Just what is Belkar's INT, anyway?

[suszterpatt]

Class and level geekery lists it as 10 (no evidence), but we've seen him display a certain degree of cunning every now and then ("defeating" Yokyok in Cliffport, his prolongued fight against Miko, etc), and Roy describes him as "clever in his own brain-damaged way".

What really got me thinking is Ian's comment in #784 that he's never thought of letting the allosaurus loose before. Now Ian's supposed to be a high level rogue, and INT is supposed to be a very important stat for rogues (for Search and Disable Device, among other things). Is Belkar's INT higher than Ian's, or is he just more motivated to cause mayhem?

Or perhaps I'm unnecessarily shoehorning everything into stats and rules again.

[ThePhantasm]

It varies according to the level of humor the strip is calling for, IMO.

[PsychedelicBard]

All these things depend on WIS, if I'm not mistaken.

[MReav]

I think Belkar has a decent Int. I think he has a poor Wis, which makes him come across as dumber as he really is, due to the apparent self-destructive tendencies he engages in when he doesn't think things through.

[Eldan]

His Wis, however, is proven to be abominable. 10 maximum, since he can't even cast first level spells.

[Lorin]

Well, we can call back one ancient strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0031.html) As we can see V - is quite tasty and nuturious, but still a fast-food, which indicates his low wisodm, and as we can see tako-belkar is also in this category and quite nuturius too, so ill go with 14-15, maybe even 16.

[The Pilgrim]

An int of 10 is just average. Enough to come with a clever idea now and then. Plus, being clever, or smart, doesn't necessary equal being intelligent.

[TengYt]

Although his WIS is horrible, I'd wager his INT is actually pretty good, seeing as he's come up with some decent plans every now and then.

[G-Man Graves]

It's stated in one of the books, probably PHB, that all characters are capable of cunning at a certain level, whether they are an INT 6 barbarian or an INT 20 Wizard.

[sims796]

Quick question. Belkar has been quoted in the comic to having piss-poor wisdom. Around this site, people has translated this to being 10 or so.

So here is my question. Iin DnD terms, isn't a ten average? Like, not pathetic, but not all that great? Just...there? I mean, I know it's not large enough to cast even a level 1 spell, but I thought ten was still so-so (especially since it lacks penalties).

[JaxGaret]

Well, we can call back one ancient strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0031.html) As we can see V - is quite tasty and nuturious, but still a fast-food, which indicates his low wisodm, and as we can see tako-belkar is also in this category and quite nuturius too, so ill go with 14-15, maybe even 16.

That strip isn't being used as any kind of evidence in the Geekery thread, as can be seen by Haley being rated as "~10 Cha (no evidence)", even though that strip obviously pegs her as having higher Charisma than Wisdom or Intelligence (too sweet).

[Orzel]

Orzel goes by the belief that Belkar's Int is 13+. His poor Wis is what does his plans in. Int organizes information to create plans while Wis makes one aware of factor that would make plans fail.

Belkar is smart enough create sick twisted ideas with the limited information he is given. He is just too unwise to know not implement most of them due to missing info (because he was never aware of the info, forgot about things, or didn't think that far- all Wisdom based items).

[HerbieRAI]

I think the Geekery thread puts 10 due to no evidence. Not negative but very little evidence that its positive. Also note all the dead guards, I doubt Ian has the ability to take out the mooks to get to the allosaurus' cage.

I think a taco is way less filling than a burger. Maybe I'm just used to Taco Bell where their tacos are next to nothing. I'd put his Int at 12 ish.

[MReav]

I think the Geekery thread puts 10 due to no evidence.

The 10 Wis is derived from Belkar's ability to use the scrolls of Cure Serious Wounds when granted an Owl's Wisdom (because Rangers can only use that as a fourth level spell). There is some contention over whether or not when casting a spell from a scroll, they have to cast the spell using the requirements of the scroll or from their own class (I argue the former, many argue the latter). The difference is that a cleric casts Cure Serious Wounds as a 3rd level spell, rangers as a 4th level spell.

