How do you role play your dump stat?
This is a topic that has come up in my group, and it has felt very inhospitable.
Since D&D is a ROLE PLAYING GAME, how have you made your character unique.
To start it off I will tell my particular favorite story. I had two characters that I really liked. A druid who was lacking in Charisma, and a ranger who was lacking in Intelligence. (Both were scores of 8.)
For the druid I developed a stammer when he spoke to people out of the party. I attributed a low charisma to rather being alone, or with his friends and so the more he got agitated the more he would stutter and stammer.
For the ranger I made him forgetful. Not a cretin or anything, just absent minded. So someone might tell him something and then it was in one ear and out the other, particularly if it had to do with Wizard-y or Cleric-y things.
That was just my personal affectation. It worked out well, I thought, and separated the characters from the group and provided a life to the dump stat.
So how do you do it? Make sure to include the stat, the score and the class when you leave your story.
At any rate, there isn't much to roleplay with 4E dump stats... An 8 is only slightly below-average for a regular person in that attribute; you probably would never really notice somebody in real life having a score of 8. If you thought about it, you'd concede that sure, they didn't excel at that attribute, but nor were they noteably bad.
Heroic characters may have several attributes waaaay above the average, but even their lowest stat is so close to average among the general population that it's not noteworthy. A Charisma of 8 likely wouldn't stammer much, but instead wish he could be a bit better around people. An Intelligence of 8 would just take a little bit longer to grasp complicated stuff, but it wouldn't be a remarkable attribute.
My personal character is a Fighter who excels at charisma instead of Wisdom, and his Wisdom is his Dump Stat, which really throws some people off. I roleplay it through personal experience: you don't process incoming information as quickly as normal people (which sometimes results in Poor Reflexes), your Perception is horrible (which is easily represented by the actual Skill, and accurately, too) because you're always more inside your head rather than scanning your surroundings, and you sometimes think things through too much (AKA you lack Common Sense). The Poor Reflexes are represented by Reflex being his lowest Defense (even though he has a fairly good Dex Score); he's actually a bit paranoid, but STILL doesn't see hiding enemies or distinguish odd sounds very often, as his mind is constantly distracted with odd trains of thought or background noise; and he often thinks up elaborate plans that could turn a difficult Encounter into an easier one if the group had the time to run his Strategies, but the Cleric always seems to come up with a MUCH simpler 3-step plan that does the same job, but faster.
So, really, it's actually a lot of FUN to roleplay your Dump Stat, as long as you don't go TOO far.
I wouldn't expect someone to make a big deal of their 13 CHA any more than I would expect them to make a big deal of their 8 CHA. Sure, the guy with a 13 is going to be a bit more popular, and I'd expect him to enjoy parties a lot more, but both are well within the range we think of as normal.
The hard part isn't roleplaying the stats that are average. The hard part is trying to be someone with a 20 CHA or INT.
4th edition D&D characters don't have bad stats, so this isn't especially important.
I wouldn't expect someone to make a big deal of their 13 CHA any more than I would expect them to make a big deal of their 8 CHA. Sure, the guy with a 13 is going to be a bit more popular, and I'd expect him to enjoy parties a lot more, but both are well within the range we think of as normal.
The hard part isn't roleplaying the stats that are average. The hard part is trying to be someone with a 20 CHA or INT.
See, what I have found is that the lower the score the more you have "play" play with it. Heroic stats (above 14 let's say) are simply active stats, you have an Int of 20 you roll a knowledge check or a reflex check and voila you succeed and either the DM gives you a ton of info about Djinns or he gives you half damage.
But a low stat, and I guess I don't think of stuttering or stammering as a sub 8 trait, is what brings the characters alive in this game; especially since it is so battle heavy.
But a low stat, and I guess I don't think of stuttering or stammering as a sub 8 trait, is what brings the characters alive in this game; especially since it is so battle heavy.
I disagree. I think playing your character brings them alive. Your stats are an arbitration of what you're capable of. Having a low int doesn't mean you're stupid. It means that for the sake of what int is used for, you're not as good. You could be a great problem solver, but not know a dang thing about history or religion or magic. You could know all about the solstices and when to plant and harvest and how to organize town the militia, but your int score would still be low.
Now, I think what makes your character alive is anything that differentiates you from the others. If you want your character to be the sum of his worst stat, that's fine. I like my character to be idealistic and young and maybe a bit naive with a huge heart and a love of the ocean.
Enjoy your stammer.
I have an 8 Cha Duskblade. He's fine, except he's perpetually angry/annoyed, a jerk when he thinks people need a peg down, and...a jerk in general. Rarely completely happy, although that's more a product of how he is, character-wise.
8 Wis Starlock? Total space cadet. Complete space cadet. Even in combat, space cadet. Innuendo? Never gonna pick up on it. That angry fullblade wielding dragonborn? She's just as likely to notice background than him.
