D&D 5E Aspurgers/autism effects?

[seebs]

That is a great idea! I like it! I think they should probably have a BIG disadvantage on insight checks as well.

Confusingly enough, it can be the other way around. Sometimes. I'm often going to miss "easy" social cues, but I will pick up rediculously subtle things just because I'm more attentive to them.

Analogy time: Completely colorblind person with a spectrometer who's studied color theory. I can't tell that two colors clash by looking at them, because I don't see it, but if you give me a bit of time I can probably make better color judgments than someone doing it by eye.

 

[Knight Terrain]

You are absolutely correct. I think one of my biggest problems is that I sometimes get lost in the details. Which, causes me to seem slower than others.
I also have come to believe that many people with Autism also have synesthesia, a symptom where people can hear color or taste shapes etc. Although, I have not seen any scientific evidence to back this up.

 

[Blue]

One of my favorite long-time DMs was on the spectrum and had been diagnosed with Aspergers. He was a kick-ass DM with amazing focus on the game. He could easily miss social cues about things out of the game and had a tight knit group of good friends that he ran for. But it wasn't a small group - he ran multiple different campaigns in the same world. And he made his world feel alive.

Virtual glass raised, he passed away a few years ago from something unrelated. You go man, you brought us all a lot of laughter and good times. A number of my good friends I wouldn't have met if you hadn't curated them into the RPGs you ran.

 

[TheCosmicKid]

I also have come to believe that many people with Autism also have synesthesia, a symptom where people can hear color or taste shapes etc. Although, I have not seen any scientific evidence to back this up.

An autistic-like profile of attention and perception in synaesthesia

Synaesthesia and autism are two neurodevelopmental conditions that have been shown to co-occur more than expected by chance. The studies reported here…

www.sciencedirect.com

Is synaesthesia more common in autism? - PMC

Synaesthesia is a neurodevelopmental condition in which a sensation in one modality triggers a perception in a second modality. Autism (shorthand for Autism Spectrum Conditions) is a neurodevelopmental condition involving social-communication ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Sensory links between autism and synesthesia pinpointed

Concrete links between the symptoms of autism and synesthesia have been discovered and clarified for the first time. New research finds similarities between the two conditions and suggests how they might be much more closely associated than previously thought.

www.sciencedaily.com

I'd never heard this before, but after a quick search, the link between the two conditions looks pretty strong. Interesting.

 

[Todd Roybark]

my partner’s sibling who is autistic says they can hear electronics, and tells me this is fairly common with autistic people.

To be fair, it is not super hearing. Merely the graphic equalizer that is the brain, edits out the noise for many, and for a lucky few not at all or very little.

Sometimes. I'm often going to miss "easy" social cues, but I will pick up rediculously subtle things just because I'm more attentive to them

I can identify with this.

I also have come to believe that many people with Autism also have synesthesia

I also can identify with this.

the titular Accountant from the movie

That was, in my opinion a terrible movie, and not just for it’s non-portrayal of a person on the spectrum. I felt this way the one time I saw it, and this was before my autism diagnosis.

Beating the sensitivity to touch, out of someone, does not work.

 

[Unwise]

Personally, I would do the opposite of most suggestions. I would not try to portray it realistically at all. I would not give the trait a name. I would just focus on the trope that I found interesting (subtly be damned) E.g.

• Hyper focused sage who gets obsessed by research and ignores people and his surroundings.
• Scientist who gets carried away with research possibilities and unthinkingly ignores ethics
• Guy who just cannot read the room and plays it for comedic effect
• The Nutty Professor / Mad Scientist
• Misanthrope loner who just never learnt to connect to people due to traumatic past.
• Mix it with being a psychopath for a guy who simply cannot detect or care about others feelings.
• The well-meaning young guy who just wants to be everybody's friend and pursues such with manic energy. I played this guy as the new guy on the team who just wanted to prove himself to everybody and never knew when to stop.

As I get older and more jaded, I want far less subtle characters in my campaigns. Unless you plan on RPing like Critical Role all the time, you need a short-hand of a character, not a fully fleshed out one. The main thing is for a character's reactions to be mostly predictable, so others can play off them. Anything past that is just extra. Having 'depth' at the expense of predictability and clarity is not optimal in my opinion.

 

[Ash Mantle]

I think one of the best examples of a fictional someone with high functioning Asperger's is Newt Scamander from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Newt doesn't really look people in the eye, is shy and introverted, is socially awkward, and finds the presence of his animals far more comforting than being with people.
Perhaps your character could have these traits more pronounced in their childhood, but since adulthood they have found them to be better managed.

 

[Knight Terrain]

An autistic-like profile of attention and perception in synaesthesia

Synaesthesia and autism are two neurodevelopmental conditions that have been shown to co-occur more than expected by chance. The studies reported here…

www.sciencedirect.com

Is synaesthesia more common in autism? - PMC

Synaesthesia is a neurodevelopmental condition in which a sensation in one modality triggers a perception in a second modality. Autism (shorthand for Autism Spectrum Conditions) is a neurodevelopmental condition involving social-communication ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Sensory links between autism and synesthesia pinpointed

Concrete links between the symptoms of autism and synesthesia have been discovered and clarified for the first time. New research finds similarities between the two conditions and suggests how they might be much more closely associated than previously thought.

www.sciencedaily.com

I'd never heard this before, but after a quick search, the link between the two conditions looks pretty strong. Interesting.

Thank you so much for sharing those articles!

 

[Knight Terrain]

An autistic-like profile of attention and perception in synaesthesia

Synaesthesia and autism are two neurodevelopmental conditions that have been shown to co-occur more than expected by chance. The studies reported here…

www.sciencedirect.com

Is synaesthesia more common in autism? - PMC

Synaesthesia is a neurodevelopmental condition in which a sensation in one modality triggers a perception in a second modality. Autism (shorthand for Autism Spectrum Conditions) is a neurodevelopmental condition involving social-communication ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Sensory links between autism and synesthesia pinpointed

Concrete links between the symptoms of autism and synesthesia have been discovered and clarified for the first time. New research finds similarities between the two conditions and suggests how they might be much more closely associated than previously thought.

www.sciencedaily.com

I'd never heard this before, but after a quick search, the link between the two conditions looks pretty strong. Interesting.

I also found this very interesting video:

 

[Eyes of Nine]

I really appreciate everyone who has been so thoughtful and respectful in this thread.