How to roleplay Int 6?
- Thread starter Li Shenron
- Start date
Some ideas that might help flesh him out:
* Not only having a low int (which I like to think of as "memory" and "reasoning", but he's also got high wisdom (which I consider "intuition" and "willpower"). In general, he doesn't know what to do (whether he thinks he does or not), but he knows whatever he's doing is correct. When faced with a decision, never consider, never weigh options. Go with what gut feeling your character would have.
* He's also a rustic wild elf that "don't get out much". His personal interactions should be direct and sincere (no politics), and his social interactions should be horrifing. Consider how he'd act at a formal dinner party, with this slew of trite superficial manners and unwritten rules, he'd be so offensive it'd be a miracle if the party survived through the night! Again, this stems from his upbringing combined with his low ability to recognize and adapt to different settings. A human raised in cities with the same ability scores would act better or at least understand the difference between formal and informal social interaction. On the other hand he may be the spokesperson of the party if they're in the middle of nowhere trying to work with a tribal village, whereas in the city the party is on the verge of chaining him up.
* He's probably literate, but woe unto the person who has to read what he writes. And english (common, elven, ...) professors should have a heart attack if they hear him speak. Don't use bad grammar when speaking, use offensively bad grammar. Any time he has something very worthwhile to say (coming from his high wisdom), it should sound like the worst idea ever simply because of the way in which he expresses it. It'll make his insight that much more spectacular when the party figures out what he means.
* Back to the rustic idea, money is probably a cute formality that he tries so erringly to mimic. His high wisdom lets him understand that people are passing materials around as some sort of currency for return goods/favors. However his low int combined with his race (wild elves are skeptically familiar with this notion of "towns") spells disaster when he tries to use this whole money thing himself. Have him carry around buttons, shiny fish scales and other worthless paraphinalia(sp) to hand off at the most inopportune times when talking with people, etc. Eventually he may catch on or even just give up on trying, but it should be a comedically painful series of trial and error.
* In short: He has great intentions, but poor delivery.
* This sounds like a really fun character to play
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* Not only having a low int (which I like to think of as "memory" and "reasoning", but he's also got high wisdom (which I consider "intuition" and "willpower"). In general, he doesn't know what to do (whether he thinks he does or not), but he knows whatever he's doing is correct. When faced with a decision, never consider, never weigh options. Go with what gut feeling your character would have.
* He's also a rustic wild elf that "don't get out much". His personal interactions should be direct and sincere (no politics), and his social interactions should be horrifing. Consider how he'd act at a formal dinner party, with this slew of trite superficial manners and unwritten rules, he'd be so offensive it'd be a miracle if the party survived through the night! Again, this stems from his upbringing combined with his low ability to recognize and adapt to different settings. A human raised in cities with the same ability scores would act better or at least understand the difference between formal and informal social interaction. On the other hand he may be the spokesperson of the party if they're in the middle of nowhere trying to work with a tribal village, whereas in the city the party is on the verge of chaining him up.
* He's probably literate, but woe unto the person who has to read what he writes. And english (common, elven, ...) professors should have a heart attack if they hear him speak. Don't use bad grammar when speaking, use offensively bad grammar. Any time he has something very worthwhile to say (coming from his high wisdom), it should sound like the worst idea ever simply because of the way in which he expresses it. It'll make his insight that much more spectacular when the party figures out what he means.
* Back to the rustic idea, money is probably a cute formality that he tries so erringly to mimic. His high wisdom lets him understand that people are passing materials around as some sort of currency for return goods/favors. However his low int combined with his race (wild elves are skeptically familiar with this notion of "towns") spells disaster when he tries to use this whole money thing himself. Have him carry around buttons, shiny fish scales and other worthless paraphinalia(sp) to hand off at the most inopportune times when talking with people, etc. Eventually he may catch on or even just give up on trying, but it should be a comedically painful series of trial and error.
* In short: He has great intentions, but poor delivery.
* This sounds like a really fun character to play
.
Left-handed Hummingbird
First Post
High Intelligence + Low Wisdom = Eccentricity in my book. Low Intelligence + High Wisdom = The opposite; a very down-to-earth person, who has a hard time learning, but an easy time understanding. A person who has a strong intuition that seldom fails. A high wisdom score indicates to me, that your character is aware of his intellectual short comings, but is probably able to work around them; he doesn't try to articulate his beliefs, but acts on them and tries to be an example to others.
Bhaal said:
I'd lean towards thinking that he could be a silent and perceptive person that would keep quiet during such formal social events. He definitely won't have the gift of gab and he's wise enough to know that!
