High Int and Low Wis [Archive] - Wizards Community

High Int and Low Wis [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
fatdragon
06-20-07, 01:32 AM Hello in an upcoming game I'll be playing a whisper gnome rogue/unseen seer

I rolled my stats and got a 6 which i boosted to 8 with a tome and stuck it in Wisdom! I have 24 intelligence... from a role playing point of view how would this character act? he is a diviner and likes to collect information about things and places, also he's a little light handed when it comes to stealing. I am thinking Chaotic Neutral for his alignment but not in a bad way. Please help as I have no clue.
Fithero
06-20-07, 01:51 AM you could do your standard wizard approach, very knowledgable, but totally oblivous to whats going on around him.

A character who is somewhat smart academically, but stupid with regard to social matters.

Very smart when he has time to think things through, but often rushes things and gets into trouble.
Unplugged
06-20-07, 02:16 AM The standard "absent-minded wizard" works quite well.

Have your character be cultured and well-speaking when he's prepared and initiates a conversation; but when he's asked something, he's always distracted by something else (for a wizard, his own spellbook or familiar).
He speaks of something, then the subject of the conversation always shifts to something else, like he's distracted by his own words.

On his initiative turn, say stuff like "It's up to me? Eat firey fire! ...or something, just don't bother me, I've got stuff to do!"
Then turn around and pet your familiar.

In short, make him self-centered, but not on purpose: he just can't deal well with what happens around him, so he does his own thing.
warwinner
06-20-07, 04:52 AM Phb pg10- A character with a high Intelligence
but low Wisdom may be smart but absentminded, or knowledgeable but
lacking in common sense

Some additional points you might consider

Lacks common sense - He might think that his brilliant theories or plans may succeed.But they'd lack simple common sense.He might make grand, complicated plans which ignore basic common-sense aspects.
He when collecting information through divining will make grand and intellectual analyses and complex interpretations.But he might overlook simple or common but important things.He will see the tree's and the ants on them but ignore the forest.
He'll often fail at seeing the larger picture and/or explaining things simply so all can understand
fatdragon
06-20-07, 12:28 PM Thanks guys great help!
Issabella
06-20-07, 04:06 PM I always liked Kraus from Forgotten realms as an example of a yawning gulf between Intelligence and wisdom. Smart enough to design a spell to absorb the divinity of the goddess of magic. Not wise enough to realize the consequences of the actions.
BreegJac17
06-20-07, 09:19 PM A good example of high Int and low Wis is Kang the Mad from Jade Empire
R4za
06-21-07, 12:07 AM Insist on reducing everything to theories and principles. Ignore the thoughts, feelings and customs of most others on account on them not being intelligent enough about them to be worth listening to, and dismiss that such a thing as 'common' sense exists or that abstractions like 'wisdom' and 'intuition' could come up with anything useful by anything other than luck. "How can you learn when you don't even understand your own method of understanding?"

With and INT score like that and Divination magic to back him up, he might actually be quite right most of the time. But he's likely to miss a lot by dismissing the usefulness of ideals and principles he's unfamiliar with simply because he won't give them a shot when their supporters can't explain them to his satisfaction, and being inattentively cought up with his own thoughts on everything he's not a good listener, liable to miss even a good idea in his prejudice against anything but his own thinking.
Ensjak
06-21-07, 05:39 PM Have you ever been having a conversation (or more likely an argument) with someone, and they keep harping on some little point that is for all intents and purposes irrelevant, yet slightly related to the topic? Or ask questions that are germane to the subject of the conversation but not the actual dialogue. For instance, if you were to tell a story about a crazy day you had at work and they asked you what the weather was like that day. Another manifestation might be in skipping steps in their line of reasoning. For instance, consider the following. The two of you are discussing how active the social life at a particular college is but out of no where they ask whether the meal plan was carte blanche or a la carte?

That's how I envision such a huge descrepancy between intelligence and wisdom. The huge intelligence means you look at a particular subject and have such a yearning to understand everything about it that you ask questions that could somehow relate to or impact the topic in even the smallest way. The lack of wisdom means that you don't realize how little that line of questioning and thought means in the long run and that it really is pointless. So for the first example, the line of thought was that perhaps poor weather caused a slowdown on the roadways which made people sit in traffic on the way to work, which put everyone in a bad mood, which made interactions with everyone throughout the day quite stressful, which might in some way shape or form cause additional craziness.

For the second example, the person is wondering how meal times fit into the social scene. He is considering in his head that an a la carte meal plan would mean that students might prefer to spend their money or points at different dining locations on or near campus rather than sit down and spend a lot of time eating at a buffet style dining hall. This might then cause a descrepancy between how much socializing was actually done during meal times and whether or not people always ate with others, got food on the run, or saw the same group of people day in and day out and how many people they might see during a single meal. This person is jumping ahead of the conversation in his head and not realizing that the person he is talking to is not on the same page.

