History OnlySaneMan / TabletopGames

** The level of corruption varied quite significantly between Traitor Legions during the Heresy, meaning that in engagements featuring multiple Legions, one was probably playing this role. For example, the Iron Warriors (LawfulEvil siege specialists with no regard for human life) were generally not good ''people'', but they were at least likely to be controllable in comparison to the World Eaters (uncontrollable berserkers), Word Bearers (fanatical zealots), Night Lords (sadistic monsters) or Emperor's Children (demented hedonists).

** Intelligence often plays this role as well, since it's the stat for anything that involves taking clues and fitting them together. Additionally, the variants of the system with skill-purchase systems make a high-intellect character potentially better at everything, even tasks for which his statistics aren't suited (a high-int character might have spare points to train sense motive or spot, for instance, and be better at both than a wisdom character with fewer points to distribute). Finally, intelligence bonus translates directly into understanding a larger number of languages, meaning that while the rest of the party is speculating on what kind of dark god was worshipped in this ancient temple, the int character might have just read a sign and realized it's actually an ancient marketplace half an hour ago.

* ''{{TabletopGame/Warhammer 40000}}'':
** The [[Literature/SpaceWolf Space Wolves]] are the one of the very few Sane Men in the galaxy and one of the Sanest in the Imperium. Consider: [[http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Months_of_Shame after the first victory on Armageddon]], the Inquisition starts rounding up civilians into forced labor camps and shooting down Imperial Guard ships, all in the name of preventing the knowledge of Chaos to spread, the whole thing masterminded by a ''spectacularly'' inept Inquisitor. The Space Wolves who had fought alongside these people did not take kindly to their eradication, and used their ships to transport Guardsmen, refusing to respond to Inquisitorial and even Literature/GreyKnights fire. The whole thing ended up in a cold war that almost ended in open war with the Wolves, their planet-fortress severely damaged, and a Literature/GreyKnights Grand Master dead.

** During the Literature/HorusHeresy, most of the Traitor Legions had a few people who kept their marbles and remained uncorrupted, at least until the chaotic elements got around to murdering them in one way or another - Loken and Torgaddon for the Sons of Horus, Saul Tarvitz and Solomon Demeter for the Emperor's Children, Garro for the Death Guard and so on.

* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'': saKhan Connor Rood is this for his Clan, Ice Hellion. While the rest of his Clan and his Khan are all LeeroyJenkins, Connor actually takes his time to think and make some use practical and pragmatic decisions to save whats left of his Clan, when they are getting stomped by Clan Jade Falcon, and Hell's Horses.
* In ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', the character with the highest Wisdom is a party is likely to become this by default, as Wisdom is the measure of a character's common sense and egotism. The same applies to gameplay, as less wise characters such as Barbarians or Knights will fail to notice [[FailedASpotCheck the obvious]], including traps, ulterior motives and just about everything else, whereas characters with higher Wisdom such as Clerics or Druids will be much more invested in their surroundings and in the situations they find themselves.
** Intelligence often plays this role as well, since it's the stat for anything that involves taking clues and fitting them together. Additionally, the variants of the system with skill-purchase systems make a high-intellect character potentially better at everything, even tasks for which his statistics aren't suited (a high-int character might have spare points to train sense motive or spot, for instance, and be better at both than a wisdom character with fewer points to distribute). Finally, intelligence bonus translates directly into understanding a larger number of languages, meaning that while the rest of the party is speculating on what kind of dark god was worshipped in this ancient temple, the int character might have just read a sign and realized it's actually an ancient marketplace half an hour ago.
* In the ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'' and its spiritual successor the ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'' you can take merits which make you this. Everyone around you sees a werewolf transform, panics, and remembers it as a dog, sees a Vampire bite someone and dismisses it as teenagers making out, and has a WeirdnessCensor so strong that magic actually unravels itself in their presence (and then they forget it). You, however, are literally the only person you know mentally capable of adding two ones and getting two instead of one.
** Note that, this being the Worlds of Darkness, this... doesn't usually work out very well for the people with the merit.
** In ''TabletopGame/GeniusTheTransgression'', Klagen - who Catalyze in situations of grief and loss - tend to play this role. While Klagen can certainly do dumb and reckless things as a way of working through their issues, their TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening leaves them with a keen investment in preventing tragedies...while Grimms have a HairTriggerTemper, Hoffnungs are WellIntentionedExtremist's, Staunen will often do anything ForScience, and Neids tend to be motivated by revenge, and as such are more likely to end up causing them instead.

** The [[{{Literature/SpaceWolf}} Space Wolves]] are the one of the very few Sane Men in the galaxy and one of the Sanest in the Imperium. Consider: [[http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Months_of_Shame after the first victory on Armageddon]], the Inquisition starts rounding up civilians into forced labor camps and shooting down Imperial Guard ships, all in the name of preventing the knowledge of Chaos to spread, the whole thing masterminded by a ''spectacularly'' inept Inquisitor. The [[{{Literature/SpaceWolf}} Space Wolves]] who had fought alongside these people did not take kindly to their eradication, and used their ships to transport Guardsmen, refusing to respond to Inquisitorial and even Literature/GreyKnights fire. The whole thing ended up in a cold war that almost ended in open war with the Wolves, their planet-fortress severely damaged, and a Literature/GreyKnights Grand Master dead.

** The [[MonsterClown Harlequins]] ironically might be this to the Eldar race, and possibly the setting as a whole.
** According to the Eldar philosopher Uthan the Perverse, the Orks of all people are this.
--> "The Orks are the pinnacle of creation. For them, the great struggle is won. They have evolved a society which knows no stress or angst. Who are we to judge them? We Eldar who have failed, or the Humans, on the road to ruin in their turn? And why? Because we sought answers to questions that an Ork wouldn't even bother to ask! We see a culture that is strong and despise it as crude."

** The T'au Empire. The only faction that uses futuristic technology with futuristic tactics (no chainsaw sword-fights, medieval [[PoweredArmor power-armour]] and pointless meat-grinder assaults and {{last stand}}s for them, thank you very much). They're also the only faction that doesn't consider every other species worthy only of extermination. The T'au actually attempt diplomacy first and have incorporated other species into their empire peacefully - though that peaceful annexation is sometimes hinted to be mind control. Although [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] depending on the writer, it may be that their progressive Greater Good ideology is profoundly naive and will eventually drive their species to extinction. In some of the lore of the grim darkness of the far future, mindless zeal and irrational hatred ''keeps you alive'', while tolerance and open-mindedness ''gets you killed''.
And sometimes it doesn't, because the T'au punch well above their weight class and characters like Bjorn the Fell-Handed and Roboute Guilliman certainly seem to imply the Imperium is on a terribly self-destructive path, and the T'au sell well enough that the T'au are not likely to go anywhere anytime soon. [[CrapsackWorld That should tell you everything you need to know about what kind of universe this is.]]

Except when it doesn't, because the T'au punch well above their weight class and characters like Bjorn the Fell-Handed and Roboute Guilliman certainly seem to imply the Imperium is on a terribly self-destructive path, and they sell well enough that the T'au are not likely to go anywhere anytime soon. [[CrapsackWorld That should tell you everything you need to know about what kind of universe this is.]]