D&D 5E So 5 Intelligence Huh

[kalil]

The magnitude of dumbness implied by an intelligence score of 5 is vastly overstated in this thread. The odds of rolling 5 or lower on 3d6 is just below 5%. Intelligence 5 is the slowest kid in the school class, not someone with a severe mental disorder. He is fully capable of learning how to read, write and count. With a solid charisma score he could even be elected for office.

 

[Maxperson]

The magnitude of dumbness implied by an intelligence score of 5 is vastly overstated in this thread. The odds of rolling 5 or lower on 3d6 is just below 5%. Intelligence 5 is the slowest kid in the school class, not someone with a severe mental disorder. He is fully capable of learning how to read, write and count. With a solid charisma score he could even be elected for office.

At this point, the math you did is the wrong math. You need to do 4d6 drop the lowest, as that is how the vast majority of players roll stats now. 3d6 straight is a rarely used method.

 

[JonnyP71]

With a solid charisma score he could even be elected for office.

And even run for President...

 

[kalil]

At this point, the math you did is the wrong math. You need to do 4d6 drop the lowest, as that is how the vast majority of players roll stats now. 3d6 straight is a rarely used method.

I have always taken that to be to set player characters apart from the general populace

 

[Maxperson]

I have always taken that to be to set player characters apart from the general populace

I see what you're saying. You're using the average for the world at large. That makes sense. The lowest 5% of IQ's is approximately up to 60-65. That would translate to a 6 in D&D, so a 5 isn't really off by much.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

The lowest 5% of IQ's is approximately up to 60-65. That would translate to a 6 in D&D...

No such translation exists in 5th edition.

 

[Lanliss]

But does that even mean? A frog - with the genuine mental states of a frog - is incapable of hating anything.

I consider Hatred to be part of one's outlook on life, how one sees things in comparison to oneself. I consider personality to be a constructed image of sorts, connecting all of the things that one sees in comparison to his/her self. Unless an IQ test played a massive role in a person's life, they will not see an IQ test in this way, so it is not what I consider part of their personality. Hatred is however, since who you are is largely a collection of your wants and hates. Otherwise, why mention that they keep their basic personality when they are polymorphed? By my interpretation, a frog cannot hate, but someone polymorphed into a frog can, if the subject of their hate was truly and absolutely hated. The hate would be so deep as to be an essential piece of "them", and cannot be removed, even if they are not intelligent enough as a frog to know why they hate the PC's.

 

[kalil]

This guy crunched some numbers http://simantics.blogspot.se/2011/01/d-and-iq.html?m=1

I have not checked them. But according to his table int 5 would be 72. Dull, but not retarded.

 

[Hriston]

1. How would you, personally, play a character with 5 INT?

As I would any character with any range of ability score, I wouldn't so much play the character as play the game.

Is there more than one way to play a character with 5 INT?

There are as many ways as there are players.

2. Is Int treated differently than the other Mental stats?

For the purpose of roleplaying, no. Stats, mental or otherwise, place no limitations on how you roleplay.

3. What is it you are arguing specifically here?

My position is that solving problems is the primary challenge of a roleplaying game. Engaging with that challenge as a player is not wrong regardless of what your character's abilities are. It is simply playing the game.

 

[Hriston]

Thanks Jeff!