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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lanefan" data-source="post: 8476336" data-attributes="member: 29398">If I've got all these skills listed on my character sheet and I can't use them, what the hell are they there for?If I'm in an in-game situation where I'm trying to intimidate a captive to get some info out of it and I've previously put character-build resources into Intimidate as a skill, I should be able to proactively (i.e. without waiting for DM permission) bring that resource/skill into play somehow.  If I can't, then what's the point of it?  Why does it even exist? (my point here is that it shouldn't exist; if these social skills serve no mechanical purpose then get rid of them)Some - me included - would see the following (stripped down to basics for clarity) as exactly analagous:"I try to hit the Goblin with my shortsword; I'm +2 for Strength and +1 for weapon focus!""I try to intimidate the Goblin into telling me where its base camp is.  I'm +2 for Charisma and +1 for intimidate!"Now obviously the second of these could and would involve a lot more back-and-forth roleplay between me-as-character and DM-as-Goblin than is show here but in the end, unless the DM says it's no contest one way or the other, the resolution boils down to this.</blockquote>