Low Int, High Wis: How would they be?

[BlueWitch]

To make a long story short, say we have a character who has an Int Score of 4 but a Wis Score of a whopping 20!

What would they be like? How would they talk? Or the kinds of things they would say? Would they understand not to stack things in a way that it would collapse? Would they speak in 3rd Person?

Bonus Question: Their Cha Score is 16. So they are at least kind of charming?

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[ChaosStar]

To make a long story short, say we have a character who has an Int Score of 4 but a Wis Score of a whopping 20!

What would they be like? How would they talk? Or the kinds of things they would say? Would they understand not to stack things in a way that it would collapse? Would they speak in 3rd Person?

Bonus Question: Their Cha Score is 16. So they are at least kind of charming?

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I'd say they'd be like Forrest Gump. Lots of common sense and little knowledge.

[Maat Mons]

If I were playing a character with Int 4, their speech patterns and mannerisms would be closely modeled on someone I hate.

[Duke of Urrel]

With a Wisdom score of 20, your character is no fool. They have common sense and are very observant.

With a Charisma score of 16, your character is able to delegate tasks to others who have more Intelligence and skill. They are able to act much smarter than they really are.

The only thing that your character really lacks are book learning and the extra skill that they could acquire with higher Intelligence. Your character probably doesn't speak more than one language, but they speak this language very persuasively.

[Duff]

They could be simple but wise. They don't understand complex things. They know they can't. Don't use long, complex sentences with lots of different; components, sub elements, and structures. But not too simple either.
So they stack boxes in the way they see other people stack boxes. If you ask them why, they'll say "If I stack them this way they don't fall"

The charisma could be any combination or physical attractiveness, wholesomeness, apparent grace (the religious one, not the physical one). The only high charisma archetype they wouldn't work with is the highly articulate lawyer/diplomat kind (I think).

[H_H_F_F]

Speak in a very simple way. Use a lot of non verbal communication, and make it good. Don't reason, don't present thoughts as logical arguements. Use common sense and intuitive leaps. Be comfortable and open with your inability to follow complex discussions, but be very aware of tone and intent. You may not understand what a person is talking about, but you can tell how they feel about the subject, and you can tell if they're making fun of you. Be emotionally stable and mature. Inspire trust in people through your emotional-int and your clarity of thought. Don't engage in practical arguments about pros and cons of certain courses of action - just state your preference, and back it up with personal experience or with emotion.

Be very self-aware, but very confident and whole with who you are. The character should know that they're not as smart as other people, and feel about it just like they would feel about not being as dexterous. It's a fact about them that can be relevant and should be considered, but it doesn't make them any lesser. If someone makes fun of you, make them see how small they're being, and exert pity on them for their childishness.

That's pretty much it, I think.

[Duff]

Speak in a very simple way. Use a lot of non verbal communication, and make it good. Don't reason, don't present thoughts as logical arguements. Use common sense and intuitive leaps. Be comfortable and open with your inability to follow complex discussions, but be very aware of tone and intent. You may not understand what a person is talking about, but you can tell how they feel about the subject, and you can tell if they're making fun of you. Be emotionally stable and mature. Inspire trust in people through your emotional-int and your clarity of thought. Don't engage in practical arguments about pros and cons of certain courses of action - just state your preference, and back it up with personal experience or with emotion.

Be very self-aware, but very confident and whole with who you are. The character should know that they're not as smart as other people, and feel about it just like they would feel about not being as dexterous. It's a fact about them that can be relevant and should be considered, but it doesn't make them any lesser. If someone makes fun of you, make them see how small they're being, and exert pity on them for their childishness.

That's pretty much it, I think.

I like this better than mine

[Blackhawk748]

Woodsy Wisdom. The sentences are simple, but surprisingly deep. Basically, it may not be complex, but it makes sense. The epitome of not overthinking.

So ya, Fores Gump fits.

[Rynjin]

"Well, I don't know much about what goes on in them fancy books o' yours, but I'll tell ya right now if ya keep on runnin' over there you're gonna break your damn fool leg."

Basically: not book smart, but with loads of common sense, and probably well versed in wood lore.

