I have a question. My character will have a 16 WIS & a 5 CHA. What would be the best way to go about role playing this character?
Wisdom describes a character’s willpower, common sense,
awareness, and intuition.Charisma measures a character’s personality, personal
magnetism, ability to lead, and appearance.
Wisdom is pretty easy to understand. High wisdom = makes well-thought-out decisions and is strong-willed. Low wisdom = doesn't think things through and is weak-willed.
I usually look at Charisma as one's ability to carry one's self in public. So if your character has a low charisma score, he will probably trip over his words, stutter, speak in an odd manner (i.e. low-talker, close-talker, etc.). Appearance is also listed, so he may be generally ugly or have some sort of birth defect, scarring, or some other anomaly (i.e. if he has low DEX, perhaps he has a hunchback). I always assume characters with low CHA scores tend not to practice good personal hygiene, so perhaps your character doesn't bath very often, has long unkempt hair (and facial hair if your PC is male), and/or doesn't trim his nails.
Meanwhile, a PC with a high CHA score would likely be quite eloquent and attractive.
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He could also be painfully shy, with a soft voice who mumbles quietly when communicating, avoiding eye contact. Someone who is very much not comfortable asserting himself or his opinions in a group. Someone who actively avoids the spotlight. Someone who's a follower, not a leader.
The person could be very nice and personable, but only with people he knows, trusts, and is already comfortable with. (I.e. His friends and fellow adventurers).
Honestly, I don't allow my players to dump a stat below 8... And that's AFTER racial modifiers.
Could be someone that whil he has good idea, he wont share them out of shyness. Maybe he mumbles and people but people cant quite make out what he meant so hes often ignored. Maybe hes got the "I told you so" syndrome where he always had the solution but "no one would listen to him", even tough he never explained his solution in a way others would understand.
This is the guy who instantly reads everything worthwhile about a person. The slightest fault in grooming, he notices. Every minor social error, he notices. Everytime someone makes a little white lie, he notices. And, of course, while he's in tune enough not to mention it, YOU CAN ALWAYS TELL. Everyone feels scrutinized, studied and questioned around him. Major creepness.
Charisma 5 does not mean he's nice. That could be at 7-8. 3 is the absolute worst possible for a human. I.e. at any scale relating to charisma, he is at rock bottom. He stinks, offends people (though a high wisdom character would not do so knowingly), is horrifically ugly and so on. 5 would mean a little let up from that in some scales. A little.
Sherlock Holmes ( any version really) / Dr. House (based on Holmes) type characters are perfect high wisdom- low charisma personalities.
Why not try= not dumping CHA?
No, Grizzly, remember CHA is also force of personality.
Low CHA is The Spleen. A 5 is the guy villagers throw rocks at. He's the antithesis of cool and heroic. No hero has a 5 in CHA, because he'd never become a adventurer or hero to start with.
Why not try= not dumping CHA?
No, Grizzly, remember CHA is also force of personality.
Low CHA is The Spleen. A 5 is the guy villagers throw rocks at. He's the antithesis of cool and heroic. No hero has a 5 in CHA, because he'd never become a adventurer or hero to start with.
I know its also how the personality is presented. Was just referring to the high wis low cha type.
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Why not try= not dumping CHA?
No, Grizzly, remember CHA is also force of personality.
Low CHA is The Spleen. A 5 is the guy villagers throw rocks at. He's the antithesis of cool and heroic. No hero has a 5 in CHA, because he'd never become a adventurer or hero to start with.
Oh, the villagers throwing rocks huh?
One of those that nearly throws a fit at any score below 10?
I see it as a roleplay opportunity, but you see it as what?
Blasphemy?
Some of like playing out low scores.
Heroes don't have low charisma?
Ask Mr.Fantastic. That guy has no people skills, whatsoever.
Someone who gives very good advice in an obnoxious way.
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Well, we are discussing a 5 Charisma, but if you are referencing my post, then it can be explained.
Badra, my Duergar Heretic Inquisitor with the Heresy Inquisition who has a 25 Wisdom and 3 Charisma has been a fun challenge to roleplay.
Basically, outward she has no personality, no range of emotion in her voice and nonverbal communication. Stone-faced, and cold in demeanor.
It is careful observation, and rigorous training, that has allowed her to weave the greatest of lies, and strike fear into those that oppose her.
Why not try= not dumping CHA?
No, Grizzly, remember CHA is also force of personality.
Low CHA is The Spleen. A 5 is the guy villagers throw rocks at. He's the antithesis of cool and heroic. No hero has a 5 in CHA, because he'd never become a adventurer or hero to start with.
Oh, the villagers throwing rocks huh?
One of those that nearly throws a fit at any score below 10?
I see it as a roleplay opportunity, but you see it as what?
Blasphemy?
Some of like playing out low scores.
Heroes don't have low charisma?
Ask Mr.Fantastic. That guy has no people skills, whatsoever.
Mr Fantastic has leadership and force of personality.
Lowest NPC in Golarion has a 8, unless racial modifiers.
Sure, a occ mildly low stat can be fun. Not crippling, just because the game has few penalties.
