I would definitely talk to your DM about this character. I have played a character with 18 int 8 wis and 16 chr. I played much the way that has been described. The DM felt I was not playing a good charisma because others were annoyed by her impulsiveness. Charisma is the way things are perceived by others. A DM must be aware of each character's charisma because it is a reactive ability. There is a fine line between cute and annoying and that line is charisma.
Roleplaying high INT and CHA with low WIS
- Thread starter Gnome
- Start date
There are all kinds of low wis archetypes out there. Add charisma and Intelligence...
1) The Born Leader: He right, he KNOWS he's right, and he's persuasive enough to convince those around him that he's right...despite his history of forgetting itty bitty details about this or that that might convince others that Plan A needs a bit of revision (like needing an escape plan).
For example, consider Dr. Rodney McKay from Stargate Atlantis. He knows more about Ancient tech than most other humans in the whole Stargate continuum...but he can't see his own blind spots and recognize when his intellect isn't up to the challenge. In one episode, his hubris almost got everyone killed when he thought he could solve a problem with a kind of energy source that the Ancients themselves could not control.
2) The Ivory Tower Genius: Knows a lot about a lot on an academic level, but has little or no practical experience with the real world. Result: he may have a theory about what will happen when party A attacks location B with plan Z...and may well be surprised that plan Z (which was devised by military genius Shaun Tzoo 500 years ago) doesn't work as well with more modern weaponry. Think of a young nobleman with no combat experience, fresh from officer's training school, who is sent to the front lines in a decade's old war...
3) Ladies Man. Woos them, wows them, then leaves them...even if they happen to command armies of undead.
As for survivability, all of these guys have an element of a "suit of Teflon armor" around them. With enough charisma, you can convince people to take the fall for you, or throw themselves on a sword for you...even without asking. "He is a great man, destined for great things- I'm not letting you take him down..." may have been uttered in his defense multiple times.
1) The Born Leader: He right, he KNOWS he's right, and he's persuasive enough to convince those around him that he's right...despite his history of forgetting itty bitty details about this or that that might convince others that Plan A needs a bit of revision (like needing an escape plan).
For example, consider Dr. Rodney McKay from Stargate Atlantis. He knows more about Ancient tech than most other humans in the whole Stargate continuum...but he can't see his own blind spots and recognize when his intellect isn't up to the challenge. In one episode, his hubris almost got everyone killed when he thought he could solve a problem with a kind of energy source that the Ancients themselves could not control.
2) The Ivory Tower Genius: Knows a lot about a lot on an academic level, but has little or no practical experience with the real world. Result: he may have a theory about what will happen when party A attacks location B with plan Z...and may well be surprised that plan Z (which was devised by military genius Shaun Tzoo 500 years ago) doesn't work as well with more modern weaponry. Think of a young nobleman with no combat experience, fresh from officer's training school, who is sent to the front lines in a decade's old war...
3) Ladies Man. Woos them, wows them, then leaves them...even if they happen to command armies of undead.
As for survivability, all of these guys have an element of a "suit of Teflon armor" around them. With enough charisma, you can convince people to take the fall for you, or throw themselves on a sword for you...even without asking. "He is a great man, destined for great things- I'm not letting you take him down..." may have been uttered in his defense multiple times.
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Nomad4life
First Post
I had a character with stats like the OP once. I roleplayed him as a witty drunkard- smart, but reckless, self-absorbed, and no self control when it came to particular vices. It was fun.
Satori
First Post
I'm surprised no one else mentioned this.
-The Brilliant Addict
The guy is basically a genius at whatever he does, and his good looks and ability to impress others ensures that he's well employed, admired, and respected. This man seems to have it all, right?
Wrong.
Beneath this intelligent and charming exterior is a desperate man with no self-control. He's an alcoholic, a drug user, an over eater, an obsessive gambler...if it offers immediate gratification, then he's hooked immediately.
He's probably squandered millions of gold, ruined dozens of marriages, and nearly destroyed his own life a hundred times...but he somehow manages to keep going.
He's probably got a best friend and several ladies that can't help but stick around and bail him out when he gets in trouble.
Tips: You have everything going for you...except that you can't control your addictions. So long as you have your fix, you're a genius that everyone loves. The minute that starts to fade, everything falls apart and you become a slave your lack of willpower.
Here is another concept that springs to mind.
-The Lunatic
Brilliant, forceful, COMMANDING...but thoroughly insane. He suffers from any number of minor and major neurosis and psychosis...and if he weren't so darn intelligent and persuasive, he'd have been locked up years ago.
This could border from the brilliant and good natured "Rain Man" autist to the downright paranoid and delusional Hitler/Stalin.
