As someone who's not very sociable in RL, I hate this, it's probably why I seldom play a high cha character, because I know the DM's not going to just give me the benefit of my ability score and skill ranks, and someon who is a smoother talker will be able to do the social skills thing as well if not better no matter what is on his sheet, and I just can't stand that. On the other hand, I like thinking tactically and usually make PCs with above average int to justify it, but I don't think a single DM has ever heard me go all Sun Tzu and ask what my Int score was or anything.
Possibly off-topic, but it's what I thought this thread might be about:
The separation of combat and RP. When my characters fight, if capable of communicating with the enemy, they talk. A lot. Some games, I think I RP
more in combat than out of it. Possibly just because I enjoy combat so much. But the funny thing is, and I've noticed this consistently now -- the players who you'd consider the biggest "role players" out of combat (who gladly waste half an hour of a 3-4 hour weekly game RPing out eating a freaking meal at the same tavern with the same NPCs they do every single freaking session
) seem to become oddly quiet when combat breaks out. Other than coordinating with allies, and usually as a response to the more combat active characters addressing them than it is them taking initiative, they don't say...anything. No description of their actions, just the die rolls, and then cricket chirps can be heard.
That's just so weird to me. I like to describe my characters' actions in combat in elaborate detail (easier with noncasters, I guess), I like to have verbal exchanges with enemies, make commentary on the action... And at least anecdotally, I've noticed other players who are mostly combat-inclined are the same way, and what the internets calls "role players" are the opposite. There's still some people who just don't say much or RP much in general (and that's fine, some people are just more introverted than others), of course. Anyone else notice this? Why is "roleplaying" always talked about as noncombat encounters, and given a vibe of incompatibility with combat?