Angry Bob
2013-11-21, 09:32 PM
The title says D&D, but the stats I'll be referring to are Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma, so any system that uses those three stats(even under different names) is fine.
I've seen questions about highs and lows of each stat, or for a particular mental score array, going around for a while, but I've never seen a unified list for them. So that's this. Obviously, specific behaviors differ by character, and often one array will encompass several character types(Low int, high wis, high charisma can describe both con artists and certain action heroes, for example - people low on technical knowledge who get by on their gut and either their silver tongue or commanding presence).
I'll just make a list of arrays and brief example archetypes, and add archetypes as the responses happen. If you think I've misplaced one or gotten one wrong, tell me. I can be convinced.
What I'm looking for:
- Examples from fiction for each category
- Anecdotes from the table - how you or someone you know has played a given array
- More archetypes - I know I've missed some, characters and people are too complex for one to be enough for any given array.
Low Int, Low Wis, Low Cha:
- The zombie. Not literally, but if you work your way past the unpleasant personal habits and actually try to talk to them, you find a profoundly uninteresting person with a shallow pool of topics for conversation(bad enough on its own, but then they start repeating themselves) and only a dim understanding of the world around them.
- Examples: Peter Pettigrew.
High Int, Low Wis, Low Cha:
- The mad genius. Smart enough to build death rays, dumb enough to use them to rob banks untested.
- The perfect logician. Completely at home with machinery and mathematics but can't handle the human element very well. Grows frustrated when things don't work out as they, by their calculations, "should".
- Examples: Sheldon Cooper
Low Int, High Wis, Low Cha:
- The loner that would rather listen than speak. They can read everyone around them like a book, which ironic, because they may be illiterate, or believe "you can't believe everything you read."
- The lonesome survivor. Works reactively rather than proactively. Reads situations and knows when to fight, when to yield and when to leg it. Great combat reactions and reflexes. Don't ask them to device any strategic plans, though.
- Examples: Aldrick ex Gladius from Furies of Calderon.
Low Int, Low Wis, High Cha:
- The shallow and vapid one, convinced that they have everything they do by virtue of their own cleverness. Everyone loves them unconditionally anyway.
- The populist politician. With a firm handshake and a perfect smile, this person has no agenda of their own. They're a façade with no plan or talent for the game, but people love them and listen to them and they like it.
- Examples: Joey from Friends, Zapp Brannigan, Thog, Prince Charming(Shrek).
High Int, High Wis, Low Cha:
- The kindly old mentor figure - a little gruff and off-putting, but their advice and guidance is always sound.
- The brilliant detective. Notices everything, puts everything together, solves it all. Knows when to think strictly logical and when to consider the human element, but can't get the hang of actually handling people themselves.
- Examples: Sherlock Holmes, Lisbeth Salander(Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
High Int, Low Wis, High Cha:
- The megalomaniac. See mad genius, except this one's madness is the kind that could lead an empire, either by inspiration or intimidation.
- The ideological leader. They have a vision, and a plan for how to get there. They know what each step on the ladder is. They fail, however, to see what their actions do in areas their plan hasn't covered. Society is complex, and they sow the seeds of their own destruction.
- The con man, that guy with a million get rich quick schemes, knowing how things work, convincing others they know how things, yet not having the common sense or foresight to realize how likely they are to fail.
- Strategist and manipulator, somebody who, to some extend, sees life as a complicated strategic game, where other people are pawns for him to use. not necessairly a sociopath, but he doesn't care people's wishes and feelings into consideration, he sees fit to manipulate them. On certain level he doesn't trust anyone but himself and might have some need to control others.
- Examples: Doctor Impossible, Alex Wilder (Runaways), Lelouch "Zero" Lamperogue (Code Geass), David "Legion" Haller (X-Men: Legacy vol.2)
Low Int, High Wis, High Cha:
- The con man, who lives by his gut instinct and is better at pretending to know what he's talking about than is good for him.
- The action hero, raised by bears, with little technical knowledge or fancy book-learnin', but possesses finely honed wilderness instincts and is a master of getting everyone in the room to listen to him or her.
- The pirate captain. Sailing the seas, robbing the ships, getting the loot. Very good at their work, and their crew is happy with them, but with no ulterior goal in sight or, at least, no real idea of how to get there.
- Examples: Monkey D Luffy, Captain Jack Sparrow, Karkat Vantas, Forrest Gump.
High Int, High Wis, High Cha:
- The great leader - masterful tactician, infinite willpower, tremendous force of personality, you name it, they've got it.
