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I am gearing up to play in a new campaign that a friend of mine is running. He's using the PFRPG rules with a few changes. Since we're playing the game in Eberron, he's adding a few races (Warforged, Changling, Shifter, etc) along with racial feats to accompany them.
In introducing these races he has had to tweak their stat bonus. I'm playing a Warforged and the stat bonuses he has assigned are +4 Con, -2 Int, -2 Wis, -2 Cha. We're using a 20 point buy and I've manged to balance the points and get a 10+ in Int and Wis, but my Cha must suffer and will be an 8. I'm okay with this, it seems like a fun character to play. The concept that I have thought up is a rather smart Warforged (11 or 12) which House Cannith is interested in. They want to know why he is the way he is when the didn't build him to be particularly smart but just a smashbot.
So, I have an above average Int (especially for a Warforged), an average Wis and a low Cha. I don't want the character to be an ass, he's generally very curious about human nature now that he is out of the war, but obviously just doesn't get people. As a warforged, appearance really has nothing to do with his Cha.
So, I'm just looking for ideas on how to play his low Charisma. Ideas?
Best way in the world to simulate a warforge with a low charisma.
Be honest.
No, seriously, just have him be completely honest about how he feels, what he thinks about other people. Think of Dr. Temperance Brennan on the TV show Bones. She's intelligent, but she has a low charisma despite her good looks. Mainly because she doesn't tell little white social lies. If you show her an ugly baby, she says 'Oh my, what an ugly baby', not 'Oh how cute'.
Awesome. Thank you. I know Warforged fairly well and been thinking about this for awhile. And while I sorta had this idea, you really put it into simple words make usable. Thanks again.
Be honest.
No problem. An 8 just indicates you're socially inept and mildly annoying. Now, if you'd had, say, a 6 or lower, I'd have suggested the hygiene route mentioned by Dark Mistress (all hail!).
It's actually easy for a warforged to do. Just give him an obsession with doing everything every one else does, including eating dinner. :) Warforged have no stomachs, so the food get's chewed up and ground up inside their bodies in the gears. :) After a few days, it starts to rotting, and after a few weeks of this, they have the hygiene of a dwarven sewage inspector. :)
And yes, this did come up in a game I was running. :) The warforged wanted to see what food tasted like. It was 3 or 4 days later when the rest of the party became aware of his experiments. :) They had to cast purify Food and Water on him daily until they could find someone who knew enough about warforged to clean him out. :)
My brother plays a dwarf rouge with a charisma of 5.
This dwarf is so disfunctional it makes the roleplaying brilliant. Basically the dwarf cannot remember names, cannot carry out verbal instructions, and is brutally honest. I would recommend coming up with some quirks along with the whole honest thing.
Another angle you may want to consider is the typical "chronically curious" robot steretype from so many sci-fi movies. You find sentient races fascinating. You're always asking questions, requesting explanations and attempting to emulate your fellow sentients - often with embarrasing results, since you have no sense of shame or propriety, and all you're trying to do is blend in. As is so often the case, those who try to blend in the hardest, fail the brightest. Here are a couple of examples:
Clothing: Warforged doesn't have to wear clothes - but he may be sufficiently concerned about blending in with humans that he's always trying clothes. Seeing people give respect to a ceremonially robed priest, he gets similar ceremonial robes, only to start a religious riot. Noticing scantily clad ladies have lots of friends, he goes for the frilly, lacy barely-garments, not realising they make him look ridiculous, etc.
Emotions: If you choose to play him so, Warforged doesn't have emotions. But he desperately wants some. So he pretends anger, feigns sadness, acts in love - often in utterly wrong situations because he doesn't understand them.
Questioning: Imagining Warforged as sort of sentient golems, there's a whole lot they would find perplexing about sentient biological races. Courtship, love and sex would definitely be one of foremost among those mysteries: and having a half-ton golem constantly questioning people about "is this sex" and "are you in love with him" is likely to be annoying the crud out of everyone.
Hope this helps :D
I don't have the source material on hand, but why is the 'Forged taking a INT hit? IIRC, they were +2 CON, -2 WIS, -2 CHA... to bring it in line with PF, all PC races gain a NET +2 to stats. (Think Half-Orc, with their penalties 3.5 style, and now, +2 to any one stat...) To get there, I would simply do a +2 STR, +2 CON, -2 CHA. *shrug* C'est la vie.
(edit: Giving a PC race two Physical Stats in exchange for a 'useless' stat gives me heartburn... Min/Max Melee Race of Choice, anyone? lol)
In regards to playing a 'Forged PC's poor CHA I have one word. Detached. Social niceties are either lost or unimportant to a machine. Especially if the 'Forged in question adheres to the Lord of Blade's philosophy... :)
GNOME
We ended up just giving the warforged a straight floating +2, like humans, half-elfs and half-orcs. They were purpose built to their starting class, it just made sense.
We ended up just giving the warforged a straight floating +2, like humans, half-elfs and half-orcs. They were purpose built to their starting class, it just made sense.
