How would you portray a down syndrome NPC respectfully with mental abilities like Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma?
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I don't think there is a way to put this that doesn't go wrong so I will just leave a link to Wikipedia
If you have to stat it out, do so with this information in mind. A discussion here, what the stats should be, would just go bad.
I hope you're aware there's a proverbial legion of people who are liable to take this question badly, right?
I am and that's why I said respectfully. I was just curious of what would people do to portray such a trait.
Not every NPC needs it's ability scores charted out. Most of them don't, unless the party imd going to fight them.
Village Idiot stats from the GameMastery Guide seem ok, maybe reduce CON to 8 to show the health issues related to being down syndrome. Unless my players are going to fight that person, it doesn't really need stats. As far as RP goes, I'd play it like a child of 1d12 years old.
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As with everything there is variability within Down syndrome. Everyone with it is an individual, and their personalities, intellect and so on are unique to them. If you want to include it in the game then build an interesting character who happens to have trisomy 21, avoiding stereotypes and negative images if you can.
The main problem I can see with having something this specific with an NPC is that to do it right you need quite a lot of knowledge, understanding and a sensitivity around the subject. Unless you have done a lot of research you might get caught out.
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How would you portray a down syndrome NPC respectfully with mental abilities like Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma?
Roll 3d6 for strength (that is basically normal).
Roll 2d6 for other statsPeople with down syndrome are actually quite varied. I have met some who graduated high school and were smarter than many "regular" people I know.
In fantasy, you would have them be "simple" NPCs. I would avoid using the Tard-voice. If you can't mimic the accent perfectly, you will just be offensive. Not all people with down syndrome have a pronounced accent anyways.
How would you portray a down syndrome NPC respectfully with mental abilities like Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma?
I wouldn't. And if I temporarily lost my mind and did include a character like that, I wouldn't stat them out. Hell, I don't stat out 95% of the NPCs the PCs interact with.
However, I can't help but think this is some kind of deeply masked attempt to shame people who dump mental stats. "Oh, way to have X Intelligence and Charisma--that's what these people said someone with Down Syndrome would have!"
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What about Owlbear from the Skull and Shackles AP? I always thought of him as someone who had down syndrome. I played him as aggressive under the first fight the captain makes happen, but made him cower when my wife playing a monk beat the crap out of him. From then on, the PC's took him under their wing and made sure he was safe.
From what I took away from this is I wouldn't worry so much about numbers, but roleplaying is far more important in getting across that a character if different. People with down syndrome won't be spell casters (normally), but study how they act and use that to get your point across.
Well, even if they probably won't have a great carreer as a wizard, they could still do many other things. I do stat out many characters, because my players are a little aggressive and touchy. Any percieved rudeness can lead to their retribution.
I had an idea of a relevant fighter NPC with down syndrome, that's why I wondered how to stat them.
From what I read on the internet, down people are mostly slow to learn but have the full range of emotions, and can even survive alone as long as they're taught to.
In fantasy, you would have them be "simple" NPCs. I would avoid using the Tard-voice. If you can't mimic the accent perfectly, you will just be offensive. Not all people with down syndrome have a pronounced accent anyways.
I play mostly by chat.
The greatest difficulty I can see is that you're essentially improv acting when conversing as an NPC. To do that you need to try and get inside the head of the character, to react as they would react. Understanding their drives, motivations, hopes and so on is key. For 90% of NPCs this is pretty simple, as they're humanoids with similar intelligence to the DM playing them. It's easy to pretend to be someone quite like yourself.
If you have a concept you want to flesh out, do your background reading. A wikipedia article is a start, but watching a documentary or two exploring the perspectives of people with Down syndrome would be useful too.
This is actually the opposite problem that I heard of a while back. Someone fairly direct and impulsive was asking how best to roleplay a high Wisdom character. It's an interesting one to consider.
How would you portray a down syndrome NPC respectfully with mental abilities like Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma?
Ability scores do not represent conditions.
Step back and ask yourself why this character needs stats? Do you intend for the party to fight them? If the party does fight them, do you expect it be any sort of challenge?
If the answers are no, then don't bother with stats. Just roleplay the individual. Of course...I am more interested in the purpose of the characters prescence. Such topics are very....sensitive...to certain individuals around these parts. In my expierience attempts at including this sort of thing, or even the discussion of such usually ends up someplace where we never wanted it to go.
Step back and ask yourself why this character needs stats? Do you intend for the party to fight them? If the party does fight them, do you expect it be any sort of challenge?
