Tips for low INT high WIS character?

[Tyger]

In a new campaign starting up in a week or so, I am going to give a very sub-optimal character a shot... a barbarian / cleric. He has an intelligence of 6 and a wisdom of 16.

That said, I have never played a really low INT character before, and am having some small issues with how to manage his almost sub-human intellect against a higher than average insight and perception...

I can't help but think of Grimlock from the old Transformers cartoon... "Grimlock SMASH red truck robot!"

[Megaduck]

For low Int and high Wis I always think of Dory of the Fish from finding Nemo.

Remember, that with high Wis you are very good at making the right decisions. You're also in touch with your feelings and other peoples feelings. So you'll often know what is the right thing to do but you can't figure out why.

You can play it as too stupid to fool. Your character will always see the reality of the situation and not be distracted by all the fussy little details.

[Ravens_cry]

Hitpoints is like a box of Chocolates, you never know what you gonna get.
Forrest Gump would be a good one.
Or the idiot who blathers all the time then says something ingenious. Sifting the chaff from the wheat might be a challange for your fellow players though. Or maybe the nearly silent type, who says things only when it's important, but it will almost always be very important.
Just some ideas.

[Morty]

I imagine a low INT but high WIS character as someone who's not a fast thinker and learner, but is firmly grounded in reality and has a strong common sense.

[jmbrown]

You have a natural understanding of the world but lack the rational reason behind it. For example, a child knows fire is hot but they don't understand the chemical properties that create fire.

I can imagine the character doesn't speak much but when he does everyone stops to listen.

[EndlessWrath]

Low int... your simple. To my understanding. You don't need to fuss over complications and details. You don't have to be dumb, or use the cheesey dumb voice. I had a similar character. Didn't use a lot of words, but knew what to say when to say it. You don't have to use fancy words, just the words that matter. You have unnatural ability to perceive the world correctly, but maybe you can't describe it how you should or what not. Simple, basic, but good at it.

thats my 2 cp anyways.

-Wrath

[Godskook]

I keep going back and forth on which stat is his low one, but there's at least a pretty convincing argument for Luffy(One Piece) having low int, high wisdom, high charisma.

[AtwasAwamps]

Well…I mean…if you’re rocking six intelligence, doesn’t that mean that not only can you not read, you probably wouldn’t be able to learn if somebody taught you? And don’t you speak in monosyllables?

We’re not talking wise and noble savage here. You’re not tarzan. You are generally dumb as a brick. In fact, if you piled a couple bricks together and animated them, they would probably outclass you in trivial pursuit.

You’re not going to understand abstract concepts, regardless of how simple or complex they get. Science, magic, basic stuff like this, you will not even begin to grasp. You also won’t learn for crap. It will take forever to get you to figure out the basic concept of a lever.

SO how does high wisdom play into it? You’re stupid but…cautious, shall we say? Fire may burn, but you’ll only let it burn once. Play to the animal instinct side. You have highly honed instincts and reflexes when it comes to some things. You know when someone is getting angry. You know when there could be danger around. You know when something is going to kill you. You react on a base level to things…a symbol that some people would see as an obvious death image is something that, while you couldn’t make any analysis of it, would start setting off your fight-or-flight response.

Basically…play a dog or wolf that can talk in monosyllables and hold an axe.

[Telonius]

The janitor from The Breakfast Club comes to mind. (He probably had an INT higher than 6, but he hits the general idea).

Basically, you have no idea what a hypotenuse is, or how to do complicated math, or what the population of Macedonia is. But you know when somebody is about to make a total fool of themselves, you know when to talk and when to shut up, and you took all the advice in "The Gambler" to heart.

[Tyger]

Well…I mean…if you’re rocking six intelligence, doesn’t that mean that not only can you not read, you probably wouldn’t be able to learn if somebody taught you? And don’t you speak in monosyllables?

We’re not talking wise and noble savage here. You’re not tarzan. You are generally dumb as a brick. In fact, if you piled a couple bricks together and animated them, they would probably outclass you in trivial pursuit.

You’re not going to understand abstract concepts, regardless of how simple or complex they get. Science, magic, basic stuff like this, you will not even begin to grasp. You also won’t learn for crap. It will take forever to get you to figure out the basic concept of a lever.

SO how does high wisdom play into it? You’re stupid but…cautious, shall we say? Fire may burn, but you’ll only let it burn once. Play to the animal instinct side. You have highly honed instincts and reflexes when it comes to some things. You know when someone is getting angry. You know when there could be danger around. You know when something is going to kill you. You react on a base level to things…a symbol that some people would see as an obvious death image is something that, while you couldn’t make any analysis of it, would start setting off your fight-or-flight response.

Basically…play a dog or wolf that can talk in monosyllables and hold an axe.

