How do I role-play a character who's smarter than I am?


Advice


The thread name is self-explanatory, but the question could certainly extend to Wisdom as well. Charisma not so much, because it's easier to act as the extrovert in a no-consequence environment with friends than in real life.

Basically, I am only so intelligent. How do I play a character who for all intents should have intelligent mannerisms and knowledge that intrinsically far exceeds my own? How do I role-play them figuring things out that they should be able to when I myself am incapable of it in certain scenarios? Etc.


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Watch the Sherlock movies and keep a thesaurus at hand for big words?

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition Subscriber

Make sure to take knowledge skills, and talk with your DM to make sure that they'll allow you to use your character's higher intelligence to solve puzzles and such in the game.


In play by posts?

Take a few minutes planing each second of action.

In person? Use int like the stat is is. You can't always make up for your own nature.

The Exchange

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Just get the others around you to play dumber.


Ask the DM periodically for help. Got a riddle and can't figure it out? Int check. Got a puzzle you can't figure out? Int check. Not sure how best to infiltrate the enemy camp? Int check.

Train yourself to recognize moments when your character could know/think things, and ask.

Basically if a player of a high-Strength fighter isn't expected to lift the gaming table while the rest of the players lay on it, a high-Intelligence wizard shouldn't be expected to understand things at the capacity of double a normal person.

The Exchange

You exist out side the game, you know it is a game and how the universe works. This should give you a huge advantage.

When other characters make good suggestions especially those lacking int, ask if your PC can take credit.

being smart is mostly skills, so just ask to roll an appropriate skill as often as possible.

The Exchange

Hmm. Get smarter? :p

Well it might help if you read more adventure novels, possibly a treatise on strategy or two (Sun Tzu's art of war, describing actual scenarios where specific tactics are used),sometimes you may see something that is done in the books that might be useful to your adventuring. If its play by post, google is your friend.

My problem usually comes the other way round. Given a scenario and enough time, I'm perfectly happy to think it over to get almost every possibility(at least I'd like to think) covered, regardless of character int score. Playing a character with 7 int is horrible for me :p

I admit I may not be the best person at puzzles though. But if you want conspiracy theories, I'm always happy to provide new ones!

Dark Archive Contributor

While not the same as intelligence, knowledge often appears like intelligence. Maybe choose a character-relevant topic, do a little online research on it, and drop a few pieces of that knowledge into your roleplaying from time to time. You'll look like a genius. If the topic is related to the adventure at hand, so much the better!


Step 1) identify someone you believe acts "smart."

Step 2) have your character act like the identified smarty-pants.

Contributor

Speak in standard written English. That means no slang and few to no contractions. Grab some higher-level vocabulary words (High School or higher) and add them into your speech. Most American adults only hold conversations at the 5th Grade Level, while newspapers are written at an 8th Grade Level. Speak faster and with a cold sternness with likewise make you sound like your words are more deliberate, and therefore smarter.

Basically, watch The Matrix. The dialogue of that move is specifically designed to make dumb conversations sound intelligent and imposing.

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