However, Belkar declares himself as having a Wisdom penalty.

[Zevox]

I'd put his int at average or barely above, no higher than 12 at the very maximum, probably not even that. Not bad though, certainly not below 10. He has his moments of cunning and intelligent moves, but he's not exceptionally smart.

His wisdom, however, is at most 9. He himself said he had an ability penalty in that area. This would probably account for most of his dumber moments.

Zevox

[Vladislav]

Quick question. Belkar has been quoted in the comic to having piss-poor wisdom. Around this site, people has translated this to being 10 or so.

So here is my question. Iin DnD terms, isn't a ten average? Like, not pathetic, but not all that great? Just...there? I mean, I know it's not large enough to cast even a level 1 spell, but I thought ten was still so-so (especially since it lacks penalties).
Yes, 10 is your average human. Traditionally, the attributes were randomly generated by rolling three six-sided dice, which makes a 10.5 average.
As for casting spells, it takes a Wisdom of 11 (ie. very slightly above average) to cast a 1st level Ranger spell. 'dem are the rules.


Not negative but very little evidence that its positive. There is in fact evidence that it's not positive. He couldn't cast any ranger spells until V provided him with Owl's Wisdom temporarily. Wis 10 is Belkar's upper limit.

[Sylthia]

I'd say his Int is likely 10 if I had to guess. As said before the average person can come up with a clever plan every now and then. His plans always seem to be guided by his desire to cause as much pain and/or damage as well, rather than what the Order happens to trying to do. For every good plan Belkar creates, it seems there are just as many that make a mess of things. Second only to maybe Elan.

[Lintecarka]

I wouldn't say leaving a mess is an indicator of low int. It is very well possible for belkar just not to care, which would be an alignment thing but not related to his int.

That being said Belkar isn't really consistent, as he's mostly used for all kind of jokes. Still, I'd give him an above average int score (thus 11+).
His low wis can account for his dumber moments, as said abive.

[Shoelessgdowar]

The Squidy Faced Guy shows Belkar has a decent mental score (he's a taco) and since we KNOW he has to have a wis 9 or lower, so his intelligence has to be high.

BTW, Belkar can actually have an wis 7 or 8, since Owl's Wisdom gives +4,

Below is the info quoted from the key portion of using a scroll


Activate the Spell
Activating a scroll requires reading the spell from the scroll. The character must be able to see and read the writing on the scroll. Activating a scroll spell requires no material components or focus. (The creator of the scroll provided these when scribing the scroll.) Note that some spells are effective only when cast on an item or items. In such a case, the scroll user must provide the item when activating the spell. Activating a scroll spell is subject to disruption just as casting a normally prepared spell would be. Using a scroll is like casting a spell for purposes of arcane spell failure chance.
To have any chance of activating a scroll spell, the scroll user must meet the following requirements.
The spell must be of the correct type (arcane or divine). Arcane spellcasters (wizards, sorcerers, and bards) can only use scrolls containing arcane spells, and divine spellcasters (clerics, druids, paladins, and rangers) can only use scrolls containing divine spells. (The type of scroll a character creates is also determined by his or her class.)
The user must have the spell on his or her class list.
The user must have the requisite ability score.
If the user meets all the requirements noted above, and her caster level is at least equal to the spell’s caster level, she can automatically activate the spell without a check. If she meets all three requirements but her own caster level is lower than the scroll spell’s caster level, then she has to make a caster level check (DC=scroll’s caster level + 1) to cast the spell successfully. If she fails, she must make a DC 5 Wisdom check to avoid a mishap (see Scroll Mishaps, below). A natural roll of 1 always fails, whatever the modifiers


The very last part of which shows Belkar could in theory bypass the level restriction.

