Character Penalties for RP Purposes

[Yack]

Hello GITP!

I was wondering if anything stops a player from adding a penalty to a character, in order to better suit their nature.
For example, could the player of a senile old man voluntarily take -5 to Perception checks?

I know it's a horrible idea for combat, but it would make the character feel a little less... stable.

Thank you!
Yack

[Yuki Akuma]

There's nothing in the rules that would let you, but that's the reason house rules exist.

I very strongly warn against doing something like that, though. Intentionally making yourself useless in a team game for 'roleplaying' is a good way to breed resentment in the players who care about actually winning fights.

[Man_Over_Game]

Just make those things inherently low, or ask your DM about making some kind of change to fit your character.

I had a hermit Ranger who wanted to be around animals, but lacked all the skill slots they wanted. So I reduced their Charisma by 2 (dropping their modifier) and gave them Expertise on Animal Handling. Nothing too broken, and they definitely were happy about that decision. Talk to your DM about something similar.

[Unoriginal]

There's nothing stopping you, but there is nothing letting you do it either, until you've talked with the DM about it.