Kobold Think Tank
Tabletop RPG advice for little dragons

Mental Stats Compared in DnD 5e

by Brandon Gregory

Illustration of a woman in monk's robes intently studying a book

Dungeons and Dragons 5e gives you three mental stats: Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Picking which one of these you want to invest in can have a lot of impact on your character, not only in the skills they’re good at but also from a roleplaying perspective.

Contents
  1. Intelligence
    1. High Intelligence, Low Wisdom
    2. High Intelligence, Low Charisma
  2. Wisdom
    1. High Wisdom, Low Intelligence
    2. High Wisdom, Low Charisma
  3. Charisma
    1. High Charisma, Low Intelligence
    2. High Charisma, Low Wisdom
  4. Do Stats Limit What My Character Can Do?
  5. Are Any of These Better Than the Others?

Intelligence

Intelligence is the classic “book smarts.” Anyone can be educated, but an intelligent character will remember things years or decades later and logically put things together much more efficiently than other characters. It’s a required stat for scholars, but tacticians, military commanders, and investigators also have high Intelligence.

Intelligence skills include general knowledge topics like Arcana, History, Investigation, Nature, and Religion. Good rolls will allow you to ask the DM what your character knows about certain things in the world—for instance, hearing a nobleman’s name might mean little to most characters, but a good History roll would tell you that this nobleman has been publicly challenging the king and buffing up his military force lately. Investigation is the odd one of the bunch and involves looking for clues and searching for things.

A high-Intelligence character is accustomed to focusing on studies and investigations without getting distracted. They’re the kind of people you might have to pull away from books when a high-stakes question needs an answer. They like to plan and usually have a backup plan in case things fail. They’re also typically well-read and can easily relate one subject to another they’ve read about. Intelligent characters also hate being understimulated and will seek out interesting or challenging things to learn—although they may get frustrated with research tasks if they consider the subject matter dull or banal.

Low-Intelligence characters may be easily bored or distracted from mental tasks (even ones they’re interested in) and may be slow to put together clues, even if the player is good at those things. They’re not necessarily poorly educated but may have trouble recalling things they remember from school. They often prefer physical or improvisational solutions to problems rather than extensive planning.

Classes likely to have a high Intelligence include:

High-Intelligence characters in pop culture include:

High Intelligence, Low Wisdom

A character with high Intelligence and low Wisdom will be brilliant but lacking in awareness. They may become so absorbed in the problems they’re solving that they don’t notice what’s happening around them or so locked into a plan that they don’t realize when they have to improvise because things have gone wrong. They may also show naivete when dealing with real-life situations instead of academics or books.

These characters sometimes lack common sense, but they can just as easily be intelligent characters who just get lost in thought. A great example of the latter is Mordin Solus from the Mass Effect series. When he starts theorizing, he completely ignores everything around him and often needs to be pulled out of his thoughts back into the present. When confronted with a complex moral quandary, he takes a purely logical route and acts surprised when his colleague takes a more practical approach. Part of his growth is realizing that logic isn’t everything and some of the hard logical conclusions he arrived at may need to be re-examined.

Another angle would be a smart character that lacks self-awareness—someone who believes that their intelligence will win out in all circumstances and believes that a high-Wisdom character will fail to thwart their superior intellect. Characters like this have an ego problem, which gives an easy hook to character development and flaws.

A great example of this archetype would be Peridot from Steven Universe. She’s one of the most intelligent characters on the show, but her downfall is her lack of common sense and self-awareness. She assumes her plans will work out because she’s smarter than others and is surprised when others don’t behave as she expects. When she has a thought that isn’t logical, she often has trouble expressing it and scrambles to find logical-sounding reasons for what she is saying, even if they’re false.

High Intelligence, Low Charisma

A character with high Intelligence and low Charisma will be a classic brainy character who’s not good in social situations. Depending on their level of self-awareness surrounding this, it can manifest in a few ways.

If a character is only vaguely aware of their low Charisma (or is blissfully unaware), this can look like a socially awkward character who says things they shouldn’t. They’re smart enough to realize that they frequently say the wrong thing but usually don’t know until they see other people react.

A great example of this type of character is Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She excitedly talks about what interests her, but if it’s not well received, there’s an embarrassed resignation, as if to say, “Oh no, not again.” She’s also fallen prey to more charismatic predators who have used her social ineptitude to lure her into danger.

If a character is somewhat aware of their low Charisma, you’ll have a smart character who knows to keep to themselves and only speaks up when they have something vital to what’s going on. This frequently manifests as anger against less intelligent people, particularly if one of their warnings has been ignored. This is often played for comedy, but this could easily be a serious character.