Though, does anyone notice that this isn't Belkar freeing the Allosaurus (Thanks Giant for clearly defining the species so that argument is put to rest) for Chaotic purposes, but to do a good thing (which he doesn't want Roy knowing he thought of)? I say that while Belkar is still CE (Giant's comments via Haley infer that Belkar and Mr. Scruffy together still average out to something south of Neutral), Mr. Scruffy is a positive influence on him, and he is starting to do good deeds without thoughts of rewards, he just doesn't want to let Roy know he's becoming nicer and more good.

[silvadel]

My guess is 8 wisdom 14 int (he metagames too much to give himself an odd number).

[Prowl]

Even a person of average INT can come up with something clever every once in a while. Belkar doesn't strike me as possessing any higher than 10 INT, all his plans are immediate-execution style, there's no advance planning in anything he does, other than his revenge against Miko which he had plenty of time to work out in his isolation cell, and was more obnoxious than brilliant in conception.

[Mastikator]

I'd put his int at average or barely above, no higher than 12 at the very maximum, probably not even that. Not bad though, certainly not below 10. He has his moments of cunning and intelligent moves, but he's not exceptionally smart.

His wisdom, however, is at most 9. He himself said he had an ability penalty in that area. This would probably account for most of his dumber moments.

Zevox

Not to mention he keeps failing spot and listen checks, he probably has a significant wisdom penalty. But yeah.

[Zevox]

The very last part of which shows Belkar could in theory bypass the level restriction.
No it doesn't. It refers to caster level, not minimum required ability scores.

Zevox

[M.A.D]

This thread is created based on Belkar's recent claim that he came up with the idea of releasing the Allosaurus, but in truth, it was Mr. Scruffy's idea, who then Charmed Belkar into doing it and forgetting that it wasn't his idea

[Talvereaux]

I'd go with 'more motivated to cause mayhem'. His brain is basically single-mindedly tooled to that--it occasionally leading to good ideas just seems like a broken clock being right twice a day.

[Who149]

I'd have to say. There probably isn't a numbered stat. Its more situational and when the gag needs it.

Everybody has moments of brilliance. It doesn't show there INT.

[G-Man Graves]

I'd have to say. There probably isn't a numbered stat. Its more situational and when the gag needs it.

Everybody has moments of brilliance. It doesn't show there INT.

Or, like I said earlier, cunning doesn't have anything to do with the "Brain Related" scores. Thog is, in his own way, as capable of cunning as Roy or Nale or V.

[NegativeFifteen]

Or, like I said earlier, cunning doesn't have anything to do with the "Brain Related" scores. Thog is, in his own way, as capable of cunning as Roy or Nale or V.

Do you have evidence of this, or is it just speculation?

[Erloas]

I think too many people are looking at this in the wrong way.

I think Belkars ability to cause mayhem is more like a trait/feats. Like races have +2 bonus to things like perception when dealing with stone, or hidden objects or +2 to bluff and intimidate.

Belkar simply has a high bonus to int/wis when it comes to goading on others or figuring out ways to cause problems for others.

[137beth]

His wisdom is less than 10, he said he has an ability score penalty in Wis. I think his INT is probably pretty good. He has shown in a number of cases that he is creative in finding ways to kill people. He also seems to have no shortage of pun-insults, though this may not require much INT.

[Seerow]

Personally, I'm more curious where all Belkar's skill points are going.

We know he has 4 ranks in Craft (Gourmet Cook), but that's the only skill he's shown any aptitude in. He has a minimum of 9 levels in Ranger (he has Evasion), and the overall party level is ~13-14. So given worst case scenario, Belkar at 10 int, Ranger9/Barb4 should have 100 skillpoints exactly. Haley at one point comments he has a good hide skill, we know he has no Heal, no Survival, crap for Spot/Listen, and no Ride. I also find it hard to see him with a high concentration skill.

