High Charisma, Low Wisdom, High Intelligence. [Archive] - Wizards Community

High Charisma, Low Wisdom, High Intelligence. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
hiryuu
06-20-03, 12:49 AM I've got a difficulty. My sorceress has slowly increased her charisma over time, and I've just now noticed it's reached a 24. I've got a problem with this (my having a charisma personally of, oh, say, 6 being the most glaring), being in that I can't figure out how to play it well. She's got a pretty high intelligence, to, with a deficit in pretty much everything else. I'm not sure how to play this, though. Can anyone help me out much?
Matrixy
06-20-03, 10:18 AM Charismatic people don't necessarily have to be "people persons". An excessively high charisma score means the character has an extreme force of will, and probably won't settle for patronizing someone in an argument, especially if she knows she's right. The character could be self-posessed, could be arrogant and believe she's a superstar everybody should wait on hand and foot, or might prefer to be feared rather than admired.

Charisma has some damn cool in-game effects, too. Remember that while on the Ethereal plane, creatures have Deflection bonuses to armor class equal to their charisma scores or +1, whichever is higher. Your sorceress could probably take part in physical combat with a Phase Spider on it's home turf pulling Neo style Matrix moves through sheer force of will.

Charisma happens to be my personal favorite stat, in case you didn't notice. :cool:
Leap
06-20-03, 10:33 AM Charismatic people are “attractive”, meaning they tend to catch people up in their “wake” by expressing qualities that people find resonate with them…………..there is something about them that is “agreeable”, usually an aura of “power” and “rightness”……kind of like “social gravity” :o)
Ancient Wyrm
06-20-03, 03:03 PM Charisma is actually two fairly distinct things: self-confidence and presence. Self-confidence to lie with a straight face, self-confidence to walk into the BBEG's barracks and act like the new drill sergeant, self-confidence to sing a ballad under the princess's window. Presence to make the captives cower in fear, presence to inspire devotion from your subordinates, presence to make that princess listen to your ballad.

Optional high-Charisma traits: good manners, civil tongue, calm and composed, clear and powerful voice, distinctive and famous feature (nose shape, hairstyle, etc.), and of course, physical attractiveness.
hiryuu
06-22-03, 06:31 AM Well, she does have this very large doglike creature of our DM's creation as an improved familiar (all his monsters are custom, so's we can't use our monster knowledge inadvertantly to defeat them)....it's kind of like a desert-dwelling dire wolf corssed with a hyaenodon and entelodont with hollow fangs for extracting the water from its prey. I was thinking that would amp her up on the 'confidence meter' a bit. I previous playings, she's been coming out as an eccentric with a flair for the dramatic. Spent 500 gold on a dress and next to 8000 on a really nice stick.

Personally, though, I wanted to go for this quiet, almost unnoticable person, who, when she opens her mouth, everybody listens. They're not sure why, they just do.

I amped up her ranks in perform last level, so she gets a whopping +19 in that regard at 6th level. I also took leadership, since it made sense. She picked up this thug who was part of a bandit gang as an employee for 5 gold a week, and now he's the cohort. It's interesting, she's half his age, and he does anything she tells him to almost without question.

She's also not entirely human. See, in my DM's world, magic comes from a tree residing in an alternate plane coterminous with the prime material, a 'plane of magic,' as it were. There is a race of beings who live there, unfettered by physical forms. For some reason or another (she's still trying to figure out why), one of these entities possessed a physical body. The process of forcing out the inhabitant's soul and replacing it leaves the creature an amnesiac. She's been hopping bodies for the past three years or so, and the campaign started when 'she' got a new one. She's got the journal she's been keeping, so there's little loss of knowledge, just having secondhand memories of events. She's hoping to stay in her current body, so she's got notes from when she was 'casing' it about what the last person was like. Managed to trick the ranger so far, but the ruse is breaking down.
Dragonchild
06-22-03, 04:56 PM People tend not to take someone with a low Wisdom seriously, regardless of Charisma. They might give her attention to win over her favor, however -- it's called flirting.

The only thing that's certain with a very high Charisma is that whatever influence your PC exerts on other people, it's extreme. After that, you have to decide how your PC dictates the reactions of others. If your PC doesn't like attention, that high Charisma actually means people shun her like crazy. (Think Strider at the Prancing Pony Inn in "Fellowship of the Ring".)

If your character isn't anti-social, then with a low Wisdom and high Intelligence, you'd get an endearing brainy ditz effect. She knows her stuff, but she has an irresistibly charming way of missing the obvious. When she talks, people are just dying to know what random thought will come out next. Come to think of it, I see this pattern often in anime -- from Yurika in "Nadesico" to Nene in "Bubblegum Crisis".
Theocracity
06-23-03, 10:24 AM One name.