That sounds very familiar. Are you playing on Tenebrae?
We ended up just giving the warforged a straight floating +2, like humans, half-elfs and half-orcs. They were purpose built to their starting class, it just made sense.That sounds very familiar. Are you playing on Tenebrae?
Nope, in Austin TX. :)
But it just seems a natural fix. It always bothered me anyway that a 'scout' built warforged, as shown in the books, is scrawny and stealthy looking, but he's got regular warforged bonuses. :) I like the floating +2 much better.
I don't have the source material on hand, but why is the 'Forged taking a INT hit? IIRC, they were +2 CON, -2 WIS, -2 CHA... to bring it in line with PF, all PC races gain a NET +2 to stats. (Think Half-Orc, with their penalties 3.5 style, and now, +2 to any one stat...) To get there, I would simply do a +2 STR, +2 CON, -2 CHA. *shrug* C'est la vie.
(edit: Giving a PC race two Physical Stats in exchange for a 'useless' stat gives me heartburn... Min/Max Melee Race of Choice, anyone? lol)
The standard is +2 phys or mental, +2 the other, -2 phys or mental or a +2 floating. So +2 Str, +2 Con, -2 Cha is off. I'd go +2 Con, +2 Int, -2 Cha since machines and quick logic seems to go hand in hand so to speak. But I've never played in Eberron and don't know that much about warforged.
The standard is +2 phys or mental, +2 the other, -2 phys or mental or a +2 floating. So +2 Str, +2 Con, -2 Cha is off. I'd go +2 Con, +2 Int, -2 Cha since machines and quick logic seems to go hand in hand so to speak. But I've never played in Eberron and don't know that much about warforged.
Concur :) I would be more than happy with a +2CON/+2INT/-2CHA. Imagine that wizard ;)
But I also like the floating +2; why build an inadequate platform to fulfill it's own role? Like asking a Porsche to tow a 38' trailer... But then I also like the penalty for the machine/human interface.
GNOME
Best way in the world to simulate a warforge with a low charisma.
Be honest.
No, seriously, just have him be completely honest about how he feels, what he thinks about other people. Think of Dr. Temperance Brennan on the TV show Bones. She's intelligent, but she has a low charisma despite her good looks. Mainly because she doesn't tell little white social lies. If you show her an ugly baby, she says 'Oh my, what an ugly baby', not 'Oh how cute'.
Temperance Brennan looks to me very like a person with Asperger's syndrome. Honest even when she should not be, careless of social conventions, highly interested in specific things [as opposed to people].
Other ways of doing low charisma. Drooling. Picking ones nose. Inappropriate sexual innuendo.
You could always just be a Shy Warforged. He easily blushes when he gets attention. :)
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Brutal honesty seems good. Unfunny jokes could figure into it too. Last weekend my girlfriend's Cha 7 Mountain Druid told the party, "Mountains aren't just funny. They're hill-arious!"
Brutal honesty seems good. Unfunny jokes could figure into it too. Last weekend my girlfriend's Cha 7 Mountain Druid told the party, "Mountains aren't just funny. They're hill-arious!"
If she continues in that vain the complaints will quickly start mounting.
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Why on Earth would you play a race team stats total -2?
2010 was like, a totally different era, man. People were more free and wild in those heady days.
Brutal honesty seems good. Unfunny jokes could figure into it too. Last weekend my girlfriend's Cha 7 Mountain Druid told the party, "Mountains aren't just funny. They're hill-arious!"
Yes, 8 isnt so bad.
No sense of humor is another idea, or like he says no idea of what is funny.
Why on Earth would you play a race team stats total -2?
He didnt mention everything else.
Darkvision?, DR?
The 3.5 race has Natural armor +2, Light Fortification, and Immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, disease, nausea, fatigue, exhaustion, effects that cause the sickened condition, and energy drain.
that last is really nice in PF.
I'd take it. Sounds fun.
Best way in the world to simulate a warforge with a low charisma.
Be honest.
No, seriously, just have him be completely honest about how he feels, what he thinks about other people. Think of Dr. Temperance Brennan on the TV show Bones. She's intelligent, but she has a low charisma despite her good looks. Mainly because she doesn't tell little white social lies. If you show her an ugly baby, she says 'Oh my, what an ugly baby', not 'Oh how cute'.
In summary:
"Nothing goes over my head. My reflexes are too fast. i would catch it."
As in: complete honesty and an inability to understand common turns of phrase, metaphors, and euphemisms.
"But her father is dead. How could he buy a farm? Did he turn into a zombie?"
Why on Earth would you play a race team stats total -2?
As stated, they are immune to a lot of junk. They are basically tanks. The penalties are to mental stats, and the wisdom penalty is the only one that you feel too much (can be covered fairly easily).
My favorite way to play low charisma is so upbeat that you're obnoxious. Doesn't seem that would work for war forged, but it's something to consider
I don't know.
People pretend we should play stats.
