Character Development - wisdom beyond your years


Advice


I have a character who is a male human Druid/shapeshifter (for this campaign we're all human), and I wanted him ("Shepherd") to have the body of a young man but the wisdom and knowledge of someone hundreds of years older. I have had it suggested to me to play out the campaign as an alchemist of the mind, or just be patient with gaining wisdom as he levels up.

What are your thoughts? Any loopholes? Leave it up to the GM/group? Let me know!


what exactly are you talking about mechanically?


What level are you starting at? Could you perhaps play him as a serial reincarnater who happens to be human this time?


@Q: having the wisdom/knowledge of an 800-1000 year old without patiently gaining such. I originally wanted to be that, a 1,000 year old man in a 23 year old body but it was not permitted.
@H: we're all starting level one this time around. Too young?

Scarab Sages

Levels don't necessarily indicate age, you can start as a 80 year old level one character, but you take the physical penalties as well as the mental bonuses.

There's no way around this unfortunately as that would be ridiculously unbalanced.

Edit: Keep in mind that someone with an 18 in a stat is considered quite skilled in that stat.

Your typical NPC will have between a 9 and an 11 in most stats.

Therefore, an 18 or 20 in Wisdom would give your character Wisdom beyond his age, in theory. It depends on how you play him :)

The Exchange

A 13 in a stat is "quite skilled". An 18 is "super-human". Just sayin.

Sovereign Court

As long as your character has a decent wisdom score and invests in relevant skills, it should be pretty easy to RP him as being very wise.

Your druid could spend his hour of meditation each day "communing with the spirits of the ancients".

The great thing about fluff is how flexible it can be.

Dark Archive

It seems you are looking for a Samsaran. You can have born human, be very young and have the wisdom of 1.000-year lives.


ok, i don't think my question about mechanical benefits was really understood.
give your character a high WIS if that's what you want, call that 'wisdom of a 100 year old man'.
also have high INT and max knowledge skills. (along with sense motive if that's what you want)
there are probably several 100 year old people who have equivalent skill modifiers.
role play your character like they are mature beyond their years.
that's all possible within the rules.


if you are really trying to match mechanics to your idea of being wise beyond your years, consider the feat Breadth of Experience


There's also the druid archetype Reincarnated Druid.


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Or just have been reincarnated from elf, dwarf, gnome and take Breadth of Experience. You can fluff it out as you were already old and died or were killed and someone reincarnated you as a human.

Webstore Gninja Minion

Moved thread.

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