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#1 hippokrene May 23, 2008 22:55:42

Taken from another board. Here's a series of questions designed to clarify a player's style and expectations. I thought it would be interesting to see how people on this forum respond. Katman's Player Questionnaire 1. Let's start by thinking about the kind of hero you'd like to be. Rank these descriptions, with "1" being the description that most appeals to you, and "6" being the least appealing overall. You would most enjoy acting as: ____ Someone who participates in the adventures, while enjoying the exotic locations and meeting all sorts of interesting beings who play their own roles in the grand drama. It's all about the journey. ____ Someone who can and will take names, kick butt, and leave the wreckage of your enemies behind you. And the truth is, you kind of enjoy it. Standing tall before your enemies and giving them what's coming to them is a good feeling, your own way of setting some small corner of the universe to rights. After a while, enemies see you coming and say "uh-oh!" At least, the smart ones do. Now that's what it's all about! ____ The strategist and/or brains of the operation, always thinking ahead, solving problems, choosing tactics, and making sure the group is moving forward. It's all about the goal. ____ Someone with a strong steak of idealism, living both in the world and for those ideals - possibly even acting as a exemplar of those ideals for others. It's all about who you are, who you become, and what you stand for. ____ The brooding outsider, wrapped up in a personal story/ drama that often overshadows outside events in your consciousness. You are scorned and mistrusted by most others - possibly with some justification. It's all about your personal conflicts. ____ The unwilling ordinary hero, dragged into larger events against his or her will. You somehow manages to get through it all, calling on the skills and attitudes of your ordinary (and possibly low-status) life to keep yourself grounded while you make something of yourself. One day, people will ask you "What made you a hero?" and you'll reply: "Heroes aren't made - they're cornered." It's all about the situation and company you're dragged into... at first. 2. OK, now let's step beyond broad styles and talk about the kind of protagonist you want to be and become. Rank each as H for High interest, M - Medium, or L Low interest. ____ Someone who gets by on their wits. You usually have a clever move up your sleeve, the right line for the occasion, the ability to find important clues, etc. You use that to make your enemies' lives miserable. ____ Someone with strong ties to magic and the mysteries of the universe, whether the source of those ties is nature/faerie, channeling from on high, or arcane secrets. Your ties to that power source give you power in the world. ____ Someone who steps up to the front whenever trouble starts and physically goes toe to toe with enemies. If they want your friends or the people you're protecting, they're going to have to go through you first. And you're going to make that hurt. ____ Someone who loves and cares for the natural world. ____ Someone others look to and trust for leadership and direction. ____ Someone who looks out for others, and can act as the glue that holds a group together, whether or not it comes with a leading role. ____ A wild card who usually does their own thing, but somehow it usually works out OK. Something not mentioned here. Go ahead and fill in the blank right here with your answer: A: 3. When I think about the kind of environment I want my hero to be part of, here's what appeals to me... (Rank each as H for High interest, M - Medium, or L Low interest) ____ It's a High Fantasy game where heroes and villains strongly embody strong ideals and do legendary, earthshaking deeds. Small stuff? Details? Unless its part of a legend, who cares? It's about the broad sweep of history and destiny right from the get-go, as events rise toward a world or universe-shaking climax. ____ It's a gritty game where heroes and villains often have significant shades of grey, there's a lot of local detail, and the bad guys can and do win as part of the storylines. ____ It's a tough game. The bad guys are played as smart as they are, and play for keeps. Every fight won't be life or death, but you can definitely get into over your head if you aren't careful. The good guys play just as rough in the service of better ideals and futures, though they're more limited in terms of what they'll do to people outside the conflict. Good planning and smart approaches pay off, but if you screw up, expect to pay a real price or even die. ____ A variant of the gritty & tough game where it's all shades of grey and points of view. Good and evil are irrelevant, and almost everyone plays for keeps. It's all about survival. ____ It's a detailed and factional game with a lot of flavor and depth to the elements you encounter. In-depth interaction with the complexities of the fictional universe and its factions is probably more important to defining your hero and reaching success than your combat ability or magic powers. Who you know may be at least as important as what you can do. ____ The challenges are challenging, and losing