An example of this character type would be Dr. House from the TV series House. His deduction skills are amazing, but people often don’t want to listen to him because of his abrasive personality. He’s in a position where he’s the expert, but I imagine he had troubles earlier in his career before he gained prominence.

Wisdom

Wisdom is more of a “street smarts” compared to Intelligence and most often measures intuition and awareness. This includes general awareness of surroundings, awareness of how other people act and react, awareness of a patient’s health, and self-awareness. Characters that spend a lot of time in self-reflection are usually high-Wisdom characters, but rugged outdoors types and streetwise rogues or ruffians often have a high Wisdom stat.

Wisdom stats include Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Perception, and Survival. Insight is a skill for reading others and gauging their intentions, and Animal Handling is like people skills for animals. Perception and Survival are scouting skills. Medicine is an odd fit, but it’s still technically a Wisdom skill.

A high-Wisdom character is aware of their surroundings and recognizes danger or subtle changes in a crowd. They’re often quick-thinking, preferring to use their well-developed intuition to improvise their way through things rather than rely on extensive planning. They’re very self-aware—if you ask them about their weaknesses, they know exactly what those weaknesses are, and they’ll be working to fix them. They’re also typically fond of parables and stories that tell life lessons, sometimes choosing to tell a story rather than answer a question.

Low-Wisdom characters can manifest in a few ways. They can lack awareness, frequently getting lost in their thoughts or distracted by small things in focus while ignoring things happening around them. It can also manifest as a lack of self-awareness or immaturity. Imagine a man so convinced he has no weaknesses that he finds ways to justify his mistakes or blame them on others.

Classes likely to have a high Wisdom stat include:

High-Wisdom characters from pop culture include:

High Wisdom, Low Intelligence

A high-Wisdom character with low Intelligence will struggle with academic or theoretical concepts but excel at thinking in the moment and doing the right thing when it matters, particularly in combat.

Sometimes this can stem from a lack of formal education or scholarly aptitude. This would be a perfect archetype for a Ranger: someone who couldn’t tell you historical facts or make brilliant deductions based on clues but knows how to put themselves at an advantage against a foe. For these characters, cleverness and ingenuity can foil a foe’s most carefully laid-out plans.

A great example of this is Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead. He’s less educated than most of the other characters, and I don’t know that many would describe him as smart, but he’s constantly able to outthink foes and lay traps for them due to his instincts and real-world experience. He couldn’t tell you the first thing about why zombies exist, but he knows well how to kill them.

A more extreme example would be a character who genuinely has trouble following established plans or complicated lines of thought but is a genius with battlefield tactics. Characters like this run hot and cold, at times being frustrating due to their tendency to act outside the plan, while at other times saving the day because they’re able to adapt to unexpected scenarios with surprising mental agility.

An example of this more extreme version would be Monkey D. Luffy from the anime One Piece. He is not only unlikely to follow a plan, but many times is simply unable to, being confused by complex plans and ignoring anything that requires critical thinking. But on the battlefield, his skill against opponents is unmatched. While he has trouble recognizing his intellectual weaknesses, he quickly picks up on his weaknesses in combat, and that becomes the driving force behind much of his character development.

High Wisdom, Low Charisma

Just because you’re quick-thinking doesn’t mean you’re well-liked. Characters with high Wisdom and low Charisma know they can get through difficult situations due to their cleverness, but struggle in social settings, particularly when getting people to listen to them.

Charisma is much more than charm, but sometimes a lack of charm is the best example. A gruff warrior who’s been through countless battles and knows how to protect themself may be dismissed initially because of a poor first impression or sometimes overshadowed by stronger personalities.

A great example of this type of character is Sandor Clegane, better known as The Hound in Game of Thrones. He’s strong, but far from the strongest on the show, and he regularly punches above his weight when dealing with a difficult foe. However, severe facial scarring led to ostracization throughout his life, so he never developed great social skills. He tends to shy away from social encounters but knows exactly what to do in a fight.

Sometimes low Charisma isn’t a problem for a character so much as it’s just not something they rely on. These characters aren’t great in social situations, but rather than let that be a handicap, they play to their strengths and focus on what they’re good at.

An example of this more nuanced type of character would be Rei from Star Wars. Rei is not winning any awards for her personality or social skills, but it hardly matters—people realize that she’s great at doing things her way and follow her because she gets results, not because she wins people over with charisma. In many ways, this is exactly how a high-Wisdom character would behave with this skill set.

Charisma

Charisma is a force of personality and an ability to convince others to do things. It’s often thought of as likeability, but that’s not necessarily true. Charismatic characters run the gamut from cunning and manipulative to charming and inspirational, and when they talk, people listen.

