Any ideas?
(And no, this is not aimed at anyone playing in my current campaign.)
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Two ideas come to mind:
1) Abstract it. When given a situation that calls for a smart idea, emphasize a die roll over independent thinking.
2) Lead them. Instead of asking "what do you think" ask "do you think A, B, or C?"
If you can better define what you mean by a dumb player, I could probably come up with a few more suggestions.
Firstly I would include more information in my descriptions, mre 'knowledge' detail about things, places etc for characters who would know or easily deduce such things.
Secondly I would allow the player to make an intelligence check more often to asertain things. (I'm thinking replacing the 'Untrained' limit with a -4 modifier instead).
Of course, the reverse situtation should be handled in a similar way.
Cheers
Mark
High intelligence just means a higher int bonus a lot of the time. This stuff is quite easy to handle, of course - int-based checks will be easier.
As for the roleplaying aspect, the advice already given sounds about right: Allow int checks to "simulate" high int (let them remember things the player has forgotten, figure out complex stuff the player can't get past) and give the player some hints.
Note that in case of wizards (and certain other classes) on higher levels and/or higher-powered campaigns (i.e. with higher ability scores than normal), you will almost certainly end up with someone whose character is smarter then the player himself: Your average person has what translates into int 10. Even if you're quite smart for real-world human standards, you'll have something like 14, maybe 16. Everything beyond that is Stephen-Hawking-grade smart.
A lot of wizards will start with a 18 in int (16 +2 for race), sometimes even with 20 (18 +2 - no class can better afford to buy an 18 than a wizard!), and it will only go up from there. That means even if you are a smart guy, your character will have super-human intelligence.
Nobody can properly roleplay that, not really. So there's always a bit of an offset, and I don't see why you must be smart to begin with to get to be allowed to play a character that's even smarter.
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There were some nice tricks in the Aberrant RPG for playing super-intelligent characters, usually around the lines of allowing the players to prepare a few things beforehand (like a number of witty retorts, or joker cards where you pretend to have done such and such preparation/research/whatever in the past, along the lines of the Well Prepared feat) or giving additional time to players to think things through (ie, you have to solve the riddle in under 1 minute, except for the Int 20 guy who gets 1 additional minute).
Smart people are sometimes very, very dumb in real life too. Let it roll as it goes. Allow check for things like memory, memorization, calculation and other cognitive "gymnastics". Other than that, let the player play as it will.
As for the opposite, I know people who had serious issues completing their secondary degree (high school) and sincerely, I don't consider them dumb. It doesn't show in the way they talk, or in the strategies they come-up with (in RPGs among other things). They are just as good as any other in their respective field of expertise (one is an excellent mechanics who make much more $ than I do, and I'm a university graduate).
With that in mind, I see a character's INT score as a quantification of the things he knows and its ability to learn scholarly stuff (like wizard magic), and not much else.
Besides, when I throw a balor at my players (INT 24), I what to play him smart but I don't what to have him philosophize like a Stephen Hawkins...
'findel
When I roll to detect traps, and my character finds something, I say,"My character announces that!"
Playing a smart character is like that when it comes to knowledges.
You should put up your protective spells before you start announcing the big bad's vunerabilities.
I believe that Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu game had a roll called the Idea roll by which a character could come up with ideas regarding a situation or event. It was based of the Luck stat, iirc, although I'd have to look at my sourcebooks to see the specifics.
I believe that Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu game had a roll called the Idea roll by which a character could come up with ideas regarding a situation or event. It was based of the Luck stat, iirc, although I'd have to look at my sourcebooks to see the specifics.
Basically, (5xInt score)% in the older versions. The equivelant in D20 would be an Intelligence check, with a DC set by the DM.
It's a little chintzy but take Sherlock Holmes. Intelligence is largely about noticing details in your situation, and as a GM you really do control the players attention.
This is normally handled in Perception rolls in PF, which has almost nothing to do with Intelligence the attribute. So...
The real question is: Does your player feel they deserve an advantage while playing a smart character? If so, increase the payout for knowledge skills. Intelligence already grants skill points, which is a huge benefit that doesn't need more enforcement.
Otherwise, let the player ust play. If they make stupid decisions, give them a knowledge check to get a preemptive hint. That's what they're there for.