Sorry for necroing, but I just gotta toss my two cents in: This game is an absolute blast when playing as a moron. Just started my Half-Ogre, whose background is "Raised in the pits" and this combination gave him an intelligence of...1. I laughed out loud, when the Molochean Hand assassin approached me, Virgil thought he looked suspicious, but I insisted I do the talking on the grounds of "You stoopid. I smart." Yes you are, you big old jackass, yes you are. He might be tall, but still almost like a retarded child. Even a simple "Okay" sounds so much more funny when it's "Okalee dokalee!" instead.

I've beaten the game several times before, with "normal" characters but I wonder if the game will become problematic later though. The first area was easier to clear than ever, however, because with a STR of 14 and melee at 3.5, the wolves were really, really easy and I even managed to kill all the more stronger wolves which I don't think I've done before. Hit percentage averaged around 88, when usually with my other characters, Virgil has had to kill the animals and kites because my hit % has usually been something around 20 (of course, then there's magic too, but Fatigue always kicks in at some point)

I actually just started the very same thing, ogre raised in the pits, but some quests are not available for idiots although you can do pretty much anything that doesn't require intelligence. Some stuff is pretty hilarious though, for example meeting the gnome that insults everyone he talks to in tarant. You troll out the troll himself when you can actually say only "you mean and stupif" in reply and he eventually gives up after the tenth time you say that to him :).

One thing I noticed too, was that the game's actually been much easier now. I'm only focusing on ST, melee and dodge, and my guy's a powerhouse. I think I was level 16 or 17 when I begin travelling to Black Mountain Mines (I haven't been to Dernholm or Black Root because the Boone brother wouldn't talk to me, thus never sent me to Dernholm). After just 25 minutes in the mines, I was already level 20. Usually in my playthroughs, my companions have done all the killing while I've mostly sat back and watched, helping what little I can. This time my guy's in charge, and with only Virgil on board I do most of the kill XP. Therefor, already my ST is maxed, my DX is maxed, melee's maxed and dodge's maxed. Speed is 25 and every hit does an average of 30, 31 damage (currently I'm wielding the Power Axe, max is 38 IIRC). Funny how unbalanced this build is, compared to all my other characters. But I digress, even though the game's piss easy now, it's still really funny to read my ogre's journal entries and laugh at the responses he produces. I'm actually amazed how much extra work the devs have put into the dialog for almost every character you meet.

a very easy way to level up is actually running around the closed sewers in tarant. The stupid ogre is powerful enough to deal with the monsters there even on lower levels and gain a crapload of xp that way.

I think I might have run into the first case where being an idiot halts your progress. I was tasked to find Terwilliger, so I went to the Hall of Records. However, the lady wouldn't talk to me, so I had to drink an intelligence potion to get her to search the archives.

By the time I got to the library (the next step), the intelligence boost had worn out but luckily I was still able to make progress because a decent intelligence was no longer required. Of course, as usual, the scene in the library was pretty funny, as the librarian went all this trouble to find me the book about "scary elves"...after asking me a hefty sum of 6000 gold before giving me the membership. Guy sure knows how to take advantage of mentally challenged.

By the way, another thing I've noticed during my playthrough: It has been impossible(?) to gain more followers. Virgil is still my only companion. The rest, even Magnus, just shrugged me off. Not that I mind, but it would be nice to have even one more so that by the time Virgil leaves in the plot for a while, I'd still have someone to carry all my extra stuff.

I haven't been there yet, but i'd say it might be possible to sneak to the archivest and pick it up yourself. But anyway, Magnus is a douche when it comes to dealing with retards, so he won't be joining you, but i'd guess you can definitely pick up Dog in Ashbury and Vollinger was very eager to join me but that's probably because who he actually is, other possible companions i haven't met yet but you don't have to stick with just Virgil, especially if you get some points in persuasion. I actually made a very persuasive retarded ogre, i even have expert level in persuasion and was able to persuade the maid in tarant to join Madame Lil's hooker team.

Well, so far Payne's been the only one besides Virgil who's been happy to join my jolly team (of the ones I've met). Skipped Dog on purpose because the game's already too easy. I could see why Vollinger would join, but I actually never visited Dernholm. So far, I've seen three parts where I've met a wall because my character's a retard. Let's see if I can remember all...

