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Message: <blockquote data-quote="General Barron" data-source="post: 2766273" data-attributes="member: 32468">I think you are limiting what Charisma really is.Charisma represents how well you understand other people--their motivations, their feelings, what makes them 'tick', etc.A high charisma character knows how to carry himself so that people will get out of his way in a crowded street. He knows that if he puts his hand on his sword pommel in just the right way, thugs will think twice before trying to mug him. He knows when yelling at someone will just make them mad, and when it will cower them.You can be the strongest orc on the block, but unless you know how to present yourself, you still won't be as intimidating as the scrawny guy who understands other people really well. No other statistic--not strength, wisdom, intelligence, or even level--matters when it comes to trying to influence other people: it's all about how well a character actually understands others, which is represented by Charisma and the appropriate skills.-----------Let's look at another Charisma skill: perform. Why is this skill linked to charisma? It takes a lot of manual dexterity to play an instrument, so shouldn't it be linked to Dex? How about oratory, wouldn't that take lots of intelligence to know all the big words and information you want to present? What about weapon drills (complete adventurer), wouldn't that take strength or dexterity to twirl the weapon about?Of course, it does take all of these things, just like every other skill in DnD takes a certain amount of other abilities. But the most IMPORTANT thing when performing is to know your audience. You can play Mozart better than anyone alive, but if your audience prefers 50 Cent, then you just aren't going to impress them.Again, the same goes for intimidation. You can be the strongest orc fighter on the block, but if your prisoner isn't afraid of death, then it isn't going to help you extract the information from them. But if the scrawny little bard (who understands people better than anybody) is able to figure out exactly what he IS afraid of, then he most likely WILL succeed.</blockquote>

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