What's the hardest attribute to effectively role-play?

[Steven Samuel]

So maybe this comes down to whether
1) players should take responsibility for (and/or enjoy) roleplaying their character according to their attributes;
2) players behave as themselves but DMs should take charge of things like information flow based on character attributes (shift responsibility to DM); or
3) Players still act as they want and the mix of failed or successful checks throughout the game 'describe' characters through the mechanics. Low IQ characters will fail more and get a rep for doing so, for example.

I imagine each will have their own preferences, but I see at least three approaches here.

 

[Hriston]

So your scores have no connection to how you roleplay your PC? To me, modeling your PC is basically the whole point of them. If they don't inform your character, what's the point of them?

The point of having scores is to help determine the likelihood of the success or failure of the actions I choose for my PC through roleplaying. When "modeling" my PC, I try to increase the chances of success of the kinds of things I want them to be able to do, and, when roleplaying my PC, I try to do things (as much as possible) at which they have a good chance to succeed, so the scores and actions are being informed both ways. None of that means the PC's scores form any kind of hard limitation on my roleplaying and certainly not one I would accept being "policed" by a DM or any other player. I would never agree to play at a table where that was the expectation.

 

[Micah Sweet]

The point of having scores is to help determine the likelihood of the success or failure of the actions I choose for my PC through roleplaying. When "modeling" my PC, I try to increase the chances of success of the kinds of things I want them to be able to do, and, when roleplaying my PC, I try to do things (as much as possible) at which they have a good chance to succeed, so the scores and actions are being informed both ways. None of that means the PC's scores form any kind of hard limitation on my roleplaying and certainly not one I would accept being "policed" by a DM or any other player. I would never agree to play at a table where that was the expectation.

I would just do the best job I can roleplaying the character I chose to create and play (said creation subject to the limitations of the setting, of course). Part of that roleplay is the information on the character sheet.

 

[Piperken]

So maybe this comes down to whether
1) players should take responsibility for (and/or enjoy) roleplaying their character according to their attributes;
2) players behave as themselves but DMs should take charge of things like information flow based on character attributes (shift responsibility to DM); or
3) Players still act as they want and the mix of failed or successful checks throughout the game 'describe' characters through the mechanics. Low IQ characters will fail more and get a rep for doing so, for example.

I imagine each will have their own preferences, but I see at least three approaches here.

I feel like some amount of these three elements can be in play, at any time, at the table.

 

[Hriston]

I would just do the best job I can roleplaying the character I chose to create and play (said creation subject to the limitations of the setting, of course). Part of that roleplay is the information on the character sheet.

Well, good for you!

Personally, I prefer a more impulsive approach to roleplaying where my character is revealed through play as I feel and think my way through their decisions by putting myself in their shoes, so to speak. A simplified flow chart of the process would be something like: Situation --> Roleplaying --> PC choices --> Success/failure determined (involving scores if relevant). I don't see the scores on my sheet as pre-scripting for my roleplaying. If I'm playing 5.0/1E, however, I will look to my character's personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws to inform my roleplaying, in which case I will be fishing for Inspiration, so I'm amenable to pre-scripting that way, just not from the scores themselves.

 

[DragonLancer]

To answer the OP's question, I don't find that any of the abilities make roleplaying more difficult because, as a player, I play my character as I imagine them rather than according to their scores, and, as DM, I most definitely don't "police" players' roleplaying.

I'm with Hriston here. To me, the numbers are just a game mechanic to determine the outcome of an action that requires a roll. The player of a wizard with 18 INT doesn't need a diploma in nuclear physics. Equally the player of a fighter with 8 INT doesn't need to play them dumb. It's just a game mechanic. Admittedly, the majority of us do try to play around the numbers we have but it's not a requirement IMO.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Well, good for you!

Personally, I prefer a more impulsive approach to roleplaying where my character is revealed through play as I feel and think my way through their decisions by putting myself in their shoes, so to speak. A simplified flow chart of the process would be something like: Situation --> Roleplaying --> PC choices --> Success/failure determined (involving scores if relevant). I don't see the scores on my sheet as pre-scripting for my roleplaying. If I'm playing 5.0/1E, however, I will look to my character's personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws to inform my roleplaying, in which case I will be fishing for Inspiration, so I'm amenable to pre-scripting that way, just not from the scores themselves.

You can put yourself in your PC's shoes by referring to the character you created, both through the personality you gave them and the character sheet that informs you of their place in the setting. Your PC is a being in the setting, after all, and that setting informs what you can do, how you grew up and what effected you, making you the person you are now when playing that PC.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I'm with Hriston here. To me, the numbers are just a game mechanic to determine the outcome of an action that requires a roll. The player of a wizard with 18 INT doesn't need a diploma in nuclear physics. Equally the player of a fighter with 8 INT doesn't need to play them dumb. It's just a game mechanic. Admittedly, the majority of us do try to play around the numbers we have but it's not a requirement IMO.

I just don't see the point of the numbers if they don't inform your character and how you play them. If you're making it up in the moment why bother giving your attributes names that have anything to do with the world?

 

[Hriston]

I'm with Hriston here. To me, the numbers are just a game mechanic to determine the outcome of an action that requires a roll. The player of a wizard with 18 INT doesn't need a diploma in nuclear physics. Equally the player of a fighter with 8 INT doesn't need to play them dumb. It's just a game mechanic. Admittedly, the majority of us do try to play around the numbers we have but it's not a requirement IMO.

I would imagine that quite a few who "play around the numbers", myself included, do so as a strategy for success rather than an attempt to accurately portray the PC's scores. In gameplay, I tend to focus less on portrayal (I mean, I'm not putting on a show for anybody) and more on decision making, which I feel is at the heart of roleplaying.