D&D 5E Geniuses with 5 Int

Guest 6801328 · Apr 6, 2016

Obviously inspired by that other thread, the goal of this thread is to describe characters who are geniuses, but for whatever reason they often fail at tasks that, in game terms, require a dice roll with an Int modifier.

How might you roleplay it?

My offerings:

Milton von Schlumberg the wizard is a genius, but he is also nearly crippled with self-doubt and insecurities. He'll often be halfway through casting a spell when he'll suddenly have an irrational fear that he's doing it wrong, and he gets so distracted by this fear that he actually bungles the spell, causing it to miss entirely, or letting its target easily avoid its effects.

Eloelle the Mistaken is a tiefling warlock, and she too is a genius. But her Patron is paranoid, and frequently when Eloelle is about to solve a puzzle or discover a clue, her Patron will suddenly whisper in her mind, "Fool! Don't share that knowledge with those worms you call your companions! You'll spoil my whole scheme!" So Eloelle intentionally gives her companions the wrong information. Sometimes they figure it out anyway, and they have concluded that she's just an idiot, a deception which suits her master's plans perfectly.

Deuce Baggins, halfling burglar extraordinaire, is a certified genius. The thing is, Deuce is also in love. And, as we all know, love makes us stupid. He's so completely bonkers gonzo in love that he often has trouble focusing on the task at hand. He might be searching bookshelves for the mechanism to open the secret door when he'll stumble across a book of Elvish poems, and 20 minutes later he's still there, looking for just the right poem to send his beloved. And he can't even read Elvish.

Calivan the half-orc ranger is a genius, but he'll loudly proclaim (and complain) that he's a misunderstood genius. By which he means that nobody thinks he's a genius. Calivan has a tiger companion who he talks to, but so far nobody has seen the tiger talk back. Calivan has brilliant plans, but unfortunately they are also usually behind the understanding of his lesser companions, and due to their incompetence these plans often fail. But Calivan's real problem is that he tries to hard to make his tiger feel valued as more than just an 800 pound machine of destruction, so against his better judgment he'll often defer to the tiger's authority on matters of Nature, Arcana, and History. Alas, rarely is the tiger correct.

Dannyalcatraz · Apr 6, 2016

Milton sounds like he is low Cha, not low Int.

Eloelle is merely being deceptive at the directive of her patron. That has nothing to do with her Int.

Deuce may be low Int, but sounds more like he is low Wis, to me.

Callvan sounds both low Wis and delusional, not low Int. He may also need to tell his tiger to get stuffed...

Guest 6801328 · Apr 6, 2016

Dannyalcatraz said:
Milton sounds like he is low Cha, not low Int.

Low charisma doesn't affect a Wizard's spellcasting.

Eloelle is merely being deceptive at the directive of her patron. That has nothing to do with her Int.

Says who? That's what her low Int represents: when she fails a roll it means that her Patron told her to keep the answer secret. Because she always actually knows the answer.

Deuce may be low Int, but sounds more like he is low Wis, to me.

You nailed it. 5 Int, 7 Wis.

Callvan sounds both low Wis and delusional, not low Int. He may also need to tell his tiger to get stuffed...

Well, his tiger is wrong far more often on Int tests than on Wis tests. It drives him crazy because he always knows the correct answer...he's a genius, after all...but he doesn't want to make this tiger feel insecure by constantly overruling him.

TheCosmicKid · Apr 6, 2016

Elfcrusher said:
Because she always actually knows the answer.

I don't want to rain on your funny, but if she knows the answer, she can still act on and benefit from that knowledge even if she lies to the other PCs about it.

Guest 6801328 · Apr 6, 2016

TheCosmicKid said:
I don't want to rain on your funny, but if she knows the answer, she can still act on and benefit from that knowledge even if she lies to the other PCs about it.

Her Patron would know instantly. ZAAAAAP!!!!

At least, that's what she believes. It's entirely possible that the "voice" isn't really from her Patron. Genius does have bounds.

TheCosmicKid · Apr 6, 2016

Elfcrusher said:
Her Patron would know instantly. ZAAAAAP!!!!

At least, that's what she believes. It's entirely possible that the "voice" isn't really from her Patron. Genius does have bounds.

At a banquet, the characters are served special "almond-flavored" wine. A successful Nature check reveals that what they are smelling is actually lethal doses of cyanide. Eloelle fails her check. What happens?

