I need help developing a personality!

[ExtravagantEvil]

Good morning, I need your assistance, I rolled up a Paladin for a game of mine, and I, feeling like a challenge, had placed my lowest score (8) Into Intelligence. Looking back, I'm not sure how to roleplay a Paladin in this regard . I'm thinking like Forrest Gump, but I want to see other Ideas.

He is a Dwarf Paladin,
Str: 18 Dex: 12 Con: 20 Int: 8 Wis: 13 Cha: 13

Please provide assistance, I need Aid!

[Beelzebub1111]

Forest Gump is a bit too dim fir Int of 8. 8 is like a woodsman who "ain't so good at book learnin'" Mentally disabled is like a 6 or lower.

[lsfreak]

An 8 in Int isn't that low. He'll be a bit light on specific strategy, and might rush into things without thinking much about it. But he's got the Wisdom, which means he'll know general battle tactics, just not the specifics for that fight. It might not occur to him to push someone off the cliff, but he'd know to take out the caster first and not let himself get flanked. Charisma means he should be okay in group tactics too, like getting flanking himself or making sure people stay away from caster. Wisdom is also high enough that he'd know if he's outnumbered or outgunned and what to do about it.

Mostly, given a specific encounter, he wouldn't know whether it should be fought or not. He might take things at face value without thinking them through, which could get him in trouble. I.e. facing a troll, it's damn big, and so he might not want to fight it, even if OOC you know it's no big deal. If he's calm, his Wisdom is high enough to figure out that someone detecting as Evil doesn't mean smite-on-spot, but that might not register fast enough if he sees someone standing over a dead body.

EDIT: Of course, this is specifically combat roleplaying. I'd agree with chiasaur11 about non-combat stuff: you take things as face value, including church doctrine and the like. High enough Wisdom to know when or when not something applies, but not enough to get into more philosophical questions, including the possibility that the the church doctrine is flawed, incomplete, or something along those lines.

[chiasaur11]

Hmm.

Int 8?

We're probably not talking someone who thought about joining his order either on "I examined the evidence. It's true" or on benefits. Also, probably not the sort to examine doctrine too deeply.

Probably, not wanting to imply anything in any way outside of a game context, the sort of guy who pretty much goes by church policy on things.

Not an idiot, but he's got an easy answer for any major question in life, and a lack of ability to find it otherwise, he's gonna be grateful and stick to it. Can seem smart enough when he sticks to the official stance, so he generally does.

[mucat]

As others have said, Int 8 is slightly below average, but nowhere near Forrest Gump levels. In fact, if the guy has a decent Wisdom and Charisma, then I would play him as having a pretty good mind. He may well be smarter than average -- where by "smart" I mean the sum of all three mental stats -- but his mind leans strongly toward common sense, intuition, and interpersonal insight, rather than analytical logic.

He might be proud of the fact that he "ain't got much book learnin'", and feel that his way is better. Or he might recognize that the party's wizard thinks in ways that he can't, and work to take advantage of both their strong points. But I would not play him at all as an idiot. As long as his wisdom is good and his personality doesn't sabotage him, he could be the type who thinks things through slowly but carefully, and when he reaches a decision, usually finds that it was the right one.

[FallenWarriorIV]

What I usually find with the divine types who have lower than average Int is they focus more on religion to answer questions for them. Why do we have to kill the dragon? Because Pelor told me to! If you ever have a question on what your character would do in a given situation, look to the god to answer for you. My opinion anyway.

[девочка]

As others have said, not Forrest Gump, but take this into consideration: Drunk Jack Sparrow!

I think that he would fit the personality perfectly because he's not as slow as Forrest, yet like someone said should have an easy yet kinda below average answer for everything. :X

[Hendel]

I thought this was a plea for some personal help by the original poster when I first read the thread title. I was going to suggest some professional help or maybe to stop playing D&D and get out and socialize more.

Regarding the paladin with an 8 intelligence, that puts you in line with troglodytes, centaurs, and gnolls. So not stupid, but not very bright. I would say your reason is impaired a little, but your intuition is still strong. You might not formulate a plan but you will know when to listen to someone's plan and when not to do so.

[Draz74]

Captain Sparrow is always drunk. And I'd say he still has a pretty good Intelligence.

[Knaight]

As others have said, Int 8 is slightly below average, but nowhere near Forrest Gump levels. In fact, if the guy has a decent Wisdom and Charisma, then I would play him as having a pretty good mind. He may well be smarter than average -- where by "smart" I mean the sum of all three mental stats -- but his mind leans strongly toward common sense, intuition, and interpersonal insight, rather than analytical logic.

Of course, it is worth noting that we are probably significantly more intelligent than average on this board, simply due to the kind of people it both attracts and is able to keep, and the kind of people driven away by the culture. The dichotomy between that intelligence and that that is truly average would imply that overstating the difference could be a good thing, both because of the medium and to compensate for ones tendency to see themselves as average despite evidence. Forrest gump might be overkill, but only slightly.

[Serpentine]

General personality development stuff, copy-pasted from last time I posted it:

- Fear: Full-blown phobia, a constant dread, a general dislike, or an "that's icky".
- Fetish: Full-blown philia, something you have a "thing" for, a general like, or generally attracted to.
- Virtue: The character's major strength, and/or something they will always respond to.
- Vice: The character's major weakness, and/or something they have trouble resisting.
- Alignment priority: What part of your character's alignment is most important to them? e.g. is a Lawful Good character more concerned with good deeds or upholding the law? What does their alignment mean to them?
- Short-term goal: What are they striving for currently?
- Long-term goal: What do they want to do before they die?


On 8 Int specifically, some thoughts: use of simple words, straightforward thinking, poor or inflexible problem-solving skills, things like reading out loud or tending to use fingers when counting (not in a "one finger, two fingers, three fingers..." sort of a way, though), naivity - actually, that could be a pretty fun way of playing a low-Int Paladin, just someone who's idealistic and naive without any real knowledge of the world and little education.