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

[Swarmkeeper]

"It's what my character would do" - if this is a problem for others at the table... no, just no.

 

[Nefermandias]

I never had that problem since I'm stupid irl anyway.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

I always read the OP.

I said "Reread the OP". I didn't accuse you of not reading it beforehand, I told you that you had misread it and to reread it in order to realize that.

The original post talked in nebulous terms.

No, it didn't. It explicitly stated that it's fine to have a low Intelligence score, but the way you roleplay it can be ableist if you're mimicking people with certain mental disorders in that roleplay. That's about as clear as you can get.

What character activities, which is really the player's actions, precisely, can be defined as "just a walking insult and punching bag."

When they mimic/are based on people with real life mental conditions. That's almost always a "walking insult/punching bag".

The OP clearly was triggered by some player acting some way with a char during a session. Posts like that don't occur in a vacuum.

No, that wasn't clear. The OP did not say what their intent of making the post/thread was. And until @ad_hoc explains what that was, speculating is probably not a good idea to base an argument/statement.

I want to know precisely what the OP's threshold is.

And reading the OP did not do that for you somehow? Again, reread it, it pretty explicitly states what their threshold is (basing "stupid" characters off of real world mental conditions, as that's ableist).

It is like comedy. What one person finds abhorrent, someone else, or maybe a ton of people, find very funny.

It doesn't matter. Laughing at an ableist joke is not okay.

 

[Vince_Snetterton]

Ad_hoc wasn't vague at all. They're not talking about any particular stat number (and they clearly say "don't use stats as an excuse). They're talking about how one roleplays low intelligence.

Roleplaying is in and of itself a subjective activity. On any level, for any char, any stat, any setting.
Two actors can look at the same role, the same character, and do dramatically different things with it. That has happened with Shakespeare's chars for 500 years. And yes, roleplaying a char's Int, or CHA, or anything, is ACTING.

Plato said "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" . Conversely, some person acting in some manner via their avatar may offend one person, but that same action may not offend someone else. So, again, I ask, what is the precise threshold. What was the action that triggered the thread creator to make their post?

 

[Vince_Snetterton]

I said "Reread the OP". I didn't accuse you of not reading it beforehand, I told you that you had misread it and to reread it in order to realize that.

No, it didn't. It explicitly stated that it's fine to have a low Intelligence score, but the way you roleplay it can be ableist if you're mimicking people with certain mental disorders in that roleplay. That's about as clear as you can get.

When they mimic/are based on people with real life mental conditions. That's almost always a "walking insult/punching bag".

No, that wasn't clear. The OP did not say what their intent of making the post/thread was. And until @ad_hoc explains what that was, speculating is probably not a good idea to base an argument/statement.

And reading the OP did not do that for you somehow? Again, reread it, it pretty explicitly states what their threshold is (basing "stupid" characters off of real world mental conditions, as that's ableist).

It doesn't matter. Laughing at an ableist joke is not okay.

If you are trying to put words in my mouth, I never said anything about laughing at some joke in game.

 

[MGibster]

Well, given that we are coming up on Thanksgiving, I can reliably tell you that not only are there stupid people, but I will be forced to sit and eat with them for hours.

Well just for that snarky little comment you can't have any snickerdoodles!

The way D&D measures Intelligence honestly has absolutely no correlation to the way Intelligence works in real life. Same with every other RPG I've played that has an Int-type stat. In the real world, having a low IQ is correlated with actual physical changes in the brain, which cause other physical problems such as poor motor skills and a host of other physical and mental health issues, along with social issues as well (effectively, the people generally often unable to learn what was socially appropriate). To be realistic, any D&D PC with an Int of, say, 4 or 5 lower than the norm for the race should also have trouble walking and using their hands, or even be unable to do so. "Realistically," the PC other five scores should be low as well, since the brain really does control everything.

I'm with you on this. If you've got a fairly high acrobatics skill then odds are you should be fairly strong because it takes a certain level of strength to accomplish those acrobatic feats. That said, I don't mind if a PC is stupid. Just be entertaining and not annoying.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Well just for that snarky little comment you can't have any snickerdoodles!

I CANT HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF THE WILD TURKEY 101 UNCLE FRANK.

GOBBLE GOBBL:E GOBBLE, no I don't want to talk about politics

 

[Eubani]

Can the OP provide us a list of sanctioned things we can do? Sorry to say there are stupid people both in real life and in fiction as well as stupid actions the opening post being one such thing. What next do away with Int & Wis stats because they are abilism? While we are at should we just do away with Strength, Dex and Con? How about I turn things back and say what people that are represented by this don't deserve representation? Ultimately that was a STUPID attempt at moral superiority.

 

[Umbran]

Mod Note:
Some people here seem to have a desire to win an argument that exceeds their good sense.

Three people have already been removed from the discussion - please take that as an indication that you have to be respectful and kind here.

Because the next person we have to remove from the thread will likely be given a week's vacation from the site. That axe will likely be applied without warning or discussion.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

If you are trying to put words in my mouth, I never said anything about laughing at some joke in game.

You implied that it was okay to laugh at an ableist joke. There is no subjectivity here. If the joke is ableist, that's wrong. "People find different things funny" is no rebuttal to that.