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How do you roleplay low wisdom?

DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
Heya!
Guys , I was wondering : how do you roleplay a character who's got a low (9 or below) wisdom score?

I've been thinking about the BG npc's who are unwise (Shar Teel, Minsc, Nalia..) and I could make out that they have a misconstructed view of reality .

Minsc usually sees reason through Boo's advice, but he is the only one who apparently understands the hamster .

Shar teel is blinded by her hatred and childhood traumas.

Nalia is well intentioned but is unfortunately trying to help a people that she does not really understand while being attached to the paradigms of a noblewoman.

Wise characters are misunderstood by common because they actually see beyond menial problems and have the ability to understand what's really going on . Xzar may be quite a loon but his deeper understanding of life and death gave him the ability to specialize in necromancy, a dangerous school for the unwise.

By following this logic, are unwise characters misunderstood because they actually can't understand basic principles? Shar teel despises all men, her past will always twist her feelings and she is most likely to respond with violence even if it weren't necessary to do so.

What about your own characters? How do you roleplay lack of wisdom?
Post edited by DJKajuru on
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Comments

  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    Grum said:

    Easy. By wandering around blindly, helping anyone who asks him. By actually trusting either shadow thieves or vampires. By helping Saemon get his ship. By saying "Hey knights of helm! Sure I'll walk into the giant mystical prison while you chill outside."

    Basically, playing the game. :p

    My protagonist thinks that by risking his life constantly he's living a great adventure - definitely low wisdom xD
  • Mantis37Mantis37 Member Posts: 1,177
    No reloads for misclicks. Low wisdom can also equal low willpower so blindly follow advice of last companion to speak (Some well written npcs give advice which is not always optimal e.g. Kivan).
  • GrumGrum Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,100

    The easy way is to let your character have catlike curiosity. You just *had* to open the dusty, old sarcophagus to see what was inside. You read the creepy book from the wizard's lab because you wanted to know what it said. You opened every door in the dungeon, even though you could hear snarling noises coming from behind some of them.

    You wandered into Uncle Fralin's Bedroom even though you had already been through the nightmare which was Uncle Fralin's Tool Shed. You poor, deluded fool.

    I...want to know what is in his tool shed now.
  • ifupaulineifupauline Member Posts: 405
    edited January 2017
    mlnevese said:

    A basic interpretation of low wisdom is someone who does something without thinking about the consequences, someone who let his curiosity guide him instead of reason.




  • dunbardunbar Member Posts: 1,603
    I agree with the 'not understanding the consequences of their actions' school of thought so for simplicity I just play them as 'impetuous'.
  • StefanOStefanO Member Posts: 346
    Are there RP consequences of having high/low stats in CON, INT, STR, DEX, and CHA too?
  • mlnevesemlnevese Member, Moderator Posts: 10,214
    edited January 2017
    Sure...

    Low Con - you're constantly sick and get tired easily. Think Raistlin from Dragonlance

    Low Int - I think this one is quite evident. You have difficulty understanding facts even when they are explained to you.

    Low Str - You're physically weak. Maybe you had no time to exercise while you mastered your main skill. Maybe you just don't like it.

    Low Dex - You're clumsy and have bad hand/eye coordination. Plenty of opportunities here.

    Low Cha - Do you know that famous stereotype about the bad humored dwarf who is always complaining and will enter a fight over anything? Maybe you're the source of that one :wink:

    Post edited by mlnevese on
  • woowoovoodoowoowoovoodoo Member Posts: 150
    DJKajuru said:

    How do you roleplay lack of wisdom?

    I don't have to roleplay it. Also, an interesting question is the reverse one: how to roleplay epic WIS or INT (or, God forbid, both at the same time) when your last name is not Gandhi / Einstein. Though it's less related to CRPGs and more - to PnP.
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,753
    Low Wisdom -

    "Me will crush you! Crush you to GOO!"

    "You mess with me, you mess with YOU!"
  • MathsorcererMathsorcerer Member Posts: 3,038
    Grum said:


    I...want to know what is in his tool shed now.

    The Tool Shed is a decent dungeon for a mid-level party that is somewhat challenging without being too nasty. A couple of riddle questions, one or two "arrange the items in the correct order" puzzles, decent traps, and level-appropriate monsters with a somewhat tough boss.

    Uncle Fralin's Bedroom is populated with Things Man Was Not Meant to Know and Things Man Was Not Meant to See. You should expect to lose at least half to two-thirds of your very high-level party there.

  • StefanOStefanO Member Posts: 346
    edited January 2017
    mlnevese said:

    Sure...

    Low Con - you're constantly sick and get tired easily. Think Raistlin from Dragonlance

    Low Int - I think this one is quite evident. You have difficulty understanding facts even when they are explained to you.

    Low Str - You're physically weak. Maybe you had no time to exercise while you mastered your main skill. Maybe you just don't like it.

