I have been spending a lot of my few brain cells to figure out how to approach this, if anyone has some good pointers...
I have generated a first level dwarven cleric (with a fighter attitude) who reveres a god with War and Glory as its chosen domains, but has a high wisdom score (19). While the archetypical dwarf is more of a grumpy or rough around the edges character, who would most probably go head first into any brawl or battle, high wisdom in my opinion would probably suggest the opposite. Anyone have good ideas on how to solve this roleplaying conundrum?
from a roleplaying perspective?
Uncle Iho from Avatar. Or any 'wise elder' stereotype (I'd put Mr Miyagi in there too).
His high wisdom makes him perceptive, patient, cautious (but not overly so). He's not necessarilly bright, but he would be able to offer solid advice, though after great considereation.
Low charisma makes it hard for him to be a teacher. combined with the idea that other dwarves are also stubborn probably means he's not the preachy type, so he's probably a lead by example kind of guy. self sufficient and inspiring others to be the same through force of example.
He can be dour and grim (it's the favoured sterotype for the dwarf)
as for you conundrum, he will obviously pride in battle, but moreso he will appreciate a well planned battle rather than impulsive brawls. will favour tactical retreats, ambushes, and strategy. He should try to drag other players into strategy meetings, and make critical assessments of other player characters. And he's likely to be pretty blunt about it.
Batts
Wisdom is supposed to represent not only your ability to perceive things but also inner strength (such as willpower) and confidence. I see noproblem with wisdom being associated with combat, hey all three wisdom classes go toe to toe with the enemy, one without wearing any armor at all!
I really like that you point out willpower and confidence. I did not see it that way. Simple but good pointers. Thanks!
from a roleplaying perspective?
His high wisdom makes him perceptive, patient, cautious (but not overly so). He's not necessarilly bright, but he would be able to offer solid advice, though after great considereation.
Low charisma makes it hard for him to be a teacher. combined with the idea that other dwarves are also stubborn probably means he's not the preachy type, so he's probably a lead by example kind of guy. self sufficient and inspiring others to be the same through force of example.
He can be dour and grim (it's the favoured sterotype for the dwarf)
as for you conundrum, he will obviously pride in battle, but moreso he will appreciate a well planned battle rather than impulsive brawls. will favour tactical retreats, ambushes, and strategy. He should try to drag other players into strategy meetings, and make critical assessments of other player characters. And he's likely to be pretty blunt about it.
Batts
BRILLIANT!!! Sir, you gave me exactly the point of view I was trying to grasp with this character — now I have a really clear mental image of how to play my guy. Bunch of thanks!
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You can also add a bit of the stereotypical dwarf flavor by paralleling your character's insights to the two things dwarfs tend to know most about ... stone and spirits.
"The sturdiest pick can be dulled by using it without regard to the stone."
"Even the mightiest stone pillars are toppled when their based is chipped away."
"An enemy force without a leader is akin to a mine shaft without supporting beams ... it is quick to fall and shall end in disaster."
"Fighting multiple foes is best handled like playing a game of mugs ... pace yourself and down them one at a time."
"Strong spirits can make fools of men ... but fortunately here we be dwarfs."
etc. etc. etc.
from a roleplaying perspective?
Uncle Iho from Avatar. Or any 'wise elder' stereotype (I'd put Mr Miyagi in there too).
His high wisdom makes him perceptive, patient, cautious (but not overly so). He's not necessarilly bright, but he would be able to offer solid advice, though after great considereation.
Low charisma makes it hard for him to be a teacher. combined with the idea that other dwarves are also stubborn probably means he's not the preachy type, so he's probably a lead by example kind of guy. self sufficient and inspiring others to be the same through force of example.
He can be dour and grim (it's the favoured sterotype for the dwarf)
as for you conundrum, he will obviously pride in battle, but moreso he will appreciate a well planned battle rather than impulsive brawls. will favour tactical retreats, ambushes, and strategy. He should try to drag other players into strategy meetings, and make critical assessments of other player characters. And he's likely to be pretty blunt about it.
Batts
...Yeah, pretty much exactly this.
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I have been spending a lot of my few brain cells to figure out how to approach this, if anyone has some good pointers...
I have generated a first level dwarven cleric (with a fighter attitude) who reveres a god with War and Glory as its chosen domains, but has a high wisdom score (19). While the archetypical dwarf is more of a grumpy or rough around the edges character, who would most probably go head first into any brawl or battle, high wisdom in my opinion would probably suggest the opposite. Anyone have good ideas on how to solve this roleplaying conundrum?
You think that's difficult, try pulling off a dwarven sorcerer w/ a 16 charisma...that was...interesting. I still don't remember why i thought that would be a good idea lol.
You can also add a bit of the stereotypical dwarf flavor by paralleling your character's insights to the two things dwarfs tend to know most about ... stone and spirits..
Great examples Zyl :)
For some reason the image of a dwarven Sun Tzu popped into my head. It would probably involve having good intelligence, and not always choose the most glorious form of warfare, but I think glory is in the eye of the beholder.
"Glory? What is your glory when the battlefield is littered with the corpses of your soldiers, and the city with the cries of their kin? Where is the glory in the mother's tear, in the empty streets and abandoned holds, in the maggots growing in the flesh of our kin, in the slaver's chains around the necks of our young - because we were too stupid to avoid defeat?
