Horses are largely domesticated, so that's a bad example. Bears are not. Bears can kill you, and most people are going to s&*# bricks if they encounter a bear.
People access threats as they arise. There are a lot of factors that go into these determinations, but the most important one is this: is my life in danger?
If a guy with an axe (Mongo) knocks your door down (sunder/Strength check), you're likely going to be intimidated, especially if he's huge and doesn't seem to have even broken a sweat (high Strength score) and has expressed his intent to harm you (an Intimidate check).
Subtle threats are intimidating, too, but a hulking madman is no less intimidating as a consequence. Leatherface, from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, probably had a low Charisma score, but when he's whirling a chainsaw around and cutting your friends apart, he's pretty damned intimidating.
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POO - there's feat for everything and they gimp the verisimilitude of the FRP setting as often as not.
More to the point, I think there ought not to always be a limit as to which Stat buffs which skill.
Given the same number of skill ranks:
A dude who has 18 STR, 18 INT and 18 CHR sure ought to be able to intimidate better than another dude who has 18 CHR and no other Stat worthy of mention.
And with the right feats, he can.
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Subtle threats are intimidating, too, but a hulking madman is no less intimidating as a consequence. Leatherface, from Texas Chainsaw Massacre, probably had a low Charisma score, but when he's whirling a chainsaw around and cutting your friends apart, he's pretty damned intimidating.
he is not intimidating, you are just perceptive enough to see what he does. Being scary and using intimidation are not the same
Horses are largely domesticated, so that's a bad example. Bears are not. Bears can kill you, and most people are going to s@@$ bricks if they encounter a bear.
Last time I encountered a bear (didn't bother getting up to look, but heard and smelled it messing around), I rolled over in my sleeping bag and went back to sleep.
I'm just one guy, but the other ten or so people on the trip mostly did exactly the same. One or two people stayed awake till it left.
As far as I know such is typical when people encounter bears. S#$$ting bricks is rare (and discouraged).
Perhaps Intimidate is less what the holder of the skill 'gives off/emanates' and more the degree to which the recipient responds to their presence.
It is the skill holder eliciting a certain response from others - irrespective of the weapon they are carrying, their appearance, their strength, the level of growl in their voice , their reputation (or whatever).
Of course, the latter items may indicate bonuses are in order. There is also the implication that an opposed roll could be called for... maybe in place of the DC check - but using the same modifications.
Honestly I see intimidation keying of Cha being like Ciel from the anime Black Butler.
He is often dealing with power people and adults (he is but a boy), but he cool demeanor, careful chocie of words, and his general additude tends to intimidate people, as if they are not speaking to a child but a emperor or a king.
Horses are largely domesticated, so that's a bad example. Bears are not. Bears can kill you, and most people are going to s@@$ bricks if they encounter a bear.Last time I encountered a bear (didn't bother getting up to look, but heard and smelled it messing around), I rolled over in my sleeping bag and went back to sleep.
As a house rule in my group, we use the size modifier table (with the values reversed) as modifiers to intimidation. For example, if you are large, then you gain a +1 modifier to an Intimidate check. Conversely, if you are of small size, you are penalized -1 to Intimidate checks.
As a house rule in my group, we use the size modifier table (with the values reversed) as modifiers to intimidation. For example, if you are large, then you gain a +1 modifier to an Intimidate check. Conversely, if you are of small size, you are penalized -1 to Intimidate checks.
Actually, per the RAW you already get a +4 on intimidation checks if you're larger than your target, and a -4 if you're smaller than them. It's listed right there under the Intimidate skill in the CRB.
If a guy with Str 5 pointed a gun into my head and said he'd shoot me, I'd be scared.
Now,let's assume the gun is empty, but I don't know that... What would happen? I'd still be scared, even though the gun is useless.
Similarly, if, say... an unarmed 65 years old Lex Luthor told me that if I didn't comply, I'd regret it, I'd probably comply (and hope Superman comes along soon!), even though Lex himself is not much of a threat.
That's why we use Cha for Intimidate.
Intimidate is not the ability to do harm to others, it's the ability to convince them that you can do it, therefore, Cha.
Now, I'm of the opinion that a guy with Str 18 carrying a greatsword should get a really good circumstance bonus to his Intimidate check unless the other guys is reasonably confident he can stand up to the hulking warrior.
People are confusing two different things:
- Intimidate, which is the ability of a character to convincingly make threats to others.
- Demoralize, which is a combat action that gives enemies a penalty to their actions due to fear.
Demoralize can be done with Strength through a feat (you learn how to use your power to make enemies scared), or Intelligence through a trait (you are a canny observer and know what to say at the right time).
Season 4 Game of Thrones spoilers below:
My favorite example to give players of why Demoralize is based off Charisma is Clubfoot Karl from Game of Thrones -- he wasn't particularly big, but he knew how to bite into Jon Snow's insecurities.
“Did some old man teach you how to stand, how to parry, how to fight with honor? You know what’s wrong with honor?”