Post/Author/DateTime	Post
stone_thecrows 01-11-08, 06:35 AM	I ask my players to answer the following questions (they don't have to answer every one!) when creating new characters. What do you do? Part 1: The Basics 1. What is your full name? 2. Where and when were you born? 3. Who are/were your parents? (Know their names, occupations, personalities, etc.) 4. Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like? 5. Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people. 6. What is your occupation? 7. Write a full physical description of yourself. You might want to consider factors such as: height, weight, race, hair and eye color, style of dress, and any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing marks. 8. To which social class do you belong? 9. Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses? 10. Are you right- or left-handed? 11. What does your voice sound like? 12. What words and/or phrases do you use very frequently? 13. What do you have in your pockets? 14. Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics? Part 2: Growing Up 15. How would you describe your childhood in general? 16. What is your earliest memory? 17. How much schooling have you had? 18. Did you enjoy school? 19. Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities? 20. While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them. 21. While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family? 22. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? 23. As a child, what were your favorite activities? 24. As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display? 25. As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like? 26. When and with whom was your first kiss? 27. Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity? 28. If you are a supernatural being (i.e. mage, werewolf, vampire), tell the story of how you became what you are or first learned of your own abilities. If you are just a normal human, describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today. Part 3: Past Influences 29. What do you consider the most important event of your life so far? 30. Who has had the most influence on you? 31. What do you consider your greatest achievement? 32. What is your greatest regret? 33. What is the most evil thing you have ever done? 34. Do you have a criminal record of any kind? 35. When was the time you were the most frightened? 36. What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you? 37. If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why? 38. What is your best memory? 39. What is your worst memory? Part 4: Beliefs And Opinions 40. Are you basically optimistic or pessimistic? 41. What is your greatest fear? 42. What are your religious views? 43. What are your political views? 44. What are your views on sex? 45. Are you able to kill? Under what circumstances do you find killing to be acceptable or unacceptable? 46. In your opinion, what is the most evil thing any human being could do? 47. Do you believe in the existence of soul mates and/or true love? 48. What do you believe makes a successful life? 49. How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings (i.e. do you hide your true self from others, and in what way)? 50. Do you have any biases or prejudices? 51. Is there anything you absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances? Why do you refuse to do it? 52. Who or what, if anything, would you die for (or otherwise go to extremes for)? Part 5: Relationships With Others 53. In general, how do you treat others (politely, rudely, by keeping them at a distance, etc.)? Does your treatment of them change depending on how well you know them, and if so, how? 54. Who is the most important person in your life, and why? 55. Who is the person you respect the most, and why? 56. Who are your friends? Do you have a best friend? Describe these people. 57. Do you have a spouse or significant other? If so, describe this person. 58. Have you ever been in love? If so, describe what happened. 59. What do you look for in a potential lover? 60. How close are you to your family? 61. Have you started your own family? If so, describe them. If not, do you want to? Why or why not? 62. Who would you turn to if you were in desperate need of help? 63. Do you trust anyone to protect you? Who, and why? 64. If you died or went missing, who would miss you? 65. Who is the person you despise the most, and why? 66. Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict? 67. Do you tend to take on leadership roles in social situations? 68. Do you like interacting with large groups of people? Why or why not? 69. Do you care what others think of you? Part 6: Likes And Dislikes 70. What is/are your favorite hobbies and pastimes? 71. What is your most treasured possession? 72. What is your favorite color? 73. What is your favorite food? 74. What, if anything, do you like to read? 75. What is your idea of good entertainment (consider music, movies, art, etc.)? 76. Do you smoke, drink, or use drugs? If so, why? Do you want to quit? 77. How do you spend a typical Saturday night? 78. What makes you laugh? 79. What, if anything, shocks or offends you? 80. What would you do if you had insomnia and had to find something to do to amuse yourself? 81. How do you deal with stress? 82. Are you spontaneous, or do you always need to have a plan? 83. What are your pet peeves? Part 7: Self Images And Etc. 84. Describe the routine of a normal day for you. How do you feel when this routine is disrupted? 85. What is your greatest strength as a person? 86. What is your greatest weakness? 87. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? 88. Are you generally introverted or extroverted? 89. Are you generally organized or messy? 90. Name three things you consider yourself to be very good at, and three things you consider yourself to be very bad at. 91. Do you like yourself? 92. What are your reasons for being an adventurer (or doing the strange and heroic things that RPG characters do)? Are your real reasons for doing this different than the ones you tell people in public? (If so, detail both sets of reasons...) 93. What goal do you most want to accomplish in your lifetime? 94. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 95. If you could choose, how would you want to die? 96. If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, name three things you would do in the time you had left. 97. What is the one thing for which you would most like to be remembered after your death? 98. What three words best describe your personality? 99. What three words would others probably use to describe you? 100. If you could, what advice would you, the player, give to your character? (You might even want to speak as if he or she were sitting right here in front of you, and use proper tone so he or she might heed your advice...)
