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<blockquote data-quote="orsal" data-source="post: 3402764" data-attributes="member: 16016">Especially since an interpretation of Charisma as divine favour would support it being the spellcasting stat for clerics. Which it isn't.I think you have to interpret the stats as D&amp;D jargon, with terms drawn from common usage to closely approximate their D&amp;D meaning. In other words, the use of the word Charisma doesn't *decree* that a D&amp;D character's Charisma should match what in the real world is called charisma; it merely indicates that that feature referred to in the D&amp;D context as Charisma is closely enough related to charisma to make the word a convenient borrowing. To illustrate the point more clearly, think about how much Wisdom deviates from what we understand as wisdom. If I were to explain (say, to a non-native English speaker) the distinction between intelligence and wisdom, I'd say that intelligence is innate aptitude, while wisdom is the product of life experience. An intelligent but unwise person could be a kid, naive but a good learner, who might later be described as wise once she has learned more. The distinction between Intelligence and Wisdom (the D&amp;D stats), however, is totally different -- they're too different kinds of intelligence, since the six attributes are forms of aptitude (with experience represented through skill ranks and the like).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="orsal, post: 3402764, member: 16016"] Especially since an interpretation of Charisma as divine favour would support it being the spellcasting stat for clerics. Which it isn't. I think you have to interpret the stats as D&D jargon, with terms drawn from common usage to closely approximate their D&D meaning. In other words, the use of the word Charisma doesn't *decree* that a D&D character's Charisma should match what in the real world is called charisma; it merely indicates that that feature referred to in the D&D context as Charisma is closely enough related to charisma to make the word a convenient borrowing. To illustrate the point more clearly, think about how much Wisdom deviates from what we understand as wisdom. If I were to explain (say, to a non-native English speaker) the distinction between intelligence and wisdom, I'd say that intelligence is innate aptitude, while wisdom is the product of life experience. An intelligent but unwise person could be a kid, naive but a good learner, who might later be described as wise once she has learned more. The distinction between Intelligence and Wisdom (the D&D stats), however, is totally different -- they're too different kinds of intelligence, since the six attributes are forms of aptitude (with experience represented through skill ranks and the like). [/QUOTE]

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