And if none of that is clear to you or makes any sense then chalk it up to me having a high intelligence and low wisdom. Contrariwise if it makes perfect sense consider my wisdom to be average (if not above, as I consider it to be).
Roivas
06-24-07, 04:52 AM Don't listen to these guys, the absent minded wizard is too overdone in D&D. I advise the mad scientist approach. Smart enough to build a death ray and stupid enough to turn it on the first target you see to test it. A character like this would try to invent a new magic item trying to outdo a common easy to make item.
Wizard: True the ordinary mousetrap is effective, but this one fires a maximized lighting bolt at anything that touches the cheese! Truly a better mousetrap.
Shopkeep: Setting aside the fact that this is likely to kill the person who dares to use it, how much does something like that cost?
Wizard: A steal at 56,000gp! How many can I put you down for?

Have a terminal lack of common sense and be very insistent that you are fully rational in your actions.
Nessrocker
07-05-07, 02:09 PM I made my low wisdom Wizard a meticulous note taker. He has a habit of forgetting things so he solves his problem academiclly. Also, he offers to do tasks that he's simply not suited to and when rejected he cries behind his spellbook. He doesn't really realize that other people notice it - He wouldn't ba able to. He too has a problem making observations that are obvious to others, such as that his familiar is quite dead (He still hears it talk though.)
CrimsonWyvern
07-05-07, 03:26 PM Well, I have a character that is pretty much the reverse, so I'll work backwards.

Gorgi has problems with names on occasion, but he always recognizes them when he sees them. So in contrast, you would probably always know others names, but never remember who it is that the face matched up to. Gorgi has a lot of common sense, and can easily think of easy solutions to problems between his comrades, so you would probably know plenty of complex problem solutions but not be able to easily apply them to your current situation.

So, pretty much, my suggestion is that you have lots of knowledge in your mind, but very little ability to apply it successfully. You can think very well given time, but not on your feet.
TheOrdnanceGod
07-05-07, 03:55 PM My current character has an Int of 28 and a Wis of 12. I play him as if he had no tact what so ever and hes very, very curious about everything. He has to touch and pick up everything new to him and he doesnt have very good manners or common sense.
TheAnthroDM
07-05-07, 04:13 PM With that low wisdom and that high intelligence, make sure you're constantly spewing out every bit of information you get regardless of the company you're around.

Should make for some interesting situations.
TheWhirlingDeathaxe
07-05-07, 05:32 PM A really intelligent guy with reaaly bad ADD is how I would think of it. Also Wisdom is what a characters memory is based on so someone with a low wisdom is likely very forgetfull. The characters social awareness is based on his Charisma not Wisdom, so he could still be very likeable.
Pfisiar
07-05-07, 05:37 PM My current character has an Int of 28 and a Wis of 12. I play him as if he had no tact what so ever and hes very, very curious about everything. He has to touch and pick up everything new to him and he doesnt have very good manners or common sense.

You do realize that a 12 wisdom would make your character wiser than the average person, right?
TheAnthroDM
07-05-07, 08:10 PM You do realize that a 12 wisdom would make your character wiser than the average person, right?
True but in DnD the average person can be killed by a cat.
Karish
07-05-07, 08:55 PM If I may say so: Dr. Farnsworth.
neo-Aeris
07-06-07, 01:19 PM If I may say so: Dr. Farnsworth.

DAMN YOU! I never ever post, I'm just a skimmer, but I was SO going to say that! As soon as I read the first post I was like "Heh, Fry's nephew." Go down to the bottom of the page and BAM!, some guy already beat me to the punch.

It helps that I've been watching blocks of Futurama for the past couple of days.
Einvaldurinn_mikli
07-07-07, 05:45 PM DAMN YOU! I never ever post, I'm just a skimmer, but I was SO going to say that! As soon as I read the first post I was like "Heh, Fry's nephew." Go down to the bottom of the page and BAM!, some guy already beat me to the punch.

It helps that I've been watching blocks of Futurama for the past couple of days.

