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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Doctor Proctor" data-source="post: 5733657" data-attributes="member: 78547">The problem that I have with the Poetry Contest example is this: What happens the next time?  Specifically in those cases where the Fighter's superior poetry skills (as explained by Fey Touched, Soul of a Dead Poet, etc...) create an auto-success. If you've opened the door that "Doesn't really matter what your sheet says your character is, roleplying trumps that" then what if later on, there's a magical competition based on figuring out some arcane puzzle.  Let's say the player of the Fighter, in addition to being poetic, also happens to be quite smart.  He figures out the puzzle himself, and thus says that he should be able to win the competition, even though his stats pale in comparison to 20 INT Wizard at the table whose player isn't quite as bright. As before, he's come up with something based on player skill that should easily win the competition, but that isn't backed up by the character sheet.  More importantly, there is yet again another PC whose character sheet should be able to beat the challenge, but whose player could not.  If asked, I'm sure that the Fighter would say "Well, my character actually worked as a Mercenary guarding a Wizard, and would read some of his tomes in his off time, where he saw the solution to such a puzzle", or some such thing.  The question then is, do you let him auto-succeed?  If you do, then you've further reinforced that it really doesn't matter what character you decide to play, it only matters what BS background you can pull out of thin air to support your superior intellectual/persuasive/poetic/etc.. abilities.  Since Frankie the Fighter is better than that than anyone else, then he will always win. If you don't let it auto-succeed, then you've gone against your previous ruling.  Frankie the Fighter will say "But it was fine in the poetry competition, why isn't it fine now?  I beat the puzzle!", while everyone else is wondering "What's so much better about Wally The Wizard as compared to Beatrice the Bard?  How come he got the special treatment of being the one to defeat the challenge with his PC's skills, when Beatrice the Bard was judged on her player knowledge?" See the problem?  When you have a defined and codified rules system that say something like "Roll Arcana" or "Make a Charisma check", it will always be fair in the sense that the expectations don't change.  Yes, someone with a lower Arcana or Charisma can get lucky and roll a 20, and the guy with high stats can roll a 1.  But overall, the character with the better stats will achieve more successes within the game.  When you go "Out of Bounds" and start saying "Good roleplay can beat all that", then you create a situation where you either allow Frankie the Fighter to steal the spotlight constantly, or you have to go back on your ruling and basically take it back.  I've seen it, and this is not really a fun way to play.</blockquote>

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