I’d like to know just how intelligent a human character
with an Intelligence score of 3 is. What is the character’s
approximate IQ? Is the character considered mentally
handicapped or just slow? Can he carry a normal
conversation or does he have problems speaking?
A character with an Intelligence score of 3 is smarter that
most animals, but only barely. Any creature with an
Intelligence score of 3 or higher can understand at least one
language (see page 7 in the Monster Manual). A human with an
Intelligence score of 3 can speak Common but doesn’t have a
good vocabulary (perhaps a few hundred one- and two-syllable
words), and the character doesn’t have a good grasp of syntax
and grammar. The character speaks and understands only
simple subject-verb sentences and probably has problems with
things such as past and future tense.
Intelligence also affects memory and reasoning, so the
example character doesn’t have much of a head for facts, and
the character is not very good at arithmetic.
Ten points of IQ per point of Intelligence is a good rule of
thumb, so your example character has an IQ of about 30. How
others perceive and treat the example character depends on
social conditions in the campaign. Most cultures in a D&D
world are pretty tolerant—they have to be just so they can get
along in a place that contains the wide variety of creatures that
inhabit most D&D worlds. In such cultures, terms such as
“dull” and “slow” probably don’t get much use, at least in
respect to a person’s mental capacity. When your own
Intelligence is about average (10) you’re “slow” compared to a
dragon, beholder, mind flayer, or other creature that might live
right next door or lurk beyond the next valley. Still, elitism and
a sense of superiority can exist just about anywhere.
It is a good bet, however, that the example characters’
associates, relatives, and neighbors know the character’s mental
limitations, and that they adjust their expectations for that
character accordingly.
