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It's been suggested by one of my players that strength modifiers affect armor penalties. Basically, a strength of 18 would remove 4 points of penalty on skill checks and allow a max dex AC modifier of +4.
This must be a houserule somewhere, so I'm curious if anyone has used it and how well it balances in practice.
Thanks!
I'm not sure how I feel about this. It does make some sense, but it also destroys the elegance of the entire armor system.
I might see the armour penalty offset - though I think that it would offer a double benefit to strength, because you'd effectively gain twice your strength bonus to climb, for example - but I think increasing max dex would be both unblanced and illogical.
The max dex is not because you're too weak to properly move in that armour. It's because the armour is restrictive. I don't care whether you're Heracles on steroids, that heavy armour you're wearong is a frikkin' tin can, and unless you want to bend it out of shape with each movement or rip it apart, you're not getting greater mobility in it due to your strength.
Plus, it would cannibalise the fighter's new-found abilities, who just now managed to get to do something others can't just emulate.