is possible, but the bias is toward happy endings and good guys who win. ____ Moral dilemmas and painful choices between key ideals are a common feature of the game. ____ We're told who or what our target is. We go get our target. Conan the Barbarian or Xena Warrior Princess would be proud of the butt-kicking that ensues. Then we head back with our loot, celebrate heavily, and get ready to do it all over again. Angst? Deep introspection? Wondering what I'm doing here? I can contemplate my teenage years or go to work if I want that. ____ It's about the group's friendships and relationships first and foremost. Yeah, we go on adventures, accomplish great things, and see unusual places. But the really interesting part is how each participant is growing, how they get along, and the friendships that grow over time. The rest is just secondary backdrop that lets us develop that. ____ It's all about being part of a civilization, organization, army, secret society, et. al. that is bigger than my hero. Yes, I do heroic things with the group, but always in the service of that greater end. My satisfaction comes largely from seeing my efforts build the civilization, organization, et. al. and its ideals, until the day comes when I play a major role in, or lead, that organization. Something we missed? Tell me here: 4. Who are your top 3 favorite Action Hero/ Superhero/ Fantasy Characters - or even real historical personages? Why? I. II. III. 5. Who are your top 3 favorite villains of screen or literature? Why? I. II. III. 6. The 3 places in the real world world or in fictional literature that I would most like to visit are... I. II. III. 7. This question is about the genres you like most on screen and print. Rank each genre as H (High interest), M (Medium), L (Low interest), or X (Actively hate/avoid. Yuccch!): ____ General Action/Adventure ____ Espionage ____ Fantasy fiction ____ Folk tales, any culture or one specific ____ History, fiction or non-fiction ____ Horror ____ Military/War stories ____ Mystery ____ Nature & Science related ____ Science Fiction ____ Sports Fiction ____ Religion/ Philosophy ____ Romance Something else we've missed? Fill it in here: 8. Evil is.... (Rate as H - High agreement, M - Not sure, or agreement with significant reservations, X - "I disagree!") ____ Solely a matter of one's point of view. There is no real, impartial standard that can be used to say something is evil. Those who use this term are usually ignorant, or have ulterior motives. ____ Real, and must be fought when it arises, but within all of the rules. Your ideals are too serious to be set aside. ____ Real, but being a good guy is not a suicide pact. You do the best you can, break less important rules if you have to, make unpleasant choices when forced, and try to make sure the greater good is served. The consequences are too serious for too many people if you fail. ____ A label people use for things they don't understand, or are jealous of. ____ A fun way to explore the darkness and live without restrictions of any kind. ____ Real sometimes. Some beings are evil, and some ideas are evil. But people who think about the issue of evil too much become dangerous, and there are too many other things to live for. ____ An irrelevant concept, because a good life and right conduct really revolve around something else. I'd like to explain, clarify, or mention something you completely missed right here: TIP: What does your Game Master think is the best answer here? How compatible are those world views? How will you two resolve any differences in those views? Discuss. 9. How much realism do you want in the game's dramas, as pertains to evil and other adult themes? Pick one: ____ Full "NC-17". Right up to full horror film experience is fine as default mode re: the evil ones and their actions. Nothing is off limits for them, and the campaign reflects that faithfully. Those who embrace the darkness might torture small children in front of parents, perform gruesome experiments on live victims, engage in cannibalism, **** those in their/their army's path - (N.B. not necessarily just women) etc., and players have to deal with that reality. The world is a dark place, and fantasy is even darker. As for adult themes like sex, drugs, et. al., that's part of reality too. Bring it all on! ____ R-Rated. Bad people do terrible things, and that's why they have to be dealt with. Don't be gratuitous about it, but an adult campaign is fine with seeing that first hand; it underscores the seriousness of the stakes. Other adult themes are also fine, so long as they're handled with some minimum of tact. ____ PG-13/AA. Bad things happen, and adult situations happen. Go ahead and tell us if they happen, but avoid anything seriously bad and keep all of the heavy/ adult stuff off stage. ____ PG or below. I'm Ok with just using slapped-on labels for bad guys, and fantasy cliches to tell me they're fair game. Anything controversial or graphic should probably left out. It's not something I want to think about in a gaming context. 10. Notwithstanding anything else I've said, the following are subjects and situations I do not want to encounter in any way within the game. Not even as something that happens as "background" to someone else, and not to a player's character: