Roleplaying my character's stat

[ShadowMaster]

Hi all,

I have little problem figuring out how I can roleplay my new caracter. He is an Uthok Y'llan Fighter Chaotic Neutral with Intelligence 8 and Wis 14. How can he be Wise but not intelligent at the same time?

All suggestions are welcome.

 

[kengar]

One take on it could be a Strong-Willed (aka "Stubborn") but not particularly cerebral kinda guy.

 

[mkletch]

The end of the Abilities chapter in the PHB gives examples of how high and low mental stats interact. You character would be slow, but observant, and a good thinker if given time to work on an issue. Charisma also figures in to the mix, too.

-Fletch!

 

[Tonguez]

8 is not a low stat! its only -1 to int test

Wis = Perception how much of the enviroment the PC notices and interprets as important

Int = Knowing specific stuff about a given topic

So a person who might not be well educated, and have simple (rather than simplisctic) thought patterns, but is still quite perceptive and able to solve problems with effort.

This person is the more 'practical' hands-on type of problem solver - someone who can't read the manual but can strip and reassemble an engine because they have spent every day since they were 9 playing with screwdrivers and turning bolts...

 

[Kyramus]

High wis low int.
roleplaying tips

1) he uses what he observes. a big advocate of If I see it, I'll believe it.
2) play him a little like a Braveheart warrior. Good in a fight, Knows what to do, but not good with making new ideas.
3) From the movie Blade. Not Blade himself or Whistler, but Deacon's familiar, the cop. He was wise enough to run but not so intelligent enough to send someone else to pick up the car.
4) Any of the red shirts in Star trek. first in the fight, except with higher survivability.
5) Rain manish
6) Anakin in Attack of the Clones. High spirited, high wisdom, definitely low intel. (just listen to the dialogue, gag)
7) Record of Lodoss wars. Parn.
8) G Gundam, Domo Kashu (i know i got this spelling wrong)

If I think of more examples, I'll post it.

 

[Drawmack]

He says thinks like.

The woods are quite, too quite.

This cave is getting hot.

That guy is lying.


He offers observations on the world around him that most would miss but does not attempt to interptet those observations, simply stating what he sees.

A scene could go like this.

NPC in an inn: The mages guild has kidnapped my brother for no reason

+WIS -INT: you're lying

Random Party Member: Why do you say that?

+WIS -INT: I just know it.

Overtime the party will learn to trust this guys observations and stop asking questions about them. Although what I would do is stick the ability points from 4th and 8th level into int and rationalize the boosting is happening because he is making connections between observations and what happens next.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

5) Rain manish

Actually, Rain Man would be high intelligence, low wisdom. Completely non-perceptive (especially of social situations), but incredible problem-solving skills. He's almost the icon of high int, low wisdom, IMO. I'd be willing to bet his I.Q. tests through the roof, but that he can't perceive even basic emotional states in others.

Originally posted by Drawmack Although what I would do is stick the ability points from 4th and 8th level into int and rationalize the boosting is happening because he is making connections between observations and what happens next.

Actually, associative connections is exactly what wisdom does. That's why a high wisdom character can say "That guy is lying" while the high intelligence character is thinking "But his story sounds so plausible." It's because the high wisdom character almost unconsciously makes the association between the way the guy's eye's keep darting to the upper right and the fact that he's lying. It's intuitive for him. The high intelligence guy, by virtue of being an intellectual, tends to focus on and think about the internal logic of the tale, not the body language cues and assorted automatic signals of the teller that an intuitive person picks up and processes automatically.

Problem-solving from an intelligence perspective is a stepwise process that has very little to do with associative ability. An intelligent person has learned what transformations to do, in order, when he wants to solve a problem. An intuitive (wise) person, jumps directly to the same conclusion without all the intervening steps.

 

[Enkhidu]

Another way to look at it is that he learns very well, but very slowly. When picking up new information, he may not be able to immediately put all the pieces together, but if someone explains it to him, he would have no problem retaining the info.

Or,

Make sure he is not the character coming up with original ideas. He may not be as good as some of his companions at applying what he knows about each person's available skills.

 

[Orryn Emrys]

I know it's not an overly comprehensive statement, but I've always remembered that one of the early OD&D manuals (I think it was the book from the 'basic rules' red box) demonstrated the applications of intelligence and wisdom by noting that the former attribute would be responsible for informing a character that water falling from the sky was, in fact, rain, and that the latter attribute would suggest to the individual that he should move indoors in order to avoid catching a cold. I realize that it doesn't address the specific issue, but I've always felt that it demonstrates the statistics very well.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

Another way to look at it is that he learns very well, but very slowly. When picking up new information, he may not be able to immediately put all the pieces together, but if someone explains it to him, he would have no problem retaining the info.

I may be reading too much into people's posts. But I'm starting to think I have a different notion of the difference between intelligence and wisdom than most of you.

Does a high wisdom druid need new information about the forest explained to him? Does a high wisdom cleric need the intricate details of the social situation at the king's court explained to him? Not at all. It's the high int, low wisdom wizard who probably can't figure that one out. Because his intelligence is good at solving logical problems, not issues of awareness or irrational things like social constructs.

The two attributes solve different problems, IMO.