A glorious victory, for me, is one in which our army parades back into our city. One after which our warrior sing and make merry, where gold and steel flow like water from our hands, and the clanholds ring with the laughter of the little ones. Victory which assures that the only deaths we will know are many years hence, as proud paragons of our kind, leaders of prosperous families.
This is the true glory of a general."
You can also add a bit of the stereotypical dwarf flavor by paralleling your character's insights to the two things dwarfs tend to know most about ... stone and spirits.
"The sturdiest pick can be dulled by using it without regard to the stone."
"Even the mightiest stone pillars are toppled when their based is chipped away."
"An enemy force without a leader is akin to a mine shaft without supporting beams ... it is quick to fall and shall end in disaster."
"Fighting multiple foes is best handled like playing a game of mugs ... pace yourself and down them one at a time."
"Strong spirits can make fools of men ... but fortunately here we be dwarfs."
etc. etc. etc.
Really nice Zylphryx — another good input to refine my dwarven experience! I like making him philosophical about what will happen or what happened, and turned them into dwarf-related quotes or views. I really dig that.
My funny twist about playing this cleric is, I want him to be a tad perverted or tainted — while people expect a god-loving dude to be all clean and respectful, I want this dwarf to indulge in alcohol (strong beers of course) and have a liking for the opposite sex, something I am sure my fellow players will not expect from me! I got to see with my GM if that would pose a problem in the God/Cleric powers relationship...
Thanks all for your input and feedback, it is insane how isolated, I could not come up with anything at all, but you guys have sparked soooo many great ideas for my role play! You guys and gals are golden! (30 g.p. for each of you. Tell your GM it's from me) :-)
My funny twist about playing this cleric is, I want him to be a tad perverted or tainted — while people expect a god-loving dude to be all clean and respectful, I want this dwarf to indulge in alcohol (strong beers of course) and have a liking for the opposite sex, something I am sure my fellow players will not expect from me! I got to see with my GM if that would pose a problem in the God/Cleric powers relationship...
Heck, you should get your GM to make you a Cleric of the Dwarf God of Beer...there really should be a Dwarf God of Beer in any dwarven pantheon...
You know, it's odd, but the classic tolkien dwarves were a hard singing, hard fighting, boisterous bunch...granted, they were mostly young adventurous dwarves. I wonder how this got overwhelmed by the image of dour, sour, grumpy dwarves...I guess I have to blame Warhammer for that (and orange mowhawks...shudder).
Anyways, everyone knows dwarves are inherently the manliest race. They work hard, they play hard, they kick ass (hard). Sure, they're stubborn and unforgiving traditionalists, but that's because they're a mining folk. You don't try new ways of supporting a ceiling when you KNOW your current method definitely keeps you from being crushed by a billion tons of falling rock.
Anyone have good ideas on how to solve this roleplaying conundrum?
Attempt the impossible: Try to play a dwarf that is not a walking stereotype wrapped in a cliché wrapped in three metric tons of steel. :P
Is it a serious and grim game? If not and you really want to play something memorable, play a flamer. Yes, it's an offensive stereotype, but it could still be funny.
You said he worships the god of glory.
He may also be into cave feng shui. You might want to give him his own pet chihuahua or weiner dog.
And, of course, he'd have the requisite orange mohawk.
The other players just might be laughing too hard to pelt you to death with dice. And he could still be vicious with a battle ax.One of his regularly heard quotes could be, "hey man, you wanta go _spelunking_?"
LOL — too funny!!! :-D
Nah, no chihuahua or orange hair, I already have an "attitude" to make the game funny: he will sing dwarven songs whenever he feels bored or there is silence in the group (hello Move Silently!), and talks A LOT — it already started to annoy some of our group members during our first game!
As for the God domain's - War and Glory - I decided that he would approach battles as a kind of ceremony with his god, whenever he will take one enemy down, he would do some kind of prayer to dedicate the soul of his victim to his God (gods are my GM's own home brew, but what I have is close enough to Frarum), as an offering if you will. And when the battle's over – he sticks out his pipe and savours the moment while smoking. And maybe sing some more. ;-)
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One thing you can do to highlight your Wis is to question every choice that the Arcanists make. Not litereally every one, but the bigger ones? ask the a simple question, like, but "what if the charm spell has a lasting effect", or "what if they resist it and you don't realize they are playing you"?
"Are you certain that your not falling to the dark side when you summon those demons? How can you be sure!"
Wisdom is about perception and intuition, but it is also about understanding and relating things that you do know. That would include puzzles, mysteries, most riddles (that are not math or logic based), tactics, philosophy, and general long-term thinking.
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I can remember when i first read the monk entry in the 3.5 players handbook and having it say that dwarves are not suited to monkhood. Bull.
Dwarves don't have to be grim and gruff in the stereotypical ways but i think they should always be slow to change and not focused on being flashy. I think Toph in avatar is another good example of a dwarf wisdom link, aware and centered without caring much about small distinctions and details.
I think this thread proves that by focusing on the wisdom in role playing dwarves we can set the apart from the stereotypes they are bound into.
Think Gibbs from NCIS. high wisdom, moderate int. very perceptive and loyal.
Singing while the rest of the party is attempting stealth? That isn't annoyance, that is asking to have your throat cut while you sleep.
I was kidding there of course, my super-high Wisdom score will prevent me from doing something that foolish. But believe me, he will sing and talk whenever he will have the chance!
On the other hand, just as some people have pointed out, he will also question the "wisdom" of doing this or that, of going this route or taking this approach. And that could mean delays... and heated arguments, I guess :-)