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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Faolyn" data-source="post: 8804365" data-attributes="member: 6915329">If they trend to a certain personality, then their racial stats should all reflect that personality.Ugh, this again.A halfling with a -2 penalty to Strength is only 5% weaker than humans. An orc with a +2 bonus to Strength is only 5% stronger than humans. Neither of these actually do a good job of indicating that a halfling or orc is weaker or stronger than a human.The fact that halflings get a penalty when using Heavy weapons and orcs can carry more than a human can does a better job showing those differences.And the only time this matters is when it comes to player characters who are automatically exceptional. NPC halflings can be as weak as you want them to be. Why should players be forced to have a penalty?And this is the problem. You play elves as happy-go-lucky. Someone else plays elves as haughty. Why should they both have the same bonus or penalty?You play dwarfs as naturally surly and gruff. I don't. Why should my dwarfs have a Charisma penalty because your do?So, short and hairy = unattractive. Gotcha.So honest, hard-working dwarfs aren't as persuasive or spiritually strong as sadistic, demon-worshiping drow are. Gotcha.Charisma 11 is completely average. A Charisma 11 human wouldn't be a perfect spy at all, because in order to be bland and boring and forgettable, you would also have to be good at hiding your actions and reactions and appearance so that you don't stand out. And that means (in 5e, at least) having a high skill in the Deception skill and disguise kit, both of which are dependent on Charisma. And if Charisma is "spiritual strength", then a spy would also need a high Charisma to maintain a sense of self when infiltrating enemy organizations.In the Planescape book "Uncaged: Faces of Sigil," there was a character named Farrow (a Mystaran shadow elf) who was a "perfect spy" with a Charisma of 10. He had a ring of disguise that he used to infiltrate the other factions, under the orders of Shemeshka of the Marauder, that let him take on other appearances so he could act as members of those factions. Possibly due to that Charisma of 10, and definitely due to the power that belief has in Sigil, his mind broke and he developed multiple personalities, one for each of the factions he was infiltrating, and his original personality was completely suppressed.</blockquote>

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