Maxperson · Apr 6, 2016

Elfcrusher said:
Her Patron would know instantly. ZAAAAAP!!!!

At least, that's what she believes. It's entirely possible that the "voice" isn't really from her Patron. Genius does have bounds.

Crazy doesn't make you low int, it makes you insane. Danny hit it on the head. Those examples weren't of low int characters.

Dannyalcatraz · Apr 6, 2016

Elfcrusher said:
Low charisma doesn't affect a Wizard's spellcasting.

True. But he isn't failing to cast spells properly due to lack of intellect, he is failing because of self doubt and fear. AFAIK, there is no model for that in D&D- no flaw, or other RP/Mechanical way to model that- but it sure as hell isn't a lack of smarts. And how does the game define Int?

Says who? That's what her low Int represents: when she fails a roll it means that her Patron told her to keep the answer secret. Because she always actually knows the answer.

Again, being deceptive about what you know has no relation to what your Int score actually is.

You nailed it. 5 Int, 7 Wis.

A "certified genius" is highly unlikely to be 5 Int.

Well, his tiger is wrong far more often on Int tests than on Wis tests. It drives him crazy because he always knows the correct answer...he's a genius, after all...but he doesn't want to make this tiger feel insecure by constantly overruling him.

Insanity and high IQ are not mutually exclusive. That he always knows the answers means he has a high Int score. That he constantly defers to another being whose demonstrably not as smart indicates a lack of wisdom and sanity.

Summing: What I'm seeing is characters whose described "low Int" is so at odds with the game definition of the stat as to be meaningless. It is like you're not even considering the game's basic mechanics.

MostlyDm · Apr 6, 2016

Dannyalcatraz said:
True. But he isn't failing to cast spells properly due to lack of intellect, he is failing because of self doubt and fear. AFAIK, there is no model for that in D&D- no flaw, or other RP/Mechanical way to model that- but it sure as hell isn't a lack of smarts. And how does the game define Int?

Again, being deceptive about what you know has no relation to what your Int score actually is.

A "certified genius" is highly unlikely to be 5 Int.

Insanity and high IQ are not mutually exclusive. That he always knows the answers means he has a high Int score. That he constantly defers to another being whose demonstrably not as smart indicates a lack of wisdom and sanity.

Summing: What I'm seeing is characters whose described "low Int" is so at odds with the game definition of the stat as to be meaningless. It is like you're not even considering the game's basic mechanics.

I don't necessarily agree with the exercise here, but the bold part seems wrong. And not just wrong, but essentially the opposite of what's happening.

Elfcrusher is trying to come up with character concepts for Int 5 that take into consideration the game's basic mechanics and nothing else. That is, he's offering explanations for why they are receiving a -3 penalty to Intelligence ability checks, spell attack rolls, saving throws, and spell DCs. And that's it.

These explanations do varying degrees of a passable job at it, so if that's all Intelligence means (the basic game mechanics) then they should be at least somewhat acceptable.

Guest 6801328 · Apr 6, 2016

MostlyDm said:
I don't necessarily agree with the exercise here, but the bold part seems wrong. And not just wrong, but essentially the opposite of what's happening.

Elfcrusher is trying to come up with character concepts for Int 5 that take into consideration the game's basic mechanics and nothing else. That is, he's offering explanations for why they are receiving a -3 penalty to Intelligence ability checks, spell attack rolls, saving throws, and spell DCs. And that's it.

These explanations do varying degrees of a passable job at it, so if that's all Intelligence means (the basic game mechanics) then they should be at least somewhat acceptable.

Bingo.

For example, when Danny says:

Dannyalcatraz said:
But he isn't failing to cast spells properly due to lack of intellect, he is failing because of self doubt and fear. AFAIK, there is no model for that in D&D- no flaw, or other RP/Mechanical way to model that- but it sure as hell isn't a lack of smarts.

But D&D does have a way to model that: that's what I'm using my Int score for. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that; it doesn't affect game balance one bit.

Now, some may have an aesthetic objection to interpreting Int that way. One might look at the description of Int in the PHB and therefore say it's a "rule" that Int means something. But really when you get down to rules, Int merely describes how to adjust certain dice rolls. The reason for adjusting those dice rolls should be left to whatever narrative invention the DM and players choose.

But...sure...for the unimaginative I guess it's less complicated to roleplay that Int is some sort of measure of how smart your character is. I'll grant that. /wink