[Calthropstu]

The typical paladin?

[Biggus]

Woodsy Wisdom. The sentences are simple, but surprisingly deep. Basically, it may not be complex, but it makes sense. The epitome of not overthinking.

So ya, Fores Gump fits.

I like this description. It reminds me of a lot of mystics like zen masters, they cut right to the heart of the matter, summing up in a few words the same understanding that someone with high Int might spend hundreds on.

[denthor]

Very quite. Can plan out ambush strategy but unable to provide wording pictures only.

[RexDart]

I think there are actually a variety of different ways to play this.

My current character is similar, except only a 13 Wisdom to go with her 6 Intelligence and 17 Charisma.

One of my keystones for playing her is that she's very impatient with planning, especially of the sort common in RPGs where characters (and players) spend an inordinate amount of time dithering over different potential approaches to a problem. She'll usually go along with whatever plan the others come up with, but when they're all arguing about it, she's probably playing with the druid's animal companion.

In her case, she's also a Favored Soul/Fighter follower of a god who's basically Thor, so she has a natural bias for action over words, and "Never mind maneuver, just go straight at 'em." Things always seem to work out OK. (On the other hand, it can seem like she's maybe a bit TOO eager to enter Valhalla....)


Another way I see her is sort of a cross between Melody of Josie and the Pussycats and Aquaman of the Batman: The Brave and the Bold cartoon.

OTOH, I think a 20 Wisdom character would be more likely to see that planning has merit, and practice more things like conscious delegation, as someone mentioned above.

[Asmotherion]

animalistic instincts, knows things related to his craft from experiance and very perspective.

Has to count fingers to do simple math and anything beyond adding or substructing is too complex for him. Vocabulary is limited to things in his imediate backround, and would use them to try to describe similar things he has no world for (ex: boat->people on wood walk on water/ sword-> big metal stick)

TlDr; Limited cognitive ability, yet very keen instict.

[Telonius]

To make a long story short, say we have a character who has an Int Score of 4 but a Wis Score of a whopping 20!

What would they be like? How would they talk? Or the kinds of things they would say? Would they understand not to stack things in a way that it would collapse? Would they speak in 3rd Person?

Bonus Question: Their Cha Score is 16. So they are at least kind of charming?

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Yeah, Forrest Gump, or Tom Cullen from "The Stand." 4 Int is just a tad smarter than your average housecat. They have a good sense of who's their friend, and are able to live independently and basically get along in the world; but don't have much interest about things that aren't directly in front of them.

[BlueWitch]

Thanks for these answers guys! I've got some good ideas to go with now.
Btw, would Yoda count as High Wis, Low Int? xD He does have a funny way of talking. Er, maybe that's more a Charisma thing.

[Fouredged Sword]

Thanks for these answers guys! I've got some good ideas to go with now.
Btw, would Yoda count as High Wis, Low Int? xD He does have a funny way of talking. Er, maybe that's more a Charisma thing.

Yoda talked funny because galactic standard was his second language and his native tongue followed the odd subject verb pattern he spoke in. Yoda was VERY high int.

The characterization I would point you towards is a smart dog. A very smart dog can tell who is a good person and who is a bad person. They can tell when someone is helping them and when someone is tricking them. Their response to this will be a happy smile or a growl, but that's their difficulty expressing their insight to others rather than a lack of insight.

[H_H_F_F]

Thanks for these answers guys! I've got some good ideas to go with now.
Btw, would Yoda count as High Wis, Low Int? xD He does have a funny way of talking. Er, maybe that's more a Charisma thing.

I want to point something out, but first, a disclaimer: this is obviously not gospel, just my opinion. D&D is meant to be fun, only roleplay in ways you can learn to enjoy. Now, my point:

Int 1-2 is an animal. Int 3 is the absolute minimum for a human. Int 4 should not be played as "not booksmart". When I talked about being unable to follow complex discussions, I didn't mean particle physics - I meant even basic logic. If A then B, If C and D then A, if B then E. C&D, therefore E. That's, in my opinion, beyond what Int 4 should be capable of following without sitting down and having someone demonstrate with a story or a pen&paper.

