PDA

View Full Version : Roleplaying Low INT/Medium WIS Gnoll?



Re4XN
2016-07-01, 08:40 AM
I've seen various topics on the matter, but I haven't yet found a satisfying enough answer, considering my character. To give you some background, he's got 6 INT and 14 WIS. Definitely not the brightest torch in a room, but I think he's far from dumb. Despite rules saying he *should* be illiterate, he knows how to read and write in Common (badly, but he does). He's also a Fighter / Thief.

I am finding this difficult to roleplay (perhaps I am trying to hard?), some people say high WIS means he's got a lot of common sense, others say that common sense belongs to the INT department and I honestly don't know what would fit him the best.

Any tips would be appreciated :( Thanks in advance.

EDIT: He's actually a Flind, which is a subspecies of Gnolls. Thought that it might be worth mentioning.

erikun
2016-07-01, 08:54 AM
6 INT, 14 WIS seems like a character who would have a healthy amount of good sense and experience, but not so much brains or thinking things through. They would do something because they've done something similar in the past and it worked out well. They might display unusual wisdom in their actions: perhaps they smash the head of every slain enemy, because they "don't want them up again" either as a raised opponent or as an undead. Perhaps they automatically mark trees as they pass through an area, to find their way back more easily. Perhaps they are cautious, sniffing the wind and checking the ground for tracks whenever they might get the hint that something strange is around.

On the other hand, low INT tends to imply not thinking too much about anything. All the above would be habits or things the character does automatically. Non-habits would likely be ignored. The character could lose interest and try poking at strange things easily. They could end up not considering the consequenses past the immediate - burning down the bridge to stop enemies on their tails, without remembering that it was their only way back. They could be TOO set in their ways, determined to do something they decided on even when it is a bad idea - anything from continuing to cook something "because I said I'd cook it!" to insisting on stabbing an opponent in the eyes because they said they would.

Perception is a bit of a toss-up. It largely depends on which system you are using. It sounds like you are using AD&D, and perception was either a random die roll or an INT check back then. Later D&D maked perception a WIS check. If perception is based on WIS, then probably keep their ears open and aware of their surroundings; if it is INT, then they'd probably remain fairly oblivious and relying on toughness and/or past experiences to keep them alive. Note that, even if perception is INT, past experience might be telling the character to stop and listen in certain situations.

Seppo87
2016-07-01, 09:11 AM
Low int high wis people tend to trust experience above everything, sometimes in an obtuse way, without really questioning why things work a certain way.

For example,

The gnoll always hangs at a certain bar, where a certain beer is served in a specific quantity determined by the size of the glasses.

He knows by experience that 3 portions will on average make someone drunk without puking.
he calls it the "three glasses rule" and abides by it.

If then the gnoll goes to another place where there's stronger beer, he will still assume that the three glasses rule applies.
He will probably not read the alcoholic %; even if he sees it listed on the menu the implications will not occur to him.

When he tastes the beer, that's when he will probably notice something is different. However not necessarily he will associate it with the consequences, because the "three glasses rule" has always worked for him.

The character drinks more than he's used to and at some point he has to puke.

"Have I become weak? Is it because the place stank?"
He'll probably need someone to explain to him why that happened, and he'll easily believe anything as long as it sounds reasonable.

TLDR always generalize from particular experiences and draw weak conclusions with a semblance of logic:
-My uncle's white horse was faster than the black one so white horses are always faster
-I was wearing a new hat when I had that incident so that hat brings misfortune
-Flies spawn from rotten meat, that's how they are born
-I got lost in the forest and ate berries once, berries are always safe to eat

The way he defends his weird ideas largely depends on his cha score and alignment. Low cha will probably be dismissive or sound like a stubborn fool or a laughing idiot.
High cha and you have someone who's also able to spread his ideas around, misinforming others around him and being regarded as a sage with no actual merit.

Honest Tiefling
2016-07-01, 11:19 AM
You could also go with the route that he doesn't process new information easily. He has some practical skills under his belt (How to recognize good water, how to read people, etc. In fact, I think survival would be a fun skill for this guy because it's practical smarts that can be described in simple terms, not book learning.), but new ideas don't go so well. He can't retain information from a book (also due to poor reading skills), and he can't retain what the wizard is saying half the time. Experiments confuse him and he often needs helps from others to understand what is going on. But once he's finally got an idea, he's got it!