8 Int Rogue? Could you speak that magic babble a bit slower, you lost me in that fancy speak. He's got a great mind, just a bit slow when it comes to the book learnings.
don't ask me how. don't ask me why. it just happens.
and my roommates, my fellow gamers, the FLGS owner and any passersby find it wondrously hilarious.
Once, an NPC who was travelling with us was killed in a haunted house full of animated objects and other nasties. So, since he was from our village, one of us had to tell his mother. Well, in this campaign world, halfings were second class citizens, so that left my halfling ranger out. Our human fighter was busy with a training exercise, so that left Mr. No-Cha. Here's how it played out:
PC: *knocks on door*
Mother: Hello? Oh, you're Edwin's friend. Can I help you?
PC: Uh, yeah. About that. Y'see, there was this uh, house, and there were chairs, but they were, uh, like moving? Uhm, he, uh, that is, Edwin, uh, he's dead now.
Mother: What?! Oh my gods! Edwin! My poor Edwin! *begins sobbing uncontrollably*
PC: Oh gee, you're crying now. Uh, it'll be okay? Uh, I have to go now. Over there.
How do I roleplay my dump stat...
I have an 8 Cha Duskblade. He's fine, except he's perpetually angry/annoyed, a jerk when he thinks people need a peg down, and...a jerk in general. Rarely completely happy, although that's more a product of how he is, character-wise.
8 Wis Starlock? Total space cadet. Complete space cadet. Even in combat, space cadet. Innuendo? Never gonna pick up on it. That angry fullblade wielding dragonborn? She's just as likely to notice background than him.
8 Int Rogue? Could you speak that magic babble a bit slower, you lost me in that fancy speak. He's got a great mind, just a bit slow when it comes to the book learnings.
Man Nacht, if that's how you RP stats of 8, I'd hate to see what you did with a 5 or a 6. Or a 3... *shudder*
Otherwise he's a normal guy that wears a lot of black and dark colors. :D
Man Nacht, if that's how you RP stats of 8, I'd hate to see what you did with a 5 or a 6. Or a 3... *shudder*
Wouldn't be too different. I admit I'd at that point be just pretending the lower than 8 was actually an 8.
An 8 anything is no reason to go into hurr durr cariacture mode. It's really hard to justify when, at second level, you're demonstrably no worse than the average NPC at the relevant skills.
Ultimately, your personality bears scant correaltion to your ability scores.
My guy's creepy so that's a low Cha score right there.
I thought Cha was how much people liked you?
If that were true, then Orcus would be a rather personable fellow.
My guy's creepy so that's a low Cha score right there.
Or rather, your character is creepy and has a low Charisma. You can certainly be creepy and have a high Cha as well. In your case, it probably gets you shunned. If you had a high Charisma, it would probably get you laid.
So, 11's become "low but not really remarkably so", and an 8 or less becomes "Significant aspect of character". Same goes for.. oh, 17+
This led to me creating the most elaborate character backstory I've ever done. Hell, I liked the character so much that I've started working on a comic centering around her. Elf Strength Cleric, so Int was my only unneeded stat. Which translated into "unable to predict ramifications of actions". Which, in turn, helped create a huge part of her backstory. It was awesome.
I'm going a bit off topic, I guess.
If the wizard goes off about how some magical theory works, he has the ability to understand it but isn't going to catch all of the details unless it is explained multiple times or he is forced to put the knowledge into practice actively - which is the type of learning he prefers.
Other examples that show how this plays out are everytime that one of the other party members mentions something about some exotic (read: not found in a typical city, or farming village) creature he mentions having either never heard of it, or shows that the knowledge he has is more based in myth and rumor than actual fact.
I disagree. I think playing your character brings them alive. Your stats are an arbitration of what you're capable of. Having a low int doesn't mean you're stupid. It means that for the sake of what int is used for, you're not as good. You could be a great problem solver, but not know a dang thing about history or religion or magic. You could know all about the solstices and when to plant and harvest and how to organize town the militia, but your int score would still be low.
Now, I think what makes your character alive is anything that differentiates you from the others. If you want your character to be the sum of his worst stat, that's fine. I like my character to be idealistic and young and maybe a bit naive with a huge heart and a love of the ocean.
Enjoy your stammer.
I think you and I would agree and maybe I am not expressing the idea right. I enjoy creating backstory and wants and desires and hobbies for characters as well. But... I still like to think about what a character can do well, or not so well, versus the average commoner.
I'm going a bit off topic, I guess.
Actually this is exactly the stuff I am looking for. I love hearing about this. Thanks.
These 3 stats are essential for the game but they mostly represent how you character interact with others and what image of himself he's sending to the others.
