Stats Below 8

[Ryujin]

I posit that this is not a problem with "low ability scores" per se, but rather a problem with the mechanics of the Skill Challenge.

People can't just "sit out" combat, they shouldn't be able to just "sit out" other challenges.

Why shouldn't they? The original mechanic, that required everyone in the party to contribute to a skill challenge, was something I thought had to be one of the dumbest things I'd ever seen. Everyone doesn't have the same experiences, nor skill-set. People specialize. The Eladrin Wizard is as unlikely to have learnt spelunking, as the Human Fighter is to have learnt ancient Elvish. I don't want the ham-fisted Paladin monkeying around in the carefully balanced trap that I'm trying to disable, as the party Rogue.

People who don't have the appropriate skills can try to assist but to have them take a primary role, in something with which they have no knowledge or skill, is begging for failure be it in real life, or in the gaming world.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

I posit that this is not a problem with "low ability scores" per se, but rather a problem with the mechanics of the Skill Challenge.

People can't just "sit out" combat, they shouldn't be able to just "sit out" other challenges.

How do you propose to have this work narratively? There are certainly classes of SC where nobody CAN sit out. This is going to be common in say a physical challenge where the whole party is attempting to do something. OTOH if you're dealing with a social challenge there are likely going to be cases where not everyone is logically going to be able to participate simply due to narrative considerations. Obviously you want to devise challenges where everyone gets to do something, but that requires proper SC design, not an arbitrary rule.

But to comment on the original point, I don't really agree that a spread of skill bonuses is necessarily an issue. It CAN be an issue in various ways, but more so for the DM than for the players.

 

[Sunseeker]

No, I don't think this would be beneficial.

While min-maxers would love to put all their points into their two or three main stats, the fact is, your stats are more than just numbers, they're a representation of your character. "normal people" run between 6 and 8, if you took your stats down to 5, this would imply that you are one of the weakest people in the world.

 

[Prestidigitalis]

People can't just "sit out" combat, they shouldn't be able to just "sit out" other challenges.

If the DM can create a skill challenge where everyone in the party can actually contribute, great. But it should be based on the party members' actual abilities, and not on some "everyone has to dance" mandate.

 

[Sunseeker]

People can't just "sit out" combat, they shouldn't be able to just "sit out" other challenges.

People can't sit out combat, for the most part this is true, though players have to know the strengths, the mage has to get out of melee, and the theif needs to exercise a little crowd control to help accomplish that.

However, players should be able to "pass" on skill challenges, "helping" others should be more effective in my book. But if the checks are arcana, history, and insight, then the barbarian should be able to say "I really don't know much about those things." instead of being expected to roll on a fail stat.