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It's usually easy for a smart person to play a dumb character, but I am wondering if there could be a house rule or mechanic in Pathfinder for when the opposite is true (well, not the opposite, per se; I've never known a truly "dumb" player, but you see what I mean).
I was thinking about the "Idea" stat and the "Know" stat from Call of Cthulhu, but would you make them a skill? A behind-the-shield GM roll?
Welcoming any suggestions.
Moved to the appropriate forum.
Well, smart people do stupid things all the time. Perhaps their high INT stat implies an exceptional memory, or a knack for learning new skills? It doesn't necessarily mean they're going to see a flaw in their actions: even historic geniuses have had somewhat infamous mental blind spots.
In short, I'd basically let them play as is.
It's usually easy for a smart person to play a dumb character, but I am wondering if there could be a house rule or mechanic in Pathfinder for when the opposite is true (well, not the opposite, per se; I've never known a truly "dumb" player, but you see what I mean).
I was thinking about the "Idea" stat and the "Know" stat from Call of Cthulhu, but would you make them a skill? A behind-the-shield GM roll?
Welcoming any suggestions.
In my group we have something called 'gut checks'. If a player wants to know if his character thinks something is a good idea (and has knowledge or judgemental powers beyond that of the player). They make a gut check roll, which is equal to d20 + wis bonus+ int bouns+ character level. The dm then assigns a DC depending on how obvious or subtle he things the nature of the idea being evaluated is.
Not a rule really, but I always try to spend some time discussing choices with high intelligence characters, just to give them a sense of the consequences of actions they are considering, different possibilities, etc. I have a Int 27 wizard in a campaign right now. His knowledge checks generally let him know everything he needs to about his opponents, so that reflects his advantage. Also he has insightful reflexes feat, which replaces Dex mod with int mod for reflex saves. So he is prepared, always in the right place at the right time.
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Well, smart people do stupid things all the time. Perhaps their high INT stat implies an exceptional memory, or a knack for learning new skills? It doesn't necessarily mean they're going to see a flaw in their actions: even historic geniuses have had somewhat infamous mental blind spots.
In short, I'd basically let them play as is.
It is a point that smart people do stupid things: I suppose that is a solution in and of itself (of course, a high wisdom score on a PC that frequently says "Let's just pull the lever and watch" is a similar problem, which the suggested 'gut check' might be a good solution for).
I was looking for a mechanic that could help a player in situations, like elaborate traps or puzzles, conspiracies, &c., which their characters may very well be able to puzzle out, but which the players are banging against. Hence the "Idea" roll, or some such...I suppose I could just multiply Int by, say, 3 and turn that into a percentile, roll it, (with a max of 95%) and if it comes under, give the player a bit of a clue?
I was looking for a mechanic that could help a player in situations, like elaborate traps or puzzles, conspiracies, &c., which their characters may very well be able to puzzle out, but which the players are banging against. Hence the "Idea" roll, or some such...I suppose I could just multiply Int by, say, 3 and turn that into a percentile, roll it, (with a max of 95%) and if it comes under, give the player a bit of a clue?
You don't really need a new rule for this. Just use Int or Wis, the character's background and skills, and as the DM decide what the character may or may not understand or remember and create a target number to be rolled on a d20 and any modifers added or subtracted from the roll. The better the success, the more info you can give the player. Any success at all would let them try once more for more info or inspire another PC to come up with the info needed.
Well, smart people do stupid things all the time. Perhaps their high INT stat implies an exceptional memory, or a knack for learning new skills? It doesn't necessarily mean they're going to see a flaw in their actions: even historic geniuses have had somewhat infamous mental blind spots.
Exactly this. The extra skill points and bonus on Knowledge skills is a pretty solid model for the benefits of being "highly intelligent." The only place you might need an edge not indicated in the rules, is in battlefield tactics; allow the player to take a little extra time to think through the options each turn. But only a little extra! Experience trumps analysis in most time-sensitive situations.
Whether or not the character employs good team tactics, by the way, has almost nothing to do with intelligence at all. :)
As an aside, I'm of the opinion that it's much harder for a smart person to play a dumb one. (I've tried it, and I think I did a terrible job!) Anyone can spend a minute to think things through and probably get the same results that someone with 40 points more IQ would come up with in six seconds; but when several thoughts spring into your mind almost instantly, deciding which ones shouldn't have is a tall order. This is only compounded by having a broader and/or more accurate scope of player knowledge.
Meanwhile, this might actually be a useful reference, so I'll share it... the best way to map Int to IQ, is to compare the frequency of a given IQ score in the real world to the chances of rolling a given result on 3d6. Assuming one in six humans adds their +2 to Int, it comes out approximately as follows, using SD-15 (Wechsler) IQ frequencies and classifications:
20 = 155
19 = 148
18 = 141
17 = 134
16 = 128
15 = 123
14 = 118
13 = 113
12 = 108
11 = 103
10 = 98
9 = 94
8 = 89
7 = 84
6 = 79
5 = 74
4 = 68
3 = 59
Note that even Int 3 is the high-functioning end of retardation: these are the obviously slow people you find cleaning tables at McDonalds or bagging your groceries, but they can speak and learn tasks and hold a job.
At the other end, the highest intelligence levels aren't remotely superhuman; yeah, these guys are pretty damn smart, but someone with a 20 can (with patience) explain a complex line of reasoning to someone with a 12, and though the latter may have never figured it out on his own, he should understand the explanation.
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<IQ stuff>
I've always thought of the Int/IQ relation as this:
(INT score)*10 = IQ score, roughly.So, an INT score of 10 (average) is approximately equal to the average IQ score of 100. Keeping in mind that the average adventurer is an above average human - it makes sense that the average adventurer's IQ is around 125.
Then again, I'm not a psych major or anything, so my knowledge of the IQ system might be a little out of date.