Jutter 01-11-08, 06:53 AM	I ask them to provide me with a character background of two pages maximum. If they need any advice, I tell them the following four headings will do: History Personal goals (short-term and long-term) Personality Looks So far, this system worked out quite nicely.
CroBob 01-11-08, 06:58 AM	I have no interest in filling out a questionare about my character that takes twice as long as the "character sheet". Even if you don't have to answer them all, if you can pick and choose, I don't want to spend my time reading them all. I'd say condense it as much as possible. All the family questions can be lumped up, as any other questions on such a similar topic.
Jutter 01-11-08, 07:31 AM	If my DM came up with a list of questions about my character, I'd start answering them. After all, it's a one time exercise for an entire campaign. In one of the campaigns I ran, I handed out one of those questionnaires myself. Because at that time and with that group, I thought that was best. It worked, they obviously had to put some thought in their characters beyond the basic numbers, and I could get quite a few interesting plot hooks and encounters based on their answers.
Dunsel 01-11-08, 08:31 AM	I ask my players to answer the following questions (they don't have to answer every one!) when creating new characters. What do you do? Part 1: The Basics 1. What is your full name? 2. Where and when were you born? 3. Who are/were your parents? (Know their names, occupations, personalities, etc.) 4. Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like? 5. Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people. 7. Write a full physical description of yourself. You might want to consider factors such as: height, weight, race, hair and eye color, style of dress, and any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing marks. 8. To which social class do you belong? 9. Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses? 10. Are you right- or left-handed? 11. What does your voice sound like? 12. What words and/or phrases do you use very frequently? 13. What do you have in your pockets? 14. Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics? Part 2: Growing Up 17. How much schooling have you had? 19. Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities? 20. While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them. 25. As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like? 28. If you are a supernatural being (i.e. mage, werewolf, vampire), tell the story of how you became what you are or first learned of your own abilities. If you are just a normal human, describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today. Part 3: Past Influences 29. What do you consider the most important event of your life so far? 30. Who has had the most influence on you? 31. What do you consider your greatest achievement? 32. What is your greatest regret? Part 4: Beliefs And Opinions 41. What is your greatest fear? Part 5: Relationships With Others 53. In general, how do you treat others (politely, rudely, by keeping them at a distance, etc.)? Does your treatment of them change depending on how well you know them, and if so, how? 54. Who is the most important person in your life, and why? 56. Who are your friends? Do you have a best friend? Describe these people. 57. Do you have a spouse or significant other? If so, describe this person. 65. Who is the person you despise the most, and why? Part 6: Likes And Dislikes 70. What is/are your favorite hobbies and pastimes? 71. What is your most treasured possession? 72. What is your favorite color? 73. What is your favorite food? 74. What, if anything, do you like to read? 75. What is your idea of good entertainment (consider music, movies, art, etc.)? 76. Do you smoke, drink, or use drugs? If so, why? Part 7: Self Images And Etc. 92. What are your reasons for being an adventurer (or doing the strange and heroic things that RPG characters do)? Are your real reasons for doing this different than the ones you tell people in public? (If so, detail both sets of reasons...) Serious Overkill! It reads like a job interview form. I made what I consider to be appropriate cuts. It is still too long.
Dunsel 01-11-08, 08:42 AM	I do not ask my players to give a detailed history. I ask them for the following: Looks/personality: the usual height/weight and basic personality. They are allowed to use the DMG NPC creation section for the wording if they are unsure. History: List significant events and persons from your past. Present: Why are you adventuring? Future: What are your long-term goals? That is it. Some players go all out and some are as brief as can be.
