Hank Pym: Where'd you get that?
Reed Richards: I just invented it.
Hank Pym: This is exactly why we all hate you.
One of The Six Stats, abbreviated as INT.
This is the stat that determines how much a character can learn and remember, along with their ability to reason. Intelligence is the go-to measuring stick for completing puzzles, understanding complicated incantations and constructing marvels of science and technology, depending on the setting.
Typically a Dump Stat for testosterone-powered bruisers and other macho folks, although Genius Bruisers overcome this simple dichotomy. High Intelligence is almost mandatory for a villain to concoct their master plan, and it is one of two defining stats for the Magnificent Bastard. For this reason, heroes often dump this stat, but don't be fooled into thinking that this is a general rule - the Guile Hero is an archetype of their own.
Here's a guide for examples:
12-15: At this level, Intelligence appears as little more than an academic gift, resulting in high scores on IQ tests, but nothing record-breaking.
16-19: The character is probably the token smart guy of their group, unless they operate alone. Technical expertise, whether it be about the workings of magic or how to fix a computer, comes easy - this talent usually prompts the character to try and challenge the limits of their mind.
20-23: Learning a language before breakfast is almost a normal day. Examinations prompt nothing more than a yawn. Encyclopedic knowledge is a fair descriptor, though possibly inadequate.
24+: This character literally knows more than you'll ever forget. They understand pi to six billion digits, dabble in research that would leave savants babbling in sheer incomprehension and you'd better believe they know at least as many ways to take a person down as there are grains of sand on a beach, magically, scientifically or otherwise.
Examples:
12-15:
Comic Books- She-Hulk: While the protagonist's defining trait is her Super-Strength, she is also a brilliant lawyer. The best stories about her are usually those which show both sides of her, as explained by the quote on her character page.
- In the Sherlock Holmes literary corpus, Watson is supposed to be of above-average intelligence (he's a doctor, after all), although overshadowed by his genius friend. Many adaptations push the "less smart than Holmes" angle further and make Watson a dummy.
16-19:
Literature- Sherlock Holmes is the prime example of someone who makes a living by being smarter than everyone else — or nearly, since his brother Mycroft is even smarter.
- The protagonists of Scorpion are a team of geniuses — with a combined IQ of 700 between the four of them — who use their intellects to solve a different high-tech crisis in every episode.
- The protagonists of The Big Bang Theory are four scientists. Early in the series they were all supposed to be prodigies at the forefront of their fields, although as time went on this became mainly the trait of Sheldon.
20-23:
Characters from the Super-Intelligence, Impossible Genius and World's Smartest Man trope pages are likely to belong to this or the following category.- Most "genius scientist" types from superhero comic books — like Mister Fantastic and Doctor Doom from Marvel Comics, or Lex Luthor from DC Comics — are likely to fall here. While many of them are technically "merely" human, they can pull off intellectual feats that are just not possible in Real Life; e.g., creating tech decades in advance of the time in a single fit of inspiration.
24+:
Literature- James from Mind Games has 25 Intelligence due to his Unique Title "Mesmer's Heir". He's still getting used to it, but his ability to make connections and foresee problems constantly surprises and occasionally annoys the other characters. It also gives him a larger Mana pool than possibly any other human being on Earth.
Tabletop
- Pretty normal values for a moderate-level character in e.g. Dungeons & Dragons or Pathfinder.
- Ancient dragons canonically have intelligence scores in the 24-30 range.
- In The Order of the Stick, The Smart Guy Vaarsuvius has at least 24 intelligence.
30+:
- The Sorcerous Overlord and Benevolent Mage Ruler likely have 30+ intelligence.
- An Eldritch Abomination tends to fall in this area, assuming it's not mindless. For instance, in Pathfinder, Great Old One Cthulhu has 31 int.