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This is the guy who instantly reads everything worthwhile about a person. The slightest fault in grooming, he notices. Every minor social error, he notices. Everytime someone makes a little white lie, he notices. And, of course, while he's in tune enough not to mention it, YOU CAN ALWAYS TELL. Everyone feels scrutinized, studied and questioned around him. Major creepness.
That's a neat idea.
You could play this a couple ways depending on Int, trained skills, and other abilities. For example, if the Int is also fairly high an annoying know-it-all would definitely make sense. If the Int is middling it's harder to justify an obnoxious genius because most of those character types (House, some versions of Holmes) tend to have a combination of high Wis and Int. And the above description of making everyone feel scrutinized makes more sense if the character is actually trained in Sense Motive and/or Perception.
Stubbornness might also be a trait - due to his/her strength of will this character refuses to compromise in situations where that might be socially expected - especially if he/she knows the other party is being foolish.
Tell us a bit more about the character and we might be able to give more useful suggestions.
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The Witch from Into the Woods... "I'm not good, I'm not nice, I'm just right."
~~~
On a more realistic note, I see high wisdom/low charisma a slight bit differently than others here.
Intelligence- is cleverness, observation, quick-wittedness, invention. Holmes and House and Howard Hughes. (HH would be a fantastic example of high-int/low cha, at least in later life.)
Wisdom- to me, seems more like; seeing the big picture, how it all fits together, the law of unintended consequences, cause and effect to the 7th generation.
A real-life example might be someone like Ralph Nader who crusaded for seatbelts and against tobacco and for the environment and for election freedom. His opponents invested millions on digging up dirt on him, and they couldn't find a single immoral thing he'd ever done. In the long term (from my perspective) he was always *right,* but he had difficulty conveying his ideas in a way that other people could understand and appreciate. He also never, ever compromised on his values, even when "holding strong" helped his opponents more than his allies.
Please, I don't wanna start a flame thing about agreeing or disagreeing with Ralph. I'm just using him as an example of someone who has vision about deep and wide and far-reaching consequences, and is personally true to his ethics (consequences be damned), but is not generally liked.
A robot. Very cold, and logical...so also a Vulcan like character. Come off as high and mighty, no empathy.
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Someone who is super observant, and who knows people and their motivations better than they know themselves, but is an annoying jerk?
Meet Dr. Gregory House, M.D.
Considering the number of women I know who would gleefully leave their husbands for House --- not Hugh Laurie, House --- I have to disagree with the low CHA.
He's clever, quick witted, well-spoken and only unpleasant because he wants to annoy others. He is able to immediately glean their insecurities and push their buttons in precisely the right way. A low CHA character wouldn't anger other people so---he'd just make a fool of himself.
I know it's a Love-It or Hate-It show, but Rajesh on Big Bang Theory is a great low CHA character. He's completely mute around women, and so blase otherwise there are several jokes about characters forgetting he's around or a part of the conversation, and even when he is able to overcome those limitations with alcohol instead of transforming into a smooth talker, he is generally portrayed as an obnoxious drunk incapable of saying the right thing.
If you've read some DragonLance books, Raistlin Majere seems to come to mind. He's snarky, obnoxious to most people, and will tell people exactly what he thinks of them (Low CHA). Not to mention that he's described as being visually unsettling. However, he is a brilliant mage and often knows exactly what is happening before most of his party (High INT/WIS).
Thank you all for all of the suggestions. I, also am playing a dwarven inquisitor with the heresy inquisition, as Blackbloodtroll had mentioned previously.
We have a 15 point buy, so while I would love to have a higher charisma. When you're limited in what you can buy for stats. You do what you have to do. So my stats are this, str 16, dex 12, con 14, int 10, wis 16, & 5 cha.
My character will be involved in a pirate themed campaign. I'm still trying to figure out how I can roleplay the heresy inquisition part as well. Any advice on that is certainly welcome as well.
Thanks again!
I was actually thinking about becoming an Intimidation King. That's what led me to my choice of the Heresy Inquisition. This allows me to use my WIS score to make Intimidation & Bluff checks.
I do like the idea of House or Sherlock Holmes, a wise a** with no personality.
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I still like the idea of a Alia Atreides PC, using "the Voice" to intimidate.
Seriously, she basically had no time to fully develop her own personality.
Her genetic memory gave her the experiences and egos of generations of female ancestors, since the womb.
Undefined emotions, with underdeveloped personality, and a voice that commands that others belief, and obey.
It worked for me as a basis.
When the people you are nice to prefer the company of a gelatinous cube to being with you, you may have overdone it.
Don't stats represent what the makeup of your character represents? Str = how strong you are, Dex = how mobile you are, Con is how sturdy you are & so on.
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I have always seen Charisma as one's force of personality and sense of self. It's not just about how one carries oneself superficially. Charisma is a lot deeper than that: it's a reflection of the character's sense of self and individuality.
A high Charisma means that the individual can affect the world around him to his personal advantage. It could be a trusting sense of self-assuredness; personal magnetism; serene calm and a blinding smile; gregarous extraversion; etc.