That's a bit far for a 6. "Humanlike intelligence" starts at 3. So yes, a 6 is low, but not animalistic. Granted, its on par with Trolls and Ogres, but its a bit up from signing with the chimps and grunting. :)

[Toliudar]

I'm having good fun playing someone who has a 6 int and 18 wis (Psychic Warrior). I think of him as a very spiritual and calm presence, but who doesn't process new information very quickly, and who frequently misinterprets data. I would describe the Hulk Smash archetype as low int LOW wis.

[Zen Monkey]

There are a couple of archetypes that you could use.

One could be the tribal shaman role, wise in the ways of the spirit world and mostly taught by oral tradition, but no formal schooling aside from talks with the wise man of your tribe. You would know about horses and your religion's story of how they came to be, but wouldn't have gotten the idea to build a cart that they could pull for people and objects.

Another could be the rural monk route, knowing your faith's tenets but not really questioning them in any logical manner. If cut off from larger civilization, you may have never needed math, science, history or come across anything of a complex mechanical design. Maybe you memorized the Tao Te Ching, but a trigonometry textbook is just meaningless symbols.

Your average farmer has what, 8-10 int? Your average farmer knows about rotating crops and the value of his harvest at the market and how to fix his equipment when it breaks. He has some technical proficiency and knowledge of his trade. Your character is only a -1 penalty behind that guy.

[jiriku]

Basically, you'll do stupid things, but your high Wisdom means that you'll instinctively avoid endangering yourself through stupidity. You're sensitive enough to what's going on to get that you shouldn't anger the powerful king or throw the torch into the room where the lamp oil is stored.

Also, purely OOC: it's often fun to play a dumb character doing dumb things, even when you as the player know better. Be sure to do this only when it will get laughs and cause everyone else to have fun. Don't do it in situations where that would annoy or upset other players. Remember that the other players are stuck with your character, so make the experience an enjoyable one for them.

[ocdscale]

Think of all those stereotypical "street-wise" characters that aren't the brightest bulb in the pack, but understands how things are supposed to work in their city.

You can think of a general high wisdom as being very 'life-wise'. You know where things fit in the world.
In a group of strangers, you may not be smart enough to understand the all the implications of what they are talking about, but you might have a very good sense of the power structure and who wields what kind of influence.

Or if you think about a game of chess.
Your opponent moves their knight.
Someone with 18 int and 12 wis might start with calculating the material and positional advantage of a dozen different responses then start playing those moves ahead a dozen turns before deciding on the path with the best result.
Someone with 12 int and 18 wis might start with figuring out what his opponent is trying to do, what his opponent wants him to do, think back about the tempo of the game and how his opponent is trying to win, and then counter it.

6 intelligence and 16 wisdom represents to me a character that has a very tenuous grasp on abstract thought (mathematics, language), but has an uncanny insight into the natural order of things.
You could characterize that insight as an extremely heightened instinct, a wealth of common sense, or a sixth sense about the world.

As an interesting thought experiment. Think about the kind of personality someone would have if they were stupid but had a thousand years of life experience.

[Person_Man]

You could also just be a garden variety religious fanatic.

Poor Int:

• You can't read (or rarely choose to do so). You're not curious about the world, so even if you're acutely aware of everything going on around you, you often dismiss it as being useless, pointless, wrong, etc.
• You have a strict moralistic view. Everything is black and white, with no shades of grey in between.
• You can't comprehend others when they challenge your pre-existing beliefs, and/or you fall back on tautological arguments that you've learned by rote.
• You're nearly incapable of learning new things (your Skill Points are going to be garbage, btw) with the exception of better ways to hit things or channel your god's power.

High Wis:

• Huge Willpower/Will Save. No one is going to convince you to do anything you don't agree with.
• Very perceptive: After years of converting heathens, you've learned to pay close attention to how they talk and act so that you can pounce on any opportunity to bludgeon them with your beliefs (or your mace). You're also inherently distrustful of others, and think that everyone is conspiring against you, and so you keep a very close eye on they body language and listen intently to others for hints of vile plans against you.
• Common Sense: You grew up in poverty and/or a very rural area, and thus have a very good sense of how to survive in nature, how to Heal injuries, how animals act, the law of the jungle, and other "street smarts" (never loan someone money because they're not going to pay it back, keep a supply of food because you never know where your next meal is coming from, etc) which are basically just a manifestation of your paranoid, myopic view of the world.

[sadi]

I keep going back and forth on which stat is his low one, but there's at least a pretty convincing argument for Luffy(One Piece) having low int, high wisdom, high charisma.

I was thinking the same thing yesterday.

[snoopy13a]

Clever*, great at reading people and possessing common sense but not someone you'd want doing your taxes.

I'm sure you've heard people say that they aren't "book-smart" but they are "street-smart"%? Well, the low INT, high WIS character is actually this. The problem the D&D mechanics have with this character model is that skill points are tied to one's intelligence so in a practical matter this becomes difficult.

*Cleverness and intelligence aren't the same thing.