Charisma stats are entirely social and include Deception, Intimidation, Performance, and Persuasion. Most of these are used in conversation, but performance is a bit more. It involves showmanship, musical performances, convincing acting, and even riling up a crowd to stand against a noble’s tyranny.

A high-Charisma character will jump in quickly to handle disagreements and calm things down when people are riled up. They know how to make introductions and win favor, and are typically generous with the people around them (or, at least, the people they want to garner favor with). They’ll rarely get flustered in a social situation and often try to talk their way out of tense situations. It’s up in the air whether it’s better to be loved or feared, but high-Charisma characters will try for one of those.

Low-Charisma characters are generally bad at getting others to listen to what they have to say. This can sometimes mean they’re simply unlikeable, but it’s more likely that they’re pushovers whom others don’t listen to, or even invisible in most social situations.

Classes likely to have a high Charisma include:

High-Charisma characters from pop culture include:

High Charisma, Low Intelligence

A character with high Charisma and low Intelligence is your stereotypical jock. They’re confident, and that confidence shines through in everything they do, but thinking isn’t their strong suit.

Sometimes you can go for a straightforward approach to this combination. An example of this would be Steve Harris from Stranger Things. Steve is charming and popular and knows what he’s good at, but he’s also aware that he’s not as smart as his friends and defers to them in matters of intellectual thought. His friends occasionally poke fun at him for his less-than-intellectual approach to things, but he always comes through for his friends when they’re in danger.

Sometimes this type of character can be far from your stereotypical jock, however, being more of a loveable doofus that people like to be around and follow, even if they’re not the brightest. Characters like this are often the heart of their parties and get along very well with other party members and even enemies.

An example of this type of character is Hurley Reyes from Lost. Hurley was initially a smaller character in the show, but his popularity with fans and his ability to connect with any other character on the show made him one of the longest-lasting characters. At that time, he showed a fierce determination to accomplish his goals despite physical limitations, and he showed his ability to win people over, being one of the first outsiders to gain the trust of Benjamin Linus.

High Charisma, Low Wisdom

Characters with high Charisma and low Wisdom often seem dumb, but they can show surprising intelligence at times; what they lack is common sense. Many comedic characters fit this definition, though serious characters can fit this too.

The most classic example is Kronk from The Emperor’s New Groove. Though often oblivious, Kronk oozes charisma and confidence and is quick to befriend many that he comes across. Though he’s not dumb. He has a good vocabulary, speaks several languages (if you count Squirrel), and shows surprising mechanical aptitude. This dichotomy is mostly played for laughs, but it highlights what a character with high Charisma, medium Intelligence, and low Wisdom would look like.

Sometimes lower Wisdom isn’t necessarily a chronic condition, though, but instead a lack of worldly experience. Imagine a noble trained to be a great speaker and mediator who has never had an ordinary conversation with anyone outside the walls of their estate. This lack of street smarts might look like a lack of common sense, but it’s a lack of experience at its root.

A good example of this type of character would be Princess Jasmine from Disney’s Aladdin. (Note: I haven’t seen the live-action adaptation, so I’m talking about the animated version.) Jasmine is fiercely determined and very persuasive, showing her high Charisma, and she’s well-educated as well; what she lacks is real-world experience. On her first trip outside the palace, she steals food to feed a hungry kid, completely unaware that there would be consequences. Aladdin, himself a high-Wisdom character, knows what happens to people caught stealing.

Do Stats Limit What My Character Can Do?

Not necessarily. If you have a good plan as a player, a low-Intelligence character shouldn’t be banned from talking about it (unless you want to). The random nature of rolls also means that a low-Charisma character might roll higher than the bard on a persuasion check.

Low stats can be fun to roleplay, though. When creating my monk Sha’Ivae, I intentionally gave him a really low Charisma score (6), and it’s been fun roleplaying his hilariously incompetent attempts at persuasion. I highly suggest anyone, when creating a character, give thought not only to what they’re good at but also what they’re bad at. Those moments can be memorable.

Are Any of These Better Than Others?

From a roleplaying perspective, no—each has a good place in the game and can make for a fun character. Think about what you want to focus on as a player and go with that if your class allows some flexibility in build requirements. From a mechanical perspective, Wisdom skills are used slightly more frequently than Intelligence skills, although that’s not a reason to avoid one over the other. If you like jumping into conversations, Charisma can be very useful.

About the Author

Brandon Gregory

Photo of Brandon Gregory

Brandon Gregory is a web developer and writer in the Kansas City area. He's been playing TTRPGs since 2020 and is involved in the disability-related TTRPG podcast Tales from the Crips. He's into classic movies, mental health, and, of course, DnD. Also, he's in a band. One time, they rocked so hard it killed a man.