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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Janx" data-source="post: 6015353" data-attributes="member: 8835">I'm a big fan of open, but leading questions.  Since the players don't get a choice on what kind of character to make like in D&D where they decide, class, race, motivation, etc, you want your questions to assign the character to the player, but let the player invent why it's awesome to be that character.For the Cult's 2nd in Command:What is your special destiny that led the cult to invite you to join?Why does the leader have such trust in you, since you took the position as 2nd in command?Those 2 questions set the stage for the character.  They phrase things that imply the person is a willing participant to the cult, rather than somebody who's going to bolt at first chance (which is what the player might do in reaction to a cult).  So you help the player get into the mindset of a person who wants to be in the cult and wants to be 2nd in command by letting him invent the reasons why.For the scientist:what information about the Space Angels have you held back from the rest of the cult, and how will it advance your position in the group?What is the basic nature of the scientific research that you've done on the Space Angels and why is the government blocking its publication?Once again, give the player a chance to invent some background material about the space angels.  maybe he worked on an alien autopsy?  And of course the part about the government sets him up as a consipiracy theorist who will react negatively to the government agents outside the compound.Kidnapped InducteeWhat relative of yours left to join this Space Angel cult and how long has he been gone?What did you see that people will think you are crazy, when you saw the bright light on Highway 6 and when you woke up in Arizona, 6 days had passed?Since the cult is about aliens, making the kidnapped person a victim of alien abduction flags them as a candidate member.  it also makes the Alien thing real for the player, so they can be on the fence about joining the cult (as they are the only ones who would believe the story).Undercover JournalistWhy have you spent much of your career documenting UFOs and other unexplained phenomenon?How will publishing the story of this cult and the events occuring now improve your reptutation and career?The kind of person who can infiltrate a group has to have some deep knowledge of the culture.  A guy who writes articles on alien abductions, etc will know more of the lingo and experiences.  He can easily tell someone else's story as his own experience to get him past the initial interviews.  We also want to set this guy up as somebody who is motivated to stick around and get the whole story, at the risk of his life, rather than cut and run.Captured ATF NegotiatorWhy are you so good at relating to others and finding common ground to work calm people down and defuse situations?Why have you felt this weight for the last few days, as if something large and impending was about to happen?We need to differentiate an ATF negotiator as being a diplomat, rather than ATF Agent with guns ready to escape and shoot.  The negotiator may be trained in weapons, should the game shift to that (they are a field agent after all), but as a negotiator, they have training and skills to talk hostile people into surrendering.  I also want to give the player some room to invent a sci-fi explanation.  Perhaps this person has Empath or precognitive abilities.  Something that might tie back in with the Space Angels.</blockquote>

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