How would you play 6 wisdom? [Archive] - Wizards Community

How would you play 6 wisdom? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
StruckingFuggle
12-24-06, 07:31 PM Just wondering what the people think ... I'm not quite sure how 6 wis would properly manifest in a chacter, heh. At the moment, it does so in a form halfway between Butters and Tweak (both south park characters)

It's not just an elf with a wisdom of 6, mind you... This is a strongheaded (con-to-will feat from PHBII) elf with fourteen intelligence and a fair amount of charisma, who's primarily a Warblade (ftr 2 / bbn 2 / wb X) and [i]then[i] primarily focused around the White Raven discipline (with a few Iron Heart and Diamond Mind maneuvers stirred in), who is mostly concerned with becoming a hero - not so much for the doing heroic deeds, but for the glory that comes with it. He's ... basically a walking Power Metal song, in the form of a massive elf (high con, high str).

So he's got a rather solid grasp of the intellectual side of military strategy (14 Int, White Raven adept), but other than being a bit oblivious, what do you think the 6 Wis would end up being like?
Eridrau
12-24-06, 08:46 PM Well, wisdom is described as your ... well... wisdom. Common Sense, Awareness, your sense of other people.
So, low wis, generally means that he doesn't really take a lot into account.
He's great with tactics, when he has time to prepare, but if he's caught off guard, he just picks a reaction and goes with it.

My recommendation is to make a d20 chart of possible reactions (Anything from welcoming with open arms to greeting with open hostility. *chuckle*) Any time something catches him off guard (Surprise attack, random NPC that pops out of nowhere) Roll three times on the table. (Reroll doubles) and pick the reaction that seems the most fitting to the setting (Lighthearted, go with the funny option. Serious campaign, go with the 'smartest' response)

Either that, or periodically act the opposite of what makes sense. Your character is smart, and has good social sense... so jump to conclusions!
Example one: (Silligism method of reasoning)
Fact 1: The wizard is evil.
Fact 2: The knight is the wizard's brother.
Easiest conclusion: Take down the knight before he can backstab us! (Nevermind that he's a paladin...)

Example two: (I am smart, I am right- Strongheaded approach)
Thought: The halfling looks trustworthy, and seems friendly.
Action: Let him appraise the gems, and take first pick. He said you can trust him, so of course you can!

For an added point, the comparison of the two extremes
High wisdom implies;
A philosophical look at things
Thoughtful intuition
Serenity.

Low wisdom implies;
A simple outlook on life (Made much simpler by being strongheaded)
Naivety
Impulsiveness.

May this help you in your Role Playing.
Rusher
12-24-06, 09:19 PM Think Barney Fife. (too old a reference?)
Never think ahead to the results of your actions beyond this very second.

- Worried about thieves? Tie down your weapons to your body. If only you could get some universal solvent..
- You are gullible as the day is long. Magic beans for this lousy glowing sword? GREAT!
- Too much is never enough. If one drink is good...
- Am I familar with our city's stringent Usury laws? Huh? You mean you will give me money now and I only have to pay you back over the next 50 years??
- Of course nobles are subject to the same laws as common folks. You are coming with me! I bet I get a big reward/promotion!
- I think the dancing girl from that bar really liked me!
- Boy the homicidal sheriff's daughter sure is hot.
JulesCARV
12-25-06, 12:44 AM I'd say that for your character, a tendency to underestimate challenges and opponents might be an aspect of low wisdom. Someone with high wisdom notices a lot of things in their environment. Someone with lower wisdom notices less. A depressive type with low wisdom might frequently fail to notice good things. For your elf, though, as an arrogant hero-aspirant, he might only see what fits into his own narrative of himself as a mighty, widely-adored hero. For example, if he wants to seduce a woman, and the woman keeps trying to drop hints that she isn't into him, he doesn't notice, because his narrative about himself might be "women adore me," and the woman must be very blunt (i.e. "look: I don't like you. Please stop hitting on me." rather than "well, things are kinda busy for me lately."). If he sees an enemy who's strong and powerfully built, he interprets that as "musclebound idiot whom I can dance circles around," and ignores that the enemy may be highly skilled as well as strong, and ignore evidence that the enemy is widely regarded as a powerful warrior. Conversely, if he sees an enemy who's lithe and small, he interprets it as "little twerp whose ass I can easily kick," and ignore other strengths the character may have. He assumes all of his party members admire him, and if they ever criticize him, he basically assumes that they must be jealous or something. Basically, he has a very fixed idea of his relationship with the world -- that of a mighty, universally beloved, admired hero -- and he simply doesn't notice things which contradict that narrative.
mkill
12-25-06, 03:21 AM First of all, there is no one single way to roleplay a 6 Wisdom. It also depends on the personality of the character and how much Int he has to make up for it.

