Int verse Wis

[Crothian]

In my group we have two characters, one with a 24 Wis andthe other with a 24 int. We are having a little difficulties distinguishing the two's abilities for these high attributes.

IMC, a score this high is very good and I want to reward the players with a little extra info that their charcter could figure out. Obviously, a 24 wis or int is way higher then any player so its hard to try to grasp what a score this high means.

Any suggestions?

 

[Dark Jezter]

A character with 24 intelligence is basically a super-genius. They can figure out nearly any concept with great ease. Remember that episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation where Barclay became super-intelligent beyond any human before him? Think something like that.

A character with 24 has an inhuman sense of what the military calls "situational awareness." Such a character is aware of everything that's happening around them. If a pin drops in a crowded taproom, they know it. Trying to lie to such a character is very difficult because they are so good at reading people.

 

[Reynard]

One way to look at it is this: the PCs in question essentially have 7 free ranks in every skill related to their respective ability scores. That means the high Int character not only knows a lot of things, but is capable of analyzing a situation or object and determining what is is best used for and how to do so. The high Wis character has a great deal of empathy and perception and rarely misses anything going on around him, even subtext.

But, remember that a 4th level character with even an average stat is as good as that character is in the areas where they rely on their natural talent (i.e. ability score bonuses). The flavor is slightly different, and if the smart-pants characters actually take ranks they are just out of this world, but for areas in which they have no training, they can only go so far.

 

[AFGNCAAP]

IMHO:

Int vs. Wis

Reason vs. Common Sense
Knowledge vs. Perception
Logic vs. Will

As per the PHB (3.5), Int "determines how well your character learns and reasons."; Wis "describes a character's willpower, common sense, perception, and intuition."

The very high Int PC would be a well-educated problem solver, following rational, logical means to provide solutions.

The very high Wis PC would be an intuitive, perceptive person with a strong force of will (perhaps through stubbornness, perhaps through discipline, or perhaps through belief/faith) who provides a direct, simple solution that's based off of practicality or observations of the situation at hand.

It's feasible that both would provide the same answer to a problem, but they would have come to that conclusion through entirely different methods/processes. The high Int character would apply knowledge gained to the matter & provide the answer based on the variables presented in that particular cicrcumstance. The high Wis character, OTOH, would apply experience and personal observations of the matter at hand and, through common sense, deduce an answer from the clues presented.

Now, within certain areas/realms of knowledge or issues, one would be better suited to provide an answer than another.

Let's look at this another way: Spot & Listen are Wis-based; they use the perceptive/intuitive aspects of Wis to succeed. Search is Int-based; it is based off of knowledge of what certain things look like, what could be placed/hidden where, etc. (essentially, knowing how to look for certain things, and knowing what to look for).

So, the high Int character could use applied knowledge and research to find/determine possible events/outcomes/theories/information to a question/problem. The high Wis character, like a good detective, would use experiences, observations made now and in the past, and certain clues gained over time to determine an answer/solution to a question/problem.

Now, a character that had both a high Int & Wis would use both of these abilities together to solve problems/deduce answers. This, IMHO, is a hallmark of the "great detective" characters (Sherlock Holmes, Batman, etc.); someone who uses their reason/education and detection/perceptive abilities to solve mysteries or find solutions out of very tough problems (like determining a motive for a crime or escaping a massive death-trap).

 

[Zimri]

best way I can think to describe a high wis like 24 is to put it into TV characters as well and hope you have seen the shows. Guinan from startreck TNG, Deanna Trois, also from TNG, Trance Gemini from Andromeda.

To relate it to game terms a monk gets their wis to AC because they know how combat "feels" and how opponents move and feint before attacking.

Regarding giving them information because of the high scores it is entirely doable provided you do some of your homework. In the case of wisdom , you could give them hints to puzzles or riddles if they will be facing those, you might let them know that " the third scale in from the edge of the dragons eye looks out of place" if you wanted the bonus to have a combat implementation, or, if it is an "awareness" type thing if you know they will be facing a red dragon that day drop hints like "they have a dream of being enveloped in flames and charred, they wake up feeling HOT but dry.

 

[jaerdaph]

I *think* this is a (badly mutated over 20+ years of floating around my neurons) quote from the 1e AD&D DMG (?) regarding the difference between Intelligence and Wisdom:

A person with a high Intelligence score and a low Wisdom score might have the intelligence to know that smoking is bad for their health, but lack the wisdom to quit.

For some reason that always stuck with me.

 

[trancejeremy]

Basically, a high wisdom guy would be an advice columnist in a newspaper, while a high intelligence guy would be the guy answering questions about films or pets or trivia or science

 

[Zimri]

How do you know the answer to life the world and everything is 42 ?

Int guy : I figured it out through quantam mechanics and a series of intricite formulae

Wis Gal : Look around you how could it possibly be anything else. 42 just makes everything make sense.

 

[argo]

As the ability scores relate to gathering "extra info"...

Wisdom is guesswork based on past experience.

Intelligence is extrapolation based on observed phenenomena and known physical law.

Wisdom is perceptive. It groups things that are alike and unalike. It is good at answering questions such as "what is missing?" or "what does not belong here?". Wis notices when your shirt is on backwards. Wis notices what is most important first.

Inteligence is meticilous. It considers each individual part and connects the dots. It is good at answering questions such as "what is that?" followed by "how did it get there?". Int notices that you have gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe. Int notices everything even if its importance does not become clear until later.

So if you want to give hints to your players you should give Int-boy moments of deductive brilliance such as "you realize he must have been at Tony's resturant because Tony's chief is the only one in the city who makes the tomato sauce that stained his pants." Meanwhile your Wis-monkey should recieve deep and thoughtfull insights that strike to the heart of the matter, confirming or disproving his suspicions about persons is a good way to go such as "even though he hides it well you are certain Lord Uptight is secretly in love with young Master Bradpit".

Remember that Int and Wis may (and probably will) eventually lead to the same place. They will just take different roads and one may sometimes be faster than the other.

Hope that helps.