How to roleplay Int 6?

Li Shenron

Legend
I'm about to play a new PC who has a 6 in Intelligence, and I would like to receive some suggestions on how to role-play his drawback, since I've never played low-Int characters before.

Some details about him:

race: Wild Elf (young age)
class: Cleric of Kord
alignment: CG

Str: 13
Dex: 19
Con: 12
Int: 6
Wis: 15
Cha: 12

He is mainly focused on Archery (Point Blank Shot) and Healing (spells and Heal skill), and has a primal shaman-like approach to religion and spellcasting (and if facts has no ranks in Knowledge(Religion) or Spellcraft).
 

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Low Int, high Wis - sounds to me like he'd trust his gut when (frequently) confused, erring on the side of shooting first and asking questions later, relying on Kord to sort them out.
 

Does 6 INT mean you get no skill points a level or is there always a minimum? I've just noticed the SRD doesn't mention how many skill points a character gets, but I thought it was 2 + Int modifier a level for Clerics.

I've always found roleplaying characters less intelligent than yourself hard, especially if your the sort of player to come up with good ideas normally. Best bet it is to try not to suggest to many good ideas.
 

Very. Slowly.

Just kidding.

It appears that he is an overall strong character except that he is not very bright. I'd suggest someone who is very patient and at the same time slow in making decisions.

He has a Wisdom of 15, so he is quite perceptive about his surroundings and the situation around him. He is also somewhat strong, healthy, and has some charm to him.

But most of all, he has very fast reflexes and reacts quickly to changing circumstances about him.

And. He. Is. Very. Dumb.

So, maybe he has trouble learning new things but when he never forgets anything he does learn. He could also hold grudges against others that he has perceived have wronged him. He will be very careful about who he shoots with his bow, however. Deeply religious, he does not tolerate other viewpoints mostly because he does not understand them or why anyone would believe anything else than his own religion. He will be very careful about healing others, to the point that he will let someone die if he's not sure they're good or not.

How does that sound?

:)
 

Bagpuss said:
Does 6 INT mean you get no skill points a level or is there always a minimum? I've just noticed the SRD doesn't mention how many skill points a character gets, but I thought it was 2 + Int modifier a level for Clerics.

It's in the skills overview part of the SRD. If you have an Int penalty, you always get at least one skill point/level.

-Fletch!
 

Bagpuss said:
Does 6 INT mean you get no skill points a level or is there always a minimum? I've just noticed the SRD doesn't mention how many skill points a character gets, but I thought it was 2 + Int modifier a level for Clerics.


Yes, you get minimum 1 skill point/level, and minimum 4 at 1st. I spent all 4 on Heal.

I've always found roleplaying characters less intelligent than yourself hard, especially if your the sort of player to come up with good ideas normally. Best bet it is to try not to suggest to many good ideas.

Not nearly as hard as to roleplay a genius :D .

I come up often with good ideas, and I think I don't want to stop. I (as player) will still suggest good ideas to others, but probably I won't let my PC suggests.
You may disagree on this, but: when I first tried a RPG I was (for 2 evenings only) a dumb Dwarf - don't remember the exact Int score - and I tried to shut up always even if I had good suggestions to the others. The party Wizard had Int 18 or very close, but she was a child and she couldn't play smart at all, not even closely. I thought about it and I realized that player's abilities and character's abilities should be kept separate; if I have a good idea, I will suggest it (off-RP) for someone else to do it.

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It appears that he is an overall strong character except that he is not very bright. I'd suggest someone who is very patient and at the same time slow in making decisions.

He has a Wisdom of 15, so he is quite perceptive about his surroundings and the situation around him. He is also somewhat strong, healthy, and has some charm to him.

But most of all, he has very fast reflexes and reacts quickly to changing circumstances about him.

(...)

So, maybe he has trouble learning new things but when he never forgets anything he does learn.

Good thoughts, I guess patience is going to be his way. He is perceptive and feels very attuned with wildlife, and very good-healthed, but slow in learning new things, and very off understanding anything "technological" such as a crossbow, hates reading or writing - I'll make him literate but gets headache when he opens a book :).

He could also hold grudges against others that he has perceived have wronged him. He will be very careful about who he shoots with his bow, however. Deeply religious, he does not tolerate other viewpoints mostly because he does not understand them or why anyone would believe anything else than his own religion. He will be very careful about healing others, to the point that he will let someone die if he's not sure they're good or not.

In this case I'd disagree... I don't think he's going to be close-minded: high Wisdom and Chaotic/Good alignment definitely doesn't mean he's unfriendly or doesn't tolerate differences, exactly the opposite!!! And absolutely not vengeful at all.
He ISN'T careful in healing, in the sense that he may waste a healing spell without thinking twice if it's really needed.
With high Wisdom + CG, he is very tolerant towards other religions, although he's not very likely to learn about them at all with so few skill points :)
 

Some suggestions:

make him illiterate or even afraid of books
Make him real literal (doesn't get puns and stuff)
HAve him screw up elaborate battle plans and or occasionally place his spells in the wrong place.
Talk your Dm and see what he/she thinks.
 

Li Shenron said:


In this case I'd disagree... I don't think he's going to be close-minded: high Wisdom and Chaotic/Good alignment definitely doesn't mean he's unfriendly or doesn't tolerate differences, exactly the opposite!!! And absolutely not vengeful at all.
He ISN'T careful in healing, in the sense that he may waste a healing spell without thinking twice if it's really needed.
With high Wisdom + CG, he is very tolerant towards other religions, although he's not very likely to learn about them at all with so few skill points :)

Well, he doesn't have to be closed-minded, but being a wild elf it would make sense. From what I understand, wild elves tend to be reclusive and xenophobic. Being a stupid, religious, and chaotic healer/bowman, he sounds like he could be an ignorant zealot-hunter who doesn't mind letting people die if he's not sure where they stand (which will take him a long time to figure out since he is so dumb).

Anyhow, your take is equally good, too. It largely depends on how you view wild elves which I can see we differ on and that's fine.

;)
 

High wisdom and low int

Can do things (profession, craft, heal, etc.) but can't explain what he is doing or really teach others well.

Doesn't know lore or lots of facts. For example he sees an owlbear and warns the rest of the party that a bugbear is coming. The more complex something is the more he is likely to gloss over what it actually is or how it works.

If you take Wisdom as will power instead of actually being wise he could be headstrong with quirky ideas that can not easily be dissuaded. He might believe he knows things well but actually not understand them at all. "For that extra push, we had these amplifiers specially made to go up to 11!"

Kord is the raging god of wrestlers and you have good physical stats but a low int, so go for the smackdown as your answer to all problems.
 


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