Half Orc tips on Role playing [Archive] - Wizards Community

Half Orc tips on Role playing [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Suzaku455
03-09-06, 02:41 AM I was fooling around with some dice roller online and decided to make a character. I rolled 18,18,17,16 3, and 4 so according to the Raw those stats are acceptable (Although most sane DMs would allow you to reroll and hopefully the later 2 stats) I decided to apply those stats to Half Orc Barbarian thus bring my stats to

Name: Cron
Str 20 (was 18)
Dex 17
Con 18
Int: 3
Wis: 16
Cha: 2 (was 4)

Now does anyone have any idea how role-play Cron in a heavy roleplaying campaign?
strumbleduck
03-09-06, 02:50 AM Wow, those are some stats.

You know who has lots of Wisdom but aboslutely no Intelligence or Charisma?

Forrest Gump.

Seriously. Play the character as almost unable to speak coherently (both because he's slow and because he's quite shy), essentially unable to read, and unable to understand any idea even remotely abstract. But somehow he's wise enough to get by in real life.
Sereno
03-09-06, 10:11 AM With an Int and Cha THAT low, he's really not playable in a "heavy RP" campaign. He has NO personality at all. He might be able to answer yes and no questions if they weren't too difficult. "Are you hungry?" not "Should we go down these stairs?"

A character like this would need an assistant to lead them around and tell them what to do and when to start swinging their greataxe.

He might be intuitive in a fight, knowing instictively where to move and who to attack next, but as soon as the battle was over, he'd probably just stand there waiting for someone to tell him what to do.

In all of the RP sections of the game, if you're going to be at all fair to the stats, you'll be sitting there doing nothing. Not much fun in my book.
zlatko
03-09-06, 10:22 AM Ever tried playing Fallout 1/2 with an int/cha 1-2 character?

Ong?
Braaawrhmp.
Urrhhg!

Only fun in the beginning. Pretty much everyone starts calling you idiot and if they've got a smile on their face you won't have a clue.
Throg
03-09-06, 01:24 PM Well.. first, the min stat is 3, no matter what, if you're humanoid. So your Cha wouldn't be 2, it'd be 3. That rule is there to not run into any stats of 1 for any charector (Though a Touch of Idiotcy would turn your char into a babbling idiot with no clue what's going on, and practically brain dead.... for the duration..)

You're charector wouldn't rely heavily on words, but actions to tell what he's doing. Maybe play him as a mute? A stinky mute who doesn't know what a bath is, and hates showering.

He would never 'get' the way to act in a social situation, just do whatever came to him at first. Is he hungry, with the meal just being brought out to the table? He'd stand up, and grab the food with his bare hands then start eating, no matter what. Is he tired? Might just go to sleep right there on the comfy chair. Is he angry? Punch the person next to him without a care. Frustrated? Bash whatever is making him frustrated. If you decide to have him able to speak somewhat, he'd always refer to himself in the third person, and would trip over words or spend at least three minutes to form the next 3 letter word.

I've played that kind of charector, it can actually be quite fun to play and can be rp extencive if you do it right. Though my Int and Cha were around 6ish.
LCD2YOU
03-09-06, 01:40 PM Sounds like a steriod using, college football scholarship having, frat boy.

Actually, this character seems to be almost unplayable. Forest Gump is a Mensa candidate to this guy. The idea of getting anything like a RPing situation where he is actually contributing anything other than brawn and comic relief, or worse case scenario, the reason why there will be another 500 years of war and terror between two groups due to his inability not to control his impulses.
equilibrium17
03-09-06, 02:45 PM Low Charisma doesn't necessarily mean he's unable to control his impulses, it means he has trouble relating to and communicating with others. Big difference. He could be an impulsive rager, angry at everyone and everything, and using his fists to get anything he wants. But he could also be painfully shy, sullen and withdrawn, avoiding social contact except when absolutely necessary, and more inclined to avoid confrontation.

One of the more aspects of this build to me is how the high Wisdom fits in.

With INT 3, he probably can't handle more than 3-4 word sentences, and math is limited to what he can count on his fingers.

With CHA 3, he has trouble convincing a barkeep to draw him a pint of Ale, even when he's already put his money on the bar.

But he *is* incredibly perceptive, both of the environment around him, and also of other people's thoughts, feelings and motives. IOW, he may have trouble speaking or understanding words that contain more than 3 syllables, but he's very good at telling when someone is lying to him, even if he doesn't understand all that they're saying.

In all, I definitely agree that a character with these stats would be very challenging to roleplay. Speaking as a DM, I would want to sit down with the player and have a chat about how they see the character before allowing it for play. But as long as the player is up to the challenge, I think it could be a lot of fun.