Re4XN
2016-07-01, 01:02 PM
Thanks for the tips guys! What about in regards to coming up with solutions for different problems? Would he be able to figure out a simple yet effective approach to it?

For instance, there's a magic door that asks the party a riddle and my Flind simply thinks that breaking through the wall would be a great idea (this is not an actual scenario, just something I came up with).

I mean, he's part "Thief" after all, he's got an array of skills that have kept him alive this long.

Seppo87
2016-07-01, 01:19 PM
Most classic riddles are easy for people with common sense and hard for smart people with little common sense.

i.e. Johnny's mother riddle
The smart person with low wis will probably not notice "johnny" being mentioned at all and will try to use logic ineffectively
The wise person with low int won't even try to think - of course it's Johnny!

The high Int guy will easily solve abstract, logical or maths based questions.
Tricky questions are best solved with Wisdom.

The same applies to symbols. Symbolism is part of common sense
Light is good, dark is bad, flowers mean life and beauty, the sea is freedom - etc
It *could* be studied academically but it's basically implicit - you're supposed to get it without formal teaching just by observing other people, something wise characters are good at doing.

By the way,
I think a wis 14 guy wouldn't think that "breaking through the door is best" unless they were in a hurry and were sure they didn't know the solution.
Logical and Reasonable are very different.
People with high wis tend to be reasonable and behave as expected.

Of course you can still make him impulsive, but it's not something that comes with low int.
Most wild beasts are very cautious and their INT is 2
Think of an average dog, would a dog jump in a fire if he could go around it?

Honest Tiefling
2016-07-01, 01:59 PM
Thanks for the tips guys! What about in regards to coming up with solutions for different problems? Would he be able to figure out a simple yet effective approach to it?

For instance, there's a magic door that asks the party a riddle and my Flind simply thinks that breaking through the wall would be a great idea (this is not an actual scenario, just something I came up with).

I mean, he's part "Thief" after all, he's got an array of skills that have kept him alive this long.

Another solution might be, get someone smarter to answer the riddle. Does this character have a party, and was he at any point involved with a criminal organization? I would say that while he might not be able to figure out the solution to the door, he might know that there's a reason no one has broken it down yet. He probably couldn't articulate why, and have issues explaining to another why he is reluctant to use force. To him, the situation doesn't 'feel right', as he takes a long time to ponder why his gut is telling him not to attack the magical door.

However, smacking people in the way? Yeah, that's a good time to pull out ol' Stabby and go to town.

Re4XN
2016-07-01, 02:20 PM
Yeah, he's in a party of 3 + him (there is obviously a wizard). Odds of him being involved with criminals are low, unless they are Good-aligned, since the Flind is CG (weird, I know). Knowing things but having a hard time conveying a message sounds like a really good way of doing it.

LeighTheDwarf
2016-07-01, 10:15 PM
I've got one character who is 9 INT, 16 WIS, 4 CHA. Basically, she has a well-developed conscience and is fanatically religious, but she understands the world through insight rather than a careful chain of reasoning. For instance, she lives in a world where slavery is normal and accepted by those in power. She knows that slavery is wrong, but doesn't really understand how a solution like insulting the king to his face for keeping slavery legal might do more harm than good. Or she'll be able to look at someone and intuit that he's up to something. But she won't realize that pointing at him and screaming "that guy is up to something" in the middle of the marketplace will probably just cause more trouble. Basically, she has a deeper understanding of good and evil and of the meanings of things, but next to no understanding of practical concerns. She's purely idealistic.

goto124
2016-07-02, 02:09 AM
Basically, she has a deeper understanding of good and evil and of the meanings of things, but next to no understanding of practical concerns. She's purely idealistic.

I figured that's high INT and low WIS, the scholar who reads a lot about social issues without understanding the practical issues that kept the social issues alive in the first place...

Then again, I might've mixed things up.

Fri
2016-07-02, 05:56 PM
Or, since Wis is the spot, listen, notice and survival skills, you could simply play that angle and have him be the perceptive character, by that I mean good eye, ears, reading of people, but not very smart.