Gilderoy Lockheart.
Finglas Leaflock
06-23-03, 10:33 AM I partially agree about people not taking low-wisdom types seriously, but I think someone like your character would leave people scratching their heads, saying things like "why do I always get into trouble when I'm around her" or "how did I let myself get talked into doing that," that kind of thing. A personality that overwhelming could make people forget that what she's saying sometimes defies common sense, she can sell her ideas very well, especially since her high int can help add credibility. That said, I mostly agree with what others have said on the thread.
SoulLord
06-24-03, 01:17 PM to add an examlple that i think fits

everyone is a mouse

princess: i have a great idea here put this bell in the neck of the cat that way well know when it aproaches and well all be safe

npc#1: ok

npc#1 in front of the cat... wait a minute .... why did i agree to this!!

SoulLord
Andion Isurand
06-26-03, 02:01 PM [ oops, ingore this post copy ]
Andion Isurand
06-26-03, 02:02 PM With high charisma and high intelligence, one can effectivley influence others and solve problems... but are not always aware of what is 'really' happening or what others are 'actually' doing, or what things to work on or when to do it.

Wisdom = Perception
Baron Phylos
06-26-03, 07:52 PM The d20 modern rulebook as a sidebar to clarify the relation between Int Wis and Cha.

A character with a high intelligence is curious, knowledgeable and prone to using big words. A character with a high int but low wis may be smart but absent-minded or Knowledgeable but lacking common sense.

A character with low wis may be rash, imprudent, irresponsible or "out of it".

A character with high cha may be beautiful, handsome, striking, personable and confident. A character with high cha but low wis may be popular but he doesn't know who his real friends are.
Augustus Semaphore
06-27-03, 10:35 AM Supervillains are classic High Int, High Cha, Low Wis characters. They all have some incredible master plan that should work - but then when they apply it to reality, it doesn't work. Thats because they didn't have the Wisdom to actually think about the practical application.

You have a vision, and its so strong that you can pull all sorts of people into your vision.....but its usually not grounded in reality. Communism, commercial flights to space, world peace - all fit nicely.

Big ideas and poor understanding of their practice would be the angle I'd be looking at. Consequences are for other people.
Augustus Semaphore
06-27-03, 10:36 AM Supervillains are classic High Int, High Cha, Low Wis characters. They all have some incredible master plan that should work - but then when they apply it to reality, it doesn't work. Thats because they didn't have the Wisdom to actually think about the practical application.

You have a vision, and its so strong that you can pull all sorts of people into your vision.....but its usually not grounded in reality. Communism, commercial flights to space, world peace - all fit nicely.

