D&D 5E Strength is agile

[ChrisCarlson]

Again, if it is possible to disconnect ‘weight training’ as a separate skill that requires training.

Then I would say that her Strength is 18.

I wouldnt say her Strength is 20, because women are statistically less strong than men.

Fascinating.

To find a reallife example of a gymnast with 20 Strength, I would look for gymnasts in the mens division.

Please do. I look forward to seeing your take on one.

 

[ChrisCarlson]

I also want to point out, in this picture, the gymnast is doing a straightforward, jump, utilizing the Strength ability.

Interesting. How far would you say she is jumping in this image? And would you say it was a running or standing jump?

 

[Yaarel]

Interesting. How far would you say she is jumping in this image? And would you say it was a running or standing jump?

I had assumed it was a running jump. But if it is a standing jump, then it is extremely high, and must be extremely strong.

 

[Yaarel]

So, a balance beam is about 16 feet long. If she did a 10 foot run, that leaves only 6 feet for the stunt itself. It is arguably possible. Probably, we are looking at a jump without a 10 foot run. Likely she is only taking a couple of steps or maybe even at a standstill before taking the jump.

If you put a 4-foot hurdle in that picture, she seems to be clearing it.

If she can do a 4-foot standing highjump, that is extraordinary Strength.

 

[ChrisCarlson]

I had assumed it was a running jump. But if it is a standing jump, then it is extremely high, and must be extremely strong.

Generally I would wager it is indeed a running jump for gymnastic feats similar to the image in the photo, correct.

So, again, how far would you guesstimate she jumped? A ballpark distance in feet is fine.

 

[ChrisCarlson]

So, a balance beam is about 16 feet long. If she did a 10 foot run, that leaves only 6 feet for the stunt itself. It is arguably possible. Probably, we are looking at a jump without a 10 foot run. Likely she is only taking a couple of steps or maybe even at a standstill before taking the jump.

If you put a 4-foot hurdle in that picture, she seems to be clearing it.

If she can do a 4-foot standing highjump, that is extraordinary Strength.

You seem to be misapplying what "high jump" means. It is not a matter of distance between your feet and the ground. But rather how much higher you can reach above your otherwise normal height. Doing the splits in the air to separate your feet from the ground does not a 3 or 4 foot high jump make.

 

[Salamandyr]

D&D doesn't take physical size into account. Gymnasts tend to be fantastically strong, for their size.

If adding 20 extra pounds of mass will let a competitive weightlifter lift another 10 pounds, it's a good deal. Which is why weightlifters tend to be huge.

However, a gymnast has to worry about efficiency. The weight they are moving is their body. So their concern is less about how much weight they can move, but how much weight they can move above their body weight.

So a gymnast would conceivably prefer a 14 Strength (itself putting them in the 90th percentile in terms of physical strength) and a 150 pound body over an 18 Strength and a 300 pound body. (20 Strength would itself be so ridiculously strong that I don't think any normal human body mass could be big enough to be a problem--that's Captain America, Batman kind of strength, the kind that lets 6 foot, 275 pound dudes do gymnastics).

Can a 200 pound man with a 20 dexterity and an 8 strength do a handstand? No. His arms won't support him.

Can a 200 pound man with a 20 strength and an 8 dexterity do a handstand? Yes...with practice. He'll probably never be good at them. Parkour, shooting a bow and arrow, or threading a needle, will all be difficult things for him to master. And the learning curve might be too high to make it worthwhile, but he could do it.

But without physical strength those things aren't even possible.

 

[Yaarel]

Generally I would wager it is indeed a running jump for gymnastic feats similar to the image in the photo, correct.

So, again, how far would you guesstimate she jumped? A ballpark distance in feet is fine.

If you look at the lower righthand corner of the picture, you can see what looks like a wooden beam. I am reading the picture as her currently being on the balance beam, which is 16 feet long. Because of the limited space on the beam, it makes it probably that this is a standing highjump without the 10 foot run.

Her posture doesnt look like she intends a spectacular longdistance jump. Originally I thought she was doing something before tucking into a roll. But if she is on the beam, then the standing highjump itself (about 4 feet) is spectacular.

 

[Salamandyr]

Addendum to previous post.

Something that annoys me about 5e is that nearly everything associated with Dexterity in the game is a learned skill. A very dexterous person can pick up a dart for the first time and do moderately well, sure, but not nearly as well as a more mundanely dexterous person who has been throwing darts for 10 years. 5e flips that equation, making natural ability a bigger factor than training.

One can get over that by redefining what attributes mean in 5e versus what they've meant in all previous games. Dexterity, rather than being inherent grace, is instead an aggregate estimation of all one's training at dexterity related things. Strength is an aggregate score for all one's time spent doing strength related activities. A high intelligence implies one has spent a lot of time reading books, et cetera.

But one must be aware of it.

 

[ChrisCarlson]

Hrm. Maybe I just don't couch my understanding of my fantasy worlds in the same "specialization/career focus tenancies" found in modern society?