A low Charisma indicates that the character has a hard time asserting himself. It could mean a speech impediment or stutter; painful shyness; low self-esteem (or even self-loathing).
You can play low Charisma as a blissful unawareness of a negative personality trait-- such as steamrollering others in conversation; no sense of tact; poor personal hygene. But these latter ways to play it are more superficial than what Charisma truly represents: A low Charisma means a lack of sense of self, and a tendency to let others make decisions for you.
In other words, a low-Charisma character is more likely to be a doormat who shuns the spotlight rather than a smelly obnoxious rube who picks his nose in public.
Of course, the latter is more fun to play!
I think being fantastically ugly like some posts suggest is still a high charisma, because people notice and pay attention to you. Plenty of magnetic people have been ugly.
I'm gonna echo the other camps
Low Cha is being socially invisible from shyness/apathy, or being a jerk, whether you're aware of it or not.
For brilliant observational skills and zero tact, try BBC Sherlock :
He's trying to be helpful here (He's just said her new boyfriend is gay)
You don't. Your raw stats are not your character. If anything on your sheet can be said to be your character it's your skill bonuses.
Charisma and Wisdom are used and described in contradictory ways. Their descriptions are clearly flawed and the common concept of what charisma in particular means is actually described by your total skill modifiers.
Don't look at the stats, look at what your character can do. Your character is relatively observant and good at judging people (or possibly very good if he's put skill points in). Your character is not very convincing, but might be average if he's put skills in and they're class skills. If you use skill ranks to offset your poor charisma it no longer represents poor social skills. It represents that you'd make a lousy spontaneous arcane caster, oracle, or paladin.
This. With the exception of Strength, all of the attributes are aggregated amalgamations of multiple abstract, undefinable, and unquantifiable concepts. There are zero rules for RPing your stats (because RP and mechanics are separate concepts).
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int 10, wis 16, & 5 cha... intersting.
Intelligence (Int)
Intelligence determines how well your character learns and reasons.
Wisdom (Wis)
Wisdom describes a character's willpower, common sense, awareness, and intuition.
Charisma (Cha)
Charisma measures a character's personality, personal magnetism, ability to lead, and appearance.
A general overview of this character:
He is your average learning and reasoning person. He is extremely intuitive, perceptive, and sensible. In social settings, he struggles to capture the attention of others, and is commonly overlooked or under-appreciated.
Traits:
Perceptive
Intuitive
Understanding
Realistic
Awkward
Unimportant
Lonely
Unattractive
Interpretations:
1. An undervalued assistant type character, like Soren from Fire Emblem. Someone who is only ever listened to by someone who understands his value, or when someone with authority demands it. Since he struggles to make friends and build relationships with just anyone, he clings to those who know his worth, whether they use him for his abilities or truly appreciate him as a person. An excellent adviser to a King or some other strong leader. A loyal and life-long friend and ally.
2. An eccentric, socially extroverted, but knowingly undervalued individual. Constantly considering "what if" for past, present, and future events. He is someone who has clear goals set out in mind, and works hardly to achieve them, but struggles when it comes to working with others. Is painfully aware of his inability to lead, which is extremely frustrating, and too much of an individual to be led. He is valued for his strong will, and sometimes becomes a leader because of his sheer determination, but only for a short time. His friend and confidant is another high wisdom character who understands him.
3. An over-critical coward. Someone who thinks he knows everything about everyone else, but struggles to show any self-understanding. Is quick to analyze and interpret the behavior of others, but will socially justify any of his own shortcomings. His feelings are hurt when he gets a taste of his own medicine, but he is able to get over grudges on his own. Painfully aware of his own weaknesses, he seeks to displace his self-loathing on other people. His harsh personality is only ever curbed by a group who doesn't put up with his crap, some kind of selfless behavior for a higher cause, or perhaps a love interest who brings out a softer, more sensitive side of him.
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I normally associate charisma with assertiveness. The low charisma characters I played have generally made quiet suggestions and don't have the force of personality to push them through in a group. The higher charisma characters will push through their ideas even if they aren't the best... They fade in crowds and struggle in company. They don't fare well in the limelight. If you have a high wisdom you will probably realise your limitations and may find ways of dealing with this, typically befriending a higher charisma character that has the sense to listen to you and help you out in those situations...
Harsk the dwarf ranger icon has a charisma 6 and wisdom 14. "Yet few
dare to mock him for his choices, for if there’s anywhere that Harsk is dwarven, it is in his gruff and off-putting attitude... His companions value his skill at combat even if they’re somewhat afraid of him."
A lot of the combat based icons only have 8 charisma.
Most combat orientated dwarf NPC's will have a charisma of 6 and a wisdom of 12. So you could say you have an exaggerated typical dwarven personality.
He could also be painfully shy, with a soft voice who mumbles quietly when communicating, avoiding eye contact. Someone who is very much not comfortable asserting himself or his opinions in a group. Someone who actively avoids the spotlight. Someone who's a follower, not a leader.
This is exactly the high-WIS, low-CHA druid I'm currently playing. The joke is that you can tell if he likes you because he's staring at YOUR shoes instead of his own.