You can be a total douche bag, pointing out EVERYONE's failures, everyone's weaknesses, and never have a nice thing to say about anybody. And, still have a 27 charisma.
Yeah I said it, a 27 charisma.
How does this relate to real life you say? Well lets assume Mr Douchebag 27 charisma guy ends up at a party.
Some girl strolls over to him and says "Great party huh?" pretty neutral statement. Mt DBC27 replies. "Sure if you're a retarded monkey *****." And, the lady replies with "Yeah no doubt, wanna get out of here?"
Bam high charisma.
Now lets take the nicest guy in the world. Always says good things about people, helps people when asked. Hell he's a likable guy right? Right, but he has a charisma of 7.
Same girl approaches. "Great party huh?" And his reply. "Yeah it's ok, music is a little loud for me but Bert's a good friend." And, the lady and he begin to talk until she says "Hey that's Brian, hold my drink." What does Mr 7 say? "Oh ok..." If only he had more force of personality, Brian wouldn't be snuggling his party flower in the corner, tossing back shots.
Charisma is NOT a stat of how you act. But rather how much force you act with. Regardless of good or bad actions.
And his mental stats? +1 Wisdom, +0 Intelligence and Charisma. If the DM wasn't making us use the standard array, I might lower his Charisma. But then again I might not, because the stats themselves don't really matter.
TS
So I present to you, Int and wis by my own interpretation.
Int, is not a measure of how smart one is. But, in reality how well you apply the knowledge you have to a given situation. Any idiot can memorize text from a book. But, only someone who can apply that knowledge knows to cut the black wire, when disarming a mercury switch detonator. Or can tell the difference between a skeleton and Dread Warrior. Or can sort through fact and myth to know trolls hate fire, but don't always live under bridges. Many of you know milk comes from cows. But how many know how to do it?
Wis is not ust a measure of common sense. It's how well you're able to relate to what's going on around you. Sure we can all hear the ocean waves crashing against the rocks. But only a select few can hear past that and make out the sounds of chanting on the beach. We all hear the gnolls conversing around the bend in the cave. But only a few of us actually hear it clearly enough to make out words. Have you ever been on an internet voice program and have three or more people start talking at the same time? How how many of you actually understand anything said?
Sight works the same way. We all see the rainbow, but who pointed it out? Ever have someone say "Look at that rabbit?" and you lie saying you saw it?
Many people say they beleive in a greater power. But, only a select few "see their faith."
Anyway good luck.
I thought Cha was how much people liked you?
My guy's creepy so that's a low Cha score right there.
charisma is your force of personality, your basic social skills and, yes, your natural physical apperance.
Or thats what i've been told.
How do you role play your dump stat?
One thing to remember is that even your 'dump' stat isn't that low, especially in 4e, where your lowest stat would only be 8. (In 3e it might have been 6, but the day's of 3 charisma characters with bags over thier heads have thankfully been over for a long while). ;)
So far, both my 4e characters have dumped WIS. WIS isn't a prime dump stat, I just happend to play a warlord and a wand wizard first. Both needed INT and had concepts that called for CHA, so WIS wasn't needed.
For the warlord, I do /try/ to RP his low WIS/high INT/CHA. He's an impetuous young officer, brilliant, but inexperienced, and tends to be planning strategies in his head rather than paying attention to what's around him between combats. He tends a bit towards overconfidence, and is brash and agressive. He'll mellow, as his WIS slowly makes it up to 10 and he gets training in certain WIS-based skills...
One thing to do is look at the untrained skills you have, and see which are badly impacted by your dump stat. WIS, for instance, hurts your Nature, Dungeoneering, Perception and Insight. So, you don't 'read' people well, don't pay attention, and are unfamiliar with dangerous environments (or just don't take them seriously enough). The above fits into that. David is young having spent little time in the wilderness (and that surrounded by servants and relatives) and none in dungeons, prefers theory and analysis to observation and intuition.
Y'know, I'm just going to do the rest of the stats:
STR determins encumbrance, melee combat ability, and the Athletics Skill (which is prety broad). An 8 STR character struggles to carry more than 80 lbs, can't hit hard, and is prettymuch the 98-lb-weakling in any phsyical endeavor - climbing, jumping, swimming etc.
CON: determines hps, surges, and the Endurance skill. This is straightup a measure of health and energy. If you're low-con you get tired easily and can't stand up to any sort of punishment - wounds, exhaustion, poison, getting drunk, pulling an 'all nighter' to cram for an exam, /anything/ like that.
DEX: determines ranged combat, initiative, and the skills Stealth, Acrobatics, & Thievery. Low dex means you're not agile. You may be clutzy, or just very stiff and overly carefull in everything you do. You trip over things, blunder into attacks others could dodge, and knock things over when trying to sneak.
