Roughly how smart is A Human Magic User with A Int of 18 and A Wis of 3

marshalljames1
edited March 2023 in General Discussion

A few minutes ago I was bored enough to create A 1st edition Dnd character and when generating his stats I rolled A triple 6 for Int but I also rolled A triple 1 for his Wis. Naturally I made him A Magic User

So can someone please tell me roughly how smart is A Human Magic User that has the maximum Int of 18 that also has the minimum Wis of 3?

Post edited by marshalljames1 on

Comments

  • ElMuggs
    ElMuggs
    Posts: 61

    I like the Tomato analogy for explaining statistics:


    • 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.

    According to https://dumpstatadventures.com/blog/quick-dive-how-to-read-the-1st-edition-stat-block Intelligence stats are read as follows:

    0 Non-intelligent

    1 Animal intelligence

    2-4 Semi-intelligent

    5-7 Low intelligence

    8-10 Average (human) intelligence

    11-12 Very intelligent

    13-14 Highly intelligent

    15-16 Exceptionally intelligent

    17-18 Genius

    19-20 Supra-genius

    21+ Godlike intelligence

    So the second thing is to look at what abilities are tied to Intelligence in 5th edition INT is tied to arcane magic, history, nature, investigation and religion. 

    It's the core skill of Wizards, Artificers and a key skill for Rogues.

    Wisdom however is tied to druid and clerics and is key for Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Perception and Survival

    So this is more about 'applied learning' - and how well you are at understanding people/animals and the world around you. 

    So your character may be a genius IQ, but is likely to be extremely sheltered - for example they may have grown up in a castle and never been beyond the palace gates... 

    OR Maybe they grew up afraid of the wilds and have never ventured beyond the city?

    OR Maybe they grew up in a entirely different culture - or even on a different plane of existence?

    or (my fave) maybe they think their genius IQ makes them a 'expert at everything!' because they lack the wisdom to understand their limitations...and their character arc is to learn humility. 

    I actually love a chance to 'dump' one of these two stats as it can lead to hilarious situations - like my 'Genius Wizard who didn't belive Sheep are real, and went around poking them with a stick assuming they were goblins in disguise. 

     

     

    DM of The Domains of Dread Council Meeting (...a Comedic Misadventure though the mists of a re-imagined Ravenloft! ) - COTM Feb 2023! 

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