D&D 5E Don't play "stupid" characters. It is ableist.


log in or register to remove this ad

Low intelligence is not a disability (though it may in some cases be caused by a disability).
. . . That's kind of the point of this thread. How some people roleplay characters with a low Intelligence Score often comes across as mocking certain people with different mental conditions/disabilities. The OP doesn't say that playing characters with a low Intelligence Score is wrong, it says that how you play them could possibly perpetuate stereotypes about certain people.
 

And on a side note, I did not know that when someone blocks you, for probably stupid reasons, that you can still see threads they create and post in them.
You can, but you can’t see any posts of theirs (apart from the opening post of the thread) and vice versa.

Unless the ignore settings are changed (but I gather the OP has this one checked...):

1637706080657.png
 

I'm becoming a fan of just relabeling Int and Wis what they're used for game wise mostly, and then leaving the actual RPing of the character to the player to just be how they seemed without those prompts in there. If nothing else it avoids the well read player from having to avoid knowledge their character would have. (I'm pondering Psyche = ability to master really complicated formulae and patterns, Awareness, and Willpower.)

Anyway, looking up things for another thread, this was in the 1e DMG on NPCs:

1637706288006.png

Thought it was interesting in that for three of them, it seemed like a nice indicator to differentiate between the NPCs in ways that might be useful.
 

Not commenting on the actual point, but I do find it interesting to see it made here while so much of Tumblr and Twitter are pretty enamored by the himbo and herbo archetypes for characters
There’s a lot of daylight between charmingly dim-witted and stereotypically stupid.
 

. . . That's kind of the point of this thread. How some people roleplay characters with a low Intelligence Score often comes across as mocking certain people with different mental conditions/disabilities. The OP doesn't say that playing characters with a low Intelligence Score is wrong, it says that how you play them could possibly perpetuate stereotypes about certain people.
But he's wrong. Unless someone is already the kind of person to act on those stereotypes outside the game where it can hurt someone, nothing is perpetuated. People who don't act that way already aren't going to see a stereotype in the game and then suddenly be like, "Hey. I need to be this way in public now." It's not going to leave the game.
 

1. When you play 'stupid' characters are you are saying that there are stupid people and then you are imitating those people.

2. The idea of 'stupid' and 'smart' is rooted in ableism.

3. Don't use stats as an excuse. Having an 8 Int means (basically) that the character is slightly worse at memorizing facts than an average human.

Do have traits and behaviours which hinder the character (if you want).

Maybe they are not very knowledgeable.

Maybe they don't pay attention much of the time.

Maybe they engage in risky behaviour and think rashly.

Maybe they lack confidence because they have been called 'stupid' their whole lives.

Maybe they find themselves in a culture which is very different than their own and they struggle to adapt. Their common isn't very good and the way they view the world is different than those around them.

4There are lots of possibilities to create interesting characters rather than just a walking insult and punching bag.
1. I am not saying anything. I just playing my pc as I see fit like Forest Gump.
2. Okay I don't agree with this statement.
3. All the statements under 3 could be used to play a stupid PC. Thanks.
4. I think you applying a specific person playing a low int character to how the rest of us play. And hinting it badwrongfun when we do.
 




Trending content

Remove ads

Top