Post/Author/DateTime	Post
speeblefreak 09-15-06, 07:32 PM	I'm rolling up a new character in a group. As they already have a bard, a sorcerer, a cleric, and two paladins, I decided the best role for me would be a skill monkey. So I start rolling up a human 4th-level rogue. Specifically, a packrat-type rogue with maxed-out Sleight of Hand and UMD and Combat Reflexes. Concept decided upon, I rolled up his ability scores. Strength: 13 Dexterity: 15 (+1 from level) = 16 Constitution: 10 Intelligence: 10 Charisma: 9 Wisdom: 3 Basically, how should I go about playing a Wisdom 3 rogue without killing myself and/or the other party members?
CrossBlade 09-15-06, 07:46 PM	REROLLING If your scores are too low, you may scrap them and roll all six scorse again. Your scores are considered too low if the sum of your modifiers (before adjustments because of race) is 0 or lower, or if your highest score is 13 or lower. 13 = +1 14 = +2 10 = 0 10 = 0 9 = -1 3 = -4 1+2-1-4 = -2 You my friend, may reroll your stats.:) And for the record, the PHB says the average wisdom score for a Shriker (fungus) is 2. Do you wish to be as wise as mold?
Dei 09-15-06, 07:48 PM	How to play a wisdom 3 rogue: "Hey everyone! Watch this!" Um, frankly I don't think there is a way to play a wisdom of 3 beyond basically playing someone suffering from some sort of brain-damage or mental disorder. If I were you I would actually ask the DM if I could reroll stats as the overall bonus from them is -2 and this is a below average person who frankly has no business in the adventuring proffession. If it's not possible to re-roll just ask him to put the 3 to a ten or something. It would make the character a lot more balanced and stop him from being a total liability to the party which at the moment is all he is. If not then I'm sorry to say I can't see a very long career for the character.
speeblefreak 09-15-06, 07:58 PM	Whoops! For some reason I thought my modifiers broke even (and he's taking calculus?!). :nonono: New scores: Str 14 Dex 15 (+1 from level) =16 Con 14 Int 15 Wis 7 Cha 11 Now that's a bit more like it! :D Even so, I have only one session of experience playing a character with a negative Wis modifier. Same question, but not to the same extreme.
Throg 09-15-06, 08:12 PM	I myself would be a good example of those kinds of stats. Oh I know a lot and in fact still do division without a calculator (OH NOES! LONG DIVISION!).. But I always misplace things, I get distracted easily (Blah blah blah... oh look shiney!), and have a bad tendancy to forget what I was about to do 6 seconds after I go to do it. Or maybe play him with a tendancy to tune everything else out around him. After someone says something, only once in awhile (Else people in the group may get aggrivated at it) just go "What?" At least that would be my suggestion. And on a minor note, one person in our group once had to reroll his set 6 times (I have a close second on rerolled sets at 5).
Salla 09-15-06, 09:15 PM	Other symptoms of low Wisdom I use (I'm playing a 6 right now) include impatience and impulsiveness. I generally do the second thing that comes to mind during any situation (because the first is usually pure suicide). A possibility that could be fun (but not fatal) could be an overinflated view of your own abilities. If you have a skill maxed out, perhaps you automatically assume that your 'mastery' is complete and failure is not possible. "I'm the best lockpick in all the kingdom, this is no trouble!" *snap* " ... darn inferior craftsmanship."
Illithid_Tentacles 09-15-06, 10:24 PM	You could play his as having a mild form of ADD (NOT ADHD, that's different). Sometimes he just gets distracted by something ("Hey, a neat lookin' beetle is crawling accross the floor...") and, say, doesn't hear what anyone says for the next few minutes. Maybe he sometimes forgets to check for observers if he's trying to pick a lock, or something.
Reversefigure4 09-16-06, 12:03 AM	Given that Wisdom governs your will saves, you could make a character who's quite weak-willed, gullible, or otherwise easy to push around. Maybe he's just spineless, maybe he doesn't like making his own decisions, maybe he's just not perceptive enough to work out what's in his own best interests, etc. The kind of rogue who opens the door because the party tells him to, without worrying about the dragon on the other side. At 3 wisdom, everyone could push you around, including the bad guys! At 7, it's far less of a problem. Simply play your rogue as slightly less attentive, slightly less willful, etc, than the average person (and since this will be reflected in your lower Spot rolls, will saves, etc, it doesn't need to be hard to RP).
Kurtulmak 09-16-06, 02:40 AM	Personally, I've always thought there's nothing more fun than playing a low WIS character. Good options are the aforementioned overblown sense of ego, easilly distractable nature, extreme gullability, and/or inability to pay attention to surroundings. Impulsiveness and coming up with suicidal tactics is always fun (and startlingly easy), too, although you might want to reign it in a bit for the benefit of your party - or at the very least, announce your desicion to unwittingly kill yourself well in advance so the rest of the team can bludgeon you unconcious beforehand.
cog_and_taz 09-16-06, 07:33 AM	A low wisdom gnome artificer is hillarious, in your words: "hey, what's this button?"*boom* etc.
kelvinaw273 09-16-06, 04:14 PM	Low wisdom is not a problem for a rogue. "The Mouse" from the film Ladyhawk is a great example: "I know I promised that if I escaped I would never steal again Lord, but I know that you know how weak-willed I am." The character then walked into a tavern and without notticing that the entire clientelle were armed soldiers from the fortress he had just escaped from declared to the innkeeper: "My good man, you look upon the only man ever to have escaped from {forget the name of the place}." Be impatient, impulsive, full of your own cleverness and unable to resist a dare.
speeblefreak 09-16-06, 04:31 PM	Thanks, all.