%Usually the people who say this are neither

[Fax Celestis]

I'm playing an Int 10 Wis 24 Cha 5 dwarven druid right now. I play him as unhygenic, illiterate, zealous, adamant in his convictions, and argumentative--but on the flip side, he's also very very perceptive: he notices anything out of place, finds things he shouldn't, and frequently points out little inconsistencies that the more intelligent characters later take advantage of.

[Ravens_cry]

@Person_Man
Eh. . .
I challenge the idea of a low Int seen the world in black and white, though they are by no means mutually exclusive. For an example of a character with opposite attributes, to what is being presented here, look at Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory. He basically divides the world into two groups, Dumb (everyone but him) and Not Dumb (him). He is inconsiderate, and considers his needs above everyone else's, simply because they are not him.
Observing the world accurately, even in a metaphorical sense, to strikes me as a Wisdom attribute.
But Your Mileage May Vary, as a certain very addictive website says.

[AstralFire]

Optimus Prime.

He blew himself up once rather than kill someone in a video game.

[KillianHawkeye]

Optimus Prime.

He blew himself up once rather than kill someone in a video game.

I'm probably going to regret asking this, but which version of Optimus Prime are we talking about here?

[Iku Rex]

I made a list a few years ago comparing Int with IQ. (Assuming that base Int the game world is decided randomly by 3d6.)

It looked like this:

IQ 50 or lower - Int 3
IQ 50-60 - Int 4
IQ 60-74 - Int 5
IQ 74-89 - Int 6-8
IQ 89-100 - Int 9-10
IQ 100-111 - Int 11-12
IQ 111-125 - Int 13-15
IQ 125-132 - Int 16
IQ 132-150 - Int 17
IQ 150 or higher - Int 18

Based on this Int 6 is not even mild mental retardation. There's a decent chance you went to school with someone with Int 6. He'd be bad at math and probably post in all lower case on message boards, but not "Hulk speak" stupid.

[Flickerdart]

Based on this Int 6 is not even mild mental retardation. There's a decent chance you went to school with someone with Int 6. He'd be bad at math and probably post in all lower caps on message boards, but not "Hulk speak" stupid.

Lower caps? You mean LIKE THIS? That's not stupid, that's Death.

[Iku Rex]

Lower caps? You mean LIKE THIS? That's not stupid, that's Death.

Fine. Fixed.

[Foryn Gilnith]

[capslock]I Thought You Ment Like This[/capslock]

EDIT: Edited to add the all-caps (GIANTITP changes it, apparently), and also to point out that "meant" wasn't misspelled on purpose. :P

[Dixieboy]

Based on this Int 6 is not even mild mental retardation. There's a decent chance you went to school with someone with Int 6. He'd be bad at math and probably post in all lower case on message boards, but not "Hulk speak" stupid.

I disagree, on the basis that a "smart" animal is int 3 if i remember correctly, he's halfway there.

[ericgrau]

Attentive but dumb, hmm. You're aware of a great deal yet often unable to make sense of it. There are a lot of ways you could go with that. IMO pick one and stick to it.

Party member: "Ahh, a mummy. Why didn't you tell us?"
You: "Huh? I saw a guy so wounded he was wrapped from head to toe in bandages. Didn't seem like a threat. Dislocated jaw, lots of groaning, odd limp in his left leg, and dirt that must have been accumulated over ages. I thought the locked door was more important."

Animals only go up to int 2. Int 3 is still human intelligence. So please no "Grimlock smash". He's just dumb, that's it. We don't need any more annoying stereotypes.

[AtwasAwamps]

That's a bit far for a 6. "Humanlike intelligence" starts at 3. So yes, a 6 is low, but not animalistic. Granted, its on par with Trolls and Ogres, but its a bit up from signing with the chimps and grunting. :)

My mistake. But I didn't mean chimp-like. I sort of thought of it as a...well. You're really really stupid but really really good at knowing how to live. I mean that your ability to function in the world comes from honed instincts rather than any type of higher understanding.

[theMycon]

There is, I believe, a 1 in 21.6 chance of 6 on 3d6- meaning he's in the bottom 5 percentile, or "the dumbest kid in an average class." This is far from non-functional dumb; it ain't even "Forrest Gump" dumb. This is roughly on par with "the guy who sits across from me at work" dumb.

A sixteen in wisdom is a bit further out of the ordinary- 1 in 36, or "all your friends accept you give remarkably sound, logical advice" level. Not sage wisdom, but probably better than most of us here can muster on short notice.

I'd say Calvin, from Calvin & Hobbes, is a great example of this- he's definitely not bright, but he's insightful and we can learn a hell of a lot from him.

I'd play it as "great and noticing and correlating facts, and often finds a very simple solution (direct or not), but shouldn't come up with complicated plans, as they'll come apart from his just not understanding what everyone is capable of."

[Dixieboy]

Calvin is igh int low wis.

He knows a lot of things, he has his insightful moments, but overall he lacks common sense.