Kyrail said:
I know there was like a 50 point list of questions to ask yourself when making a character, and I was wondering if anyone had a link to it, or something better.
I'm finding a lot of people are basing characters around a class, and its making them rather... flat. Thought this might help.
There was a thread somewhere on EN World (about 5 or so pages long, IIRC) which had everyone contributing what they have for a "Player Questionaire Survey". I copied EVERY post, deleted every question which was a duplicate, deleted some more redundant ones, did a bit of re-wording, and came up with the following:
[sblock=Character Information Handout]
1. What do you look like? Hair colour, eye colour, weight, height, build, distinguishing marks, style of clothing, etc.
2. How did you grow up? Give us a bit of personal history:
3. Who is your family, and where are they? Are you still in contact with them? What does your family do?
4. Where is your homeland? Are you patriotic or a social outcast?
5. What are your dreams, ambitions and/or goals. How does adventuring fit into these goals?
6. Which God(s) do you follow? Why?
7. What item could you not live without?
8. Do you like cities or the country?
9. What is your idea of a good evening’s entertainment?
10. How much is a pint?
11. Five words that describe you are:
12. Do you bathe regularly?
13. What is (are) your favourite weapon(s)? Why?
14. What’s your favourite colour?
15 In general, how do you feel about Dwarves? Elves? Gnomes? Halflings? Orcs?
16. Are you a pious person? Ever tithed money to a church?
17. Do you have any major secrets? What are they?
18. Name your worst vice and your best virtue:
19. What is your code of honour/conduct? What would/wouldn’t you do?
20. How do you treat murder?
21. What do you want written on your tombstone?[/sblock]
There was also, in a similar vein there was a Play Style Survey Handout, which was less organized but still sorta relevant:
[sblock=Play Style Survery Handout]
These questions are devoted to different play styles, just to get a feel for what I should and shouldn’t do as a DM; and also just some generic questions. Rate from 1 (dislike) to 10 (like).
1. Roll-playing (10=roll Strength check to see if I can open that door)
2. Role-playing (10=all role-playing, all the time; no out of game talk)
4. Building a character (10=five page character history)
5. Urban Adventures (10=Forest? What’s a forest?)
6. Dungeon Crawls (10=Characters never see the light of day)
7. Wilderness (10=City streets make me claustrophobic)
8. Puzzle Solving (10=spending an hour solving puzzles)
9 Politics/status (10=I own a keep in such-and-such province and I pay royalties to such-and-such king, less he take away my title and land)
10. Epic Quests (10=Frodo has nothing on me)
11. Adventure Size (10=one plot is one years worth of gaming)
12. Length of Campaign (10=”I’d play this Campaign till my death)
13. Free-form Gaming (More “Grand Theft Auto” style)
14. Module Play (ie a set of connected adventures)
15. Classical fantasy (ex. Lord of the Ring’s-ish magical medieval Europe)
16. Sci-fi (ex. Star Wars)
17. Middle-eastern Fantasy (ex. Arabian Nights)
18. Asian Style Fantasy (ex. feudal Japan, mythic China etc)
19. Non-traditional Fantasy (original races, think WoW, etc)
20. Renaissance/Industrial Revolution Style Fantasy (self-explanatory)
21. Modern Day RPGing (James Bond/GTA/Military gaming)
22. Others?[/sblock]
Lastly, there was a positively HUGE thread on Table Rules at one point; again I copied everything, and deleted duplicates, but I didn't finish this one. However, it went from ~40 pages in MS Word to 4, so it's a decent reduction. Note that it had many different posts and wording-stylings mashed up, so it's not 100% cohereant. Here it it for your perusal:
[sblock=Table Rules]
A. Absences
1. Notification – Please notify the group as soon as possible of an absence. With a day’s notice, email is fine. With less than a day’s notice, call the other players.
2. Characters – Please have an updated character sheet available to the DM. If possible, your character will be removed from the current action – and removed from danger – but will receive no XP. If that’s not possible, your character will be played by the group, with the DM as final arbiter. The character will be at risk, and will earn one-half normal XP.
B. Punctuality
1. Notification – Please call the host if you’re going to be substantially late.
II.Comestibles
Feel free to share, but you are not obligated to do so.
B. Drinks – You don't come to the game drunk, no drinking during the game, and you don't leave drunk unless someone else is driving.
C. Cigarettes – Please smoke only outdoors.
D.Drugs - Under no circumstances are illegal drugs allowed in the house.
III. Etiquette
A. Dice – Any die rolled off the table doesn’t count and will be re-rolled. Any die that is even questionably cocked will be re-rolled.
