Rename Dexterity -> Agility, Thievery -> Dexterity

[NotButter]

One change that I feel is long overdue is the renaming of the "Dexterity" attribute to "Agility". Dexterity is a misnomer, as while the stat can cover fine motor skills, for the most part it actually measures your gross (i.e. full-body) motor skills. I suspect that the reason this change never took off in Pathfinder was because, before the remaster, no one liked the idea of having an "agility ability score". But now that Abilities have been renamed to Attributes, that's no longer a concern.

Leapfrogging off of that, I also propose that we rename the Thievery skill to Dexterity, in order to advertise that it has broader applications beyond criminal activity. Dexterity as a skill could be used by bomb-defusal squads, military engineers, stenographers, and more. In addition to sleight of hand, lockpicking, and trap-jamming, it could also be used for sign-language, using rope beyond basic techniques (complex knots, lassoing), or performing Dirty Tricks (as in Pathfinder 1e).

To encourage this broader use of the Dexterity skill, we could also add some extra skill feats in the vein of Natural Medicine. A couple of examples:
* Dexterous Performer (must be trained in Dexterity): You can use Dexterity instead of Performance to Perform or Earn Income. The performance in question must require fine motor skills, such as playing the piano, juggling, or doing stage magic.
* Scalpel Jockey (must be trained in Dexterity): You may not be especially knowledgeable in medical science, but you possess a certain magic touch when it comes to patching up injuries. You can use Dexterity instead of Medicine to Treat Wounds. If you have the Risky Surgery feat, you only need to deal 1d4 slashing damage to gain the bonus to your Medicine check.

[exequiel759]

Not going to happen. Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma are d20 stapples at this point and even when Paizo wants to move away from D&D removing or changing attribute names will certainly going to aleniate people.

[PossibleCabbage]

Have you looked at the alternate stat variant in the GMG?

Basically it combines STR and CON, and Splits Dexterity into Agility (gross motor skills) and Finesse (fine motor skills). So "keeping your balance" and "walking quietly" roll into Agility but "picking a lock" or "aiming a crossbow" fall into Finesse. It also changes it so that you add your highest of Str or Finesse to melee attacks, so "dex-to-damage" is available to everyone.

The main issue I have with renaming "thievery" as "dexterity" is that thievery doesn't cover things like "juggling" (performance) or "tumbling" (acrobatics) which it seems that something called "Dexterity" should (since we all have an idea of what "Dexterity" is that you're trying to change.)

If you wanted to rename Thievery, wouldn't something like Legerdemain, Security, Chicanery, Skulduggery, or Artifice be better than a word we're already using?

[LordVanya]

PossibleCabbage wrote:

Have you looked at the alternate stat variant in the GMG?

Basically it combines STR and CON, and Splits Dexterity into Agility (gross motor skills) and Finesse (fine motor skills). So "keeping your balance" and "walking quietly" roll into Agility but "picking a lock" or "aiming a crossbow" fall into Finesse. It also changes it so that you add your highest of Str or Finesse to melee attacks, so "dex-to-damage" is available to everyone.

The main issue I have with renaming "thievery" as "dexterity" is that thievery doesn't cover things like "juggling" (performance) or "tumbling" (acrobatics) which it seems that something called "Dexterity" should (since we all have an idea of what "Dexterity" is that you're trying to change.)

If you wanted to rename Thievery, wouldn't something like Legerdemain, Security, Chicanery, Skulduggery, or Artifice be better than a word we're already using?

Actually, the GMG says Dexterity is split into "Agility" and "Dexterity", not "Finesse".

I use this rule at my table and as the basis for the stats in my own TTRPG.

I wrote up an overhaul of the skills once, and renamed Thievery for it.

Thievery -> Trickery