So, you have your character… some extremely talented wizard with maxed-out Intelligence.   18 or 19 is pretty high, right?  And their name is… Grandalf (true story).  You’re boppin along with your merry band of fellow adventurers when you come across a puzzle inside a dungeon.  The gamemaster must have put a lot of effort into this thing because this puzzle looks particularly puzzling.  Hieroglyphs, numbers, and weird color patterns.  It’s not a trap, it’s a puzzle, and nobody can figure it out.  Not even you, and you’re the smartest gamer you know.

The gamemaster looks at you and says, “You know, any wizard of even a 16 Intelligence can figure this out.  If you as a player can’t do that, I’m going to have to lower your character’s Intelligence, or reward you with less experience this session.  Perhaps you should play some other character, one that isn’t supposed to be so smart?  Because you’re just not really playing to your character’s ability score.“

“But-but-but… of course I’m not as intelligent as my character; they have a 19 Intelligence!  My character is practically Einstein.  I should get a roll to figure this out, or maybe a clue!

“Sorry, this is a roleplaying game.  Do you even know what that is?

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Gentle reader… if you find the above statement from the gamemaster to be true and fair, then this article is not for you.  If you find it ridiculous, then read on (because I have a further point to make).

So, you find it ridiculous.  Great!  Now let me flip it…

Bob is playing Gronk, a 7 Intelligence Fighter.  Bob says, “I know, it’s a simple picto-puzzle.  Just turn the hieroglyphs until they match the color patterns on this side.  See?”

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I have heard of many gamemasters turning to Bob and saying something like, “Sorry, Bob, your character is too dumb to figure something like this out.  You should play dumb.”  I may have even done this decades ago, when I first started playing.

Do you see my point?  It’s ridiculous to penalize a player because they can’t play as smart as their character actually is, so why should we penalize a player for not playing as dumb as their character seems on paper?

How intelligent is a high Intelligence?  The difference between 10 and 19 is 9.  That’s a big difference, but nobody ever berates a player for not playing like Einstein.  How dumb is low Intelligence?  The difference between 7 and 10 is a mere 3 points, but people are so quick to jump on such a player for devising a plan, or solving a puzzle.

At what point is a dumb fighter with a 7 Intelligence allowed to solve a puzzle without condemnation? Do they need an 8 in Intelligence?  or a 9?  Does it have to be a baseline 10, where there are no penalties to rolls?

On most character sheets, abilities typically provide modifiers that specifically affect ability rolls, skill rolls, and saving throws.  The intelligent wizard tries to solve the puzzle and gets a bonus, while the not-so-intelligent fighter probably gets a penalty.  That’s it.  That’s all you need.  Roleplay it however you want, but the roll is the mechanical effect only if needed.  Our characters don’t gain experience on how well we interpret what a 12 Wisdom means, they gain experience from overcoming challenges and progressing the story.

Bob may play a 7 Intelligence fighter who is bad at math, or just can’t read.  Kelly may play a 7 Intelligence fighter who is simply a bit forgetful.  However, Mike may play a 7 Intelligence fighter just like himself… a normal dude who can’t seem to think straight when under pressure (taking the penalty of -2 on Intelligence-related rolls).

It just isn’t necessary to judge anyone on how “well” they play to their character’s mental stats, as everyone has their own interpretations… for their character.

So no, you’re not roleplaying wrong; there’s practically no wrong way in this regard.

Nobody goes to the table because they want to be judged on how well they roleplay their character’s ability scores; we go to the table for a shared and enjoyable gaming experience.  Don’t try to change others; just continue to improve your own game and you’ll simply continue to have more and more fun.