Do mental stats even matter?

[MissEvelyn]

As the title says, I feel that this is something that should be at the very least addressed, at most discussed.

Who actually plays their Wisdom 8 character as a Wisdom 8 character? I ask this because I see so many builds everywhere where min-maxing is encouraged, and yet I do not often see the mental stats being reflected in roleplay.

So my question is: Do mental ability scores really matter at all? Is it more than just a number that we put on our sheet in order to get that extra boost in another, more useful ability?

This is definitely a topic that can be sensitive to some, so let's keep this debate healthy and respectful.

[Cortex]

roleplaying 8 wis is easy for me because im not really capable of anything past that

[BegoneThoth]

Some classes need mental stats to cast spells

[Maladus]

A lot of it comes down to conflict RP and requirements for certain builds to accommodate for the power builds. You have a finite number of ability points to use when leveling up and there are stat requirements for certain feats that are almost necessary in many cases.

This is something that I feel like 5E did a lot to address because it's a lot more loose in the mechanical limitations placed on your character.

[Hunter548]

Given that you're asking this, the obvious response is "What do you, OP, think 8 wis looks like?"

[Nitro]

Let the DM's sort out if people are or are not judging their stats correctly, not like we can see eachothers character sheets to get all judgemental on whether they're playing their social stats (or lack thereof) appropriately.

[Baron Saturday]

The answer I generally come to, when I think about this, is that you just have to be a lot more flexible when it comes to the RP of mental stats - not just for low stats, but for high ones as well. Realistically, no-one is capable of actually RPing 40 Int/Wis/Cha. I'm not saying that I endorse 8 Wis/Cha WMs being great orators or cunning sages, but at the same time, the definition of what those stats actually MEAN is loose enough that you can reasonably play a character who is "average" with only 8 in a score.

[Dr_Hazard89]

I RP what is on my character sheet. It's part of the fun.

[MissEvelyn]

The answer I generally come to, when I think about this, is that you just have to be a lot more flexible when it comes to the RP of mental stats - not just for low stats, but for high ones as well. Realistically, no-one is capable of actually RPing 40 Int/Wis/Cha. I'm not saying that I endorse 8 Wis/Cha WMs being great orators or cunning sages, but at the same time, the definition of what those stats actually MEAN is loose enough that you can reasonably play a character who is "average" with only 8 in a score.

This is definitely a good point.

We may never be as intelligent as our 22 INT character might. How does someone RP a character with such a high mental stat?

Remember that this thread is not meant to 'judge' someone's roleplay. I'm merely very curious where the fine line between the 'perfect build' and RP'ing low mental stats is for people.

[Freyason]

I wish my dwarven slayer could be 6 wisdom tbh, it might be more accurate

[PinataPlethora]

We may never be as intelligent as our 22 INT character might. How does someone RP a character with such a high mental stat?

Don't try to actually play with a godlike mental stat, because you can't do that with your puny monkey brain. What you can do is play your character in a way that conveys the idea of what their stat level is.

For Intelligence, you can focus on study and lore, and the pursuit of knowledge.

For Wisdom, you can be a walking fortune cookie, like Amadeo, outwardly contemplate consequences, and be very patient and steady, not taking wild risks without careful planning.

For Charisma, be confident. Don't be afraid to express your opinions, and don't shy away from confrontation.

[WanderingPoet]

I tend to just not have any stat below 10, personally! That said, you can be good in some areas of a stat and weak in others. For example you could be quite wise but have little introspection, little awareness of the world around you or poor memory. Those all fit into wisdom and having an 8 wisdom doesn't mean you're weak in all areas, just below average as a whole.

For example my character Yeto who has 12 wisdom often gives very good advice, and has incredible memory but is not so great at introspection and has on more than one occasion asked where someone has gone that is literally meters away from them.

Charisma? You can be a greater speaker, good looking, likeable, a solid leader, etc - or you could be a couple of those if it is a dump stat. Maybe you're average looking, and generally easy to get along with but when it comes to public speaking you freeze up, can't handle confrontation, have issues with self confidence, etc.

Int is probably the easiest, partly as if you're dumping it then you're low on skills and probably trying to play a less intelligent character. But things like tactics and strategy, languages, the love of lore or learning, being able to figure out riddles or look at a medical/magical/engineering/etc problem and work through it without being an expert in that area are examples of intelligence. Why should your 10 int character that is an excellent tactician also excel at riddles and be able to offer a solution to a magical problem without any training?

TLDR: In essence, lots of little ways that you can be good at something in Int/Wis/Cha, but then bad a few others in others to 'balance' towards a less than average skill. Similarly can do the same with being average where you are great at a few things and bad at others to 'balance' towards that average point.

[flower]

Wis 8 char 8 int 14-6:
Smartass, tosses good ideas, often says right things (until here, int ability) but in the wrong moment in front of wrong persons (low Wis) leading to be overlooked / disliked by authorities (low char).

Easy.