Ariakus 01-11-08, 08:57 AM	I have no interest in filling out a questionare about my character that takes twice as long as the "character sheet". Even if you don't have to answer them all, if you can pick and choose, I don't want to spend my time reading them all. I'd say condense it as much as possible. All the family questions can be lumped up, as any other questions on such a similar topic. I didn't read all of those above! :) Serious Overkill! It reads like a job interview form. I made what I consider to be appropriate cuts. It is still too long. No kidding! A good history always worked well enough for me. Usually they put most of the things on that list in there, the names of their parents and siblings haven't mattered as they so far have been irrelevant to the story, I have come across a homebrew game now and again that may enter family from time to time as motivators, but this is usually spur of the moment or in their history they stated they have 2 sisters and 3 brothers type thing. The list above seems more like GURPing or similar role-play heavy games. Too much role-playing in my games have been just as much of a game-bog as too much combat. I like them to have a history that glazes over most of their life, because it would be a book to describe everything traumatic that happened to someone in their first 18 years of life that shaped their personality...even worse if your an elf!!!:eek: 134 years of history to write for a 1st level character...I like a character to have...well...character, but not a huge detailed history to prove it, if they are played In Character, that is what shapes them...the adventures IC they go through.
ccerose 01-11-08, 12:10 PM	I asked my players to fill out a similar character background questionnaire exactly once. For those who completed it (only 2 out of the 6 players did), most of what they included never came up over the course of a campaign that lasted for 18 months. Other than some basics, such as a physical description, place of origin, personality type/motivations, family, and upbringing, I leave it up to the players to include as much or as little background as they want. I've got a couple of players who enjoy coming up with extremely detailed backgrounds for their PCs and others who only come to the table with a name. While I do agree that players should create some sort of background for their characters, I will never again ask them to commit to anything remotely like this. That's not to say a questionnaire like this isn't useful. If a player was looking for advice on creating a detailed character background, this could definitely steer them in the right direction.
Kobajagrande 01-11-08, 12:55 PM	Wow. Really, I'd get bored around question 5. Maybe you should shorten it out to a really brief sketch, if you intend to hand that out to players.
Dag 01-11-08, 04:45 PM	I had players fill out something similar to this a few years ago. It was a character analysis from a creative writing course I was taking. It really helped develop my character for the short story I was writing but I think it was a little much for my players when they first saw it. Still, each one of them filled out the questionnaire and I even used some of the info given to bring in family or back ground events into the game. But as they started losing characters the notion of filling this sheet out for secondary or tertiary characters really put the players out - and I can't blame them. I haven't used the questionnaire again until this year as I am running a city based campaign and a majority of what goes on in the city is based on adventures opening up through the characters' actions, histories and contacts - not a whole lot of pre-constructed adventures or storylines. I think the most important lesson I've learned with this questionnaire thing is that the players enjoy fleshing out their characters, but they dont enjoy doing it repeatedly as you kill off one character after another. As a DM I reccomend that if other DMs decide to make a player do all of this extra work to flesh out his/her character then you should do what you can to let that character live long enough to complete the personal development that the questionnaire started - meaning do what you can to keep the character alive without being cheesy about it. As far as in-game, something like this can give a lot of fuel to the DM and can really help him craft and tailor the game to his players' characters. One last reccomendation is that you get these things filled out early (without rushing your players), giving yourself as DM a few months with all of this information before you actually start the campaign, giving you time to flesh out relatives, places, contacts or even to take little ideas your players have given in their background to create or alter adventures or NPCs based on their history.
necrom99 01-11-08, 06:19 PM	I make 'em draw up a one pager of anything they deem relative...a short backstory, if they wanna add more then all the power to 'em...as i ALWAYS incorporate there backstories into the game
1red13 01-11-08, 09:27 PM	I think more often than not a dm will be disappointed if they handed out a questionare of this length to party that consists of more than two pcs. With any more there probably isn't enough game time to go around to touch on much of what is in the questionare Personally i just ask for a synopsis of their character sheet and a few quick comments on their character. For myself i've found it onerous to fill in such detail. I think if a pc goes through more than one character in a short time the answers will begin to look similar
CryoSilver 01-12-08, 12:38 PM	I tell my players to write about half a page, though more is better. Beyond the one or two sentence descriptions I provide of various regions and racial traits, they are freeto make stuff up, and this stuff becomes part of the canon of my campaign world, making the players active participants in the process of world-building.
