Extremely low mental atts - How to play?

[Dannyalcatraz]

Just don't exaggerate his stupidity. A 6 intelligence is dumb, but not incredibly so. An 8 wisdom is only slightly below average. People far too often forget that about 1 in 200 humans have a 3 intelligence. Nearly 10% of all humans have an intelligence score of 6 or below. He's not that dumb. His 8 wisdom is better than 25% of the human population. Heck, 1 in 50 even have a charisma as low as his, or even worse.

It gets old watching player and player again treat an 8 intelligence as functionally retarded. I've even seen players who think a 10 or an 11 is an excuse to play dumb and get their party into trouble with a series of ridiculously stupid actions.

D&D Statistics

Right...

But when you start stacking 2 or 3 low mental stats together, there is a certain "negative" synergy. A guy who is not only a bit slow- Int 7 or less, for argument's sake- but whose Wis is in the same range may routinely make bad decisions because he is unwise as well as slow.

 

[Dross]

A few of the cuff thoughts.
Let him have ideas, but they rely on something the party does not have or is dangerous to use. if you are quick enough, they can then be the basis of ideas that someone else can come up with (the remark that often gets the hero thinking of a way to win).

"What does this do?" he can ask this while reaching for said item, even from far enough away that a quick reaction by someone can stop him.

His stats are not low enough for him to be totally unaware of his lacks, don't trust someone he does not recognises. Maybe go as far as standing behind the mage when surrounded by unknown critters.

Give him a hobby, say, cooking. decide if you want him to be bad or good at it. Collecting stuff like belt buckles of fallen foes, then refer to the foes via their buckles.

Be the meanest most violent bad a$$ in battle, but after battle place every fallen foe in repose.

 

[billd91]

A Charisma of 4 is pretty low. At that point, I'd have him barely interacting with anybody else except in a really basic manner. The low Charisma, I think, would indicate something well beyond abrasiveness - something that would really put people off just by being around him. Maybe he's incredibly ugly. Maybe, given his impressive physique, he gives off a noticeable antisocial vibe - kind of like the the way you might imagine a stereotypical, inbred, rural rube of an axe murderer, but less articulate.

He's dumb but not shockingly so and he's only a little less with it and perceptive than the average Joe. So I would focus on the Charisma as the real standout, backed up by a fairly simplistic grasp of tactics and life in general that relies more on brute physicality rather than guile.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

A Charisma of 4 is pretty low. At that point, I'd have him barely interacting with anybody else except in a really basic manner. The low Charisma, I think, would indicate something well beyond abrasiveness - something that would really put people off just by being around him. Maybe he's incredibly ugly. Maybe, given his impressive physique, he gives off a noticeable antisocial vibe - kind of like the the way you might imagine a stereotypical, inbred, rural rube of an axe murderer, but less articulate.

He's dumb but not shockingly so and he's only a little less with it and perceptive than the average Joe. So I would focus on the Charisma as the real standout, backed up by a fairly simplistic grasp of tactics and life in general that relies more on brute physicality rather than guile.

He could also be extremely introverted. Wallflowers, regardless of size, eventually get completely discounted by those around them.

Or consider Kevin from Sin City- the extremely dexterous and dangerous serial killer who never talked.

 

[krupintupple]

IMC i tend to play the mental attributes in the following manner:

low charisma i usually represented by lack of eye-contact, stammering, obvious unease around people, unwillingness to touch and a fairly hard time interacting with others, even for the basics. alternately, they could speak normally, but not knowing any social 'norms' they just blurt things out and interrupt others, or ignore the natural flows of speech; having a relative with aspergers (im not making light of this terrible condition) i sometimes felt that it was this latter portrayal of charisma.


low intelligence is forgetful, slow and seems to have a nigh-continually furrowed brow. they might mean well, but unless you stick to things they already know, they're probably not going to 'get it' within the first pass.


low wisdom is easily led, not really thoughtful, and has a tendancy to be brash and totally lacking foresight. sadly, this seems to be the most lacking in our north american culture, so just turn on the tv to any show involving some spoiled celebrity and you've probably got a good base to build upon

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Personally, "brash" is a word I'd associate with low Wis coupled with a high Cha.

 

[Jhaelen]

A Charisma of 4 is pretty low.

Umm, yeah. It will also make the character _extremely_ vulnerable against Charisma damage. Touch of idiocy or ego whip will turn you into a vegetable. I'd never, ever consider creating a character with such a low stat.

 

[pawsplay]

You could play him like a regular bloke who tends to hang back when there's talking to be done, relies on his friends to interpret confusing things happening around him, and never really got the hang of reading. With Dex 18, he's certainly not mentally retarded; far from it, he qualifies as an athletic genius.

And if pressed:

"Krugg... thinking about this a moment."

*minutes pass*

"Krugg?"

"Krugg still thinking."

 

[Megahedron]

Your character is an idiot. Play him like he's stupid. Whether he's mean, confused, nice, whatever is up to you, but one thing is sure. Stupid.

 

[roguerouge]

Okay, if you're playing CN alignment, you have to be a team-player CN alignment. Start with a decision tree: does he always believe those who are egg-heads or does he always disbelieve them? Does he pick one person as his guide or does he "follow the hot hand". You might also play him as intelligent, but illogical, such as a smart person who makes decisions based on what moon is in retrograde or whether there's moss on the tree if you're deciding to go into a dungeon.

Try the low charisma as being of normal personal magnetism, but with little to no idea about manners or civilized behavior. Like you were raised by wolves or very intelligent apes.

Low wisdom? Go with your gut. It's never steered you wrong.