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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DEFCON 1" data-source="post: 6186177" data-attributes="member: 7006">A frequent complaint for the skill list has been the fact that STR only has a single skill-- Athletics.  And because the actions that require a STR check usually (during normal adventuring) tend to be climbing, jumping, and swimming (with only the rarest occasion of forcing doors/bending bars)... the argument is that you practically never have STR checks that don't involve adding the Athletics skill.  And that kind of bothers people (myself included).  It seems like you should have to select from multiple skills for the STR check to be proficient in, just like there are multiple ways to be dexterous, intelligent, wise or charismatic.To solve that problem, in 3E it was about splitting up those three uses of STR-- Climb, Jump, and Swim.  But then the argument went that those three uses individually were used so infrequently in a normal adventuring day compared to something like Perception that it wasn't worth taking any of them rather than a more frequent skill. Which again, is also a problem.So my question is... based upon the current rules for proficiency and combat actions... do you think we've reached a point where we could actually create a combat-related Skill to affect your Strength ability check-- despite the entire history that I know people will bring up about how combat stuff should be feats and non-combat stuff should be skills?Here's my thinking:  Right now there are I think two combat actions that require STR checks-- Grapple and Knock Down.  And as far as I'm aware, there's no feat currently in the game to make your STR check better to make it easier to do either of those actions.  However... since all those actions are straight STR check contests... isn't this a case where adding your proficiency bonus would make the most logical sense to allow you to be better at grapple and knock down?Is there currently a reason (other than the legacy of "skills are non-combat!" as I said) why we shouldn't now have a skill called Strength (Martial Arts) that grants you your proficiency bonus to combat actions that require Strength checks?  Grapple, Knock Down, any other STR-based combat action they add to the game?Seems to me... it makes much more sense based upon how the rules are currently set up to just make these functions a part of the skill system (for proficiency bonus) that it would be to shunt this stuff into a feat of some kind.  Because let's be honest... skills do not need to be anywhere near as powerful as feats currently are.  Trying to create a Martial Arts feat that makes it easier to grapple or trip will be much more difficult to balance versus the +1 to ability score-- you'd have to probably add a bunch more stuff.  But just making these few segments of STR checks into a skill?  Much more likely to be taken (especially by fighters and the like), and much less worry whether or not you're getting as much bang for your buck (compared to other skills.) And in addition... it gives us more Strength skill checks to select from, which I think is a good idea.That's my pitch:  A new skill Strength (Martial Arts) that allows you to add your proficiency bonus to all combat actions that ask for Strength checks contests.What do you think?</blockquote>

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