how Dumb

Venport · Aug 1, 2005

How dumb is an int of 7?

Ryngard · Aug 1, 2005

The rule of thumb is take the Int score and multiply by 10.

I.E./ Int 7 x 10 = 70 IQ. So figure roughly Forrest Gump (a little slow but able to excel all the same). I would say complex speech would make them ponder for a time but they should be able to puzzle out what the speaker is saying. This is not 100% accurate but it is the easy way to do it. Read online about IQ scores. The average is something like 80-120 range with 100 being "normal" (i.e. Int 10). Low Int/IQ doesn't mean you have to be a drooling idiot uncapable of thought... it can be expressed in many ways.

Klaus · Aug 1, 2005

Dumb, but not terribly so.

Kelso (Ashton Kutcher from That 70's Show) and Joey (Matt LeBlanc from Friends) are, IMHO, good examples of the 6-7 Int range, played up for laughs.

werk · Aug 1, 2005

Ryngard has a nice system there, and I believe there is a table in the PHB or DMG that shows which monsters have what Int score, which is somewhat useful.

I look at it like this...He has a nice penalty on all int based checks and like no skill points, so he's basically going to make a bad decision, if making a decision, and he's basically untrained in all skills. That being said, like Forrest Gump, Int isn't everything, and with other decent stats, the dummy can still be useful/contributing in many ways.

The problem with drawing an analysis is that you have to take out all the other stats that help to make up for the low Int. You could have a low Int and average on all other stats and be completely worthless, or have low Int and high on all other stats and be fine. Hard to draw real world comparisons to game mechanics.

Venport · Aug 1, 2005

well my goal is to play him up for laughts he is an orc brb with the Pathetic flaw (-2 to one abiltiy score) witch give him a 7 int... i want him to be dumb and funny

thanks this helps a lot

Man in the Funny Hat · Aug 2, 2005

Venport said:
How dumb is an int of 7?

Look at it this way. If average intelligence is 10 ask yourself how SMART is 13, which is no further from average than 7? A 7 intelligence would be slightly dumber than average, but not much. The typical doofus sitcom character (like Kelso, Joey) is probably a fair example for you as long as you keep in mind those characters ARE played for laughs.

PrinceZane · Aug 2, 2005

Well, more than likely the person with the 7 int HOPEFULLY won't be making the party decisions, so you could just sit back, play the comic relief, and hack and slash your way to the bloodied pile of corpses you crave

Iku Rex · Aug 2, 2005

Man in the Funny Hat said:
Look at it this way. If average intelligence is 10 ask yourself how SMART is 13, which is no further from average than 7? A 7 intelligence would be slightly dumber than average, but not much.

Agreed.

If one wants an INT-IQ translation it might be possible to combine 3d6 probability percentages with IQ score percentages (not sure how trustworthy the last link is, but it's the first I could find with a good table).

Some quick eyeballed observations (someone may want to double-check this) based on the above links:

IQ 50 or lower - Int 3
IQ 50-60 - Int 4
IQ 60-74 - Int 5
IQ 74-89 - Int 6-8
IQ 89-100 - Int 9-10
IQ 100-111 - Int 11-12
IQ 111-125 - Int 13-15
IQ 125-132 - Int 16
IQ 132-150 - Int 17
IQ 150 or higher - Int 18

I've used the IQ scores from the table as the "base", rather than try to interpolate the exact Int numbers. For example, if I read the tables right, 1 in 1100 have an IQ above 150 while 1 in 200 have Int 18 based on 3d6. So, IQ 150+ is not quite right (the real "Int 18 limit" is lower.)

Voadam · Aug 2, 2005

Venport said:
How dumb is an int of 7?

Dumber than an orc or gnoll (int 8).

Slightly smarter than an ogre or hill giant (int 6)

Exactly as smart as a manticore, minotaur, and a shambling mound! (int 7)

-2 on int skills and -2 skill points per level (min 1/level).

Too dumb to learn wizardly spells. Too dense to become a 3.5 psion and manifest powers.

Let the dumb jokes commence.

So dumb he'd struggle to attain and use the head of Vecna.

So dumb he loses the battle of wits to the orc and gets no pie.

So dumb . . . etc.

DonTadow · Aug 2, 2005

I've always been a fan of letting players with average or sub average intelligence scores playing the character as dumb as he wants too. It can make for some interesting rpg'n. One of my favorite characters was ugh, the half-orc barbarian with an intelligence of 8. He obviously wasn't as unintelligent as the pc made him, but his character was so full of life he was the perfect "Joey from friends."