It's important that the other PCs understand the roleplaying challenge, and be willing to help make things work, too. For example, perhaps there's another character, such as a Sorcerer, Rogue or Bard, with good CHA and INT scores in the party. Such a PC might see through the Half-Orc's callous exterior, and understand the value of his strength, stamina, and perception; something the other PCs lack. So the other PCs help the rude barbarian, helping get by in civilized settings, while the Barbarian helps the others by protecting them, serving as pack animal while traveling, helping find food & shelter in the wild, etc. Such symbiotic relationships can make for great roleplaying.

Other Good PCs might even take it upon themselves to "civilize" the barbarian, and try to teach him basic knowledge, and how to get by in civilization -- you could reflect this by taking his level-based ability improvements in INT & CHA. His other ability scores are already so high, you don't really need the improvements there! So eventually he becomes a INT 5, CHA 5 barbarian. He's still dumb and socially inept, but not as bad as before. Linguistically, perhaps he finally gets a grip on past tense, and socially he eventually gets to the point where he can order a beer without getting run out of town. ;)

He's not a D&D 101 character, and he's not appropriate for a first-time player. But in the hands of an experienced player I knew well, I'd definitely let him into my campaign. If you like the idea of playing such a character talk to your DM, talk to the other players. If they're up for the challenge, by all means go for it.
geekling
03-09-06, 04:57 PM OK, animals have an int of 1 or 2, most all domesticated have a 2.

So you'd be marginally smarter than a pig or an oxen, but only just. Imagine a 3 year old child, only very big and very strong and with the charisma worse than a toad (ch 4). So we're probably in the realm of not house trained and drooling.

If I was the DM, I wouldn't allow it - unless you fancied playing the familiar of the party wizard.
OravennasBrother
03-09-06, 05:39 PM I am a DM and would definitely allow you to re-roll those stats. Let me get my dice. Are you using roll four keep the best three?
Here are the numbers
11, 9, 12, 16, 16, 14.
Great numbers Using your preferences that would be
Strength 18
Dexterity 14
Constitution 16
Intelligence 9
Wisdom 12
Charisma 7
Because if You are in an RP heavy campaign the disastrous Int/Cha will, as several posters have mentioned, shut you out from most of the game. Worse, the fights will be too easy - your physical attributes will insure that. So they will finish as soonas they start and will have an unsatisfying level of tension.
Capt. Pixel
03-09-06, 08:11 PM You could get a little mouse and pet him and feed him and call him "George". (Of Mice and Men)

Your Charisma will make ugly demonoids look charming by comparison. You're one repugnant fellow.