I don't like the Forrest Gump or Slingblade analogy. I'm thinking more like mute boy with good instincts.
jgbrowning
Hero
Id play him as if he was retarded and stubborn. He'll do what ever he wants and others cant explain to him why he shouldn't. I would not make him have a lot of common sense, but since he's CG make him a big 'ol softie. He should be a constant source of exasperation for the rest of the group, until they decide to leave him behind because he's just too stupid.
He's barely smarter than an otyugh.
actually all of the above is just a joke.
i'm a firm believer in doing what you want, but this guy is so stupid no right minded group of adventuers would entrust their lives with him unless you have some type of relationship with another of the PC so they cant leave you. you could play as as the dumb little brother of one of the characters, or have a relationship like george and lenny in of mice and men, but unless you have such no one with average intelligence would trust you to save them. they wouldn't trust you to know how to save them. especially considering once you get to the point where the party must have a plan and be flexible in adapting that plan on the spot to survive.
have fun! and thanks for the best laugh i've had in weeks....
joe b.
He's barely smarter than an otyugh.
actually all of the above is just a joke.
i'm a firm believer in doing what you want, but this guy is so stupid no right minded group of adventuers would entrust their lives with him unless you have some type of relationship with another of the PC so they cant leave you. you could play as as the dumb little brother of one of the characters, or have a relationship like george and lenny in of mice and men, but unless you have such no one with average intelligence would trust you to save them. they wouldn't trust you to know how to save them. especially considering once you get to the point where the party must have a plan and be flexible in adapting that plan on the spot to survive.
have fun! and thanks for the best laugh i've had in weeks....
joe b.
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Play him like Lenny from Of Mice and Men. Have him latch on to someone he considers "smarter", and have him follow him around like a pet. With the high Wis, it could be fun to have him latch on to someone with a very different value set/alignment (the old "I don't know about this George, are you sure" thing), he acts as the more worldly/intelligent character's conscience.
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Left-handed Hummingbird
First Post
I'm a bit surprised so many have chosen to play him like an oaf. Sure, he isn't "book clever"; he is poor at logical, deductive thinking, and is rotten at puzzles. He would have little education, and not a very good grasp of "fancy words", but it is very wrong IMHO to label him as liability to the party or as a person who would make dangerous choices and be stubborn about them. A high wisdom score in my book is about having a strong intuition, that is a high situation awareness, a sense of knowing the right path to chose, and being hard to fool. And while a high wisdom can be indicative of stubbornnes, it's more true to call it willpower and commitment. He would most definitely not be latch on to another character in my book. More likely the rest of the party will turn to him for advice because of his good judgements.
The way I play, a high Int/low Wis character would be far more dangerous to the party than a low Int/high Wis character would be.
The way I play, a high Int/low Wis character would be far more dangerous to the party than a low Int/high Wis character would be.
Bob Aberton
First Post
(cue the "Feather" theme music)
"My mama always said 'life's like a box of chocolates - you never know what your gonna get...'"
(/"Feather" theme music.)
I agree it would be like Forrest Gump. Make him "stupid" by everyone else's definitions - ie, no book-larnin', very literal, very unwittyd - but have him have sort of a strong intuition about everything...like...like...
...like Forrest Gump. Remember, one of the main points of the movie was that he sometimes understood things a lot better than all the people who thought he was "stupid," because he had a sort of intuition about those things.
("Feather" theme music)
"My mama always said, stupid is as stupid does..."
(/"Feather" theme music)
"My mama always said 'life's like a box of chocolates - you never know what your gonna get...'"
(/"Feather" theme music.)
I agree it would be like Forrest Gump. Make him "stupid" by everyone else's definitions - ie, no book-larnin', very literal, very unwittyd - but have him have sort of a strong intuition about everything...like...like...
...like Forrest Gump. Remember, one of the main points of the movie was that he sometimes understood things a lot better than all the people who thought he was "stupid," because he had a sort of intuition about those things.
("Feather" theme music)
"My mama always said, stupid is as stupid does..."
(/"Feather" theme music)
RSKennan
Explorer
Sir Edgar said:
Yeah, there is that....
I wasn't quite thinking that that character had a "heart of gold" per se, in fact, he was a little creepy. I just wasn't clear enough. I was more concerned with the feral, unintelligent aspects of the character. I guess that kid leapt to mind because Li Shenron mentioned that his character was of a young age. I came up with "freaky kid from Mad Max". I still think that as a starting point, the basic idea of that character could make for an interesting PC.