Big ideas and poor understanding of their practice would be the angle I'd be looking at. Consequences are for other people.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
hiryuu 06-20-03, 12:49 AM	I've got a difficulty. My sorceress has slowly increased her charisma over time, and I've just now noticed it's reached a 24. I've got a problem with this (my having a charisma personally of, oh, say, 6 being the most glaring), being in that I can't figure out how to play it well. She's got a pretty high intelligence, to, with a deficit in pretty much everything else. I'm not sure how to play this, though. Can anyone help me out much?
Matrixy 06-20-03, 10:18 AM	Charismatic people don't necessarily have to be "people persons". An excessively high charisma score means the character has an extreme force of will, and probably won't settle for patronizing someone in an argument, especially if she knows she's right. The character could be self-posessed, could be arrogant and believe she's a superstar everybody should wait on hand and foot, or might prefer to be feared rather than admired. Charisma has some damn cool in-game effects, too. Remember that while on the Ethereal plane, creatures have Deflection bonuses to armor class equal to their charisma scores or +1, whichever is higher. Your sorceress could probably take part in physical combat with a Phase Spider on it's home turf pulling Neo style Matrix moves through sheer force of will. Charisma happens to be my personal favorite stat, in case you didn't notice. :cool:
Leap 06-20-03, 10:33 AM	Charismatic people are “attractive”, meaning they tend to catch people up in their “wake” by expressing qualities that people find resonate with them…………..there is something about them that is “agreeable”, usually an aura of “power” and “rightness”……kind of like “social gravity” :o)
Ancient Wyrm 06-20-03, 03:03 PM	Charisma is actually two fairly distinct things: self-confidence and presence. Self-confidence to lie with a straight face, self-confidence to walk into the BBEG's barracks and act like the new drill sergeant, self-confidence to sing a ballad under the princess's window. Presence to make the captives cower in fear, presence to inspire devotion from your subordinates, presence to make that princess listen to your ballad. Optional high-Charisma traits: good manners, civil tongue, calm and composed, clear and powerful voice, distinctive and famous feature (nose shape, hairstyle, etc.), and of course, physical attractiveness.
hiryuu 06-22-03, 06:31 AM	Well, she does have this very large doglike creature of our DM's creation as an improved familiar (all his monsters are custom, so's we can't use our monster knowledge inadvertantly to defeat them)....it's kind of like a desert-dwelling dire wolf corssed with a hyaenodon and entelodont with hollow fangs for extracting the water from its prey. I was thinking that would amp her up on the 'confidence meter' a bit. I previous playings, she's been coming out as an eccentric with a flair for the dramatic. Spent 500 gold on a dress and next to 8000 on a really nice stick. Personally, though, I wanted to go for this quiet, almost unnoticable person, who, when she opens her mouth, everybody listens. They're not sure why, they just do. I amped up her ranks in perform last level, so she gets a whopping +19 in that regard at 6th level. I also took leadership, since it made sense. She picked up this thug who was part of a bandit gang as an employee for 5 gold a week, and now he's the cohort. It's interesting, she's half his age, and he does anything she tells him to almost without question. She's also not entirely human. See, in my DM's world, magic comes from a tree residing in an alternate plane coterminous with the prime material, a 'plane of magic,' as it were. There is a race of beings who live there, unfettered by physical forms. For some reason or another (she's still trying to figure out why), one of these entities possessed a physical body. The process of forcing out the inhabitant's soul and replacing it leaves the creature an amnesiac. She's been hopping bodies for the past three years or so, and the campaign started when 'she' got a new one. She's got the journal she's been keeping, so there's little loss of knowledge, just having secondhand memories of events. She's hoping to stay in her current body, so she's got notes from when she was 'casing' it about what the last person was like. Managed to trick the ranger so far, but the ruse is breaking down.
Dragonchild 06-22-03, 04:56 PM	People tend not to take someone with a low Wisdom seriously, regardless of Charisma. They might give her attention to win over her favor, however -- it's called flirting. The only thing that's certain with a very high Charisma is that whatever influence your PC exerts on other people, it's extreme. After that, you have to decide how your PC dictates the reactions of others. If your PC doesn't like attention, that high Charisma actually means people shun her like crazy. (Think Strider at the Prancing Pony Inn in "Fellowship of the Ring".) If your character isn't anti-social, then with a low Wisdom and high Intelligence, you'd get an endearing brainy ditz effect. She knows her stuff, but she has an irresistibly charming way of missing the obvious. When she talks, people are just dying to know what random thought will come out next. Come to think of it, I see this pattern often in anime -- from Yurika in "Nadesico" to Nene in "Bubblegum Crisis".
Theocracity 06-23-03, 10:24 AM	One name. Gilderoy Lockheart.
Finglas Leaflock 06-23-03, 10:33 AM	I partially agree about people not taking low-wisdom types seriously, but I think someone like your character would leave people scratching their heads, saying things like "why do I always get into trouble when I'm around her" or "how did I let myself get talked into doing that," that kind of thing. A personality that overwhelming could make people forget that what she's saying sometimes defies common sense, she can sell her ideas very well, especially since her high int can help add credibility. That said, I mostly agree with what others have said on the thread.
SoulLord 06-24-03, 01:17 PM	to add an examlple that i think fits everyone is a mouse princess: i have a great idea here put this bell in the neck of the cat that way well know when it aproaches and well all be safe npc#1: ok npc#1 in front of the cat... wait a minute .... why did i agree to this!! SoulLord
Andion Isurand 06-26-03, 02:01 PM	[ oops, ingore this post copy ]
Andion Isurand 06-26-03, 02:02 PM	With high charisma and high intelligence, one can effectivley influence others and solve problems... but are not always aware of what is 'really' happening or what others are 'actually' doing, or what things to work on or when to do it. Wisdom = Perception
Baron Phylos 06-26-03, 07:52 PM	The d20 modern rulebook as a sidebar to clarify the relation between Int Wis and Cha. A character with a high intelligence is curious, knowledgeable and prone to using big words. A character with a high int but low wis may be smart but absent-minded or Knowledgeable but lacking common sense. A character with low wis may be rash, imprudent, irresponsible or "out of it". A character with high cha may be beautiful, handsome, striking, personable and confident. A character with high cha but low wis may be popular but he doesn't know who his real friends are.
Augustus Semaphore 06-27-03, 10:35 AM	Supervillains are classic High Int, High Cha, Low Wis characters. They all have some incredible master plan that should work - but then when they apply it to reality, it doesn't work. Thats because they didn't have the Wisdom to actually think about the practical application. You have a vision, and its so strong that you can pull all sorts of people into your vision.....but its usually not grounded in reality. Communism, commercial flights to space, world peace - all fit nicely. Big ideas and poor understanding of their practice would be the angle I'd be looking at. Consequences are for other people.
Augustus Semaphore 06-27-03, 10:36 AM	Supervillains are classic High Int, High Cha, Low Wis characters. They all have some incredible master plan that should work - but then when they apply it to reality, it doesn't work. Thats because they didn't have the Wisdom to actually think about the practical application. You have a vision, and its so strong that you can pull all sorts of people into your vision.....but its usually not grounded in reality. Communism, commercial flights to space, world peace - all fit nicely. Big ideas and poor understanding of their practice would be the angle I'd be looking at. Consequences are for other people.