Roleplaying Massive Difference in Mental Scores

[7th son of sons]

So through the use of really lucky rolls (The OG Character creation method), and some more than helpful pushes from my DM into a more high powered character, I ended up with a character with 22 Intelligence and 20 Charisma. The trade off is my wisdom score is 3. How exactly does one go about roleplaying such a massive difference in ability scores?

[WarKitty]

For low wisdom? I would play the character as extremely bright, extremely personable, and rather impulsive. She's very smart when she thinks but somewhat prone to jumping off on over-complicated plans. She has a hard time staying focused and is often lost in her own world, failing to notice what's going on around her that's aside from what she's focused on (which could change very quickly), but her charm often saves her from overly terrible consequences. In fact she might be a bit too reliant on her charm, assuming she can talk her way out of any serious trouble.

[FullStop]

So through the use of really lucky rolls (The OG Character creation method), and some more than helpful pushes from my DM into a more high powered character, I ended up with a character with 22 Intelligence and 20 Charisma. The trade off is my wisdom score is 3. How exactly does one go about roleplaying such a massive difference in ability scores?

Like Adam Savage, but even more prone to going off half-cocked.

[Duke of Urrel]

Your character is brilliant and charming, but reckless. I would imagine a seriously drunk Doctor Who. You're likely to take great risks, especially with your own life. And you're trusting to a fault, always assuming the best of other people long after others can see that they're untrustworthy. You have a great need for a traveling companion with good horse sense.

[Alefiend]

Basically, a 3 wisdom means you should use your brain as comic relief, because nobody with that level of impaired judgment should survive to adulthood, let alone become an adventurer.


Never, ever learn from your mistakes.
Let "It seemed like a good idea at the time" be your catch phrase.
Come up with highly complicated but useless or counterproductive plans—think Rube Goldberg, or the wildest Darwin Award-winning scenario.
If it's on your mind, it should be on your tongue—turn off the filter that lets you keep ideas to yourself.
Be very open to suggestion and advice, but be stubborn when it comes to facts, book learning, and other things you "know."


However, your other stats deserve to be played as more than just mechanical bonuses. Solve puzzles instantly. Pull obscure knowledge and facts out of thin air. Always make rolls for Int-based skills when the opportunity is there. Charm the pants off of everybody, even if they don't have pants. Be the life of the party. Smoothe over hurt feelings and tricky diplomatic moments, but do it by making people like you, not by being the voice of reason.

[Alex12]

The example I like for this is Twilight Sparkle
Her first instinct is to go with the overwhelming magical power option, which often makes things worse. But if she stops and thinks about the situation, she can logic it out, and there's no denying that she's book-smart.

[PaucaTerrorem]

Think about this, Shriekers only have a 2 WIS. They're reaction to anything is to shriek.

[Syne]

Think about this, Shriekers only have a 2 WIS. They're reaction to anything is to shriek.

I think I agree with this viewpoint. 3 wisdom is bad mental disability territory; in comparison, animal intelligence is 2 You'd have to be something along the lines of an autistic savant. You'd literally (and I do mean that word, uhm, literally) have no willpower, no perception, and half the time you'd be lost in a daze. I don't think you could roleplay such a character, and certainly not in a way consistent with combat.

So that said, you should probably just act a little impulsive, like the other posters have suggested.

[sideswipe]

sheldon cooper from the big bang theory.

has intelligence very few people will ever match. even though he is a complete D*@# people love him and want to be around him (therefore in a way charismatic as he gets away with things others would be shunned for).

but his common sense, mental stability, senses and aptitude for anything not purely intellectual in the way he sees things is appalling .

[TheIronGolem]

Shawn Spencer from Psych would be another good example of "high INT/CHA, low WIS". Some people might point out that he's too perceptive to really embody a low-WIS character, but I would counter that a)he probably took Alertness and Skill Focus in addition to maxing out his Spot ranks, and b)folding "perception" into WIS was never a particularly good design decision in 3.x anyway.

[Duke of Urrel]

Shawn Spencer from Psych would be another good example of "high INT/CHA, low WIS". Some people might point out that he's too perceptive to really embody a low-WIS character, but I would counter that a)he probably took Alertness and Skill Focus in addition to maxing out his Spot ranks, and b)folding "perception" into WIS was never a particularly good design decision in 3.x anyway.

You make a good point here. It's clear that with enough experience, anybody with a high Intelligence score can easily compensate for either low Wisdom or low Charisma for most purposes. With high Intelligence, it's possible to invest heavily in skill points, for example. It's only a low-level character who's going to have a serious vulnerability with an abysmal Wisdom score, but high Intelligence and Charisma.