    Low Dex - You're clumsy and have bad hand/eye coordination. Plenty of opportunities here.

    Low Cha - Do you know that famous stereotype about the bad humored dwarf who is always complaining and will enter a fight over anything? Maybe you're the source of that one :wink:

    Of course. But the dialogs are pre-written. You aren't free to act according to your stats. So, this discussion is more or less a Gedankenexperiment: What would I do if I could but I can't?
  • dunbardunbar Member Posts: 1,603
    StefanO said:

    mlnevese said:

    Sure...

    Low Con - you're constantly sick and get tired easily. Think Raistlin from Dragonlance

    Low Int - I think this one is quite evident. You have difficulty understanding facts even when they are explained to you.

    Low Str - You're physically weak. Maybe you had no time to exercise while you mastered your main skill. Maybe you just don't like it.

    Low Dex - You're clumsy and have bad hand/eye coordination. Plenty of opportunities here.

    Low Cha - Do you know that famous stereotype about the bad humored dwarf who is always complaining and will enter a fight over anything? Maybe you're the source of that one :wink:

    Of course. But the dialogs are pre-written. You aren't free to act according to your stats. So, this discussion is more or less a Gedankenexperiment: What would I do if I could but I can't?
    Sure your dialogue options are limited, but not your tactical and strategic decisions.
  • woowoovoodoowoowoovoodoo Member Posts: 150
    edited January 2017
    StefanO said:


    Of course. But the dialogs are pre-written. You aren't free to act according to your stats. So, this discussion is more or less a Gedankenexperiment: What would I do if I could but I can't?

    In case of low WIS a specific variation of Gedankenexperiment might be used, where in each dialog you swear to take a large blunt object roughly the size of Elminster AND his hat, and stuff it lengthwise into a crevice of an interlocutor's being so seldom seen that even the denizens of the nine hells themselves wouldn't touch it with a twenty-foot rusty halberd. Portalbendarwindenexperiment.
  • megamike15megamike15 Member Posts: 2,666

    Low Wisdom -

    "Me will crush you! Crush you to GOO!"

    "You mess with me, you mess with YOU!"

    thats low int.
  • simplessimples Member Posts: 540

    Also, an interesting question is the reverse one: how to roleplay epic WIS or INT (or, God forbid, both at the same time) when your last name is not Gandhi / Einstein. Though it's less related to CRPGs and more - to PnP.

    Wisdom-related, basically what my grandfather always said: do as I say, not as I do.
  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300

    DJKajuru said:

    How do you roleplay lack of wisdom?

    I don't have to roleplay it. Also, an interesting question is the reverse one: how to roleplay epic WIS or INT (or, God forbid, both at the same time) when your last name is not Gandhi / Einstein. Though it's less related to CRPGs and more - to PnP.
    I think that Scarlet johanson's movie "Lucy" explains it in an interesting way :smile:
  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,371
    Watch Ash vs. the Evil Dead. Ash is the poster child for low wisdom!
  • simplessimples Member Posts: 540
    DJKajuru said:

    DJKajuru said:

    How do you roleplay lack of wisdom?

    I don't have to roleplay it. Also, an interesting question is the reverse one: how to roleplay epic WIS or INT (or, God forbid, both at the same time) when your last name is not Gandhi / Einstein. Though it's less related to CRPGs and more - to PnP.
    I think that Scarlet johanson's movie "Lucy" explains it in an interesting way :smile:
    do you mean that chosing that role was low wis high int? $$$$
  • Abi_DalzimAbi_Dalzim Member Posts: 1,428
    edited January 2017
    Balrog99 said:

    Watch Ash vs. the Evil Dead. Ash is the poster child for low wisdom!



    Groovy!
  • JoenSoJoenSo Member Posts: 910
    I usually never play with low wisdom, but I'd say that you just don't think about consequences or beyond the things you've been told. So if Mae'var tells you some guy is a traitor the thought that he might be lying never even gets close to your brain. So I guess just do things straight on without concerning yourself with investigating first. So kill the ogres in Umar hills! Huh, people are still disappearing? Guess it's the wolves then. Kill the wolves!
    DJKajuru said:

    Minsc usually sees reason through Boo's advice, but he is the only one who apparently understands the hamster.

    I really like it when Mazzy at some point hints that Minsc actually is very wise (or used to be) but that he has just lost the ability to express that wisdom. Except through Boo that is. He is unwise in the regard that he doesn't think things through. At the same time it's pretty easy to reason with him and make him understand that he should think things through.
  • StefanOStefanO Member Posts: 346
    edited January 2017
    In BG games there are to less options for roleplaying according to your stats. Nobody seems to know what wisdom actually means rp wise. Why should I care?

    More important, IMHO, is acting according to your alignment: No stealing or killing peaceful creatures if you are LG. Unfortunately the game engine doesn't give you a penalty if you act against your alignment, e.g. decreasing your luck for a certain amount of time.
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