Yoda is not 4 Int, not by a longshot. 4 Int is probably at least some developmental issues. To play high Wis with that Int, you can't go around telling fables, or explaining that fear leads to anger which leads to hate which leads to suffering which leads to the dark side. That's why in my suggestions I really stressed intuition, emotional intelligence, and a strong sense of self. Don't be afraid of low Int and don't run away from it. Accept it and embrace it, like the character themself would.

[RexDart]

Another "just one guy's opinion" description of the various numerical stats, from a website, but apparently I'm not allowed to post a link to it:

Intelligence

1 (–5): Animalistic, no longer capable of logic or reason
2-3 (–4): Barely able to function, very limited speech and knowledge
4-5 (–3): Often resorts to charades to express thoughts
6-7 (–2): Often misuses and mispronounces words
8-9 (–1): Has trouble following trains of thought, forgets most unimportant things
10-11 (0): Knows what they need to know to get by
12-13 (1): Knows a bit more than is necessary, fairly logical
14-15 (2): Able to do math or solve logic puzzles mentally with reasonable accuracy
16-17 (3): Fairly intelligent, able to understand new tasks quickly
18-19 (4): Very intelligent, may invent new processes or uses for knowledge
20-21 (5): Highly knowledgeable, probably the smartest person many people know
22-23 (6): Able to make Holmesian leaps of logic
24-25 (7): Famous as a sage and genius


So I think it's reasonable to say there's a pretty wide gulf between a 4 and a 6, actually. Another thing I came across mentioned that on the distribution of 3d6 rolls, 3 or 4 results are way down on the tail. For intelligence, that would likely map to severe cognitive disabilities.

Regarding Yoda, I definitely don't think he has a low intelligence... but it's also not especially high. Really, considering all the prominent Star Wars characters, most of them pretty clearly have intelligence as their dump stat, with only R2-D2 and... Palpatine, I guess? as obvious counter-examples. Plus Dr. Chelli Aphra if you consider the comics.

[Telonius]

Another "just one guy's opinion" description of the various numerical stats, from a website, but apparently I'm not allowed to post a link to it:

Intelligence

1 (–5): Animalistic, no longer capable of logic or reason
2-3 (–4): Barely able to function, very limited speech and knowledge
4-5 (–3): Often resorts to charades to express thoughts
6-7 (–2): Often misuses and mispronounces words
8-9 (–1): Has trouble following trains of thought, forgets most unimportant things
10-11 (0): Knows what they need to know to get by
12-13 (1): Knows a bit more than is necessary, fairly logical
14-15 (2): Able to do math or solve logic puzzles mentally with reasonable accuracy
16-17 (3): Fairly intelligent, able to understand new tasks quickly
18-19 (4): Very intelligent, may invent new processes or uses for knowledge
20-21 (5): Highly knowledgeable, probably the smartest person many people know
22-23 (6): Able to make Holmesian leaps of logic
24-25 (7): Famous as a sage and genius


So I think it's reasonable to say there's a pretty wide gulf between a 4 and a 6, actually. Another thing I came across mentioned that on the distribution of 3d6 rolls, 3 or 4 results are way down on the tail. For intelligence, that would likely map to severe cognitive disabilities.

Regarding Yoda, I definitely don't think he has a low intelligence... but it's also not especially high. Really, considering all the prominent Star Wars characters, most of them pretty clearly have intelligence as their dump stat, with only R2-D2 and... Palpatine, I guess? as obvious counter-examples. Plus Dr. Chelli Aphra if you consider the comics.

Grand Admiral Thrawn (if Star Wars: Rebels counts as canon; I know the books have been thrown out the window). C-3P0 can calculate odds pretty well, even if nobody wants to hear them.

[Calthropstu]

Grand Admiral Thrawn (if Star Wars: Rebels counts as canon; I know the books have been thrown out the window). C-3P0 can calculate odds pretty well, even if nobody wants to hear them.

Yeah. Star Wars was fairly wis centric rather than int. Yoda knew what worked as a result of having lived so long. Anakin maybe had fairly high int, guessing 16 because of his ability to figure out how things worked by taking them apart.

