rpanons | [D] Sweeping the clouds away

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How does one play a character that is supposed to be a genius or even just cleverer than the norm when one is not a genius/cleverer than the norm? Basically - how do I fake being smart?

Do a little research on things they're experts in without copy and pasting a lot of stuff from wikipedia. A random fact or two is one thing, a detailed blathering on thing is better described with "And then he rambled on for two full minutes about quantum physics".

Pay attention to any observable details in the posts of characters you're threading with.

Don't have your character magically figure a ton of things out just because he/she is a genius. DO pm people you're threading with and ask about what your character is allowed to infer, because he/she is quite smart and should figure a certain amount of things out.

I've found that as long as you don't make assumptions and work with your fellow players, most are willing to help you out.

If we're talking book smart characters (the only "smart" characters I play), then Wikipedia is your friend. If you come across a term you don't recognize that your character might feasibly know, Wikipedia it. It saves embarrassment when it turns out it was something really easy that a genius would probably have come across.

This is best for terms and definitions, mind. If we're talking long and complicated subjects like astrophysics, learn a bit of the jargon, and then handwave the actual explanations with brackets, such as [And thus, he launches into a complicated and detailed lecture of how to fix the ship]

Above anons had some great ideas, and another thing that helps is to write stuff down. Make some private posts in your journal for stuff like terms the character would know, links to good resources and stuff they've learned in game as well. Sometimes just one part of being a genius is being able to learn fast and remember stuff easily.

And read posts in your game if your character would be doing that. A lot of genius types sit back and observe and learn from what they see rather than expecting people to hand information to them. When you find neat pieces of information being discussed in public, note it in your private post with a link to the thread so you can check it later if needed. That way if someone thinks you're infomodding when the information was publicly available, you have proof of how your character found out.

And don't forget that they would ask questions, but they aren't going to ask questions that is in easily accessible information. Know your game setting, read the FAQ, the premise and setting details, IC guides if your game has them, etc. That way you don't make the character look like an idiot for asking something that should be obvious.

I keep a post in my character's journal that's just a massive infodump of everything he's learned in the game so far along with links to posts that are particularly relevant to him.

And I can't second the "read everything" enough. Making little mistakes like asking a question that's already been answered isn't bad if it's only once in a while, but if you're constantly making fumbles like that, it's going to make your character look incompetent.

Lots of OOC communication - if your character is a genius in the the mystery solving sense, if an IC mystery pops up, contact the player/mods running it and ask "hey, what can my character figure out and how can they do it?" If they're meeting new people and are the type to infer things based on what they observe, ask "hey, what is my character allowed to deduce about yours and how would they know that?"

It's a lot of work and can be pretty annoying and tedious, but it'll help a lot.

Probably parroting a lot of what other anons have said, but here we go.

Research the things your character would be talking about/interested in, but don't sound like Wikipedia if you can help it. Also, having a list of terminology and facts that are likely to come up with game settings also helps. OOC communication with other players so that if it's something you don't know/can't look up/can't put into terms that make sense, you can sort of handwave it in a way that the person knows your character knows what they're talking about.

Honestly, I play two genius types with different fields. Kabuto here I've been playing the longest and I can tell you I've done all of those things as well as write down anything that has happened in games before and putting what did and didn't fit him as far as the intelligence thing goes. Also, picking a specific type of thing within a broad field helps a lot for being able to play them. Such as with this guy, again, I've focused more along the lines of diseases, poisons, dissection types and techniques, and anatomy in general. Proofread all of your posts before you post them as if you're careful about speech patterns and sounding like the character has a larger vocabulary, you'll need to in order to make sure they sound correct.

As another example, if your character happens to be a genius to the line of what would be considered insanity, research that to no end. I play Opal Koboi, she's a technological genius and smarter than a normal human could ever hope to be, I can't tell you how many times I've had to go looking up various forms of mental conditions that are associated with high intellect, though it helped that she has canon personality/mental disorders. You'll want to make sure that they sound intelligent while also rather off-kilter, there's a fine line to it no matter how you look at it. But research and careful reading/writing will help out a lot, make lists and keep them handy for whenever you need them.

I hope that helps you anon, feel free to ask me anymore questions if you'd like, these types of characters are my favorites.

Also probably parroting a lot of people, but I feel like adding in my two cents as well.

There are many different kinds of smart. I'll talk about someone like Reid here, who's just a general genius about everything and probably knows a little about anything that isn't current pop culture.

Remember, while your character is thinking of all this stuff on the fly, you have Google and however much time you want to figure it out. I'm lucky because I like to learn, but even if you don't, it's simple to open up a search engine and try to find simple explanations for complicated concepts. Avoid stuffing jargon you don't understand into your tags--either become somewhat familiar with the topic, stick it in brackets, or avoid talking about it altogether--and be ready to fact check yourself before you write something that they would know about. And I mean fact check; if you have even the slightest uncertainty of something, take five seconds to look it up and make sure. Sounding smart works very well and good for memes and threads with uneducated characters, but once you're up against another smart character, you want them to actually be on par with each other.

It's basically a matter of knowing where to get reliable information and being willing to take the time to check it out when you need to.

Also, having a smart character doesn't give you an excuse to side-step regular RP etiquette. If you have OOC information about a character that isn't readily apparent to a reasonably intelligent person, ask the mun if your character can figure it out. Better yet, set up a permissions or opt-out post. You may have to avoid threads with muns who don't like their characters being figured out, but it's a simple way to keep from stepping on toes.

And a personal note: remember that being smart isn't their only attribute. Sherlock Holmes has an addictive personality, is selfish, and has very little regard for social norms. Reid here has an abandonment complex, is fascinated by morbid subject matter, and is extremely insecure. Just because they're smart doesn't mean they aren't human; they have traits, wants, fears, and vulnerabilities like everyone else, and even they are sometimes wrong about things. Remember that they're genius humans, not human geniuses.

If you have any other questions, I'm also happy to contribute.

[D] Sweeping the clouds away

SMART CHARACTERS IN GENERAL

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