Damn, that is some serious lurking man. I just checked your post count and then your join date, hardcore.
Doomed_Penguin
07-08-07, 01:16 PM While I like the idea of the absent minded mage, it doesn't fit your rogue levels. You may be absent minded at times, but for the most part, be kind of cocky. Overestimate yourself (or underestimate your opponents). You're an unseen seer, always act like you know something they don't (but most of the time, actually try to know something they don't, you can't always rely on bluff). This also fits your CN alignment.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
fatdragon 06-20-07, 01:32 AM	Hello in an upcoming game I'll be playing a whisper gnome rogue/unseen seer I rolled my stats and got a 6 which i boosted to 8 with a tome and stuck it in Wisdom! I have 24 intelligence... from a role playing point of view how would this character act? he is a diviner and likes to collect information about things and places, also he's a little light handed when it comes to stealing. I am thinking Chaotic Neutral for his alignment but not in a bad way. Please help as I have no clue.
Fithero 06-20-07, 01:51 AM	you could do your standard wizard approach, very knowledgable, but totally oblivous to whats going on around him. A character who is somewhat smart academically, but stupid with regard to social matters. Very smart when he has time to think things through, but often rushes things and gets into trouble.
Unplugged 06-20-07, 02:16 AM	The standard "absent-minded wizard" works quite well. Have your character be cultured and well-speaking when he's prepared and initiates a conversation; but when he's asked something, he's always distracted by something else (for a wizard, his own spellbook or familiar). He speaks of something, then the subject of the conversation always shifts to something else, like he's distracted by his own words. On his initiative turn, say stuff like "It's up to me? Eat firey fire! ...or something, just don't bother me, I've got stuff to do!" Then turn around and pet your familiar. In short, make him self-centered, but not on purpose: he just can't deal well with what happens around him, so he does his own thing.
warwinner 06-20-07, 04:52 AM	Phb pg10- A character with a high Intelligence but low Wisdom may be smart but absentminded, or knowledgeable but lacking in common sense Some additional points you might consider Lacks common sense - He might think that his brilliant theories or plans may succeed.But they'd lack simple common sense.He might make grand, complicated plans which ignore basic common-sense aspects. He when collecting information through divining will make grand and intellectual analyses and complex interpretations.But he might overlook simple or common but important things.He will see the tree's and the ants on them but ignore the forest. He'll often fail at seeing the larger picture and/or explaining things simply so all can understand
fatdragon 06-20-07, 12:28 PM	Thanks guys great help!
Issabella 06-20-07, 04:06 PM	I always liked Kraus from Forgotten realms as an example of a yawning gulf between Intelligence and wisdom. Smart enough to design a spell to absorb the divinity of the goddess of magic. Not wise enough to realize the consequences of the actions.
BreegJac17 06-20-07, 09:19 PM	A good example of high Int and low Wis is Kang the Mad from Jade Empire
R4za 06-21-07, 12:07 AM	Insist on reducing everything to theories and principles. Ignore the thoughts, feelings and customs of most others on account on them not being intelligent enough about them to be worth listening to, and dismiss that such a thing as 'common' sense exists or that abstractions like 'wisdom' and 'intuition' could come up with anything useful by anything other than luck. "How can you learn when you don't even understand your own method of understanding?" With and INT score like that and Divination magic to back him up, he might actually be quite right most of the time. But he's likely to miss a lot by dismissing the usefulness of ideals and principles he's unfamiliar with simply because he won't give them a shot when their supporters can't explain them to his satisfaction, and being inattentively cought up with his own thoughts on everything he's not a good listener, liable to miss even a good idea in his prejudice against anything but his own thinking.
Ensjak 06-21-07, 05:39 PM	Have you ever been having a conversation (or more likely an argument) with someone, and they keep harping on some little point that is for all intents and purposes irrelevant, yet slightly related to the topic? Or ask questions that are germane to the subject of the conversation but not the actual dialogue. For instance, if you were to tell a story about a crazy day you had at work and they asked you what the weather was like that day. Another manifestation might be in skipping steps in their line of reasoning. For instance, consider the following. The two of you are discussing how active the social life at a particular college is but out of no where they ask whether the meal plan was carte blanche or a la carte? That's how I envision such a huge descrepancy between intelligence and wisdom. The huge intelligence means you look at a particular subject and have such a yearning to understand everything about it that you ask questions that could somehow relate to or impact the topic in even the smallest way. The lack of wisdom means that you don't realize how little that line of questioning and thought means in the long run and that it really is pointless. So for the first example, the line of thought was that perhaps poor weather caused a slowdown on the roadways which made people sit in traffic on the way to work, which put everyone in a bad mood, which made interactions with everyone throughout the day quite stressful, which