[RexDart]

Yeah. Star Wars was fairly wis centric rather than int. Yoda knew what worked as a result of having lived so long. Anakin maybe had fairly high int, guessing 16 because of his ability to figure out how things worked by taking them apart.

On the other hand, a lot of Anakin's stuff may just be intuitive, derived from being crazy strong with the Force. Skywalkers may have something like:

Skywalker-Strong: Add +15 to all skill checks for skills in which you have at least one rank.

Also, an interpretation of why the Jedi screw up so badly might be that the Jedi class uses INT as a dump stat. They relied on WIS (i.e. what the Force tells them) so thoroughly that they became blind to the Dark Side's growing influence. But maybe INT-based rational analysis would have tipped them off....

[Gnaeus]

Int also reflects knowledge, so you could go with amnesiac or someone with a completely alien frame of reference. Like the Little Mermaid, who can hold a conversation fine but doesn’t understand what forks are. Or a post amnesia episode Wolverine, who is clearly a high wis, low int (although not 4) character in general.

[Calthropstu]

Int also reflects knowledge, so you could go with amnesiac or someone with a completely alien frame of reference. Like the Little Mermaid, who can hold a conversation fine but doesn’t understand what forks are. Or a post amnesia episode Wolverine, who is clearly a high wis, low int (although not 4) character in general.

Int doesn't reflect knowledge, int reflects your ability to process and learn information, hence why high int gives more skill points. You can have high int characters with zero knowledge skills.

A high int person with an alien frame of reference would be able to pick up on things fairly quickly. Using your reference, it would be like the mermaid making a clenched fist to hold the fork and basically using it to stab his food because he couldn't figure out how to hold it properly even after seeing someone else do it.

[Pinkie Pyro]

Forgetful and maybe a little absent minded, but beyond clever in their solutions when they do have the information.

Int is just book learning, people.

[Naru]

Forgetful and maybe a little absent minded, but beyond clever in their solutions when they do have the information.

Int is just book learning, people.

I disagree. As others have stated, I think it's the ability to grasp abstract concepts, and the ability to not just acquire knowledge, but to apply it to new and novel situations.

I have a friend who barely managed to graduate from a 4-yr college, and did so only due to a couple of "mercy D's" given to her by sympathetic professors in her gen ed science classes. Totally unable to grasp chemistry, which requires some very abstract thought. I don't recall her mathematical abilities; she rarely if ever spoke of them. I think she got her degree in theatre. Decent WIS and pretty high CHA, imo. Perfectly capable of functioning in an office job doing whatever needed doing. Really good friend. Has stable relationships. Low INT.

I had friends in high school who could grasp more complex math like geometry and trig, but who were stymied by word problems involving that same math. I consider the word problems to be part of that 'application to new and novel situations' mentioned above.

My dad is wicked smart, both book and practical - he's a genius when it comes to vehicles and engines; regularly diagnoses car problems for me over the phone. Was in med school for ~2 years. But wise? He got kicked out of med school, or dropped out, for reasons that haven't been shared with me. He had an affair when I was in high school; now divorced. And nowadays, he actually believes in some conspiracy theories. So I guess that's an example of high INT, low WIS for contrast.

[RifleAvenger]

I'm of the opinion that critical thinking requires both INT and WIS. Low INT, High WIS lacks the ability to learn, logically process, and integrate information into their "common sense" (aka intuitive heuristics). High INT, Low WIS is lacking in self-awareness and the ability to escape tunnel-thought; they're likely intellectually arrogant and prone to dismissing information that contradicts existing biases. Both could be fooled into believing something if the (correct) alternative required a lot of details to explain, and especially if the correct explanation were unintuitive.

I agree with some other posters that some players are too willing to write off INT as "book smarts," presumably so dumping INT doesn't cripple how they can RP. "Book smarts" are ranks in Knowledge skills, or skill ranks in general. Yes, having a high INT directly influences that, but so does class (though paradoxically, a lot of INT based classes have lower skill ranks. This a game balance decision, but for some classes could be explained by a narrow focus of training).