Warning post about optimisation incoming
Advocating for WIS as a dumb stat
Hey tavern patrons,
doesn’t it suck when you have to put an 8 in one of your stats when making a character? Well, i tell you your choice should be WIS (unless you really need it for your class of course).
Why is this?
When you have a -1 to a stat your chances for the results are
6- : 58%
7-9 : 34%
10+ : 8%to have that result
(thanks Michael Prescott)
So you will fail a lot but at least every third roll will be a 7-9. Your question though is, where can i live best with getting a 7-9 “at best”
So lets have a look at the other options.
STR
If your HP suck this isn’t a bad option either, really encourages you not to get into trouble where you can be punched. But a -1 STR modifier really hurt the amount of stuff you can carry. A 7-9 on Hack&Slash also is dangerous. Not enticing.
CON
Dangerous as your HP will be really low. Rolling a 6- is always dicy and really low hitpoints don’t help either. This in general hurts you whole character
DEX
Most often used to dodge things. Now for sure there are other ways to deal with attacks or problems then dodging them but that is what most people default to i found. And a 7-9 on a defy danger isn’t that much fun either. Worse outcome anyone?
WIS
When you roll a 7-9 you still get 1 question. That is good. Most often this is what you need as i said. Also Discern Realities is easy to trigger often, netting you XP.
INT
I don’t really like getting a 7-9 on spout lore. Getting something interesting on the topic can be quite useless for a while. False information to act on is fun though. Still, being bad at Spout Lore hinders your ability to add to the game world. Spamming Spout Lore however is a bit more distracting to everyone at the table, especially with so low chances of getting 100% useful information.
CHA
Can work as the 7-9 option on a parley is the most fun story-wise. So a bit better chances to get to a 7-9 here are fun. I usually try to have a +1 in CHA and use parley a lot.
What do you think?
Do you have a stat you like to have low?
It may also depend on your GM. I like to create custom moves and some of these could involve WIS. Also, when someone gets charmed or controlled, they may have to Defy Danger using WIS to get rid of it. Something to consider.
That said, under the normal character creation system, you have an 8 no matter what you do, so if you don’t think WIS is important to your character, I guess you might as well put it there.
I can relay that, in a recent game, 3 of the 5 characters created put an 8 in their WIS. Could be totally anecdotal, but there it is.
I usually tie WIS to anything perception or willpower related. Something trying to charm you? Roll Defy Danger + WIS. Seeing if that assassin gets the drop on you? Roll Defy Danger + WIS.
Also, at level 2 you can get rid of the -1 if you put your first stat increase into your low stat and its not really an issue anymore at that point.
Seeing something is discern though. Defy with WIS is mental fortitude as per the move.
Yes, Discern, my apologies. It is not Defy Danger, I got carried away with my typing. Still, Discern is good to have if you don’t want to end up with something sneaking up on you. I do think it is an odd move for something sneaking up on you in some ways though.
How do you usually do an ambush situation? Just ask for them to roll Discern and then if they make it they just assume they should ask “What is about to happen?” That is sort of how we handle it currently. Just curious what your thoughts are.
Either way, it is roll plus wisdom, correct?
Actually, wisdom should be used as Defy Danger for something that occurs far more often than charm– it is the stat used to resist Fear. If the DM sees people tanking their Wisdom stats, use of stealthy enemies and enemies that cause fear would quickly make the PCs regret this decision. Nothing frustrates a player more than their character not being able to attack because they are trembling too much.
Nope it is not andrew ferris. The ignore fear thing was really an oversight here an is important.
When there is an ambush either set it up with a soft move beforehand or just spring it on them. They are not really entitled to be able to defend against that, especially if they didn’t mention being extra careful or looking out for stuff, basically handing you are golden opportunity. There was talk about ambushes recently. Just search the community for it.
Acting in the last minute before the ambush hits you is DEX though. Acting fast.
Also its hard to ignore Take Watch and Undertake a Perilous Journey. I find myself trying to put a 13 in Wisdom if it isn’t my main stat already. Now INT I can do without, but I think an argument can be made for each stat depending on the class of the character in question.
argh…
I tend not to min-max my stats at all but just align them with my intended role-playing. So I honestly don’t care if I have a low stat. It’s up to me (as a character) not to do things I suck at. 😉
however thinking about it. Being really afraid of things that are scary is not the dumbest idea. As long as your fear involves running away and not being stunned by it i mean.
Along those lines, you could make a case that “adventuring” is an inherently low-wisdom line of work.
Brian Bloom Agreed, I just let it suit the character. Admittedly, due to how playbooks work this generally means that the stats suit the class as well. (Can I add that systems where min-maxing and roleplaying complement each other get an A+ in my book?)
That said, I seem to generally end up with a -1 DEX. This makes dodging things dangerous, but ultimately it’s up to you to say how your character is going to deal with a given danger. The GM is meant to ask “What do you do?” not tell you “Roll Defy Danger +DEX” sight unseen and question unasked.
That said, failures are often just as memorable as successes, if not more so. If I were going to specifically choose a dump stat, I would probably pick one where the bad consequences are “most interesting/hilarious” rather than “least harmful.” But that’s just me, it’s definitely a playstyle thing.
Related point: my GM recently gave my slow and hulking Barbarian an arm-mounted crossbow. Much fun has been had, though no shots have yet landed… at least not where they were intended to. 😉