He had mentioned having Craft (Disturbing Mental Image) as a joke, but could be there. So where are his other 80 skill points? Probably Intimidate, some in Jump (he uses that Ring of Jumping a lot, and that's one of the things that gets better as you get more ranks in it), and I could maybe see some ranks in handle animal picked up since he found Mr. Scruffy. That doesn't cover even half his points though, so what about the rest?

[137beth]

Personally, I'm more curious where all Belkar's skill points are going.

He had mentioned having Craft (Disturbing Mental Image) as a joke, but could be there. So where are his other 80 skill points?

Craft Disturbing Mental Image is a feat, not a skill. That leaves even FEWER skills he could have trained. He might have used his poor wisdom to decide to put all his skill points in cross-class skills which he never uses. He probably has a few in Insult as well...but that's about it.

[Lintecarka]

Maybe he wasn't getting retractive skillpoints when he changed to 3.5e? Also I'd say cross class tumbling (maybe even balance?) isn't that far off. At least some ranks into hide and move silently. The rest into movement related skills and we should be fine.

But I agree we rarely see him actively using skills.

[Deliverance]

Class and level geekery lists it as 10 (no evidence), but we've seen him display a certain degree of cunning every now and then ("defeating" Yokyok in Cliffport, his prolongued fight against Miko, etc), and Roy describes him as "clever in his own brain-damaged way".

Everybody, no matter how clever in general, is capable of occasional stupidity. Everybody, no matter how stupid in general, is capable of occasional brilliance. Well, perhaps it isn't so, but that's my general experience.

And with that said, I simply cannot see any reason to believe that Belkar's intelligence is other than what it seems in general: AVERAGE. 9-12 without a modifier, and since his occasional non-wisdom related stupidity seems slightly more frequent than his occasional non-wisdom related brilliance, 10 seems a good value to choose as a guess.

There are absolutely no indications that he is either more or less intelligent than the average man.

[Lvl45DM!]

Kinda high. He made a clever trap for Miko in very short time (which adds 10 to the craft check) and Craft is a INT based skill.

[Keejus]

He also seems to have no shortage of pun-insults, though this may not require much INT.

Elan took a pun-based prestige class and it made him more competent. I think it's safe to say that puns are not related to mental stats.

[Seraphem]

I'd have to agree with the average, to slightly above average INT, (say 10-12 ish), and with an abysmal WIS, ( like 6-7, the highest you could argue is 8 and that's only because of the Scroll/Owl's Wisdom debate, which one camp has argued could still mean at least 7 and be in the rules, while another saying that between how early the strip was, and the fact that The Giant has made quite clear Jokes trumps Rules, it doesn't matter.)

[veti]

As well as cunning, Belkar is very eloquent, (almost) never lost for the right words or a snappy comeback. He shows considerable imagination and even empathy (e.g. when using his 'Craft Disturbing Mental Image' skill). And he has as wide a vocabulary as any of his teammates.

Okay, so none of these is conclusive proof of INT. But since low-INT characters (such as Thog) are played as having comically limited vocabulary, it's reasonable to assume that comically wide vocabulary is a sign of the opposite.

So I reckon Belkar's INT is at least 13-14.

[jidasfire]

It's kind of a shame D&D doesn't have a Wits score, like the White Wolf games. Belkar would have a very high score in Wits, which is classified as the ability to think quickly under pressure, as opposed to on a complex or deep level. As it is, I slightly above average INT.

[Gitman00]

On Wisdom: Class and Level Geekery has answered this. Belkar needs a WIS of 10 (14 with Owl's Wisdom) to cast Cure Serious Wounds from a scroll. However, Belkar explicitly says he has a Wisdom penalty, which puts his max score at 9. Obviously this is contradictory, but when a contradiction is evident, common sense dictates we lean toward what is explicitly said and chalk the scroll incident up to "Funny/Plot Trumps Rules".

On Intelligence: Yeah, I'd wager he's got a positive modifier, though I wouldn't say exceptional. 12-13 seems likely given the cleverness he's displayed.

