Pre-Game Player Questionnaires
- Thread starter tleilaxu
- Start date
kengar
First Post
Here's the text of an email I sent to my group a few weeks ago. I called it "The Seven Questions." I sent it in anticipation of starting a new campaign, but it wasn't campaign-specific or 3e-specific:
As you can probably tell, I was trying to get folks to think in terms of character development more than just the rules. I got some interesting answers, too. Also, this time around, I'm going to try having everyone get together for a "character generation" session. Since I will be using a more "Story/Goal award" variant XP system, the players will need to define character goals and stories as well as stats & scores. We'll see how it goes.
As you can probably tell, I was trying to get folks to think in terms of character development more than just the rules. I got some interesting answers, too. Also, this time around, I'm going to try having everyone get together for a "character generation" session. Since I will be using a more "Story/Goal award" variant XP system, the players will need to define character goals and stories as well as stats & scores. We'll see how it goes.
arwink
Clockwork Golem
Here's a copy of mine. It gets re-written towards the start of ever game, and it's built from a dozen other questionnaires and ideas from various sources.
Tasks
Character Background - Up to 350 xp
Create a convincing character background and e-mail it to me. For every two words of story that are written, your character gets one experience point, to a maximum of
200 xp. There are an additional 150 xp floating around for interesting ideas, amusing incidents and the number of useable adventure hooks.
Character Appearance - Up to 100 xp
A written description of your character is worth 50 xp. A picture, either hand-drawn or photocopied from another source, is worth an additional 50 xp.
Create an NPC - 150 xp.
Create a description of somebody your character has very strong feelings about. Perhaps an enemy, a long lost love, a family member, etc. Your character gets 1xp for every two words written, to a maximum of 100. Providing a picture or written description of the NPC is worth an additional 50 xp.
Questionnaire - up to 250 xp
Complete a questionnaire on behalf of your character. Give as short or long an answer as you wish. The base experience point award will be 150 points, but there will be a bonus of 100 xp for imaginative, amusing or particularly insightful answers.
1. Who is the most important person in your life?
2. Where do you want to be in 20 years time?
3. What are you most scared of?
4. What makes you happy?
5. What is your idea of a good evenings entertainment?
6. If you were not an adventurer, what would you be?
7. What item would you not live without?
8. When was the last time you cried?
9. When do you want to have children?
10. If you were an animal, what would you be?
11. What is your favorite bard song?
12. Do you prefer the town or the country? Why?
13. What was the last thing that made you laugh?
14. If made to decide, would you rather be deaf or blind? Why?
15. What is the worst thing you’ve ever done?
16. If you had to describe yourself in five adjectives, what would they be?
17. How do you want to die?
18. What is the worst thing someone has done to you?
19. Who do you admire?
20. How much is a pint of mead?
Recent History - 200 xp
There is only one limitation on your recent history - it ends with you on the road or somehow arriving in Hommlet at the behest of the church (whichever church gets chosen to focus on). Your history must end with you en-route. Write about your characters thoughts of the two months leading up to this event. You should describe their feelings of the current situation and what positive and negative things have happened to them. Maybe they would like to comment on how your character feels about being sent to a new and strange area. You get 1xp for every two words written, up to a maximum of 200 xp
Home Region - up to 300 xp.
Detail your characters homeland/village/suburb/tribe. The campaign world is purposefully blank at the moment, and your service to the church and the recent Trollmist wars means you can be moved nearly anywhere in the empire by the time the game begins. Go crazy and do whatever you want. Up to 100 xp will be awarded for a map of the region, while up to 200 xp will be awarded for a description of the area, its local history and government, as well as a general idea of important NPC’s of the region. There is no real favoritisms displayed on the type of region you choose. Writing about a small town is worth just as much as a general country/society overview.
Party Relationship - up to 100 xp.
This task can only be completed after the first session. Write a paragraph or two on how your character feels about each of the other individuals in the group. You get awarded 1 xp for every two words written, to a maximum of 100 xp.
Tasks
Character Background - Up to 350 xp
Create a convincing character background and e-mail it to me. For every two words of story that are written, your character gets one experience point, to a maximum of
200 xp. There are an additional 150 xp floating around for interesting ideas, amusing incidents and the number of useable adventure hooks.
Character Appearance - Up to 100 xp
A written description of your character is worth 50 xp. A picture, either hand-drawn or photocopied from another source, is worth an additional 50 xp.
Create an NPC - 150 xp.
Create a description of somebody your character has very strong feelings about. Perhaps an enemy, a long lost love, a family member, etc. Your character gets 1xp for every two words written, to a maximum of 100. Providing a picture or written description of the NPC is worth an additional 50 xp.
Questionnaire - up to 250 xp
Complete a questionnaire on behalf of your character. Give as short or long an answer as you wish. The base experience point award will be 150 points, but there will be a bonus of 100 xp for imaginative, amusing or particularly insightful answers.
1. Who is the most important person in your life?
2. Where do you want to be in 20 years time?
3. What are you most scared of?
4. What makes you happy?
5. What is your idea of a good evenings entertainment?
6. If you were not an adventurer, what would you be?
7. What item would you not live without?
8. When was the last time you cried?
9. When do you want to have children?
10. If you were an animal, what would you be?
11. What is your favorite bard song?
12. Do you prefer the town or the country? Why?
13. What was the last thing that made you laugh?
14. If made to decide, would you rather be deaf or blind? Why?
15. What is the worst thing you’ve ever done?
16. If you had to describe yourself in five adjectives, what would they be?
17. How do you want to die?
18. What is the worst thing someone has done to you?
19. Who do you admire?
20. How much is a pint of mead?
Recent History - 200 xp
There is only one limitation on your recent history - it ends with you on the road or somehow arriving in Hommlet at the behest of the church (whichever church gets chosen to focus on). Your history must end with you en-route. Write about your characters thoughts of the two months leading up to this event. You should describe their feelings of the current situation and what positive and negative things have happened to them. Maybe they would like to comment on how your character feels about being sent to a new and strange area. You get 1xp for every two words written, up to a maximum of 200 xp
Home Region - up to 300 xp.
Detail your characters homeland/village/suburb/tribe. The campaign world is purposefully blank at the moment, and your service to the church and the recent Trollmist wars means you can be moved nearly anywhere in the empire by the time the game begins. Go crazy and do whatever you want. Up to 100 xp will be awarded for a map of the region, while up to 200 xp will be awarded for a description of the area, its local history and government, as well as a general idea of important NPC’s of the region. There is no real favoritisms displayed on the type of region you choose. Writing about a small town is worth just as much as a general country/society overview.
Party Relationship - up to 100 xp.
This task can only be completed after the first session. Write a paragraph or two on how your character feels about each of the other individuals in the group. You get awarded 1 xp for every two words written, to a maximum of 100 xp.
Last edited:
Viktyr Gehrig
First Post
Wow. This whole concept has been yoinked. Thanks.
hunter2112
First Post
Oni said:
Both of these are valid questions. The first one is from the character's perspective. What does he/she as a person want out of life? (become famous, find a lost family member, etc...)
The second is for the player. What does the player want to accomplish with this character? (achieve spring attack, ... can't think of another, not enough caffeine in me I guess)
I always ask both to my players.
Delemental
First Post
Oni said:
I usually ask both. What a player wants to have their character do (or have happen to them) can be very different from what the character wants for him or herself. For example, I may want to have my character face a deeply personal tragedy in his career which would be the catalyst for a major life change (justifying something like taking up a PrC that he wouldn't have considered before). Obviously, no sane person would want these things to happen to them, so my character would not share this particular goal.
