up within the context of discussing game mechanics.  I guess I should take my own advice and stop using themI think that the 6 classes represent a character's general field of study, direction, focus, what have you.  Strong Heroes get lower skill points than Smart Heroes because they focus on martial skills, not because they're dumb or whatever you want to call them.  They get less skill points because they have X amount of time, and they used that time to improve BAB and HP, leaving less time for scholastics or general hobbies.  Smart Heroes get less of a reputation bonus than Charismatic Heroes because they focus on all non-social skills.  I'm not arguing that Strong Heroes can't have a high Intelligence, I'm arguing that all things being equal; and I'm assuming that the classes are equal; no Hero should have more skill points than the Smart Hero.  No hero should have a higher BAB than the Strong Hero, and no hero gets a higher base Defense than the Fast Hero.I'm talking about the Archetype here, which I feel needs to be readdressed in a game that does not use the traditional Fighter, Wizard, Thief classes.  In d20, you can play against type and go for a Weak Fighter, but playing a Weak Strong Hero makes my head spin.  That's not just playing against type, that is incorrectly assigning the type in the first place!D20 is a archetype driven game and I'm just exploring how the world is emulated within the rules.  And while there are plenty of real life examples where good Intelligence and study can allow you to do tremendous feats of dexterity or strength (remember: lift with your legs), I argue that in GT or d20 Modern (sans PrC/AdC) this is represented by taking a level or two in a skill focused class, unless this skill is one of only a handful which you possess, then it should totally be possible to master this ability by playing a Strong or Tough Hero.You gave an example of why the rules say you don't get iterative attacks for having a high Strength or Dexterity, which we all knew in the first place.  I don't think that explains why someone can get an ever increasing number of skill points over 20 levels for high INT, but not an accelerated BAB for the same high INT or high STR or DEX.  The principles for being great at learning things rapidly should be applicable to hitting things more often.  There are several feats which allow you to substitute an attribute for skills and even weapon attacks, this is the mechanic that should be encouraged when someone wishes to "play against type"  You can emulate having lots of Skill Points by taking some levels of Smart or Charismatic, or Fast or Dedicated Hero.  The way GT works now, I could make a Strong Hero, take a profession which gives me the handful of class skills that I want, grant myself a decent INT, and now I am almost as competent as the Smart Hero.I can't however, as you have repeatedly explained, play a Smart Hero, place a high score in STR and get good iterative attacks, nor could I take a Charismatic Hero with a High Dex and get an accelerated Defense Score.  My bonus to Hit and Defense are static one time bonuses.  Somehow my great INT which lets me learn to do all kinds of skills doesn't apply to learning how to hit someone or avoid a blow, yet it is perfectly reasonable that my high INT gives me insight into climbing or swimming.  Which makes me conclude that all things are not equal.  A skill point has less value than a +1 BAB, and the Smart Hero is not nearly the equivalent to the Strong Hero.All the rest of what you said is sulfur.</blockquote>

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