I do stat out many characters, because my players are a little aggressive and touchy. Any percieved rudeness can lead to their retribution.
And yes, I do think he/she should pose some challenge, but that's something I'll come up with when I'll refine the idea I have in mind.
Of course...I am more interested in the purpose of the characters prescence. Such topics are very....sensitive...to certain individuals around these parts. In my expierience attempts at including this sort of thing, or even the discussion of such usually ends up someplace where we never wanted it to go.
I'm planning a political adventure, where such characters might come up. I'm still not sure if I'll be doing it for D&D/Pathfinder or Mage the Awakening.
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How would you portray a down syndrome NPC respectfully with mental abilities like Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma?Ability scores do not represent conditions.
I feel I should elaborate before anyone starts arguing about it. What I mean by the previous statement is that while conditions may apply effects to ability scores, having X in an ability score means nothing by itself beyond some base competency at certain things in the game, nor why you are at that level of competency.
For example, a warrior can be poisoned and his Strength drop to 8. But having a Strength of 8 does not mean you are poisoned. If you have a medical condition, your ability scores do not indicate that condition, it would be its own thing that might adjust ability scores, or more appropriately might adjust certain checks.
For further example, if you had a character whose legs were paralyzed, this is not indicated by any sort of Strength or Dexterity scores, though the condition might apply penalties to Strength, Dexterity, Movement, or skill checks based on those, but even having a 1 Strength and 1 Dexterity doesn't indicate that your legs don't work.
If you seriously wish to accurately portray the mechanical aspects of any medical condition (be it down syndrome or otherwise), I believe you would do well to actually do some basic research on the subject and then create a conditional summary for it and apply it as a template just as you would any other condition. Having X condition does not mean you have Y ability score any more than it means you have red hair or brown eyes.
my players are a little aggressive and touchy. Any percieved rudeness can lead to their retribution.
Your players are bullies?! Oh man I would love to be the GM in your group! Are there any other advanturing parties in your gaming world?
my players are a little aggressive and touchy. Any percieved rudeness can lead to their retribution.Your players are bullies?! Oh man I would love to be the GM in your group! Are there any other advanturing parties in your gaming world?
Well I'm not going to say the people themselves playing the characters are aggressive or touchy, but most of their characters are. Their characters are often subjects to whims, and tend to be on the "I'm a jerk" edge of chaotic neutral.
Anyways, there are some. It's a sandbox game though and I'm more used to throw organizations and monsters at them than adventurers.
Never mind. Nothing productive can come of this.
I just want indication on how I should portray them. You're free not to contribute. If it's not about abilities, then it might be of anything else. While DS people are indeed varied, they do have some underlining similarities, don't they?
How would you portray a down syndrome NPC respectfully with mental abilities like Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma?Roll 3d6 for strength (that is basically normal).
Roll 2d6 for other statsPeople with down syndrome are actually quite varied. I have met some who graduated high school and were smarter than many "regular" people I know.
In fantasy, you would have them be "simple" NPCs. I would avoid using the Tard-voice. If you can't mimic the accent perfectly, you will just be offensive. Not all people with down syndrome have a pronounced accent anyways.
This is pretty much the best advice you'll get. There's a kids' book I read recently that featured a character with down syndrome—she worked at a ward for people with terminal illnesses and lived in a home. She came off as perhaps a bit simple in the story, but not any sort of idiot. One could read the book and never even realize the main character had a disability.
Putting aside the sensitivity this topic clearly bears, I think that's the best way to play it—subtly. Rolling is an excellent way of acknowledging the diversity, too.
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I meant the PCs, not players. Still, its kind of pathetic (to me anyways) when players (who control the PCs) play all of their characters with such superiority and distain for others. I've played one or two characters who were jerks like that, but if all of their characters are this way (which is the sense I get) then I give it a thumbs down. Its predictable role-playing, it hampers immersion, and is definitely not heroic.
If it gets to the point that stats are actually needed for an NPC with this kind of challenge, then go ahead and let the party know that they are not the only dangerous people in the world. Maybe the NPC is a barbariian with more levels than them.
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What about a Down Syndrome PC?
They could be a hero.
Why does wanting to include characters with conditions somehow amount to a bad thing?
I find the inability to accept that such PCs/NPCs can be statted, a bit offensive.
Having to dance delicately around it, walk on eggshells, or pretend it doesn't exist, all sound like terrible ways to approach this.