C. Out of Character Comments – Because we’re all friends and like to socialize, it’s would be counter-productive to ban OOC chatter. But try to keep it under control. Anybody at the table can call “enough” on OOC comments, which means cut them out completely for a half-hour or so. Be especially mindful of breaking the mood when people are making attempts to roleplay, and be seriously mindful of it when people are “in voice.” Even if you’re not involved in a particular instance of roleplay, be respectful and don’t distract from it.
E. Advice – Out of Character advice on tactics should only be given if solicited.
V. Disputes
A. Rules Disputes
1. The DM is Right – If the DM makes a final ruling, it stands, and ends all discussion until after the game.
2. Finding Rules – If a rule can’t be found within 30 seconds, the DM is free to make a ruling and move on.
B. In Character Disputes – Please be very clear when an argument or dispute is between characters. A dispute between characters should never be taken personally by the players, and all players involved need to take every step to be sure it is not.
C. Out of Character Disputes – We have very rarely had these. If one arises, immediately put it aside until after the game. Period. Then, preferably, grab a mediator to talk things out.
And this is a (partial) list of the Ten Commandments of Gaming that we came up with several years back...
1. Thou shalt not argue with the GM.
2. Thou shalt consider the consequences of thine actions.
3. Thou shalt bring thine own smokes (or munchies).
5. Thou shalt bring thine own dice.
8. Thou shalt not incur powers checks. (this is when we played Ravenloft...)
9. Thou shalt not be undead. (Again, RL)
10.Thou shalt not cheat.
My own rules: since we eat many different fat things when gaming, I forbid players to put their greasy fingers on my gaming books!!!
1) You roll the dice towards the center of the table, not towards yourself.
3)You leave one chair free.
be a mature person!
Once a night, you can call "cursed die" when you've been having a string of bad luck with a single dice. You put that die away for the rest of the night, and can reroll the action that prompted the "cursed die" call.
1. The DM is always right.
5. At the beginning of the session a recap of the last session is told aloud
6. Crash space is available to those who request it before hand. This is not a dorm, but we don't want people driving home very sleepy.
7. Clean up after a session.
8) Curtosey will be extended to those with a less-than-perfect knowledge of the game. This may mean that druids cast spontaneously while the player learns what spells are available.
9) Powergaming is permitted. If you want to spend five hours min-maxing your character, that is time well spent and every bit as valid as the role-player who writes his own poetry in elvish.
10) If we make a mistake in the rules, we move on and correct it the next game.
Here's our list of unwritten, but understood rules:
10) At the end of the evening, return the room to its original condition.
13) Cheating is not allowed, but I do not feel I should have to watch you. If you feel you need to cheat, then obviously we chose poorly when we allowed you into the group.
14) Try to keep OOC conversations to a realistic minimum.
23) New members get an unspecified trial period. If any established member does not like the new player, he is not invited back.
Don't be an ass.
You'd be amazed how much that one simple rule actually covers. I'm not big on listing all sorts of table rules. We are there to have fun and as long as being are pretty polit and use common curtisy we'll do alright.
1) know your characters abilities (and any rules you are going to be using like triping or disarming)
8) the DM has final say on what is allowed in game, it does not matter if your previous DM allowed half celestial minotaur barbarian/paladins with holy flaming burst vorpal greatswords if the DM says no then that is it.
5. Have fun. It is a game, after all. If you are not having fun, talk to me after the game and maybe we can go over why this is and fix it. If you are not having fun, discuss it with the DM. Or leave. But don't expect me to read your mind
NO one is to mark on my battlemat with anything other than a pen I have handed them.
Rule 3: Keep the table free of unnecessary clutter.
Rule 4: We'll break for 15 minutes after each hour of gaming (with exceptions, like if the pizza arrives, or we're in the middle of a short fight), so that everybody can chat about out-of-game stuff, use the bathroom, and update their loot.
Rule 5: Keep OOC conversation at a minimum when the game is going.
Rule 6: Do your best to know the rules of the game.
Your failure to follow these rules will result in the following;
• The game will run less smoothly
• People won’t have as much fun
• It will be your fault
5. No-one leaves to anywhere other than the toilets or sleep during a fight. (The sleep provision is in there since one of my players does shift work).
6. All spell-lobbers must have the PHB. If you wish to use a spell from another book, bring it yourself. Prints or photocopies are permitted.