- Examples: Conan the Barbarian, Aragorn, Havelock Vetinari, Batman.
I've seen questions about highs and lows of each stat, or for a particular mental score array, going around for a while, but I've never seen a unified list for them. So that's this. Obviously, specific behaviors differ by character, and often one array will encompass several character types(Low int, high wis, high charisma can describe both con artists and certain action heroes, for example - people low on technical knowledge who get by on their gut and either their silver tongue or commanding presence).
I'll just make a list of arrays and brief example archetypes, and add archetypes as the responses happen. If you think I've misplaced one or gotten one wrong, tell me. I can be convinced.
What I'm looking for:
- Examples from fiction for each category
- Anecdotes from the table - how you or someone you know has played a given array
- More archetypes - I know I've missed some, characters and people are too complex for one to be enough for any given array.
Low Int, Low Wis, Low Cha:
- The zombie. Not literally, but if you work your way past the unpleasant personal habits and actually try to talk to them, you find a profoundly uninteresting person with a shallow pool of topics for conversation(bad enough on its own, but then they start repeating themselves) and only a dim understanding of the world around them.
- Examples: Peter Pettigrew.
High Int, Low Wis, Low Cha:
- The mad genius. Smart enough to build death rays, dumb enough to use them to rob banks untested.
- The perfect logician. Completely at home with machinery and mathematics but can't handle the human element very well. Grows frustrated when things don't work out as they, by their calculations, "should".
- Examples: Sheldon Cooper
Low Int, High Wis, Low Cha:
- The loner that would rather listen than speak. They can read everyone around them like a book, which ironic, because they may be illiterate, or believe "you can't believe everything you read."
- The lonesome survivor. Works reactively rather than proactively. Reads situations and knows when to fight, when to yield and when to leg it. Great combat reactions and reflexes. Don't ask them to device any strategic plans, though.
- Examples: Aldrick ex Gladius from Furies of Calderon.
Low Int, Low Wis, High Cha:
- The shallow and vapid one, convinced that they have everything they do by virtue of their own cleverness. Everyone loves them unconditionally anyway.
- The populist politician. With a firm handshake and a perfect smile, this person has no agenda of their own. They're a façade with no plan or talent for the game, but people love them and listen to them and they like it.
- Examples: Joey from Friends, Zapp Brannigan, Thog, Prince Charming(Shrek).
High Int, High Wis, Low Cha:
- The kindly old mentor figure - a little gruff and off-putting, but their advice and guidance is always sound.
- The brilliant detective. Notices everything, puts everything together, solves it all. Knows when to think strictly logical and when to consider the human element, but can't get the hang of actually handling people themselves.
- Examples: Sherlock Holmes, Lisbeth Salander(Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
High Int, Low Wis, High Cha:
- The megalomaniac. See mad genius, except this one's madness is the kind that could lead an empire, either by inspiration or intimidation.
- The ideological leader. They have a vision, and a plan for how to get there. They know what each step on the ladder is. They fail, however, to see what their actions do in areas their plan hasn't covered. Society is complex, and they sow the seeds of their own destruction.
- The con man, that guy with a million get rich quick schemes, knowing how things work, convincing others they know how things, yet not having the common sense or foresight to realize how likely they are to fail.
- Strategist and manipulator, somebody who, to some extend, sees life as a complicated strategic game, where other people are pawns for him to use. not necessairly a sociopath, but he doesn't care people's wishes and feelings into consideration, he sees fit to manipulate them. On certain level he doesn't trust anyone but himself and might have some need to control others.
- Examples: Doctor Impossible, Alex Wilder (Runaways), Lelouch "Zero" Lamperogue (Code Geass), David "Legion" Haller (X-Men: Legacy vol.2)
Low Int, High Wis, High Cha:
- The con man, who lives by his gut instinct and is better at pretending to know what he's talking about than is good for him.
- The action hero, raised by bears, with little technical knowledge or fancy book-learnin', but possesses finely honed wilderness instincts and is a master of getting everyone in the room to listen to him or her.
- The pirate captain. Sailing the seas, robbing the ships, getting the loot. Very good at their work, and their crew is happy with them, but with no ulterior goal in sight or, at least, no real idea of how to get there.
- Examples: Monkey D Luffy, Captain Jack Sparrow, Karkat Vantas, Forrest Gump.
High Int, High Wis, High Cha:
- The great leader - masterful tactician, infinite willpower, tremendous force of personality, you name it, they've got it.
- Examples: Conan the Barbarian, Aragorn, Havelock Vetinari, Batman.