When you click to level up, the skills displayed to you do not include any of the bonuses or penalties from assorted character traits (e.g. Strong, Brute, Drunkard, Short, Sure Footing, Tough, Fat etc.). This can lead you into thinking that one particular attribute is either lagging or already more than adequate, so that you make choices different from what you’d have gone with if you’d been shown the real stats that matter in combat.