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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Sigil" data-source="post: 2695859" data-attributes="member: 2013">Disagree.  A *player* with, say, a 15 Intelligence should not play his 3 Intelligence barbarian CHARACTER as a master tactician.  Conversely, a player with a 3 Intelligence playing an 18-Intelligence wizard should not make repeated uninformed decisions.Intelligence in D&D is defined as (a) raw knowledge of facts and (b) knowledge of theory.  Wisdom is defined more as (a) resisting influence of outside world and (b) applying theory to practical real-world use.So "smarts" as you put it lies somewhere between Intelligence and theory.  IMO, Intelligence would give the player a knowledge of a ton of different tactics.  Wisdom would give the character the ability to select the "correct" tactic from the list his Intelligence provided.There needs to be some sort of interact between a player's smarts and a character's smarts, but if you let the players' Intelligence substitute for the characters' Intelligence, Int becomes a "dump stat by and large.  Someone mentioned this in a paladin thread, but as a DM, you need to marry the character's attributes to the right answer.  This is the classic example of ability score checks.If the player is a brilliant tactician, but the character is dumb as a box of rocks, the player should have to have the character succeed an Intelligence/Wisdom check (possibly both) before he is allowed to present the tactics.  Similarly, when the player is playing a high-Int/Wis character but can't come up with the solution, you as the DM need to ALREADY KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER and if he can come up with an Int/Wis ability check, YOU SHOULD GIVE HIM THE ANSWER.Some players enjoy using their own minds.  If they do, use your method.If they don't, or if they can't stomach the fact that their 22-Int, 22-Wis guy can't figure out a simple riddle just because they can't (which DOES strain suspension of disbelief), you really need to start going the ability check route and preparing yourself to give them the answers.  D&D isn't "stump the players" - it's "have fun."Here, I agree with you, but again, even before Rule 0, the #negative one rule of D&D make sure you're all having fun (maybe not every second - e.g., character death is rarely fun, but on aggregate, are your players and you having fun and a sense of accomplishment? If not, you're gonna be looking for new players soon...)</blockquote>

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