Since I rolled a 6 for my last char, a Changeling Rogue, and put that in Wisdom. Here's how I roleplay it:

The guy has the mindset of a kid. He's smart (Int 16), but impulsive, impatient, inattentive, and acts on whim. He never fully trusts people. He likes to come up with complicated solutions to simple problems. In short, he lacks this inner compass that keeps most people from doing stupid things.
StruckingFuggle
12-25-06, 03:42 AM First of all, there is no one single way to roleplay a 6 Wisdom. It also depends on the personality of the character and how much Int he has to make up for it.

Hence why I:
A: provided more info on the character, including several large building blocks of his base personality, and
B: didn't ask how I should play him, as much as I was looking for other people's insights on ways it might manifest.

:)

For everyone so far (including you, mkill), thanks for the ideas.
PiedmonSama
12-25-06, 03:59 AM I played a Fighter once in a Dragonlance campaign with Int 16 and Wis 6.... his dearest dream was to become a Solamnic Knight, poor guy. I just had him come up with ideas constantly. Ideas for tactics, inventions, MacGuyver-style innovations, whatever, just off the cuff and kept them coming at a constant rate. Unfortunately with six wisdom a lot of those ideas were bad. And my guy was completely unable to tell the difference between genius and idiocy--I gave him (well, tried to give him) just enough good ideas to keep him worth listening to, but threw in some crazy stuff too.... he also randomly captured a Hobgoblin at one point and declared it his official "convert" to the faith of Paladine....
FiestFan
01-04-07, 09:27 AM The last time someone at our table had a 6 (or lower) WIS, it was a Sorcerer with a 14 INT. He became a poster child for Short Attention Span Theatre - in other words, when there was something interesting going on in front of him, he was fine, but he didn't deal well with lengthy discussions and tactical debates. He was prone to wandering off in the middle of them, in fact, having decided on a course of action already. He practically needed to be on a tether if he had to pull a watch, because he'd go investigate that noise he heard without stopping to alert the party meatshield, er, Fighter, that trouble was close by. Very charming, well, spoken, and intelligent, but the attention span of a goldfish.
Croaker
01-06-07, 04:37 PM I played a super low wis guy once. He had a habit of wandering into traps and enemies in a rather foolhardy fashion. Probably would have been okay for a tank but he was some sort of rouge/scor with crappy hp.
Hack and Smasher
01-06-07, 07:54 PM Don't think.

Easist way of to play a wisdom 6, do the first thing that comes into your head.

Sure you can do it and thats all the reason you ever need.
BobtheBiotitan
01-07-07, 04:32 PM Honestly I know exactly what its like to play a 6 wisdom because I have a really low wisdom in real life. It comes out in different ways. The most obvious way it comes out in me is I am not perceptive at all even though I am incredibly smart. For instance:I have to say that the thing i'm most ashamed of is when this one girl flirted with me for two years and I didn't notice until it was too late. It may seem stupid and it was painfully obvious, but its just how it happens for me. I only see something if someone points it out to me. I think about many possibilities, but if I dont think about one then I never will. Going back to the girl. She was a good friend and I never imagined her liking me so I never realized it. That is one of the many ways to represent a low wisdom character.
Doomed_Penguin
01-07-07, 08:24 PM Honestly I know exactly what its like to play a 6 wisdom because I have a really low wisdom in real life. It comes out in different ways. The most obvious way it comes out in me is I am not perceptive at all even though I am incredibly smart. For instance:I have to say that the thing i'm most ashamed of is when this one girl flirted with me for two years and I didn't notice until it was too late. It may seem stupid and it was painfully obvious, but its just how it happens for me. I only see something if someone points it out to me. I think about many possibilities, but if I dont think about one then I never will. Going back to the girl. She was a good friend and I never imagined her liking me so I never realized it. That is one of the many ways to represent a low wisdom character.