Man in the Funny Hat 01-12-08, 03:57 PM	I don't have any kind of questionairre like that. I do suggest to players that it can be a good idea to write up background for the character, or even use some of the random background generation stuff I have if they are so inclined. I also strongly encourage them to find their own reasons to WANT to adventure with the other PC's. But it's not a requirement. There are two big reasons I don't require it. One, not all players have the same skills needed to answer such questionaires or write up even a decent paragraph of background, much less details of their characters life story. Two, character concepts CHANGE as soon as they meet the actual game. I've seen plenty of players just drop characters altogether as being a poor mix with the party, with the campaign, or just because they're not feeling it like they hoped. If it does happen that they character doesn't gel then it's nice to know that I didn't require them to spend a lot of time on a background they may not have wanted to create anyway. Who the characters are NOW and what they do NOW is always more interesting than what they WERE, or did in the past - and that is the focus of my games.
stone_thecrows 01-18-08, 07:27 PM	Thanks for the replies. Yes the questionnaire was total overkill but some players need that level of push to make them think about their character background and ideology. Some players really don't need this kind of thing, and from the replies you can see that some DM's like this kind of detail (although it does need some cutting) and some don't. For those who don't, be happy that your players can create playable back histories because that is what really makes a good character.
Rood_Inverse 01-18-08, 08:05 PM	I live and die, as a DM, by the backgrounds my players give me. That *are* the campaign. I spend a lot of time and effort (by the time the first game rolls around, we're talking literally days' worth of work) to put together an awesome campaign for the people who sit at my table. It's the least a player could do for me: Bring one page of background information for your character. Bullets, paragraphs, whatever. Just give me some plot hooks and material to help make this *your* campaign. I swear to God, too many players bring their character to the table with no backstory, define their character only by class, and expect the DM to work with nothing and turn it into gold. Sorry, this isn't X-Men where you walk off the street with super powers and a name, and hope the writers give you good material. Because, like X-Men, you won't get any good material. It's too much to expect of your DM. A writing exercise from one of the theater classes I took in college. Tell your players to do this and see what happens. Write 12 character traits you possess. Label them a, b, and c, in order. Repeat until the end. You now have 3 groups of 4 words. These are all characters in your play. Place two of these characters in the room (any room) and establish their relationship ("strangers" or "friends" or more specific) There is a fire in the adjacent room. Describe their actions and dialogue. (The characters disagree about what to do, what to say, what to take, etc.) Introduce the third character, if you haven't already, and increase the fire size in the next room, enchroaching on the characters' room. Finish the scene. Boiled Down for D&D Write 12 character traits you possess. Label them a, b, and c, in order. Repeat until the end. You now have 3 groups of 4 words. One of these is your PC. Pick. Place one or both of these characters in the room (any room) and establish their relationship ("strangers" or "friends" or more specific) to your PC Create an event in your background (ie, a fire in the next room) where they all interacted Tell the DM, so he has something to work with.
ppirilla 01-18-08, 10:35 PM	I just tell my players to give me what they can give me. Nice and simple. (For reference, I generally start characters in new campaigns at 1125 XP) I require a basic physical description (height, weight, hair color, eye color, skin tone, brief description of clothing, distinguishing marks, etc). I'll give up to 125 bonus XP for more details. I require two or three events that have happened to the character in the past (not even full sentances for each). I'll give up to 500 bonus XP for detailed backgrounds. It gets me some things to go on, and rewards players willing to put time and effort into their PC's.
squidyak 01-18-08, 11:55 PM	I don't require anything that isn't on the character sheet. If they give me a written out background they get xp. The more detail, the more xp. They also now have more opportunity for out of combat xp due to the fact I have more to work with.
