POLL: Brains, Brawn, or Beauty?

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Maybe this is an old question but for my benefit at least, here goes.

Which attribute is the best for success in an AD&D melieu: intellectual genius rolled into one i.e. super Int. *and* Wis., physical prowess i.e. super Str. *and* Dex., or beauty i.e. super personal magnetism, persuasiveness, leadership qualities and physical beauty, IF you could only have one of the three?

Poll Information
This poll contains 1 question(s). 42 user(s) have voted.
You may not view the results of this poll without voting.

Poll Results: Brains, Brawn, or Beauty? (42 votes.)

Brains, Brawn, or Beauty? (Choose 1)
* I think that overall, having only brains is best. - 67% (28)
* I think that overall, having only brawn is best. - 24% (10)
* I think that overall, having only beauty is best. - 10% (4)

 

Overall I think that brain are the best. Don't really know why. Maybe it's set by my brain as a self-defence mechanism?

 

Brains. Because with brains you can aquire the other 2 via spells

 

Depends which character you're playing.

A fighter needs brawn, a wizard needs brains... and no one really needs beauty, unless you're on a real roleplaying bent and want to have a PC who looks the part of a hero as well as having the fight abilities to match.

 

Abomination, a beautiful person can acquire brains and brawn via gifts from others. The brawny character can force someone to give them such.

And who says beauty isn't really needed? Try telling that to the beast from 'Beauty and the Beast', or Quasimodo in 'The Hunckback of Notre Dame' for example!

 

Keldor, we're talking about BG2 here so beauty doesn't make a blind bit of difference. If I have the most beautiful hero in the world as my PC or the ugliest doesn't alter the way the game plays one little bit. You can't apply real world values to a computer game.

 

Brains are the best really. Its amazing what a weakling like Aerie can do.
You can always hire brawn, there are many really good fighters available in games.
In BGII beauty is hardly worth it. Any mage can get his charisma to 25 with 2 items and a spell for a short time. If you are not talking specifically about BGII then beauty is still of little value. It is adventuring you are after. and you get few options where a super high charisma is going to alter your PC's life.
Afterall you arent talking of an 3-3-3-25-25-3 sort of person are you? More like 9-9-9-18-18-9.
Sure this guy will want to stay away from the frontline. But he still is suited for an adventuring life and will go on to be so powerful as to be a great adventurer.

 

In BG 2 :

Str ( Girdles of Str )
Dex ( Gloves of dex )
Cha ( Ring of human influence )

Can all be pushed up to 18 very cheap. Intelligence and Wisdom cannot, so the brains win. If I create a fighter, I give it the lowest STR I can and the lowest CHA I can, so I can boost the DEX, CON, INT, WIS to the max. Ring is very easy to get and for a small prince you already have the maulers arm ( Mace +2 , gives 18 STR ). There , In 3 hours of gameplay, I already have a sort of demi god, with all 18s ( and some 19s )

In AD&D, I still think brains will win overal, as intelligence and wisdom are the hardest to get ( just like in BG 2 )

 

Er, no David W, you might be talking about BG2 but I asked about 'an AD&D melieu'.

Actually everyone, I was talking about having 'only' i.e. almost entirely only one attribute. Thus, 3's and 18's. Maybe 3's - 7.

9-12 is average, which is adequate for most people so it can hardly be said one hasn't got any charisma if you've got average.

I think marrying a prince or princess as a result of high charisma would change a character's life in an AD&D melieu!

 

I'd go for brains. All three are potentially useful one way or another, but if I wanted to adventure I'd want no other reason than to go lore-seeking...

 

Brains. Brawl without brains is not my way. And there's no real charisma and leadership without brains. Must conclude brains are the most indispensible of the three.

 

I'm quite surprised at the poll so far. I would have thought more people would have been lured by the thought of endless sexual conquests. In the extreme long run of course, looks will fade (although personal magnatism won't), and brawn will fade (although the brawn choice would no doubt still be incredible for an oldy), but brains will go on longest. Hmm...is the brains PC going to be lonely because he is too intellectual for normal company and he's too ugly to have a partner? The brawn character will surely get a partner from the attraction of physical prowess. I mean, how much use is fame and vast amounts of treasure from adventuring if there's no one to share it with?

 

Then why are you posting in the BGII:ToB forum if you don't want to talk about the actual game? There is another forum specifically for discussions about AD&D in general.

That being said, the most important characteristic entirely depends on the DM's style of game. If it's hack'n'slash, then brawn. If it's heavy on roleplay, then charisma and more "social" skills. If it's loaded with enigmas and riddles, then brains. Overall, since D&D is supposed to be a group experience, there should be a little bit of all three attributes in every party.

 

Oooh! Hark at you! So I've posted on the wrong board! Have you never made a mistake? I think it's the administrator's job to pass judgement.

And I was actually talking about LIFE in a fantasy setting - not life as if it was being run by a DM!

 

So, Keldor, this isn't a question about Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal at all? Silly me. When I saw Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal at the top of my screen I instinctively thought "hey! This must be a question about Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal".

Easy mistake to make.

Right. I'm off to the Neverwinter Nights forum to ask about 5th century Tibetan tapestry.

 

Of course we can all make mistakes, we're only human. Actually, the very first thread I posted was redirected to another forum very quickly. I was merely trying to point out the mistake and also explain a little bit david w's earlier answer. I'm sorry you took it personally, it was certainly not my intention.

 

@ Keldor: you said:

But you said earlier:

There's nothing life-like about stats and numbers. Especially stats and numbers as extreme as those you describe. So what are we talking about here? What qualities would be most important if we lived in a D&D-like fantasy WORLD, or what stats are more important for characters in a D&D-like fantasy GAME?

 

In terms of all the games in which I participate, we never reach high enough level for the spell-casters to overwhelmingly dominate the game. Thus, brawn will suffice for most instances, as far as I am concerned.

 

Personally, I like a good mix. My cleric is one of the most versatile characters I've played. He can tank, he can heal, he can cast utility spells and he can function as a mobile artilery platform He can also put some good words in conversationwise, but that's mainly because he's the sole chosen of corellon in the nation

Trydan, high levels aren't needed for spellcasters to dominate. My halfling sorcerer (lvl3 party) owned the battlefield, while the fighters were getting ripped a new one. But at the same time, had little otho been facing two archers that thought he was a nice target, he'd be dust.

Overall, they're equally good, just each in their respective situation. Good looks won't carry you far in battle, and being able to strike an axe down real hard won't do you good in a trap where quick thinking is required. Each has its uses, and neither is more/less usefull than the other because it all depends on which situation it's being put to use in.