8 charisma can be easily played out as:
Being too arrogant (a noble)
Not caring if you insult others
Breaking social order in way society does not like (thus not being overly charismatic peraon) and so on.

[Iceborn]

Despite the large and ever-growing section of the server that is worringly obsessed with building, you are meant to roleplay the stats of your characters, accordingly to your ability.

While in most cases this is something that I'm quite content to set aside (the character sheet is a reference for your character, but you shouldn't be checking it every 2 seconds to determine what can you play or not), I'm generally against minmaxing unless you actually plan to play that glorious 6-8 of charisma and wisdom that are so predominant.

[Cortex]

I'm generally against minmaxing unless you actually plan to play that glorious 6-8 of charisma and wisdom that are so predominant.

>Not RPing a big mean ugly sweaty horc WM

[BegoneThoth]

Despite the large and ever-growing section of the server that is worringly obsessed with building

What

[flower]

I'm generally against minmaxing unless you actually plan to play that glorious 6-8 of charisma and wisdom that are so predominant.

>Not RPing a big mean ugly sweaty horc WM

You aware low charisma can also mean person with little to no self confidence? So you could play horc able to squish a giant with axe but not believing in himself

[Cortex]

Also, but also or.

Don't think many would risk finding out.

[Twily]

There's a funny little joke I heard a while back that I really like.

D&D Stats Explained with Tomatoes.

Strength is being able to crush a tomato.
Dexterity is being able to dodge a tomato.
Constitution is being able to eat a bad tomato.
Intelligence is knowing a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is knowing not to put a tomato in a fruit salad.
Charisma is being able to sell a tomato based fruit salad.

How you roleplay it is up to you, but as the tomtato joke demonstrates, mental stats can easily go quite far beyond their outwards appearance.
Intelligence can mean ability to speak, but it can also be book smarts(how tomato is a fruit)
Wisdom can be intuition and insight(how bad tomato would be in a fruit salad), but can also be tied to how observative a character is.
Charisma can be physical appearance of a character, self-confidence, or how good of a leader they could be, but it can also be having the ability to sell a strange product that everyone knows would be bad.

Just because one has a low mental stat, doesn't mean they can't have one or two of the traits that a character with a very high stat would be expected to have.

That said, If you do have a low mental stat, you probably shouldn't have all of the positive traits associated with that stat, without any of the negative.

[Astral]

I guess when I look at my character sheet and think "how I play this" I can come up with so many variations and possibilities that there's no right answer most of the time. If I have 8 dex I will probably hint that the character moves with heavy steps or something, if I have 8 wisdom I will always consider the slightly less than optimal decision out of situations (which can be halerious or boring). And half of the time I'm not really sold with my own RP, so it drives me to improve the "how I play this" from character's decisions and knowledge perspective. The mechanics really take care of the rest.

[Baseili]

I take the character sheet as a guideline rather than a hard rule, mainly because of the gap between the highest and lowest a stat can go, and apply it in context to the character. For example, a weapon master might have 13 - 14 int but that doesnt mean they're as witty as say a rogue or as learned as a wizard. Instead they'd be quick to see flaws in stances or fighting style (e.g. using improved disarm, knockdown, expertise or whirlwind) because of that they might continuously size people up with a cold stare putting others off, representing low charisma.

On the other hand, a bard might show their charisma by being charming, or good looking/approachable where a sorcerer might do so by having a powerful presence (compare Merry and Pippin to Gandalf) but act brashly or without forethought, representing low wisdom etc.

[Queen Titania]

Does it matter? Yes. It's taken in account for RPB.

Is it difficult? No. It's not the most emphasized aspect of a high RPB either, typically that's just a fun and inclusive character spinning and helping other's spin narratives.

But those who RP character's weaknesses typically have richer characters than those who try to RP those who are relatively faultless. Your attributes make great shaping for flaws, be it a high attribute that gives them dangerously arrogant pride, or a low one that makes them jealous of others that have it in excess.

[BegoneThoth]

It's true. My characters usually have very low wisdom, and thus lack common sense. This is why they often foolishly run through dangerous dungeons.

[PinataPlethora]

This is why they often foolishly run through dangerous dungeons.

I'm serious guys. My 6 Wisdom and 6 Charisma completely support sprinting through dungeons for hours on end, wordlessly killing everything in sight. This is roleplay at its peak!

[MissEvelyn]

Such golden nuggets.

This is definitely one of the more tangible answers to this topic, and I've never thought of it this way. I like it. Just because someone has 8 Charisma doesn't mean they're a bum who has no social skills whatsoever. Or that they're ugly -- which is a pet peeve of that low CHA characters must always be ugly, but that's another discussion for another day

Does it matter? Yes. It's taken in account for RPB.

This may just be a simple reply, but I find it extremely helpful and delighting to know that the DMs take RP'ing stats seriously. That basically answers my question! =)

More golden nuggets.

I love the Tomato example. Replace it with literally anything your character comes by. An awkward situation. A stressful situation. And so on.
Definitely something I'll be taking into account when considering my character's mental stats whilst roleplaying them.