Yeah, same here. I have an IQ of 149, but I couldn't tell if a girl liked me if she climbed up on my desk and started striping (not that girls do that when they like guys, but you get my point). I also have trouble with knowing when a girl doesn't like me, but I'm much more careful about watching out for that. Essentially, your character tries to do the right thing, but doesn't always know what the right thing is. He knows which option is best, but he rarely recognizes all the options that are available.
Fafnir
01-08-07, 11:45 AM Honestly I know exactly what its like to play a 6 wisdom because I have a really low wisdom in real life. It comes out in different ways. The most obvious way it comes out in me is I am not perceptive at all even though I am incredibly smart. For instance:I have to say that the thing i'm most ashamed of is when this one girl flirted with me for two years and I didn't notice until it was too late. It may seem stupid and it was painfully obvious, but its just how it happens for me. I only see something if someone points it out to me. I think about many possibilities, but if I dont think about one then I never will. Going back to the girl. She was a good friend and I never imagined her liking me so I never realized it. That is one of the many ways to represent a low wisdom character.

Yeah, same here. I have an IQ of 149, but I couldn't tell if a girl liked me if she climbed up on my desk and started striping (not that girls do that when they like guys, but you get my point). I also have trouble with knowing when a girl doesn't like me, but I'm much more careful about watching out for that. Essentially, your character tries to do the right thing, but doesn't always know what the right thing is. He knows which option is best, but he rarely recognizes all the options that are available.

Good. Now I have something to add to my RL stat block.
*Scribbles down: Int 17, Wis 6."
I know your pain.

Whoops, getting off topic here.

Innuendo flies right over your head. Knowing that, you avoid it altogether; you're blunt and to the point. You may end up hurting someone's with your words, but you know you cannot see it when you do, so who cares? You wear your heart on your sleeve, hoping that people will recognize your limits and forgive you when you overstep your bounds.

...or, you may be so afraid to make mistakes in your judgement that you rarely let your wits shine through, staying in the background. Would be kinda weird for a charismatic Warblade though.

Either way, you're gullible and can't do anything about it. This weakness will rear it's ugly head more than once in your career.

Just my 2 cents from personal experience.
Daxen
01-12-07, 03:48 PM Looking at your class list I am forced to agree with the attention span people, to a degree. However considering your barbarian levels there could be an inherent fearful respect for magic. That is shaman buisiness and you sir are no shaman. You understand the grand scale of tactical warfare, but many of it's subtleties escape you. An example.

Our Man: "I we press the advance through this pass and harry with archery from that hill, the enemy will be forced to defend with their backs to the river."

Scout: They are Kua-toa sir.

Our Man: ...and....

His strategies are great, but unadaptable. The enemy will respond exactly as Sun Tzu's Art of War dictates. Of this there is no doubt.

If an enemy get's ahold of this guys playbook they could truely neuter his effectiveness. He may actually have some strategy book that he references, called "The Plan" or something.

The ultimate expression of High intelligence and Low Wisdom is a computer. He is a bunch of if/then statements.

He would never learn that skeletons are best fought by using bludgeoning weapons from the experience. He would just hack with his sword until they were gone. If he read somewhere the skeletons aer best fought with bludgeoning weapons, he would never forget it.

That is about all I have for right now.
BobtheBiotitan
01-12-07, 08:53 PM Innuendo flies right over your head. Knowing that, you avoid it altogether; you're blunt and to the point. You may end up hurting someone's with your words, but you know you cannot see it when you do, so who cares? You wear your heart on your sleeve, hoping that people will recognize your limits and forgive you when you overstep your bounds.

...or, you may be so afraid to make mistakes in your judgement that you rarely let your wits shine through, staying in the background. Would be kinda weird for a charismatic Warblade though.

Either way, you're gullible and can't do anything about it. This weakness will rear it's ugly head more than once in your career.

Just my 2 cents from personal experience.

Wow. Wow. Wow. That explains me perfectly. This guy has it down, though there is a point that is worth saying again. A character that has 6 wisdom and a high intellegence deals in absolutes He is smart and knows what is fact. This goes with the innuendo thing as well.

