I noticed that there are many places throughout the books where a characters ranks in a skill seem to make a difference to outcomes of domain actions and battles. Here is my question with this. Why is it only ranks and not total bonus?

Don't the rulers’ natural abilities count for something?

Shouldn't a magical bonus to warcraft help in battle?

How about synergy bonuses to Lead from Diplomacy?

Is there a reason these aren't included in all the situations in the game? It seems strange to me that they were left out of the equations.

Thanks,
Jamie