[Kaleban]

I used the 9 INT mage as an example, just like a 9 DEX thief or a 9 STR fighter would work.

Of course, there are no real INT boosting items like Gauntlets of Dexterity or Girdles of Strength, so maybe a 9 INT mage was a bit unrealistic, but you all missed the point I was trying to make.

In fact, the immediate dissection of my message into how it could or could not work kind of shows how people are focused on stats rather than the game. You could take a 9 INT mage through the game, granted, he'd be somewhat useless, but perhaps he's a Child of Bhaal with a good heart, but the fight against his own nature has incapacitated him. The rest of the party is there to "buoy" him up!

Now that is true role-playing! Perhaps, once the mage completes some sort of objective, such as the party killing a Lich for example, some curse is lifted and he can begin gaining 1 INT point per week of game-time... The possibilities are endless through judicious use of Shadowkeeper, much like a PC taking intentional handicaps to increase "backstory"...