-The Hall of Records part I already mentioned...I think I hovered the mouse over everything but I guess you can't manually search for the Terwilliger file, you gotta have the help of the woman in there.
-Panarii temple in Caladon, after you've violated the tomb of Nasrudin, you're supposed to talk to Gunther but the needed dialog isn't there, he asks me if I've talked to the wizard opposite his room (sorry, forgot his name >_<) and even though I have, my character tells me no, and then Gunther says I should talk to him first
-Nasrudin on Thanatos...the conversation goes into an infinite loop, where my character (and Virgil, for that matter) along with the man forget the conversation immediately and you could watch the cutscene where Arronax is being banished into the Void a million times.
-I'm not completely sure if there was a fourth one too in between these, I have the memory of a gold fish. But I can pretty safely vouch for these ones at least.

As these events where progress is no longer possible because of my character's low IN have become more common, I've taken the custom of always carrying Intelligence potions just in case I hit a wall (currently carrying four, but only using them when I absolutely have to. Gotta have spares just in case.) Based on my experiences I would recommend anyone playing an idiot character do the same and always have a few of these with you, it seems the devs did missed a couple of bugs... But that's Troika for you.

Still loving this playthrough though. Every conversation seems packed with crude humor, but I'm beginning to bond with my character on an emotional level too. Sometimes he's just so cute. Like the time when I went to the Panarii temple, and my ogre was super serious and anxious the whole time "Where Nashruddin? I need see Nashruddin!" or something like that. And oh boy, the conversations with Stringy Pete...or as my ogre called him, "Stinky Feet". He's so damn stupid, but still very worried of the fate of Arcanum and everyone in it.

I was able to finish the entire game with a dumbspeak half-ogre, no Persuasion ability and no potions of Intelligence. (It was with the UAP, if that makes any difference.) I'm not sure how I got past the Hall of Records, or if I even needed to stop there at all; I vaguely recall annoying the librarian to the point where she simply handed me the damned book and told me to get out.

Followers? You're a moronic man-mountain on a momentous mission of mercy; what need have you of followers? ;)

Maybe the UAP fixed some bugs the original developers didn't notice at the time. I'm playing the game vanilla, and I'm pretty sure the instances where I have gotten stuck are because of bugs in the dialog progression. Doesn't matter that much though, the int potions only last about a minute and that is usually enough to get past the wall. I did had to fast forward everything Nasrudin said, though.

As for the followers, you're right I don't actually need them for combat, but like I said it's good to have at least one at all times so that there's always someone who can carry all my extra junk. In combat both Virgil and Payne are pretty useless, doing less than a combined total of 10% DMG during their turn, while I beat up the opponent in one turn even if takes eight slashes. My ogre's kinda like the Dog on speed and steroids.

So, i just finished my idiot ogre playthrough and it was very entertaining and hilarious even though it was quite easy, i had 20dex, 20 strength, masteries in melee, dodge, backstab, pickpocket and lockpick, so i could get anywhere, have anything and kill anyone. Pickpocket and lockpick helped me getting stuff from the hall of records where they told me to buzz off, in the library where they tried to bleed my wallet dry and a few other places including the crypt in the panari temple. That was a funny one, i pickpocketed the guard for his key and walked right past him, that's how a giant armed stupid looking ogre followed by a clumsy dude in full plate armor and a fleabitten dog blends into the environment.

The temple however had a bit confusing dialogue with the two guys you talk to about the crypt and the skull. It seems that it's looped because of stupidity when the only thing you can talk to him about is "kin i buy dem?" when talking about the holy relics of the panari and he tells you very politely that you can't. You just have to backtrack a little in the dialogue to get him to send you to the crypt even though he actually just tells you to get into the sewers and find your way through and when you accidentaly see a crypt of some sort, pick up the skull and report back *wink wink* (he actually winks at the retarded ogre, truly a man of faith). So i went pickpocketing the guards.

There was no other problem and my dumb ogre actually made a friend, the other dumb ogre from the town where the pirate "Stinky Feet" pissed on the toppled altar. I had to pass some quests though, obviously stuff like helping decide the town monument in ashbury and so on, basically stuff when they told me to buzz off or where i presumed they would tell me to buzz off so i didn't even go there. What surprised me on the other hand was the cunning plan my stupid ogre could devise to get both melee and dodge mastery. I thought the game wouldn't give me the proper dialogue options since my ogre was dumb as a brick. Before i even could get the mastery though, i visited Garrick Stout who told me i was too stupid to fight him and the only response other than "me go bye" was "I keel yew!", couldn't have phrased it better, but as mentioned before i didn't kill him until i got the mastery.