I'd also guess he has a pretty fair Charisma, given his ability to seduce the bard/rogue while killing all her comrades.

[MReav]

I always thought when casting a spell from a scroll, you'd use the spell level of the scroll to determine your requisite ability. I think Rich did as well.

[Lvl45DM!]

I'd also guess he has a pretty fair Charisma, given his ability to seduce the bard/rogue while killing all her comrades.

He has abysmal charisma, he just rolled a natural 20

[Sylthia]

I'm not sure if the bard/rogue/sorcerer (I think her name is Jenny) is good marker of his Cha. It seems that the only women Belkar has luck with are prostitutes and bimbos. His people skill seem pretty lacking, so he's probably got a Cha of 8 or so if I had to guess.

[veti]

He has reasonable charisma. He's persuasive (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0784.html) and plausible (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0249.html), even charming (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0304.html) when he chooses to be. It's only those who actually know him who hate him.

[Ancalagon]

Remember: D&D rolls on a D20, so each step on the die equals two steps in a stat. You need high stats to optimize but for day-to-day DCs ranging between 5 and 15, the die is a MUCH higher contributor to the outcome than the difference of 2 or even 4 points.

Therefore, "cunning" for someone with average Int could mean a good roll - and if you have a high int, the chance to get good results rises.
I'd interpret Belkar's mental stats as: Horrible Wis, some "average" int (it could be a bit below or a bit above average, we have no idea on this) and when he shows "cunning" he just made a good roll. There are numerous scenes where you could interpret that Belkar had a "bad" roll (as in not making a DC5 or DC10 check).

I'd put him slightly above average because he is quite able to express himself. 12 sounds reasonable, 14 already sounds like a stretch (but is not impossible).
Wis is consistently shown as "not high", so we probably have it at 6 or 8.

But the point of this post is: It does not matter if Belkar has a 0, +1 or even +2 modifier for the D20 rolls he makes on Int.

[martianmister]

He has reasonable charisma. He's persuasive (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0784.html) and plausible (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0249.html), even charming (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0304.html) when he chooses to be. It's only those who actually know him who hate him.

Is that sarcasm? Because your examples didn't fit with what you said.

[Squark]

Except Craft (plan) isn't a skill. Nor is it an ability check. Or at least it shouldn't be, by any sane DM/World's rules.

[veti]

Is that sarcasm? Because your examples didn't fit with what you said.

Example one: he persuades Iain, the mistrustful but (we presume) non-evil-aligned rogue not only to do what he wants, but even that it's a good idea.

Example two: he succeeds in making Roy (and the rest of the party, for that matter) honestly believe that (a) he didn't recognise the sex-changed Roy, and (b) he's fantasising about her.

Example three: he accosts a random woman at a festival and is doing great with her - until his leg falls off, which you must admit would put a damper on most chat-up scenarios.

What doesn't fit?

Seems like some people are so determined to hate Belkar that they refuse to see any kind of merit in him at all.

[suszterpatt]

He has abysmal charisma, he just rolled a natural 20Actually I'd say that his Charisma, that is, his ability to influence others' opinion of him, is not bad at all. He just rarely uses it, and even then it's just to piss someone off or hit on some chick.

The strongest evidence against Belkar's CHA is #312 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0312.html), but given the other evidence I'd say his CHA might be as high as 12. Just horribly underused and misused.

[Sylthia]

Speaking as a former waiter, giving into a customer's demands isn't a sign of a high Charisma, it's just expected of the staff, even if the customer is being unreasonable.

[Innis Cabal]

His Wis, however, is proven to be abominable. 10 maximum, since he can't even cast first level spells.

He has a - to it, so it has to be below ten.

[oswulf]

He has reasonable charisma. He's persuasive (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0784.html) and plausible (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0249.html), even charming (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0304.html) when he chooses to be. It's only those who actually know him who hate him.
Intimidation is also charisma-based.

