How do you roleplay an Int 74 character?

[Tinker Gnome]

This was inspired by the "How do you roleplay a character with Wis 74 and Cha 60" thread. So, how would you play a character with an Int of 74, but an average Wisdom, and a low Charisma?

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

Did you ever watch that show John Doe?

 

[Pyrex]

1) Wait for DM to leave room.
2) Read the module.

Congrats! You now have Int 74!

 

[BlackMoria]

You don't. It's called 'retirement' in my campaign.

 

[Crothian]

Ya, John Doe seems the best way to handle this.

 

[Chroma]

He'd devise the best was to act normal, so the dudes with STR74 wouldn't beat on him after class...

 

[Tinker Gnome]

Did you ever watch that show John Doe?

Nope, what is it?

 

[Nifft]

I'd stop having to hold back...

-- N

 

[Ashrem Bayle]

The guy wakes up on an island with no memory of his past. However, he knows everything about any subject. The show was primarily about him figuring out who he was and why he knows everything.

Pretty cool idea. It was a pitty they never revealed how he came to know all these things before the show was cancelled. Luckily, the writers came forward and spoiled it after it was clear the show was history.

 

[Faerl'Elghinn]

I have the same problem. My 2e Dragon Mountain character (he was the one to walk away with the Shard of Writing, for anyone who knows what that is) has been coverted, and has since evolved turned into this nigh-unstoppable, 52 intelligence, 45th-level rogue/assassin/wizard who uses wishes as toilet paper. My DM just assumes that he is simply incapable of bungling the wording, as his 28 wisdom and vast experience and research in the field will prevent him from trying to stretch the limits of the spell. I go about roleplay by trying to display the most arrogant, condescending, creatively evil personality I can muster. One must remember, however, that vast intellect does not in itself confer omniscience. As far as game rules, the statistic itself pertains mostly to all areas of knowledge and (perhaps more importantly) Spellcraft. In order to have any given knowledge, one must still have spent the required skill points and done the required research.

A character of ultra-epic (75) intelligence, however, may want to consider becoming a deity, at which point the ultimate goal of perfection has basically been achieved, and one might as well just frame the character sheet and hang it on the wall. New characters can be fun. It can always be taken down and dusted off once in a while for a few sessions of madness, but for the most part, true roleplay is impossible for any human being once any of the metaphysical attributes reach beyond 20 or so. On the other hand, if a character were to reach such a high intelligence in the short period of time since 3e was released, it would suggest that roleplay had played only a minor part in the game anyway. The game rules can cover ability scores as high as you want to take them, so you shouldn't have any concerns as far as combat or specific knowledge skills. 3.5 does a pretty good job of handling ridiculously powerful characters.