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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 7368650" data-attributes="member: 58172">‘Acrobatics’ is a nonsense accident of bad game design.D&D 1e made a titanic mistake by assigning ‘balance’ to (manual) dexterity. When Gygax said this, he specifically meant walking across a tightrope. In other words, *SLOW* *CAUTIOUS* movements.Unfortunately, this connection between Dexterity and global bodily coordination opened the door to all kinds of nonsense. ‘Balance’ degenerated to running full speed across branches, somersaulting dives, and all manner of actions and reactions than can only properly relate to athletic Strength. It is absurd to suggest someone learns how to jump and climb while remaining ignorant about how to fall. As if someone who gives a flying kick wouldnt know how to balance. And so on.With this bad idea of leaping, somersaulting, (manual) Dexterity, suddenly thief rogues with 2 Strength are leaping 40-feet out of a fireball blast.Dexterity devolved into an awkward mastery of ‘balance’ and ‘fall’. They tried to think about a skill name that could associate these two randomly juxtaposed concepts. So they thought ‘tightrope’, ‘falling’, hey! ‘acrobat’.But reallife acrobats know how to *CLIMB ROPE*. Reallife acrobats know how to catch each other in mid air. Real acrobats are muscularly buff as hɛll. Reallife acrobats are all about STRENGTH.The Dexterity tradition is a sprawling mess.Strength is athletic grace and accuracy. Global motor skills, as opposed to fine motor skills.</blockquote>

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