Explain INT and Reflex, Please

[HeinorNY]

The more difficult question to answer is: Why is the guy with 20 Int and 8 Dex better at dodging stuff than the guy with 18 Int and 18 Dex.

or later on:

Why is the guy with 30 Int and 8 Dex better at dodging stuff than the guy with 28 Int and 28 Dex.

NWoD got it right.
Dexterity and Wits can be added to the Defense value, but only the lowest attribute is added, and not the highest like in D&D.

 

[Dragonstriker]

It assumes nothing. Dodging, anticipation, whatever you want to rationalize AC/reflex as, the question is why 2 points less Int cannot be made up for by 20 more points of Dex. Surely a guy who just a tad less bright but ten times as quick/agile should have an advantage.

It's simple really - the higher INT guy gets inside the OODA loop of his opponent.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OODA_Loop

 

[Byronic]

I'd say that most examples aren't really examples of intelligence as much as they are either quick thinking or observational and analytical skills. I guess you could say that's a part of "Intelligence" as it relates to the game, but it's not a part of what intelligence is in real life.

Actually in real life one of the definitions of intelligence (or at least IQ) is the capacity and speed with which we handle information.

So while a person with a high intelligence might not be as fast as someone with a high dexterity he can still compensate by factoring in where and when the strike will come. While I admit that it is not as effective in real life it is effective enough with some imagination.

In practice in DnD I think it would be best to describe it in ways suitable for the character. So a Wizard might use magical spells to conjure magical protection, a tactical Warlord might apply his intelligence differently by angling his sword and shield to deflect the blow. Remember that Reflex does not mean "jump away" anymore. It can also mean using something else to deflect the blast away from you or protecting yourself from much of it. This is why shields raise your AC AND Reflex.

I mean, you didn't really think that a Wizard actually flipped away when a fireball came? Not with at-wills and encounter spells. All he's really doing is casting a lesser version of his Shield spell.

 

[On Puget Sound]

So now guys who are really weak, frail, and clumsy but got really good grades in school are at a defensive advantage in melee over guys who are really strong, tough, and nimble.

Hi-larious.

That's right, you tortured us in gym class, you got all the dates, and then there was that "swirlie" incident in 9th grade. But now we're GAME DESIGNERS! And in OUR universe, nerds get all the cool moves!

 

[Skyscraper]

It assumes nothing. Dodging, anticipation, whatever you want to rationalize AC/reflex as, the question is why 2 points less Int cannot be made up for by 20 more points of Dex. Surely a guy who just a tad less bright but ten times as quick/agile should have an advantage.

Hmm, indeed you are right.

More generally, a person cannot be reduced to six stats in real life. Then, a single ability will often be influenced by a number of elements. A creature's defensive capacity is not a question of only reflexes or only intelligence. It is both, and it is also probably a question of strenght, endurance, stamina, experience, together with a host of other subtle parameters that we might not even understand yet as humans.

D&D decided to reduce every ability as being influenced by a single stat. Is swimming a question of strength only? No way, not even close.

Sky

 

[Regicide]

It assumes nothing. Dodging, anticipation, whatever you want to rationalize AC/reflex as, the question is why 2 points less Int cannot be made up for by 20 more points of Dex. Surely a guy who just a tad less bright but ten times as quick/agile should have an advantage.

I agree that makes little sense, but the fact is int to reflex makes no sense in a general case period. Immobile objects can have intelligence after all... Even slightly mobile objects can be intelligent, Jabba The Hut was a smart... slug-thing, but he isn't getting out of the way of a light saber EVER.

 

[Lizard]

You know how when you throw something at someone, you yell "Think fast!"?

Yeah. It's like that.

 

[D.Shaffer]

I agree that makes little sense, but the fact is int to reflex makes no sense in a general case period. Immobile objects can have intelligence after all... Even slightly mobile objects can be intelligent, Jabba The Hut was a smart... slug-thing, but he isn't getting out of the way of a light saber EVER.

If it makes sense for an object to have a Ref defense to begin with, why wouldnt it? Reflex defense isnt JUST 'getting out of the way,' otherwise Shields wouldnt be adding to the Reflex defense. Jabba may not get out of the way of a light saber, but if he had a shield in hand or a weapon, it's entirely possible he could parry it.

 

[serch]

Scientists have been studying, for a long time, if a correlation between high intelligence and quick reflexes exist. Tue story: http://www.psych.qub.ac.uk/Staff/Profiles/mcrorie/index.aspx

Our research to date (McRorie & Cooper, 2003, 2004) has shown a substantial relationship between intelligence and reflex latency within student samples


Do I win a cookie?

 

[Horatio]

I can explain useing my own real-life experience.
When itcomes to all things dexterous, I'm pretty lame. It's a miracle I can tie my shoe without causing harm to myself (ok, sliiight exageration).
But I'm also pretty smart (really, it's not a board showing-off. Just for reference, according to the tests, my IQ is at least 170).

And I always had an upper hand in sports like dodgeball. And I avoid attacks better than my clearly more dexterous friends (and they really don't get it, always speaking about my unnatural luck).

It's hard to explain it actually (aspecially in non-native language), but as people already wrote here, I can "see" it comming (incoming ball/blow) a fracture of a seccond before it is launched. Or so it seems to me. My brain is a mystery for me sometimes.

On the flip side, I can't hit a 2 meter wall 10 meters from me with the ball (but bows and guns are completly different story..)