might in some way shape or form cause additional craziness. For the second example, the person is wondering how meal times fit into the social scene. He is considering in his head that an a la carte meal plan would mean that students might prefer to spend their money or points at different dining locations on or near campus rather than sit down and spend a lot of time eating at a buffet style dining hall. This might then cause a descrepancy between how much socializing was actually done during meal times and whether or not people always ate with others, got food on the run, or saw the same group of people day in and day out and how many people they might see during a single meal. This person is jumping ahead of the conversation in his head and not realizing that the person he is talking to is not on the same page. And if none of that is clear to you or makes any sense then chalk it up to me having a high intelligence and low wisdom. Contrariwise if it makes perfect sense consider my wisdom to be average (if not above, as I consider it to be).
Roivas 06-24-07, 04:52 AM	Don't listen to these guys, the absent minded wizard is too overdone in D&D. I advise the mad scientist approach. Smart enough to build a death ray and stupid enough to turn it on the first target you see to test it. A character like this would try to invent a new magic item trying to outdo a common easy to make item. Wizard: True the ordinary mousetrap is effective, but this one fires a maximized lighting bolt at anything that touches the cheese! Truly a better mousetrap. Shopkeep: Setting aside the fact that this is likely to kill the person who dares to use it, how much does something like that cost? Wizard: A steal at 56,000gp! How many can I put you down for? Have a terminal lack of common sense and be very insistent that you are fully rational in your actions.
Nessrocker 07-05-07, 02:09 PM	I made my low wisdom Wizard a meticulous note taker. He has a habit of forgetting things so he solves his problem academiclly. Also, he offers to do tasks that he's simply not suited to and when rejected he cries behind his spellbook. He doesn't really realize that other people notice it - He wouldn't ba able to. He too has a problem making observations that are obvious to others, such as that his familiar is quite dead (He still hears it talk though.)
CrimsonWyvern 07-05-07, 03:26 PM	Well, I have a character that is pretty much the reverse, so I'll work backwards. Gorgi has problems with names on occasion, but he always recognizes them when he sees them. So in contrast, you would probably always know others names, but never remember who it is that the face matched up to. Gorgi has a lot of common sense, and can easily think of easy solutions to problems between his comrades, so you would probably know plenty of complex problem solutions but not be able to easily apply them to your current situation. So, pretty much, my suggestion is that you have lots of knowledge in your mind, but very little ability to apply it successfully. You can think very well given time, but not on your feet.
TheOrdnanceGod 07-05-07, 03:55 PM	My current character has an Int of 28 and a Wis of 12. I play him as if he had no tact what so ever and hes very, very curious about everything. He has to touch and pick up everything new to him and he doesnt have very good manners or common sense.
TheAnthroDM 07-05-07, 04:13 PM	With that low wisdom and that high intelligence, make sure you're constantly spewing out every bit of information you get regardless of the company you're around. Should make for some interesting situations.
TheWhirlingDeathaxe 07-05-07, 05:32 PM	A really intelligent guy with reaaly bad ADD is how I would think of it. Also Wisdom is what a characters memory is based on so someone with a low wisdom is likely very forgetfull. The characters social awareness is based on his Charisma not Wisdom, so he could still be very likeable.
Pfisiar 07-05-07, 05:37 PM	My current character has an Int of 28 and a Wis of 12. I play him as if he had no tact what so ever and hes very, very curious about everything. He has to touch and pick up everything new to him and he doesnt have very good manners or common sense. You do realize that a 12 wisdom would make your character wiser than the average person, right?
TheAnthroDM 07-05-07, 08:10 PM	You do realize that a 12 wisdom would make your character wiser than the average person, right? True but in DnD the average person can be killed by a cat.
Karish 07-05-07, 08:55 PM	If I may say so: Dr. Farnsworth.
neo-Aeris 07-06-07, 01:19 PM	If I may say so: Dr. Farnsworth. DAMN YOU! I never ever post, I'm just a skimmer, but I was SO going to say that! As soon as I read the first post I was like "Heh, Fry's nephew." Go down to the bottom of the page and BAM!, some guy already beat me to the punch. It helps that I've been watching blocks of Futurama for the past couple of days.
Einvaldurinn_mikli 07-07-07, 05:45 PM	DAMN YOU! I never ever post, I'm just a skimmer, but I was SO going to say that! As soon as I read the first post I was like "Heh, Fry's nephew." Go down to the bottom of the page and BAM!, some guy already beat me to the punch. It helps that I've been watching blocks of Futurama for the past couple of days. Damn, that is some serious lurking man. I just checked your post count and then your join date, hardcore.
Doomed_Penguin 07-08-07, 01:16 PM	While I like the idea of the absent minded mage, it doesn't fit your rogue levels. You may be absent minded at times, but for the most part, be kind of cocky. Overestimate yourself (or underestimate your opponents). You're an unseen seer, always act like you know something they don't (but most of the time, actually try to know something they don't, you can't always rely on bluff). This also fits your CN alignment.