stone_thecrows 01-19-08, 04:19 PM	I live and die, as a DM, by the backgrounds my players give me. That *are* the campaign. I spend a lot of time and effort (by the time the first game rolls around, we're talking literally days' worth of work) to put together an awesome campaign for the people who sit at my table. It's the least a player could do for me: Bring one page of background information for your character. Bullets, paragraphs, whatever. Just give me some plot hooks and material to help make this *your* campaign. I swear to God, too many players bring their character to the table with no backstory, define their character only by class, and expect the DM to work with nothing and turn it into gold. Sorry, this isn't X-Men where you walk off the street with super powers and a name, and hope the writers give you good material. Because, like X-Men, you won't get any good material. It's too much to expect of your DM. A writing exercise from one of the theater classes I took in college. Tell your players to do this and see what happens. Write 12 character traits you possess. Label them a, b, and c, in order. Repeat until the end. You now have 3 groups of 4 words. These are all characters in your play. Place two of these characters in the room (any room) and establish their relationship ("strangers" or "friends" or more specific) There is a fire in the adjacent room. Describe their actions and dialogue. (The characters disagree about what to do, what to say, what to take, etc.) Introduce the third character, if you haven't already, and increase the fire size in the next room, enchroaching on the characters' room. Finish the scene. Boiled Down for D&D Write 12 character traits you possess. Label them a, b, and c, in order. Repeat until the end. You now have 3 groups of 4 words. One of these is your PC. Pick. Place one or both of these characters in the room (any room) and establish their relationship ("strangers" or "friends" or more specific) to your PC Create an event in your background (ie, a fire in the next room) where they all interacted Tell the DM, so he has something to work with. I wish I could say the same but alas as a new-ish DM I am still somewhat dependent on WotC pre-made adventures (warts an' all). I used a cut down version of the questionnaire at the beginning of my weekend run campaign to ensure the players were serious about the game AND their characters.
Simonides 01-20-08, 01:24 AM	I have found that most players do not approach the character generation process with a fully fleshed, developed character complete and ready to play. Those that do often go through transformations for a few sessions until the character really starts to click. When I begin the campaign, the players and I agree on what sort of campaign we want (Dungeon of the Week, Save the World, Exploration and Discovery, etc) and whether we want ties to a patron, home base, or have a more 'wander the world and find adventure' style. That way, from the beginning, everyone knows what sorts of adventures are going to be the norm. After that, I develop the campaign idea and back story and bring that to the players. e.g.: When the time came to start my new Eberron campaign, we all agreed that we wanted to do an exploration and discovery/dungeon of the week style campaign, but with a 'fight against evil organization' overtone. Many of the players were enamored with Xen'drik as we hadn't gotten there in previous campaigns. So, we decided to start with a group of fairly new adventurers with ties to the Wayfinders Association, coming to Stormreach for the first time. I decided the Emerald Claw would be a fun organization and the competition would be a race for powerful magical relics of legend. Once I have done that, I bring the fleshed out campaign plan to the players. Each one meanwhile has already put some thought into the character they want to bring into the game because they know the basic setting and ideas. I sit down with each player and ask them to give me the highlights: class, race, any backstory or personality they have thought about, and goals. Just a light conversation, no writing required. If two back stories suggest ties, I have the two players sit down and talk about maybe having a preexisting relationship. Otherwise, I try to keep them in line with the overall campaign idea by suggesting minor changes. Then, they create characters and do all the numbers. We have a short follow up chat and then we start the game. As time goes on, players begin to find their characters. Their back stories may change a little, as will their personalities and goals. I try to talk to my players every few sessions. After the third or fourth play session, I start to work in ideas from their back stories and histories, which of course makes things evolve a little more. At the beginning of each game session, I also tend to include short activities or quizzes to warm up the engines and I always reward nominal XP for good participation. "Write down one adjective for each character in the party except yourself, one that describes that character." (It is often eye opening to see what people think of your character. I recently had a player listen to the adjectives and realize that his character was coming off wrong, but that it made more sense with his back story and origin so he started to play up those different aspects more). "What is your character's most treasured possession and why?" Back story, goals, and motives all evolve during the game. I try to encourage that naturally and I don't put the onus on my players to bring a fully developed character from the get go. After all, I don't plan 20 levels of campaign game play from the starting gate. I start with what I need and add to it as I need to. They should have the right to do the same.