Anyway, Belkar strikes me as the kind of person that--when his stats were being generated he quickly gathered that STR, DEX and CON do more to make him a shoeless god of war and tossed all his points there. I don't know--I'm out of practice with 3.0 rules though. (upgraded in strip 1, so clearly existed prior to 3.5) I don't really see any reason to suspect his intelligence is particularly above average.

[torugo]

There is a perfectly logical way to pinpoint belkar's intelligence based on the comics.

See this: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0031.html

The mind flayer makes a comparison of the int of each character. Each of those pictures represent a different food with different number of calories. Now make it a calories scale and consider, for instance that V and roy are both around 18 int. Watching this comic I consider Belkar around 13 int.

[veti]

Anyway, Belkar strikes me as the kind of person that--when his stats were being generated he quickly gathered that STR, DEX and CON do more to make him a shoeless god of war and tossed all his points there.

You're forgetting he's a 'sexy shoeless god of war'. So that's another argument for CHA not being entirely neglected. :smallbiggrin:

[Deliverance]

The mind flayer makes a comparison of the int of each character. Each of those pictures represent a different food with different number of calories. Now make it a calories scale and consider, for instance that V and roy are both around 18 int. Watching this comic I consider Belkar around 13 int.
You are wrong.

As has been discussed previously (I believe even the Giant chimed in on that one but I don't have a link to the previous discussions so might remember wrong), the mind flayer does not evaluate based on intelligence alone - which is clearly proven by Roy being a more nutritious meal than V despite V having a higher intelligence than Roy.

The mind flayer's evaluation is based on intelligence, wisdom, and possibly charmisma taken together - all the flavours of the mind, not merely the intelligence.

[torugo]

That gives an even higher int for Belkar, as he clearly has a low wisdom and charisma. For him to have that many calories he must be around 16 int to compensate for the low charisma and wisdom.

[MReav]

I think he's got a semi-decent charisma and wisdom, but by no means advanced (like, a +1 bonus to each)

[torugo]

He is a Owl Wisdom away from casting a second circle lvl spell from a scroll. Correct me if i am wrong but that would be 10 wisdom...

Charisma is hard to define. He must have some bonus. He has enough to keep the good guys of the Oots having him along. Also he shows to make easy friends with evil characters....he always get jobs applications easily. Would say he has 12 to 14 charisma.

Still!! that would get him 15 int for that flayer to give him such a caloric category meal.

[MReav]

He is a Owl Wisdom away from casting a second circle lvl spell from a scroll. Correct me if i am wrong but that would be 10 wisdom...

That is a very contentious issue. But Belkar outright states that he has a wisdom penalty.

[The Pilgrim]

You're forgetting he's a 'sexy shoeless god of war'. So that's another argument for CHA not being entirely neglected. :smallbiggrin:

You are forgetting about this (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0312.html) strip. Belkar is sorted among the OOTS members who lack ANY Charisma.

That nails his CHA to just average, at most.

[Kish]

His Wis, however, is proven to be abominable. 10 maximum, since he can't even cast first level spells.
10 is average. Belkar's Wisdom is, blatantly, very much less than average.

[suszterpatt]

You are forgetting about this (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0312.html) strip. Belkar is sorted among the OOTS members who lack ANY Charisma.

That nails his CHA to just average, at most.
The thing is, we know for a fact his WIS is <10. If his CHA was equally bad, then his INT would need to be ridiculously high for the mind flayer to rate him as a taco. Recall that Elan, with his 18 CHA and poor INT/WIS, still only registered as a can of diet coke.

Or maybe the mind flayer just didn't like the taste of CHA that much. :P

[Kish]

The thing is, we know for a fact his WIS is <10. If his CHA was equally bad, then his INT would need to be ridiculously high for the mind flayer to rate him as a taco. Recall that Elan, with his 18 CHA and poor INT/WIS, still only registered as a can of diet coke.

