Remove the inteligence drain from the disease that the rats give. If RPed it is very dehabilating for a character since there is no easy cure. Sometimes a player might just have to quit the character for the night because they have seven inteligence and don't fancy being a drooling moron.

Additionaly it's a bit hard to RP a sudden inteligence decrease from disease. Perhaps if someone has tips or can provide a guide about how to roleplay the agonizing affects of an inteligence decreasing disease that might help as well.

Well if you think about it, having your int lowered does not make you a babbling idiot.

You won't start talking about yourself in the third person just because your int dropped below 10.

You will be less receptive to ideas, slower to catch on, and generally less able to process information. It doesn't destroy your character, it just makes it a little more dense.

Think about how you speak and act with your current level of intellect, then imagine you weren't as smart as you are. Would you say "Me like dat. Me think dat good"?

The bigger question is how to RP wisdom decrease. There's a lot of ways that can be expressed.

I recommend carrying around plenty of *spoilers* that cures disease.

Look around, or ask around -- it's in.

an int lower than 9 means you can not speak properly though... is this only if it's your characters stat normally, or will you have a loss of vocal abilities with int decreased bellow 9?

I'm not sure. When I played seven Int I played it -real- stupid. I think probally too stupid.

I've always taken Int to be how quick you are mentally to understand and comprehend.

Wis is knowledge.

Language is knowledge.

Therefore, your use of language should be relatively unaffected. You won't still be pulling huge technical words out of the bag, but you won't be speaking in the third person either.

I think starting with 9 int implies your character has lived his/her whole life with 9 or less Int until now, therefore, they've not been able to understand the language as fully as someone who has higher intelligence would. This is why it's generally accepted that someone with 9 Int wouldn't be able to use language effectively.

Someone whose Int has dropped will still have their knowledge of language, they just won't be able to recall it as well, etc.

That's how I've always taken it.

Forest Gump is 8 intelligence.

A clever golden retriever is a three, even a parrot still mimics with voice and knows the meaning of some words--and you can't go below 3 Int in the module which is the point where you can only communicate with spoken grunts and gestures like a really stupid ape.

(Really smart apes communicate largely through essays.)

Given how sickness is pretty common in Sanctuary + area, I'm surprised I haven't seen more healer-type PCs who'd be able to recognise the difference between RPing diseased-stupid + RPing just-plain-stupid.

Speaking of RP, when my character contracts something, I start emoting THEN. After all, she's incubating a sickness and I'm fairly sure she'll flunk her fortitiude save vs. disease.

If you're partied + questing, quick emotes or comments about being overheated, looking flushed, sweaty, et cetera, all help WARN party members that you might experience a stat penalty in the near future. This is helpful information regardless of your PC's class. It also gives everybody the chance to RP their reaction to your disgusting state.

With the addition of accessible remedies for disease, this issue is moot.