Tips: You aren't insane...everyone else is. Why are they staring at you? Get back to work! Yes...that's better. Better keep moving...else the bugs will come. There are no bugs...YES THERE ARE! SHUT UP! Hey! STOP STARING!
-The Brilliant Addict
The guy is basically a genius at whatever he does, and his good looks and ability to impress others ensures that he's well employed, admired, and respected. This man seems to have it all, right?
Wrong.
Beneath this intelligent and charming exterior is a desperate man with no self-control. He's an alcoholic, a drug user, an over eater, an obsessive gambler...if it offers immediate gratification, then he's hooked immediately.
He's probably squandered millions of gold, ruined dozens of marriages, and nearly destroyed his own life a hundred times...but he somehow manages to keep going.
He's probably got a best friend and several ladies that can't help but stick around and bail him out when he gets in trouble.
Tips: You have everything going for you...except that you can't control your addictions. So long as you have your fix, you're a genius that everyone loves. The minute that starts to fade, everything falls apart and you become a slave your lack of willpower.
Here is another concept that springs to mind.
-The Lunatic
Brilliant, forceful, COMMANDING...but thoroughly insane. He suffers from any number of minor and major neurosis and psychosis...and if he weren't so darn intelligent and persuasive, he'd have been locked up years ago.
This could border from the brilliant and good natured "Rain Man" autist to the downright paranoid and delusional Hitler/Stalin.
Tips: You aren't insane...everyone else is. Why are they staring at you? Get back to work! Yes...that's better. Better keep moving...else the bugs will come. There are no bugs...YES THERE ARE! SHUT UP! Hey! STOP STARING!
-The Brilliant Addict
This shows up a lot in the arts: Morton Downey, Jr., Kurt Cobain, Jackson Pollack...
Athletes? Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan, and John Daley have all gambled away millions. Others have traded in their long term health for short term prowess with steroids and other "performance enhancers."
This shows up a lot in the arts: Morton Downey, Jr., Kurt Cobain, Jackson Pollack...
Athletes? Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan, and John Daley have all gambled away millions. Others have traded in their long term health for short term prowess with steroids and other "performance enhancers."
Sorry...been drinking!
(Dannyalcatraz...posting from his happy place!)
(Dannyalcatraz...posting from his happy place!)
Mishihari Lord
First Post
I think of a politician who is great a getting people to follow him, very smart, but just makes dumb choices. I don't want to get political by naming names, but it makes me think of a certain president.
The "Stuntman/Thrillseeker"...like Evel Knievel.
He figures out the power he needs to move the mass of his cycle across a canyon, but he doesn't "overengineer" so that he has MORE thrust than he needs...just enough for the distance.. He even puts in a safety system, but he doesn't have a backup safety chute or manual eject triggers. Perhaps he even "guestimated" his numbers or "eyeballed" his distances instead of using precise calculations.
So when it DOES fail, he's on a long, ugly trip down.
He figures out the power he needs to move the mass of his cycle across a canyon, but he doesn't "overengineer" so that he has MORE thrust than he needs...just enough for the distance.. He even puts in a safety system, but he doesn't have a backup safety chute or manual eject triggers. Perhaps he even "guestimated" his numbers or "eyeballed" his distances instead of using precise calculations.
So when it DOES fail, he's on a long, ugly trip down.
I've been told by a DM that I need to post here. I'm not sure if I should be flattered or insulted. 
I've played characters like this. All halflings as it turns out, which makes it easier. For those who have read the Dragonlance books think Tasslehoff.
They are fun, inquisitive, 'ohh, what's that?' sort of guys. Always poking into things and getting into trouble but able to talk their way back out again. Somewhat hyper and always ready to go somewhere. One of those characters that does NOT want to sit around all day waiting for Wizards to memorize spells! (I find these characters easier to play after downing a big Pepsi and running on a sugar/caffeine high).
Doing things because it seems like a fun idea, not because it is the right or even smart thing to do. Note: this can annoy some other players who are there to power game or 'accomplish' something that adventure.
Oh... the stories I could tell.
Hope you guys have fun with it.
I've played characters like this. All halflings as it turns out, which makes it easier. For those who have read the Dragonlance books think Tasslehoff.
They are fun, inquisitive, 'ohh, what's that?' sort of guys. Always poking into things and getting into trouble but able to talk their way back out again. Somewhat hyper and always ready to go somewhere. One of those characters that does NOT want to sit around all day waiting for Wizards to memorize spells! (I find these characters easier to play after downing a big Pepsi and running on a sugar/caffeine high).
Doing things because it seems like a fun idea, not because it is the right or even smart thing to do. Note: this can annoy some other players who are there to power game or 'accomplish' something that adventure.
Oh... the stories I could tell.
Hope you guys have fun with it.
