Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="ZombieRoboNinja" data-source="post: 6018040" data-attributes="member: 54843">You can take a 10 to make a horseshoe, unless the forge is under attack or something (in which case there are plenty of good reasons why an experienced smith might screw up).As to your main point - if we take a skill like Diplomacy, I think maybe their approach makes sense. No matter how many self-help books you read on "making a good impression," if you're ugly and/or rude (represented by a low Charisma) you're probably not going to be the world's best diplomat. No matter how long you've trained as a blacksmith, if you're wimpy as a schoolgirl (low Str) you're not going to be forging awesome weapons. The trick is that IRL, training often coincides with increasing your ability scores - you become a great blacksmith by raising your Strength/Dex AND by learning technique. Ability scores increase slowly in D&D because by the time you're first level, you're already in the top echelon of natural and trained ability: depending on your class, you've been studying, practicing, and exercising to hone your natural talents.</blockquote>