I would think a persona with these massive disadvantages is not a potion for success. Early levels might be survivable, but mid-levels is going to be difficult without skills or a Barbarian Handler.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Suzaku455 03-09-06, 02:41 AM	I was fooling around with some dice roller online and decided to make a character. I rolled 18,18,17,16 3, and 4 so according to the Raw those stats are acceptable (Although most sane DMs would allow you to reroll and hopefully the later 2 stats) I decided to apply those stats to Half Orc Barbarian thus bring my stats to Name: Cron Str 20 (was 18) Dex 17 Con 18 Int: 3 Wis: 16 Cha: 2 (was 4) Now does anyone have any idea how role-play Cron in a heavy roleplaying campaign?
strumbleduck 03-09-06, 02:50 AM	Wow, those are some stats. You know who has lots of Wisdom but aboslutely no Intelligence or Charisma? Forrest Gump. Seriously. Play the character as almost unable to speak coherently (both because he's slow and because he's quite shy), essentially unable to read, and unable to understand any idea even remotely abstract. But somehow he's wise enough to get by in real life.
Sereno 03-09-06, 10:11 AM	With an Int and Cha THAT low, he's really not playable in a "heavy RP" campaign. He has NO personality at all. He might be able to answer yes and no questions if they weren't too difficult. "Are you hungry?" not "Should we go down these stairs?" A character like this would need an assistant to lead them around and tell them what to do and when to start swinging their greataxe. He might be intuitive in a fight, knowing instictively where to move and who to attack next, but as soon as the battle was over, he'd probably just stand there waiting for someone to tell him what to do. In all of the RP sections of the game, if you're going to be at all fair to the stats, you'll be sitting there doing nothing. Not much fun in my book.
zlatko 03-09-06, 10:22 AM	Ever tried playing Fallout 1/2 with an int/cha 1-2 character? Ong? Braaawrhmp. Urrhhg! Only fun in the beginning. Pretty much everyone starts calling you idiot and if they've got a smile on their face you won't have a clue.
Throg 03-09-06, 01:24 PM	Well.. first, the min stat is 3, no matter what, if you're humanoid. So your Cha wouldn't be 2, it'd be 3. That rule is there to not run into any stats of 1 for any charector (Though a Touch of Idiotcy would turn your char into a babbling idiot with no clue what's going on, and practically brain dead.... for the duration..) You're charector wouldn't rely heavily on words, but actions to tell what he's doing. Maybe play him as a mute? A stinky mute who doesn't know what a bath is, and hates showering. He would never 'get' the way to act in a social situation, just do whatever came to him at first. Is he hungry, with the meal just being brought out to the table? He'd stand up, and grab the food with his bare hands then start eating, no matter what. Is he tired? Might just go to sleep right there on the comfy chair. Is he angry? Punch the person next to him without a care. Frustrated? Bash whatever is making him frustrated. If you decide to have him able to speak somewhat, he'd always refer to himself in the third person, and would trip over words or spend at least three minutes to form the next 3 letter word. I've played that kind of charector, it can actually be quite fun to play and can be rp extencive if you do it right. Though my Int and Cha were around 6ish.
LCD2YOU 03-09-06, 01:40 PM	Sounds like a steriod using, college football scholarship having, frat boy. Actually, this character seems to be almost unplayable. Forest Gump is a Mensa candidate to this guy. The idea of getting anything like a RPing situation where he is actually contributing anything other than brawn and comic relief, or worse case scenario, the reason why there will be another 500 years of war and terror between two groups due to his inability not to control his impulses.
equilibrium17 03-09-06, 02:45 PM	Low Charisma doesn't necessarily mean he's unable to control his impulses, it means he has trouble relating to and communicating with others. Big difference. He could be an impulsive rager, angry at everyone and everything, and using his fists to get anything he wants. But he could also be painfully shy, sullen and withdrawn, avoiding social contact except when absolutely necessary, and more inclined to avoid confrontation. One of the more aspects of this build to me is how the high Wisdom fits in. With INT 3, he probably can't handle more than 3-4 word sentences, and math is limited to what he can count on his fingers. With CHA 3, he has trouble convincing a barkeep to draw him a pint of Ale, even when he's already put his money on the bar. But he is incredibly perceptive, both of the environment around him, and also of other people's thoughts, feelings and motives. IOW, he may have trouble speaking or understanding words that contain more than 3 syllables, but he's very good at telling when someone is lying to him, even if he doesn't understand all that they're saying. In all, I definitely agree that a character with these stats would be very challenging to roleplay. Speaking as a DM, I would want to sit down with the player and have a chat about how they see the character before allowing it for play. But as long as the player is up to the challenge, I think it could be a lot of fun. It's important that the other PCs understand the roleplaying challenge, and be willing to help make things work, too. For example, perhaps there's another character, such as a Sorcerer, Rogue or Bard, with good CHA and INT scores in the party. Such a PC might see through the Half-Orc's callous exterior, and understand the value of his strength, stamina, and perception; something the other PCs lack. So the other PCs help the rude barbarian, helping get by in civilized settings, while the Barbarian helps the others by protecting them, serving as pack animal while traveling, helping find food & shelter in the wild, etc. Such symbiotic relationships can make for great roleplaying. Other Good PCs might even take it upon themselves to "civilize" the barbarian, and try to teach him basic knowledge, and how to get by in civilization -- you could reflect this by taking his level-based ability improvements in INT & CHA. His other ability scores are already so high, you don't really need the improvements there! So eventually he becomes a INT 5, CHA 5 barbarian. He's still dumb and socially inept, but not as bad as before. Linguistically, perhaps he finally gets a grip on past tense, and socially he eventually gets to the point where he can order a beer without getting run out of town. ;) He's not a D&D 101 character, and he's not appropriate for a first-time player. But in the hands of an experienced player I knew well, I'd definitely let him into my campaign. If you like the idea of playing such a character talk to your DM, talk to the other players. If they're up for the challenge, by all means go for it.
geekling 03-09-06, 04:57 PM	OK, animals have an int of 1 or 2, most all domesticated have a 2. So you'd be marginally smarter than a pig or an oxen, but only just. Imagine a 3 year old child, only very big and very strong and with the charisma worse than a toad (ch 4). So we're probably in the realm of not house trained and drooling. If I was the DM, I wouldn't allow it - unless you fancied playing the familiar of the party wizard.
OravennasBrother 03-09-06, 05:39 PM	I am a DM and would definitely allow you to re-roll those stats. Let me get my dice. Are you using roll four keep the best three? Here are the numbers 11, 9, 12, 16, 16, 14. Great numbers Using your preferences that would be Strength 18 Dexterity 14 Constitution 16 Intelligence 9 Wisdom 12 Charisma 7 Because if You are in an RP heavy campaign the disastrous Int/Cha will, as several posters have mentioned, shut you out from most of the game. Worse, the fights will be too easy - your physical attributes will insure that. So they will finish as soonas they start and will have an unsatisfying level of tension.
Capt. Pixel 03-09-06, 08:11 PM	You could get a little mouse and pet him and feed him and call him "George". (Of Mice and Men) Your Charisma will make ugly demonoids look charming by comparison. You're one repugnant fellow. I would think a persona with these massive disadvantages is not a potion for success. Early levels might be survivable, but mid-levels is going to be difficult without skills or a Barbarian Handler.