Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 IVIasterIVIouse Dec 13, 2011 6:15:06	I recently made a new Tank character to take over for my brother as I switch out to start playing D&D.  The character is Geet a Good male Goblin Battlemind, level 6. His abilities are Str: 11 Con:17 Dex:13 Int:8 Wis:17 Cha:14 We are half way through the Ashen Crown adventure and the party currently consists of a Changling Slayer, a 7ft tall mage Elf, a (progressively shrinking) Dragonborn who is currently 8ft tall and on a quest to become a fully fledge dragon.  A fairy cleric (templar), and the recently added (and soon to be replaced) Barbarian battle tank. I figure it would be perfect to replace a giant powerful dual weilding barbarian with a 3'8" psychic goblin, expecially in this adventure. My question is, how does one play a character who isn't smart, but is wise. Just looking for tips to help me roleplay his stats more acurately.
#2 tunkas Dec 13, 2011 6:46:06	Well, Int 8 is not that low as to influence your character so much, but you could do a couple of things with it. Considering your high Charisma you could engage in occasional 'know it all' routine, talking wisely and charismaticaly about a something utterly not logical. Also, a good thing would be if you would insist on your character 'slowness' while talking to others, with lots of "aaaaaaaaaa's" and "mmmmmmmmm's", and of course  never admitting that you were wrong at something
#3 wystenv2 Dec 13, 2011 6:51:47	I would probably talk little and perhaps somewhat under educated about certain cultures. However, when it comes down to it, the few things you do know about in terms of knowledge, you can speak about very wisely. So while you probably couldn't tell a elf and a half elf apart, you could probably be highly educated on your pyschic powers and gut instinct in reguards to situation. You would lack educated knowledge, but your instincts are second to none. Kind of like your Rambo sort of character, not especially intelgent in terms of education, but put him in a situation he's familer with and he will create all sorts of deadly situations through his gut instint and wisdom. Least thats how i think it. It seems strange in some contexts, a Celric or Sorricer being under educated would sound weird, but at the same time they don't need to understand the nature of their powers and mathmatical reasonings for why the power functions, but in reguards to their faith their knowledge and intimate understanding is second to non, even if they can't really explain it to you why it is so.
#4 Krusk Dec 13, 2011 10:03:01	8 isn't that bad. To roleplay a lower int but higher wis, consider something like From a primitive foreign land. You don't know much about the local cultures, technology or governments. That said, you are increadibly wise. You pick up on things very quick, can get a sesne of a person's worth by briefly hearing them speak, and generally can reason out what is or isn't right regardless of the current societies laws.
#5 beowulfthehunter Dec 13, 2011 16:24:14	Have you ever seen the show Bones? The character of Booth would be great as an example of having a high wisdom. I have always equated WIS with having common sense and or "going with your gut."
#6 guest1458177341 Dec 13, 2011 17:00:41	Measure your words Don't be the player who talks frequently about every little subject.  Instead, sit back and gather information.  Put it all together.  Try and make your character the one who does the following: When they ask a question they ask the one question that, when answered, will solve the mystery.  The one question that reveals the flaw in the King's plan (or the other PC's plans).  In point of fact, even if you're curious about something as a player, DON'T ASK.  Your character didn't think of the question, or isn't curious about it.  When the answer comes, fit it in to your plan.  Done correctly, you can create the impression you knew the answer all along.   When they make a suggestion it radically changes how the other people are thinking.  Let the clever characters go on about possibilities and decisions.  Try to make a suggestion that is radically different from everything they are thinking, but makes a lot of sense.   When they make a declaration make sure that it's important and pertinent.  Tell everyone to focus on the problem.  Silence inter-party squabbling with a well placad word. Don't rise to provocation because it is beneath you.  If someone taunts you, raise an eyebrow.  If the BBEG leaves an open door with a pile of gold behind it, walk around the room and... hell.  Shut the door and walk away. A wise character is  Practical, calm, measured, concise, thorough, detail oriented, and methodical.  They are cautious, never impulsive.  They are not flighty or theoretical, they care about the practical and the immediate.  