But there's two crucial points of the game in which you can't continue fully retarded. One is Nasrudin, he just goes on and on until Virgil recognizes him, then the dialogue continues a little and then suddenly the only option is "byebye" and you can't get through unless you have an intelligence potion. And it's the same when the potion effect wears off during the dialogue, you just go "me go now" and the loop starts all over again so the only thing you can do about it is drink the potion and quickly click through the whole thing before you get retarded again.
Same thing goes for Aronax, i guess it's some kind of family thing they have, a retard block, because you just go "byebye" after a while. I think you don't have to drink the potion here though because after you kill the guards outside and the snake, the freed Aronax is apparently grateful enough to talk to a retard.

"Ugh, me go kill people now" as a response to very verbose description of the hardships of the dwarves in the void is followed by a really funny dialogue with Kerghan, in which the stupid ogre was more and more confused the more the main villain went on. One thing was sure though, the ogre promised him to kill him after the repeated lesson which was repeated because the ogre didn't get it the first time. It was almost like the standard reply to any orc bandit assault "I kill you now, okay?"

And there was a weird thing with Gorgoth. I gave him the food and he said he'd join me, but the dialogue suddenly ended and nothing change. Kree and Krakatur at least told me i was too much of a good guy. I don't know if stupidity was at fault or a bug.

I love the idiot dialog with Virgil where you keep getting his name wrong and he gets more and more annoyed. The journal entries are great, too. Think I'm gonna do an idiot playthrough.

I like to do the same thing (not sure if I take ogre or orc).
An idiot with max fighting and thieving skills who goes for the maximum evil ending. (If he is not to stupid to be evil).
But how did you heal him? He cannot use magic, heal skill or make medicine. Is there anybody who knows how to make medicine and who wants to follow an evil idiot?

I finished the game first normally and later with a half elf debutante with max intelligence, charisma and persuation who tried to get the best result everywhere. (For some reasons she had enough point to get many spells and max out melee and dodge as well). I was a bit disapointed that not all of my effords to save the world were mentioned in final pictures. Lets see how it the evil way.

I cant wait to see the following dialogue:
Somebody (S): You are so incredibly ugly and stupid. Get lost!
Me (M): Me not stupid. Me clever.
S: Ok you genius, whats the square root of 4?
M: You got root? Can I eat it?
S: OK, I try something more simple. Whats your name?
M: You ask stupid questions. Me got good one. What you look like when you got axe in head? (rams axe into head)
M: Me ask again. What you look like with axe in head?
M: You answer now! Me not go away till me got answer. (stays there for a whole day. Then he forgets why he is standing next to somebody with an axe in the head and goes away)

i had some potions and healing salves in my inventory just in case but usually i didn't need healing, the more i leveled up the quicker the fights got because i was superstrong and superfast with a fast swinging sword and Virgil handled the healing during the fights as well. Also there's dog, he'll follow any kind of person i guess so i had him on my team, but i haven't tried speaking to the techdoctor in cumbria although my guess is she'd just tell you to buzz off for being stupid and evil. Undead warrior that needs dragon blood follows only evil people, the dude in Ashbury graveyard follows evil people, one of the dark elves follows evil people and ofcourse Kree and Krakatur follow evil people but at that point it's not really needed to have their help.

There are areas with tons of traps.
I think I lost more HP by traps than by monsters.

And there are these ***** enemies that damage your weapon or armor. (golems, elementals and blue zombies)
It felt strange to put out your armor before fighting a hard foe or going through a trapped area.

i trained spot trap a little because i knew i wouldn't be able to use scrolls for that and as for the golems i just avoided them when i could and for the times i couldn't i kept some spare weapons. Good thing is the traps are a problem only in the black mountain mines and golems are only present in the black mountain and wheel mines so it's not that much of a hassle throughout the entire game.
Enemies that use fire are also quite annoying when you play a stupid ogre, because they too damage your stuff so it's a good thing to eliminate fire spiders and magic users first.