Roleplaying Charisma

[jan]

Acacea - 6/26/2006  5:32 PM

Yes, but this is a thread about how to -play- charisma; how can we talk about how people react to it, when often they don't even know it? I could attempt to completely take the foundation out from everything said in this thread by going, "I created a half giant with 6 charisma and he is the valiant leader in every group I've ever been in; people respect and admire him and he's the most handsome among them as well." And that wouldn't work too well.

The point was not "see, they do it anyway." That people respond to how a character is played is essentially the reason for the question, "How do I play this stat?"

For me charisma isnt a "stand alone "stat and therefore i dont play it as strickt as it could be played.
Rather i play my characters charisma as a combination of all his stats and try to show a rounded person that way.
For me that means playing his charisma as a combination of mostly his charisma,wisdom and intelligence stats combined.
That way i try to give an overall look at him as he would react to things around him and situations that he gets in.
He does get intimidated by those beautifull persons that are around,but at the same time his intelligence and wisdom help him to evaluate their words and actions.
I'm not to say its the right way to play it but in my oppinion it gives a realistic view on a character .


//Sorry acacea ...didnt mean to polute the thread  but couldnt resist the opportunity to tell how i view my char

[Acacea]

I edited my post because I didn't really think it came off right, and your response showed that it wasn't how I intended it, hehe.

I would agree on the not being a standalone stat; the more mental stats influence each other to some degree, in my opinion.

Such as a powerful, brilliant wizard, who also has at least a decent charisma, projecting the confidence in his studies and the brilliance of his mind. His power. Handsome or ugly is not really even in the equation for this example, it has no real bearing at all. You don't even need to get into how "likeable" his personality is. In this case it is more how well personal attributes (likely determined by the -other- stats) are projected outside himself.

Honestly not sure if I'm making any sense here, feel like I just woke up. Anyway.

Edit again-- Hah, didn't even see Pyyran posting as I did; pretty much that, yes. Assigning a number doesn't assign you a personality.

[Acacea]

I have reading problems at this hour of the morning so I feel like I have to read everything five times to get them to sink in.

Such as in this-- "Why? The Monk is insightful, and often enough can act as if he/she had a MUCH higher CHA score than he/she does."

Usually that is completely the other way around... a high CHA person appearing much more wise or intelligent than they really are. If a person IS either of those, how well that is projected is determined by their charisma. I would say that if a plan is so brilliant and self evident, then one wouldn't particularly need to do much persuading... As in, the wisdom of the plan speaks for itself.

Basically charisma seems like the one score you can't fake, because charisma is the stat you use to fake other stats. Heh.

[darkstorme]

To play the Pit Fiend's advocate in this case, making a choice for the number that's next to CHA is a part of deciding what your character's personality will be like.  A lower CHA can only partly be explained away by physical appearance/smell - part of it is also an inherent lack of charm.  So while a low CHA character might have a number of people who trust them, respect them, and would endanger themselves to protect them, this would only occur after these characters had stuck around the character long enough to learn his/her other virtues.

A low-CHA character is not going to stand up and say "Follow me, friends!  We fight for glory and honour today!".  Low CHA might manifest as crippling shyness.. or an ascerbic personality... or simple rudeness and general dishevelledness.  Nor will they actively seek out a leadership role unless they know it to be an absolute necessity. (And here, a high INT or WIS could take the place of CHA, since it would be that kind of individual who would know when to bite down and take the lead, despite their aversion towards the position.)

Kell's CHA (with the Tiefling penalty) is a 10.  He's average.  Therefore, I take pains to ensure that despite his deliberate good intentions and grace of speech (mother was a bard, INT 18), he's thoughtless and rude sometimes.  CHA isn't magical, it can't automatically open doors for you, it has to be RPed properly.. but simultaneously, RP cannot be allowed to overcome stats, or it's YOU that you're playing, not your character.  Great RP would be to convincingly portray a loser/loner/misfit/etc. who is wise and/or intelligent beyond his appearance, and in time of need, manages to rally enough interpersonal courage to try to assume command - and even then, it shouldn't be a sure thing.

A good RP combination, in fact, would be a high-CHA bard or paladin, teamed with a low-CHA high INT/WIS monk, cleric, or mage (or rogue, for the bard.  Paladins would probably look at rogues a bit more skeptically, scout or not.)  The high-CHA individual could lead... under the careful advisement of the other.

Edit to pertain to Acacea's comment
"..charisma is the stat you use to fake other stats."  - very true.. it is much harder for high INT or WIS to simulate a charming personality.

[ZeroVega]

Also, let's remember the saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." I'm not simply talking about physical beauty here either but personality as well. An elf could have a beautiful face, lithe body, angelic voice and a personality that would repair that glass mirror shattered by the "fat lady's" voice, but to a dwarf, would she really look that good? No beard, no meat and no gruff dwarven personality. Heck, it might turn out that the elf would be considered hideous to certain dwarves.

In my opinion, Charisma should NOT be used to determine how people look; that's just silly. Rather, I like the way Acacea and Stephen explained it, Charisma is an ability that allows you to fake other abilities, it is the force of personality or lack thereof and it is how to present yourself to others/how they percieve you. Look at Syn, he's a regular grump. Seriously, I've never seen him smile... ever. Never laugh, never chuckle, never smirk never tell a joke and his sarcastic comments aren't really "funny" more mean in a brutally honest way. Almost no one knows what he looks like because he's always hooded/helmed. So why does he always lead? Beacuse that's where all of his Charisma goes, leadership. He talks like a leader, acts, walks, orders, plans, fights like a leader! His entire demeanor commands respect and people respond to it... Charisma...

ZV-

[darkstorme]

Ah, but we have precedent to cite here: look at Gimli's reaction to Lady Galadriel.  Clearly, dwarven standards of beauty are not all that different from human or elven - they're just USED to dwarven appearances.  An elf might be an object of distaste for a dwarf, but not from the point of view of beauty - and force of personality transcends species barrier.  Just because someone isn't gruff doesn't mean they can't convey the iron-hard force of command behind their voice... and regardless of species, that can be understood.  Now, granted, SOME dwarves might view elves as hideous.. but some dwarves might view other dwarves as hideous, and aspire to a "higher standard" of beauty set by humans and elves.  And I would say that would be a racial CHA modifier imposed in a specific character-to-character interaction, not between one race and another.

[Acacea]

darkstorme - 6/26/2006  9:26 AM

To play the Pit Fiend's advocate in this case, making a choice for the number that's next to CHA is a part of deciding what your character's personality will be like.

Yes, the numbers do not assign you a specific personality, but you do choose the numbers to reflect what that personality is.

[cbnicholson]

"overcompensation can occur while retaining the lack of confidence... "  Blast, Methinks they art on to us, eh Daniel?  ;p