[Maromar158]

I would treat that situation the same way with someone that has low strength stat-wise but roleplays otherwise, or someone that has low celerity but roleplays as dodging really well- it goes foul of having abilities your character doesn't actually have (as per Rule 3 on the old wiki, or admittedly more vaguely as per the new wiki and forums). There's already a connection for how mechanics tie to roleplay (redtails are lucky, glykins are immune to poison, etc). In my humble opinion, it is advantageous to have mechanics tied to roleplay, to better enhance them. Focus is a tangible thing in this world, and while it might not be literal discrete numbers in-lore, it is still a force measured by the game system nonetheless.

I get where you're coming from, but there's a difference between someone roleplaying a spell they don't have icly for metagame reasons and the number crunch not lining up perfectly with what your concept for a character is. One's an organic limitation, the other's an arbitrarily enforced one. Focus is a tangible thing in the the world and having it pigeonholed by something that forces people into a corner creatively makes for a stifling rp experience.

I do like the idea of focus sensing though. Maybe as a setting one could manipulate, or as it's already done by some, as something more consistently placed front and center in a charecter's profile. As it stands, there's nothing keeping you from emoting that you're sending feelers out to sense people's focus levels.

Stats are exactly similar to how abilities and spells someone has are treated- Dev has clarified what stats can be used for what feats in-game, for example with what 60 strength can do here.

Stats CAN be used for feats, yes. But do they HAVE to be? That's a slope I don't really like rolling down because then a frail kensei that's supposed to be portrayed as weak and dainty but skilled with a blade that takes high str for a katana build mechanically will be incongruous with the character concept due to mechanical junk.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I like things that expand your options for rp rather than narrowing them down, and this may be something that can have a narrowing effect. Where does 'don't rp having skills you don't begin and the creative freedom to define the bodies and abilities of our characters end? Can someone not icly make an invention by themselves because they can't mechanically get metalworker 6, alch 6, and enchanter 6 at the same time? (yes, I know this is an absurd example, but it represents what I'm trying to express)