How to play a PC dumb and wise...

[kenobi65]

High Wis, low (or at least slightly below-average) Int suggests someone with good common sense / "horse sense", but not much in the way of "book l'arnin'." The low CHA can be gruff, or not sure of himself.

I tend to agree with Zappo and Psionicist -- Forrest Gump isn't a bad example. His INT would probably be even lower than 8, but he's also got a low CHA (not very confident, not very well-spoken, goofy-looking). Yet, he always knows the right thing to do.

 

[reanjr]

I agree with Henry but don't think Thud would explain his opinion so elaborately. He'd rather get shy and blush when asked directly. A little bit insecure, shy and SLOW. Don't play him stupid, but he's not too sure of himself and he knows that he's a little slow with thinking.

I think it was good how he explained it since it was somewhat berating to the other characters - low charisma.

 

[BSF]

Below average Int, high Wis and low Cha, Hmm. I think the character would have strong intuition, but would have a difficult time expressing the reasons why a particular action is good or bad. It might be that the PC lacks the ability to rationalize why something is a bad idea. It might be that the PC lacks the skill to verbalize the reasons in a way that everyone else would understand.

As a player, I think I have a higher Int than Wis, so it might be a little tough to play. But I would have the PC weigh in on whether ideas/plans/suppositions are good or bad and then avoid providing any explanation. "It just feels right/wrong" would almost become the PC's catch-phrase. Since the PC is Lawful (monk), I would have the PC weigh in on an idea once, then go with the majority decision. Even if it felt like a bad idea, the PC would sadly comment on that it still felt wrong, and then execute according to plan.

Maybe bring in a couple of eyore elements? "Nobody listens to me, but I knew it was a bad idea. But I'm just Thud, why would anybody listen to me?"

Personally, I think it would be a difficult line to walk in playing the PC, but it could be quite a challenge.

 

[Dark Jezter]

Intelligence in D&D represents how good your character is at learning concepts. It has nothing to do with the level of education the character has recieved. You could have a barbarian with 18 Intelligence who is still illiterate.

A 16-wis/8-int character would be a little slower than normal when it came to learning new things (as already mentioned, 8 is not low intelligence, just below-average), but on the other hand he'd have very good common sense, he'd be keenly aware of his surroundings, and he'd be good at reading people.

 

[FireLance]

Wise, but not too charismatic or smart? I think of Sam Gamgee from the LoTR movies.

 

[Sejs]

Side note on the charisma thing - a low charisma person isn't gruff and scary. In fact, they have a penalty they have to get over even if they want to try to seem gruff and scary on purpose (eg use the Intimidate skill). A low charisma person is ... limp. Wet noodle. Unconfident. Unassertive, even if they're being loud - like in Henry's example where Thud had to keep repeating himself over and over, because the other two just glossed over what he was saying until he had to shout.


Think like Milton from Office Space. Milton has low charisma. Even when he's mumbling about burning the building down, you're thinking to yourself 'yeah, sure.. whatever'. Lumbergh (the boss) has a low charisma, too. He couldn't inspire confidence his employees if his life depended on it, and it shows.

 

[Big Jake]

Two words:

The. Tick.

 

[Sejs]

Spooooon!

I dunno, I think the Tick would be a pretty bang on example of low int and wis, but a -super- high charisma. Dumb as a rock but unshakably self-confident, even when he's utterly off base or going off on one of his 'tangents'.



"Yes, evil comes in many forms, whether it be a man-eating cow or Joseph Stalin, but you can't let the package hide the pudding! Evil is just plain bad! You don't cotton to it. You gotta smack it in the nose with the rolled-up newspaper of goodness! Bad dog! Bad dog!"



...oh yeah baby, that's the stuff.