How do you play a 6 DEX Character? Usually you don't play one.
INT 8? You just don't make elaborate plans, after all INT 8 is not that bad.
STR 7? You don't need to roleplay that, it's already incorporated in your carrying capacity, and usually a luck d20 can offset it while swimming or climbing, if not spells.
You can't rolepay a 20 INT, it's impossible, unless you're a real genius.
18–19 Genius-level intelligence, may invent new processes or uses for knowledge
I'm kinda against having personality traits just because you have CHA 7-8. I think those things matters when you roll, when you try to talk your way out of something.
If you make a CHA 8 someone who's extremely blunt, even if you have ranks in diplomacy, you're somehow gimping your face to face interactions just because you have an 8 in CHA, which imo makes no sense.
You present an argument, you roll Diplomacy, Bluff, Intimidate, and that's it.
Why would a Wizard with CHA 7 be insensitive to someone's pain if he's having a Diplomacy modifier of +10 (with ranks)? It makes no sense.
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Well, what comes to my mind is this:
Objects have the lowest CHA. They have none. (OK.. technically, 0 is the lowest but you know what I mean).
Low Charisma doesn't mean annoying/awful personality, it means no personality.
Have your Warforged be slightly robot like. He doesn't speak unless spoken to, he doesn't have opinions - just facts. That kind of thing.
Basically, be bland.
Of course, that might not be that much fun, so maybe be 'bland' but in a way that makes the rest of the group laugh. Maybe be the straight man to all the jokes, or be obtuse about social norms.. that kind of thing.
The biggest thing about low CHA is, in my opinion, is that you aren't the centre of attention, you're not in the spotlight. You are the one that everyone ignores when the high CHA person is in the room.
A bad personality can still be a strong personality and that is what Charisma is; the measure of your personality's strength.
A necroed thread. This one had its last reply almost 6 years ago until yesterday.
ah damn. I had missed it since the thread recontinued for so long without anyone mentioning it. I usually assume most people have similar thoughts to me and avoid threads that are this dead before the necro.
Low charisma but high wisdom/intellect is pretty fun.
Talk about the finer details of the history of the area while picking your nose.
Have a successful survival check wherein you walk through mud, uncaringly smearing it across your face to wipe the sweat off your brow.
Know exactly how much a relic is worth but haggle with the shop keep by autistically saying "gimme gimme gimme".
'Greet' everyone by clearly your throat wetly and telling them what you want.
For more ideas watch this History Of Manners video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCTzbc76WXY
This thread, is soooo dead. But, might as well knock ourselves out.
Charisma measures a character's personality, personal magnetism, ability to lead, and appearance. It is the most important ability for paladins, sorcerers, and bards. It is also important for clerics, since it affects their ability to channel energy. For undead creatures, Charisma is a measure of their unnatural "lifeforce." Every creature has a Charisma score. A character with a Charisma score of 0 is not able to exert himself in any way and is unconscious.
So, a boring or lack of personality, someone really uninspiring, and overall an unimpressive appearance. Not very good at exerting themself. Pretty much all the criteria you need to hit.
Just talk on and on and on and on... You get the drift.
I've also heard interesting ideas for a lesser "lifeforce", e.g. depressed, low self-esteem, low perseverance, etc.
Charisma seems to be your personality in general.
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I don't know.
People pretend we should play stats.
How do you play a 6 DEX Character? Usually you don't play one.
INT 8? You just don't make elaborate plans, after all INT 8 is not that bad.
STR 7? You don't need to roleplay that, it's already incorporated in your carrying capacity, and usually a luck d20 can offset it while swimming or climbing, if not spells.You can't rolepay a 20 INT, it's impossible, unless you're a real genius.
18–19 Genius-level intelligence, may invent new processes or uses for knowledge
I'm kinda against having personality traits just because you have CHA 7-8. I think those things matters when you roll, when you try to talk your way out of something.
If you make a CHA 8 someone who's extremely blunt, even if you have ranks in diplomacy, you're somehow gimping your face to face interactions just because you have an 8 in CHA, which imo makes no sense.You present an argument, you roll Diplomacy, Bluff, Intimidate, and that's it.
Why would a Wizard with CHA 7 be insensitive to someone's pain if he's having a Diplomacy modifier of +10 (with ranks)? It makes no sense.
Well the Wizard could just be a Socipath.
Rolls are luck, so if you have an 8 CHA you might have a moment of insight occasionally or just happen to say the right thing. Kind've like Forrest Gump. If you actually have ranks in the skill that means that you are good at influencing people, but not naturally so. You might use strained vocabulary or show a much more visible effort than some nonchalant bard. I like to make the argument after I roll. So if I roll low I might accidentally say the wrong thing and be too impersonal or whatnot. Just some ideas.
For Physical stats (just for fun) I figure STR can be used to inform your muscular build and overall 'stoutness'. Dexterity could just be how quickly you move and low DEX probably means rather clumsy. CON is just how healthy you are I figure. Things like your posture and whatnot.