If presented with a wild theory they ask how it applies to their current situation. If presented with a high and important-sounding ideal they ask how the ideal will help the people right here, right now.   If they are presented with something too good to be true, they question it.  If they are presented with a moral quandry, they choose the most immediate and 'common sense' path (a good character might choose the path that helps the most people over the path that obeys a 'higher ethic,' an evil character might choose the path of immediate and limited personal gain over a path that promises him world domination and immortality some time in the distant future). A wise character with low intelligence is not A dreamer, an idealist, a worldbuilder.  They are not the sort to seek a higher purpose, but the immediate.  They are not the sort to engage in wild speculation, and ask how it effects them at the moment.  They are not the sort to be distracted by interesting tangents, but have a methodical focus.  They are not the sort to make intuitive leaps, they reach their conclusions through carefully considering their situation, and methodically concluding where they are.  They are not creative, they are not inventors.  Their innovations are practical, simple, and immediate.  They stick to what works over 'new ideas.'   Notes on being charismatic and wise: The bard charms with his glib tongue and his entertaining stories You command respect with a simple word and a gesture.  People know that one sentence from you might change their life.  When you speak they hang on your words, your simple statement command respect.   One sentence of command from you might matter more than hours of begging and pleading from another.   When you scare someone you don't have to posture and threaten, a subtle hint and a raised eyebrow goes just as far When you negotiate the other party walks away feeling certain that although they compromised, the deal they reached was fair and just, and that your silence indicated that you were very carefully considering their position When you lie, your lies are simple and believable.  Your taciturn air and general background give a convincing picture of someone who is humoring the person questioning their statements.  Your simple belief in your lies and the manner they're presented can sell even the most amazing story.  You might have grabbed a shovel and a rake during an 'all hands intruder alarm' at the palace, but when the guard questions you your simple explanation and dull sheen in your eyes convinces him that you really do like to do your gardening at night because the light hurts your eyes, and that you didn't really consider all the shouting and running anything unusual.   P.S.  Do NOT hem or haw.  You're wise and mysterious.  People should assume that you already know what they're going to say, that when new information comes to light its exactly what you expected (even when you're caught off-guard and totally blindsided) ----- Hope this helps. Note: Every character is unique, these are general stereotypes.
#7 IVIasterIVIouse Dec 13, 2011 23:29:33	Wow, thanks for the help.  Grey did you get those statements from somewhere, I'd like to read more if so.  If you simply made them yourself, bravo you're good.
#8 ciaran Dec 14, 2011 13:37:07	You have a high Con too. Role playing physical stats is a different creature than role playing mental ones, but that you are durable could suggest that while not physically capable through strength or agility, you are certainly durable, and thus you can still posses a physical confidence. Think on it.
#9 pluisjen Dec 15, 2011 8:20:37	Wisdom is knowing what you know, and knowing what you don't. Play the manager. Be aware of your strengths and weaknesses, and know who you need to defer to when you need to solve a problem you don't have the answer for. Don't be stubborn. Don't assume you know better. Let others explain what you do not readily understand to truly grasp the problem at hand and formulate a solution. There are expert in your party that might have all the information, but they might need your guiding hand to reach an actual solution. A fact is only a fact, but you're the one who knows how to bring two specific facts together and solve an issue. A wise but dumb person is one who knows he is a dumb person and should probably not be the one to solve the riddle, but he is also the one who knows how to motivate the smart guy to solve it for him.
#10 Bill4747 Dec 16, 2011 14:54:09	Forest Gump is 8 Int, 18 Wis I have played low INT high WIS charcaters before, and I tend to play the high WIS in this situation as high common sense, will power, focus, stubborness.
#11 Centauri Dec 20, 2011 4:39:25	As long as you don't contradict any mechanics, don't feel restricted to a particular way of roleplaying those attributes. There's no target to "accurately" meet. Intelligence 8 can be very smart about everything outside of Arcana, History, Nature and Religion, and he can sometimes be quite smart on those subjects as well.