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I have a Tiefling Paladin of Abadar in my current game. I am a Sacred Servant with the Travel domain and I also took an Oath of Vengeance. The issue complicating how I play this character is my REALLY low intelligence score of a 5. I have a 12 wisdom and an 18 charisma with max ranks in diplomacy. Any ideas on how to role play these mental attributes?
Well, you certainly shouldn't play it as a genious... That being said, I'd steer away from roleplaying that would put your party in more problems then needed or cause conflict in the party. So I would say the arrogant jock type is out.
Perhaps he can't read, he can't handle more than basic math if that. I mean, technically, 5 would probably be somewhere in the mentally handicapped area. Perhaps you play it like that. He may be mentally handicapped, but he's usually very lovable (at least from those that know him and aren't evil), knows about the good things in life, etc...
On the other hand, if you don't feel comfortable with that, you could go with what troll said. :)
Mama always said, stupid is as stupid does...
ninja'd!...
life is like a box of chocolates...
Study Father Dougal Mcguire on the old show "Father Ted".
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I have a Nagaji Paladin in PFS with 5 Int. She knows she isn't the sharpest tool in the arsenal, can't maths and can very barely read, but understands situations well enough to know when to keep her mouth shut and when to act. The important thing is to let these attributes help define your actions.
One thing I often do, as this character, is to leave myself out of tactical discussions and ask others in character to explain things in very basic orders. Thinking outside the box (of chocolates) is near impossible for the character: my character's basic battle tactics are simple and goal oriented. Knock out badguys. Protect allies. Do X. Not looking to do anything fancy, simple and effective.
For low int diplomacy, I usually talk fairly tactlessly. If my team wants X, I simply ask the NPC for X; no fancy words or leading tangents. On the nose so hard it breaks.
If nothing else be sure that your idiot paladin struggles to differentiate things that are small from things that are far away.
Kudos for going there. I couldn't play a "nice" character with a five int, I'd have to be a feral full orc barbarian HULK SMASH type or it would quickly bore me. That or I'd need a smarter second character to lead the dumb character around with a leash talking down to him all the time.
This is a difficult challenge. Others have given some good advice and referenced Forrest Gump. If you go that route, consider also Gomer Pyle.
It may be a bit easier if you think of people you may have known with strong learning disabilities (you can have learning disabilities and still be quite intelligent/gifted in other ways, but as "intelligence" is such a broadly/loosely defined term in the game and in the real world, it takes in a lot of territory).
Avoid fancy language (or completely mangle the sense or sound of it when you try to use it). Since you've said you are maxed in Diplomacy, try to make it a Diplomacy based on simple friendly sincerity and courtesy (subtlety and perfect etiquette is probably not your thing). Be bad at remembering certain kinds of names (people and/or places). Consider taking a mild math phobia. Have friends help you figure out how much money you have (of course you know gold is worth more than silver and silver worth more than copper, but adding it all up is hard for you). Fail to realize how very much you don't know (although that can start to shade into Wisdom territory). Planning should not be your strong point, although with a high Wisdom you should be able to often point out flaws in others' plans.
With the alignment and stat combo you've described, if you do go this way don't aim for "stupid", try aiming for "simple" instead, in the most positive sense of the word. Your character might not be a very complicated person; what others see when they look at him or her is pretty much what they get, but what they see is pretty good.
The biggest problem I see with the approach above is the Oath of Vengeance part of the character. This would normally indicate a grim or dark character, perhaps even verging on anti-hero. The problem is that it is difficult to properly play "grim" with a low intelligence, as it generally implies a complicated inner life difficult to convey with limited mental abilities (which is not to say that grim characters are smarter, simply that it's harder to portray them as unintelligent without coming off as a simple thug). You could consider adapting certain parts of your persona from early period Rorschach (from the Watchmen) before his mental break. He wasn't the very sharpest tool in the shed either, and he believed some things that simply were not true that fit his Manichaean worldview, but he did manage to be grim.
Sounds like maybe Lenny from "Of Mice and Men". Simpleton who needs guidance and maybe you talk to your deity for that guidance.
"Tell me bout the rabbits, George.."