INT determines the skills History, Religion, and Arcana. That's straight-up book learnin' ... BUT, it can also add to your AC and REF, because you can 'anticipate' attacks. That's not perception, but outsmarting your foe. The two are not easy to reconcile.
WIS (see above).
CHA is force of personality, it boost your will save, and makes you better at influencing others: Intimidate, Diplomacy, Bluff. Low CHA means you lack assertiveness, or are an outsider, unlikeable, or hard to take seriously.
One thing to remember is that even your 'dump' stat isn't that low, especially in 4e, where your lowest stat would only be 8. (In 3e it might have been 6, but the day's of 3 charisma characters with bags over thier heads have thankfully been over for a long while). ;)
So far, both my 4e characters have dumped WIS. WIS isn't a prime dump stat, I just happend to play a warlord and a wand wizard first. Both needed INT and had concepts that called for CHA, so WIS wasn't needed.
For the warlord, I do /try/ to RP his low WIS/high INT/CHA. He's an impetuous young officer, brilliant, but inexperienced, and tends to be planning strategies in his head rather than paying attention to what's around him between combats. He tends a bit towards overconfidence, and is brash and agressive. He'll mellow, as his WIS slowly makes it up to 10 and he gets training in certain WIS-based skills...
One thing to do is look at the untrained skills you have, and see which are badly impacted by your dump stat. WIS, for instance, hurts your Nature, Dungeoneering, Perception and Insight. So, you don't 'read' people well, don't pay attention, and are unfamiliar with dangerous environments (or just don't take them seriously enough). The above fits into that. David is young having spent little time in the wilderness (and that surrounded by servants and relatives) and none in dungeons, prefers theory and analysis to observation and intuition.
Y'know, I'm just going to do the rest of the stats:
STR determins encumbrance, melee combat ability, and the Athletics Skill (which is prety broad). An 8 STR character struggles to carry more than 80 lbs, can't hit hard, and is prettymuch the 98-lb-weakling in any phsyical endeavor - climbing, jumping, swimming etc.
CON: determines hps, surges, and the Endurance skill. This is straightup a measure of health and energy. If you're low-con you get tired easily and can't stand up to any sort of punishment - wounds, exhaustion, poison, getting drunk, pulling an 'all nighter' to cram for an exam, /anything/ like that.
DEX: determines ranged combat, initiative, and the skills Stealth, Acrobatics, & Thievery. Low dex means you're not agile. You may be clutzy, or just very stiff and overly carefull in everything you do. You trip over things, blunder into attacks others could dodge, and knock things over when trying to sneak.
INT determines the skills History, Religion, and Arcana. That's straight-up book learnin' ... BUT, it can also add to your AC and REF, because you can 'anticipate' attacks. That's not perception, but outsmarting your foe. The two are not easy to reconcile.
WIS (see above).
CHA is force of personality, it boost your will save, and makes you better at influencing others: Intimidate, Diplomacy, Bluff. Low CHA means you lack assertiveness, or are an outsider, unlikeable, or hard to take seriously.
Pretty good assessment of the abilities and their uses.
You can have a PC with an 8 intelligence who iyou role-play as very smart, but simply never paid attention to history or geography or anything outside of his interest, and that's why he fails those History or Arcana skill checks.
Your PC might have an 8 Wisdom. If you want to role-play him as having lots of common sense, go ahead. But when the chips are down (ie, when you have to make a roll) his senses aren't very keen, so he doesn't always pick up on subtle cues in order to ace those Perception or Insight rolls.
Etc. Play him how you want; just draw imaginary lines around the actual mechanics that impact the game itself, and account for that in your role-playing.
As for her poor insight, I play that as an exaggerated sense of caution, bordering on paranoia, when it comes to interacting with people she doesn't know (she's a true Karrnathi). Rather than simply believing everyone, she's automatically skeptical of strangers. People have to prove themselves through deeds, usually in combat, before she trusts them, at which point she will do so implicitly. She's aware that this is a flaw which could be exploited, and tries to compensate for it by having her friends watch her back when it comes to deciding who to consider an ally, but the paradox of it frustrates her greatly.
At the moment my character's got a con of 6 (actually it's a 5 now since we met that wraith...) which doesn't give that many roleplay oppurtunities, but I do imagine her to be quite small and frail; this makes sense to her backstory since she's been brought up in relative comfort in a big city.
It also helps imagine her in her class, which is rogue, since she has to be quite sneaky to avoid getting hit.
A previous character was a dwarven sorcerer, very high cha, but an 8 strength; so I would try and talk my way out of combat as often as possible. It was also fun playing someone who was a complete outcast from dwarven society because of her lack of proficiency with weapons.
Having said all that, my favourite character was a bard with every single stat above 12, I think it was; I loved playing her but, loath I am to admit it, she was a slight marysue. :embarrass