If you say it, your character says it. If you make a joke about how fat an NPC is, your character makes a joke about how fat the NPC is, even if it is the king and doing so while in front of him as the character happens to be would be considered suicide. Real world commands such as 'pass me that book' or 'get me a coke' are excluded.
These rules apply when I'm DMing:
1. Rule 0 is the only rule, the rest are guidelines.
3. Leave an actual character sheet with the DM (depends on the group). If the sheet is not up to date - bad luck, the old version is used instead (possibly with less magic items, lower saves,...).
4. A player has 27 seconds to decide what to do in his turn (we're using a sand glass), when time is out, the PC delayed until his next turn. If you have a rules question, check the books during the turns of the other players before asking.
I. Attendance
Sometimes, people can't show up, stuff happens at the last minute, particularly when you game with people with small children or who work in carry-a-pager-and-cell-phone jobs. If people can't make it, we'll play a one-shot of something else.
hosting makes the occupancy rules, food, cleanliness, etc. The dm makes the game rules and decisions. the group as a whole decides who is welcome and who is not. Other than that, have fun and try to act your age...not your shoe size.
"I urge you to make up a simplified version of the D&D game for play with as many of [your children] as are now willing and able to play. The thrill of the adventure and rolling of the dice is likely to make them devoted gamers ever after." - Col_Pladoh's advice to me, and my advice to you.
2. Don't make a mess. If you do make a mess, clean it up.
3. Try not to break things. Yes, accidents happen, but you can and should take steps to avoid accidents as much as possible.
The Rule of Tyler: arguing with the DM is not permitted, he's pretty much god
The Rule of Frevin: smacking the other players/DM is not permitted
The Rule of Brian: At least one of the Pizzas we order must be a meat-lovers. Period.
shenanigans.
Our table rules are set in cement and have been decided over years of feedback from our DM’s and players. We expect that all of our players always bring their “A” game to the table.
“A” Game Players:
1. Always remember the necessities of gaming: House Rulebook, 3.5 PHB, character sheet, and a painted miniature.
3. Have their character finished and reviewed by the DM before the game starts and has a back-up character ready to go.
4. Have characters that aren’t evil or annoying, but are well-rounded and have something in common with other characters in the game.
5. Always leave mental garbage at the door and avoid talking about how bad their day was or why they’re late. They understand that the rest of the group doesn’t care and that we’re here to game, have fun, and forget about real life.
6. Understand that we have very limited gaming time so they avoid rude, non-game, cross-table talking.
7. Are here for mustering at 6:15 pm, ready to start gaming at 6:30pm, and are here until the end at 10:30pm.
8. CALL/EMAIL us if they can’t make it with as much lead time as possible
9. IS IN-CHARACTER AND IN THE GAME. “A” Players appreciate and cooperate and speak in-character with other players and the DM’s NPC’s to help contribute to the game.
10. “A” Players say what weapon they attacked with or briefly describe their skill action checks.
11. “A” PLAYERS POLICE THEIR OWN: If you see a player who might be goofed up on his character sheet or needs an attitude change, set him straight. You have the DM’s permission.
12. “A” Players write down the other PC’s names and their characters attitude towards them.
16. Do NOT invite new people without permission.
1. Be there to PLAY THE GAME, not to talk on your cell phone or play video games.
Absent players, for the most part, fade from view. They are assumed to still be traveling with the party, but they are 'sick,' 'scouting ahead,' 'off taking a crap,' 'guarding the mounts' or whatever. In some cases absent pcs may be used in game for one reason or another, and if the party suffers a tpk while they are somewhere from which there is no escape, absent players are killed too.
"If I didn't call for the die roll, and I don't see the number on the die, then it wasn't rolled."
I believe in creating a gaming environment that is hostile to cheaters. Cheaters should game with other cheaters.
Our unwritten list
4. Just because a player bought/owns a given supplement does not entitle its use. The decision as to what, if anything, will be allowed is up to the current GM.
"The designers of the newest edition built so much reliance on rules right into the game, to make it easier to play. As one of those designers, I occasionally think to myself, 'What have we wrought?' " -Monte Cook
" If the DM has to make a lot of judgment calls, the game is more difficult to learn. However, it's my belief that it's also more satisfying." -Monte Cook
"Don't let rules replace good DMing skills"- Monte Cook
4. Players tell about their characters reactions to events in the game in proportional order of their characters’ Intelligence scores, Combat being the exception.
5. No Dungeon Master rulings are questioned during the session – always after.
6. Speech not directly addressed to the Dungeon Master during the game is assumed to come out of the Character’s mouth.[/sblock]
Hope those help!
cheers,
--N