I hurt people all the time with my words but I do not realize it. I am so glad there is someone out there like me.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
StruckingFuggle 12-24-06, 07:31 PM	Just wondering what the people think ... I'm not quite sure how 6 wis would properly manifest in a chacter, heh. At the moment, it does so in a form halfway between Butters and Tweak (both south park characters) It's not just an elf with a wisdom of 6, mind you... This is a strongheaded (con-to-will feat from PHBII) elf with fourteen intelligence and a fair amount of charisma, who's primarily a Warblade (ftr 2 / bbn 2 / wb X) and [i]then[i] primarily focused around the White Raven discipline (with a few Iron Heart and Diamond Mind maneuvers stirred in), who is mostly concerned with becoming a hero - not so much for the doing heroic deeds, but for the glory that comes with it. He's ... basically a walking Power Metal song, in the form of a massive elf (high con, high str). So he's got a rather solid grasp of the intellectual side of military strategy (14 Int, White Raven adept), but other than being a bit oblivious, what do you think the 6 Wis would end up being like?
Eridrau 12-24-06, 08:46 PM	Well, wisdom is described as your ... well... wisdom. Common Sense, Awareness, your sense of other people. So, low wis, generally means that he doesn't really take a lot into account. He's great with tactics, when he has time to prepare, but if he's caught off guard, he just picks a reaction and goes with it. My recommendation is to make a d20 chart of possible reactions (Anything from welcoming with open arms to greeting with open hostility. chuckle) Any time something catches him off guard (Surprise attack, random NPC that pops out of nowhere) Roll three times on the table. (Reroll doubles) and pick the reaction that seems the most fitting to the setting (Lighthearted, go with the funny option. Serious campaign, go with the 'smartest' response) Either that, or periodically act the opposite of what makes sense. Your character is smart, and has good social sense... so jump to conclusions! Example one: (Silligism method of reasoning) Fact 1: The wizard is evil. Fact 2: The knight is the wizard's brother. Easiest conclusion: Take down the knight before he can backstab us! (Nevermind that he's a paladin...) Example two: (I am smart, I am right- Strongheaded approach) Thought: The halfling looks trustworthy, and seems friendly. Action: Let him appraise the gems, and take first pick. He said you can trust him, so of course you can! For an added point, the comparison of the two extremes High wisdom implies; A philosophical look at things Thoughtful intuition Serenity. Low wisdom implies; A simple outlook on life (Made much simpler by being strongheaded) Naivety Impulsiveness. May this help you in your Role Playing.
Rusher 12-24-06, 09:19 PM	Think Barney Fife. (too old a reference?) Never think ahead to the results of your actions beyond this very second. - Worried about thieves? Tie down your weapons to your body. If only you could get some universal solvent.. - You are gullible as the day is long. Magic beans for this lousy glowing sword? GREAT! - Too much is never enough. If one drink is good... - Am I familar with our city's stringent Usury laws? Huh? You mean you will give me money now and I only have to pay you back over the next 50 years?? - Of course nobles are subject to the same laws as common folks. You are coming with me! I bet I get a big reward/promotion! - I think the dancing girl from that bar really liked me! - Boy the homicidal sheriff's daughter sure is hot.
JulesCARV 12-25-06, 12:44 AM	I'd say that for your character, a tendency to underestimate challenges and opponents might be an aspect of low wisdom. Someone with high wisdom notices a lot of things in their environment. Someone with lower wisdom notices less. A depressive type with low wisdom might frequently fail to notice good things. For your elf, though, as an arrogant hero-aspirant, he might only see what fits into his own narrative of himself as a mighty, widely-adored hero. For example, if he wants to seduce a woman, and the woman keeps trying to drop hints that she isn't into him, he doesn't notice, because his narrative about himself might be "women adore me," and the woman must be very blunt (i.e. "look: I don't like you. Please stop hitting on me." rather than "well, things are kinda busy for me lately."). If he sees an enemy who's strong and powerfully built, he interprets that as "musclebound idiot whom I can dance circles around," and ignores that the enemy may be highly skilled as well as strong, and ignore evidence that the enemy is widely regarded as a powerful warrior. Conversely, if he sees an enemy who's lithe and small, he interprets it as "little twerp whose ass I can easily kick," and ignore other strengths the character may have. He assumes all of his party members admire him, and if they ever criticize him, he basically assumes that they must be jealous or something. Basically, he has a very fixed idea of his relationship with the world -- that of a mighty, universally beloved, admired hero -- and he simply doesn't notice things which contradict that narrative.