Or maybe the mind flayer just didn't like the taste of CHA that much. :P
I'm pretty sure the stats represent specific food qualities. Elan was a diet soda because he had high Charisma (read: sweet taste). Intelligence seems to translate into calories; Belkar would be reasonably filling (still less so than Roy or Vaarsuvius...) if the Mind Flayer could choke him down.

[Lvl45DM!]

Elan, High Cha Poor Int poor Wis. Diet Coke High Sweetness Poor Calories
Poor Nutrition
Hayley, High Int and Char Poorish Wis. Sundae High sweetness and Calories Poor Nutrition
Durkon High Wis Poor Cha Average Int. Porridge? High Nutrition Poor Taste Average Calories
V Very High Int Average Wis Low Cha. Burger High Calories Average Nutrition Average Taste (balanced by his very high INT)
Roy High Int High Cha High Wis. Turkey High Calories High Nutrition Great Taste

Belkar is a Taco. Above average calories but not very nutritious and while his Cha isn't as bad as Durkon's its still bad since Squid Thingy doesn't like the taste
So Belkar Above average Int Low Wis Slightly Poor Cha

[theNater]

He is a Owl Wisdom away from casting a second circle lvl spell from a scroll. Correct me if i am wrong but that would be 10 wisdom...
Rangers require a 12 wisdom to cast second-level spells, and Owl's Wisdom provides 4, making it possible for Belkar's wisdom to be as low as 8.

[suszterpatt]

Rangers require a 12 wisdom to cast second-level spells, and Owl's Wisdom provides 4, making it possible for Belkar's wisdom to be as low as 8.In a nutshell, the issue is that Cure Serious Wounds is a 3rd level spell for Clerics (who presumably made the scroll), but 4th level for Rangers, and the rules are apparently not clear on what the spell level is in this case. If the spell level is based on who's casting the spell, then Belkar would need at least 10 WIS to pull it off: if it's based on who scribed the scroll, 9 would suffice.


Anyway, this is generally considered to be overruled by the much more recent strip where Belkar himself states that he has a WIS penalty.

[theNater]

In a nutshell, the issue is that Cure Serious Wounds is a 3rd level spell for Clerics (who presumably made the scroll), but 4th level for Rangers, and the rules are apparently not clear on what the spell level is in this case. If the spell level is based on who's casting the spell, then Belkar would need at least 10 WIS to pull it off: if it's based on who scribed the scroll, 9 would suffice.
Ah. I had forgotten what spell was used; and was basing my numbers on torugo's "second circle lvl spell".

[Hawk7915]

I'd wager his intelligence is a smidgen above average (12?) since having average or worse wouldn't account for the "Taco" label. But to settle the cunning argument a bit (maybe) Minotaurs (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/minotaur.htm) have an intelligence of 7 but are described as "naturally cunning". While they have a special ability showing it, it is a game example of how a creature can be cunning while still being dumb as bricks (and with a Cha penalty and average Wis, to boot). So Belkar could easily have mental ability scores of 12, 9, 8 and still be "cunning" from time to time.

[Ancalagon]

Int 7 + d20: means you get 1 to 18
Int 10 + d20: means you get 1 to 20
Int 12 + d20 : means you get 2 to 21

The difference is not that big, you can be called "cunning", even with an int of 7.

[Kish]

Anyway, this is generally considered to be overruled by the much more recent strip where Belkar himself states that he has a WIS penalty.
Except for those of us who, as soon as we saw the argument that Belkar's Wisdom must be 10 and therefore exactly average, went "Belkar? Average Wisdom? Pfft," looked at Rich saying "I bend the rules when it makes it funny. Accept," and immediately threw out the Owl's Wisdom scene as having anything useful to say about Belkar's Wisdom, hundreds of strips before Belkar explicitly said he had a Wisdom penalty.