Philthulhu
First Post
After having played Jagged Alliance 2 for the puteenth time, and started Morrowind for the more-than-teenth time, I had the idea of converting the character generation of pen-and-paper D&D into a system like the character questionnaire you find in some/lots of computer RPGs.
So I've created the first version of a Character Generation Questionnaire.
The idea is that the DM hands out the multi-choice questions to the players, who answer them accordingly. The DM then collects them, checks the answers (through an easy-reference table), and lets the players know what class, skills, etc they have just 'picked'.
Think of it like a personality test for the PCs.
Has anyone done this before? I had a quick skim and didn't see anything, but you never know...
Currently, 'Phils Patented Character Generation Questionnaire Mark I' has questions for determining Class, Skills, and Traits.
I haven't done Feats, since they can be confusing when you end up doubling up with bonus feats from Class choices (ie. a Ranger taking Endurance twice). That would also add a phenomenal amount of questions, and I'd prefer the questionnaire to be around 30-40 questions max.
I also haven't added Races. Not only would the questions I'd come up with lead to really obvious results ('Do you like trees?'), but by leaving Races out of the questionnaire you gain two large benefits;
a) You can add Races from outside the PHB at will.
b) The Players can choose their race before they answer the questionnaire, and so create some surprising combinations that they might not have thought of otherwise (ie. Half-Orc Wizards).
I decided attributes/stats would be left to the Players, once they have filled out the Q&A and know what they are playing with. There would be nothing worse than taking a Sorceror with a Charisma of 6. Funny, yes. Playable over the long run, not really.
Finally, Traits are just something I added, taking inspiration from the Computer RPGs. Think of them as role-playing hooks, with some rules to make them more interesting (and fun!).
Psycho, Compassionate, Apathetic, Cowardly, Truthful, and Individualist are the only ones I've added so far. Couldn't really think of any others that I could be bothered writing rules for.
I currently need to write up a few more questions for the Skills part of the Q&A. The way the whole system works is by preferential votes. Pick the same answer for a Class twice, and you're that Class. For skills, I need a bucketload of questions to do the same thing.
The reason is twofold; for classes with lots of skill ranks (Rogues, Bards, etc), this allows them to 'select' a lot of skills, and give some variety; for classes with few ranks (Clerics, Fighters), this allows them to double-up on their answers and confirm that those skills are what they prefer, and also to bring in results that will actually rest within their list of class skills!
I'll be looking for suggestions, recommendations, etc. I'll post the whole thing at some stage, somewhere, so everyone can see it, and more questions can be added/suggested.
So I've created the first version of a Character Generation Questionnaire.
The idea is that the DM hands out the multi-choice questions to the players, who answer them accordingly. The DM then collects them, checks the answers (through an easy-reference table), and lets the players know what class, skills, etc they have just 'picked'.
Think of it like a personality test for the PCs.
Has anyone done this before? I had a quick skim and didn't see anything, but you never know...
Currently, 'Phils Patented Character Generation Questionnaire Mark I' has questions for determining Class, Skills, and Traits.
I haven't done Feats, since they can be confusing when you end up doubling up with bonus feats from Class choices (ie. a Ranger taking Endurance twice). That would also add a phenomenal amount of questions, and I'd prefer the questionnaire to be around 30-40 questions max.
I also haven't added Races. Not only would the questions I'd come up with lead to really obvious results ('Do you like trees?'), but by leaving Races out of the questionnaire you gain two large benefits;
a) You can add Races from outside the PHB at will.
b) The Players can choose their race before they answer the questionnaire, and so create some surprising combinations that they might not have thought of otherwise (ie. Half-Orc Wizards).
I decided attributes/stats would be left to the Players, once they have filled out the Q&A and know what they are playing with. There would be nothing worse than taking a Sorceror with a Charisma of 6. Funny, yes. Playable over the long run, not really.
Finally, Traits are just something I added, taking inspiration from the Computer RPGs. Think of them as role-playing hooks, with some rules to make them more interesting (and fun!).
Psycho, Compassionate, Apathetic, Cowardly, Truthful, and Individualist are the only ones I've added so far. Couldn't really think of any others that I could be bothered writing rules for.
I currently need to write up a few more questions for the Skills part of the Q&A. The way the whole system works is by preferential votes. Pick the same answer for a Class twice, and you're that Class. For skills, I need a bucketload of questions to do the same thing.
The reason is twofold; for classes with lots of skill ranks (Rogues, Bards, etc), this allows them to 'select' a lot of skills, and give some variety; for classes with few ranks (Clerics, Fighters), this allows them to double-up on their answers and confirm that those skills are what they prefer, and also to bring in results that will actually rest within their list of class skills!
I'll be looking for suggestions, recommendations, etc. I'll post the whole thing at some stage, somewhere, so everyone can see it, and more questions can be added/suggested.
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