mkill 12-25-06, 03:21 AM	First of all, there is no one single way to roleplay a 6 Wisdom. It also depends on the personality of the character and how much Int he has to make up for it. Since I rolled a 6 for my last char, a Changeling Rogue, and put that in Wisdom. Here's how I roleplay it: The guy has the mindset of a kid. He's smart (Int 16), but impulsive, impatient, inattentive, and acts on whim. He never fully trusts people. He likes to come up with complicated solutions to simple problems. In short, he lacks this inner compass that keeps most people from doing stupid things.
StruckingFuggle 12-25-06, 03:42 AM	First of all, there is no one single way to roleplay a 6 Wisdom. It also depends on the personality of the character and how much Int he has to make up for it. Hence why I: A: provided more info on the character, including several large building blocks of his base personality, and B: didn't ask how I should play him, as much as I was looking for other people's insights on ways it might manifest. :) For everyone so far (including you, mkill), thanks for the ideas.
PiedmonSama 12-25-06, 03:59 AM	I played a Fighter once in a Dragonlance campaign with Int 16 and Wis 6.... his dearest dream was to become a Solamnic Knight, poor guy. I just had him come up with ideas constantly. Ideas for tactics, inventions, MacGuyver-style innovations, whatever, just off the cuff and kept them coming at a constant rate. Unfortunately with six wisdom a lot of those ideas were bad. And my guy was completely unable to tell the difference between genius and idiocy--I gave him (well, tried to give him) just enough good ideas to keep him worth listening to, but threw in some crazy stuff too.... he also randomly captured a Hobgoblin at one point and declared it his official "convert" to the faith of Paladine....
FiestFan 01-04-07, 09:27 AM	The last time someone at our table had a 6 (or lower) WIS, it was a Sorcerer with a 14 INT. He became a poster child for Short Attention Span Theatre - in other words, when there was something interesting going on in front of him, he was fine, but he didn't deal well with lengthy discussions and tactical debates. He was prone to wandering off in the middle of them, in fact, having decided on a course of action already. He practically needed to be on a tether if he had to pull a watch, because he'd go investigate that noise he heard without stopping to alert the party meatshield, er, Fighter, that trouble was close by. Very charming, well, spoken, and intelligent, but the attention span of a goldfish.
Croaker 01-06-07, 04:37 PM	I played a super low wis guy once. He had a habit of wandering into traps and enemies in a rather foolhardy fashion. Probably would have been okay for a tank but he was some sort of rouge/scor with crappy hp.
Hack and Smasher 01-06-07, 07:54 PM	Don't think. Easist way of to play a wisdom 6, do the first thing that comes into your head. Sure you can do it and thats all the reason you ever need.
BobtheBiotitan 01-07-07, 04:32 PM	Honestly I know exactly what its like to play a 6 wisdom because I have a really low wisdom in real life. It comes out in different ways. The most obvious way it comes out in me is I am not perceptive at all even though I am incredibly smart. For instance:I have to say that the thing i'm most ashamed of is when this one girl flirted with me for two years and I didn't notice until it was too late. It may seem stupid and it was painfully obvious, but its just how it happens for me. I only see something if someone points it out to me. I think about many possibilities, but if I dont think about one then I never will. Going back to the girl. She was a good friend and I never imagined her liking me so I never realized it. That is one of the many ways to represent a low wisdom character.
Doomed_Penguin 01-07-07, 08:24 PM	Honestly I know exactly what its like to play a 6 wisdom because I have a really low wisdom in real life. It comes out in different ways. The most obvious way it comes out in me is I am not perceptive at all even though I am incredibly smart. For instance:I have to say that the thing i'm most ashamed of is when this one girl flirted with me for two years and I didn't notice until it was too late. It may seem stupid and it was painfully obvious, but its just how it happens for me. I only see something if someone points it out to me. I think about many possibilities, but if I dont think about one then I never will. Going back to the girl. She was a good friend and I never imagined her liking me so I never realized it. That is one of the many ways to represent a low wisdom character. Yeah, same here. I have an IQ of 149, but I couldn't tell if a girl liked me if she climbed up on my desk and started striping (not that girls do that when they like guys, but you get my point). I also have trouble with knowing when a girl doesn't like me, but I'm much more careful about watching out for that. Essentially, your character tries to do the right thing, but doesn't always know what the right thing is. He knows which option is best, but he rarely recognizes all the options that are available.
Fafnir 01-08-07, 11:45 AM	Honestly I know exactly what its like to play a 6 wisdom because I have a really low wisdom in real life. It comes out in different ways. The most obvious way it comes out in me is I am not perceptive at all even though I am incredibly smart. For instance:I have to say that the thing i'm most ashamed of is when this one girl flirted with me for two years and I didn't notice until it was too late. It may seem stupid and it was painfully obvious, but its just how it happens for me. I only see something if someone points it out to me. I think about many possibilities, but if I dont think about one then I never will. Going back to the girl. She was a good friend and I never imagined her liking me so I never realized it. That is one of the many ways to represent a low wisdom character. Yeah, same here. I have an IQ of 149, but I couldn't tell if a girl liked me if she climbed up on my desk and started striping (not that girls do that when they like guys, but you get my point). I also have trouble with knowing when a girl doesn't like me, but I'm much more careful about watching out for that. Essentially, your character tries to do the right thing, but doesn't always know what the right thing is. He knows which option is best, but he rarely recognizes all the options that are available. Good. Now I have something to add to my RL stat block. *Scribbles down: Int 17, Wis 6." I know your pain. Whoops, getting off topic here. Innuendo flies right over your head. Knowing that, you avoid it altogether; you're blunt and to the point. You may end up hurting someone's with your words, but you know you cannot see it when you do, so who cares? You wear your heart on your sleeve, hoping that people will recognize your limits and forgive you when you overstep your bounds. ...or, you may be so afraid to make mistakes in your judgement that you rarely let your wits shine through, staying in the background. Would be kinda weird for a charismatic Warblade though. Either way, you're gullible and can't do anything about it. This weakness will rear it's ugly head more than once in your career. Just my 2 cents from personal experience.
Daxen 01-12-07, 03:48 PM	Looking at your class list I am forced to agree with the attention span people, to a degree. However considering your barbarian levels there could be an inherent fearful respect for magic. That is shaman buisiness and you sir are no shaman. You understand the grand scale of tactical warfare, but many of it's subtleties escape you. An example. Our Man: "I we press the advance through this pass and harry with archery from that hill, the enemy will be forced to defend with their backs to the river." Scout: They are Kua-toa sir. Our Man: ...and.... His strategies are great, but unadaptable. The enemy will respond exactly as Sun Tzu's Art of War dictates. Of this there is no doubt. If an enemy get's ahold of this guys playbook they could truely neuter his effectiveness. He may actually have some strategy book that he references, called "The Plan" or something. The ultimate expression of High intelligence and Low Wisdom is a computer. He is a bunch of if/then statements. He would never learn that skeletons are best fought by using bludgeoning weapons from the experience. He would just hack with his sword until they were gone. If he read somewhere the skeletons aer best fought with bludgeoning weapons, he would never forget it. That is about all I have for right now.
BobtheBiotitan 01-12-07, 08:53 PM	Innuendo flies right over your head. Knowing that, you avoid it altogether; you're blunt and to the point. You may end up hurting someone's with your words, but you know you cannot see it when you do, so who cares? You wear your heart on your sleeve, hoping that people will recognize your limits and forgive you when you overstep your bounds. ...or, you may be so afraid to make mistakes in your judgement that you rarely let your wits shine through, staying in the background. Would be kinda weird for a charismatic Warblade though. Either way, you're gullible and can't do anything about it. This weakness will rear it's ugly head more than once in your career. Just my 2 cents from personal experience. Wow. Wow. Wow. That explains me perfectly. This guy has it down, though there is a point that is worth saying again. A character that has 6 wisdom and a high intellegence deals in absolutes He is smart and knows what is fact. This goes with the innuendo thing as well. I hurt people all the time with my words but I do not realize it. I am so glad there is someone out there like me.