# A Questionnaire for DM's to give their Players



## Aleolus (Nov 2, 2007)

This was not my idea.  I'll link to the original thread once I've explained this.  This is a questionnaire someone came up with for DM's to give to their players to help get them into character.  The first part is concerned with backstory and character development, while the second half ties into alignment and morality.  He also requested that people not quote Monty Python, or else the entire thing would devolve into a *NI*-fest.  What most people have been doing is filling out the questionnaire for themselves, either out of character, or in character for their 'trademark' character, I'm not sure which.

The original thread can be located on the Wizards of the Coast board, here (Caution, it's located on the mature board, so unless you have an account with them, you won't be able to read it there).
(btw, Age isn't on the one I linked, but I think it's appropriate for the idea)


*NAME:

AGE:

RACE:

GENDER:

PROFESSION:

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION:


1) We begin with some questions from your character's formative years. Describe the standard scene at dinnertime for you when you were a child.


2) You and a friend have been given a whole gold piece each - a veritable fortune for a kid - and set loose in the city. You have all day to do whatever you want, and your friend isn't especially imaginative. What do you do?


3) Moving to late adolescence: You are assisting the old master you've been apprenticed to. He asks you, for the third time this evening, to climb a rickety ladder to get him a book from fairly high up on his shelves. You are starting to get the distinct impression that he's just using it as a device to look up your robes. What do you do?


4) You decide to try your hand at gardening, with a small patch of tubers. One of them looks absolutely gigantic, breaching the soil. When the day comes to harvest it, you pull it up... and find a mole, teeth still latched into the stub that's left of your prize veggie. What is your reaction?


5) Okay, last adolescence question. A kid you played with often when you were younger died yesterday, drowned in six inches of water. No one's sure how. He was a bit of a pain in the rear, but not a bad guy. What is your reaction?


6) Moving on... Let's say something happened to prevent you from advancing in your chosen career - say, a Geas spell from a ******-off mage that can't be removed. What do you shift your focus to, and why?


7) Have you ever considered what you want to do after you retire from adventuring? If so, what do you see yourself doing?


8) If you were to ask your adventuring companions, what would they say your most annoying habit is? Not worst, just most annoying.


9) Congratulations - you've died! You weren't in the middle of an important quest or anything, you were just killed in a bar brawl. Do you want to be raised?


10) Treasure time! You have first pick of the loot this time. Which do you lay claim to - a ring that deflects incoming attacks, a hovering lantern that can produce light as bright as midday, a small knife that can be unfolded into almost any mundane tool, or a double share of the gold?


11) You have been captured by a demon lord that ascends to godhood as you watch helplessly. Using his newfound powers, he decides to lay claim to the title of "God of Genocide" by wiping out one mortal race - and he's making you choose. If you don't, he's promised to wipe out FIVE races, including your own! What do you do?


12) You are present at a trial as plaintiff. The defendant is a half-elf in his early teens who was told to kill you as part of initiation for the local thieves' guild. He's found guilty immediately - the evidence is overwhelming. His life is now yours, by local law. You can choose to send him to prison for life, kill him, take him as a slave, or even free him. What do you choose?


13) The party rogue and you have been stranded together several times, and the rest of the group has taken to joking that you're just trying to get some "alone time". You laugh it off, but that night the rogue admits that he/she does have feelings for you... and that repeatedly saving your life and vice versa has strengthened those feelings a bit. You really had no idea. How do you react? (Assume the rogue is of the gender you favor, if applicable


14) As part of a debt, the local nobility gives you the deed to a small keep to the west. When you arrive, you find that it's in excellent condition, as promised... except for the fact that something's blown up the entire eastern wall. The grounds are still in immaculate condition, and except for some water damage on the rooms without the wall, the interior of the keep is untouched. What do you do?


15) You and a blind man are stuck in a hobgoblin stockade with enough food for one of you. You're both very hungry - this is the first time in two days you've been fed. He suggests you flip a coin to see who gets it. You flip, he calls "tails", and the coin comes up heads. He asks what side came up. What do you do?


16) You have just saved an orcish kingdom from ruin at the hand of an insane mage. The chieftain gives you your reward... and then adds a traditional reward you didn't know about. You are now bethroed to his son/daughter (Again, assume the gender you favor). For an orc, she/he is exceptionally intelligent and good-looking. What is your reaction?


17) As above... but substitute an elven kingdom, and a son/daughter of the opposite gender as above.


18) As above... but substitute a very demented wizard and a very, VERY confused, intelligent, genderless golem.


19) Your deity (or a wizard of godly power levels, should you venerate no god) has found favor with you, and offers you one gift of your choice. What do you do?


20) You have found victory on the battlefield. As you look out on the slain, what is your immediate reaction?*


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## eamon (Nov 2, 2007)

Nice!  Me likes!  But i don't think the rules forum is most appropriate for this ;-).


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## Lorgrom (Nov 2, 2007)

As a player (and as a DM) I hate these kind of things. As a player, it is a very rare (last time it happened my brother mentioned that in 25+ years of gaming, he only remembers it happening 3 times) when I make and start playing a character, with any kind of background done. It takes a bit of playing to "get in touch" with the character enough for such details.

As a DM, what diffrence does it really make knowing such details before a character is played? It just adds more things you intialy have to keep track of and eventualy try to work into the ongoing story line. Of course once you get playing a few times, and the players "get in touch" with thier characters, that kind of information becomes avalible.

Lets not even get into the implications that some of your questions raise (ie all former masters are perverts, who only want to look up thier students robes, for starters).


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## werk (Nov 2, 2007)

I think I can answer all of the numbered questions: Gnomes!


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## Elethiomel (Nov 2, 2007)

Lorgrom said:
			
		

> Lets not even get into the implications that some of your questions raise (ie all former masters are perverts, who only want to look up thier students robes, for starters).



Well, I interpreted the questionnaire to be hypothetical, i.e. "if your character was faced with this situation, what would they do?", not "Your character has done all these things - what have they done?", with the exception of the very first question.


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## Delta (Nov 2, 2007)

Lorgrom said:
			
		

> As a player (and as a DM) I hate these kind of things.




I agree. I had a DM a few years back who would not quit with the background questions. "What city did you come from?" Well, I don't care -- I pick one from the map at random. "And why were you there in the first place?" Geez, no reason except you made me pick some damn place!

The "story" of your character should what happens later when you re-tell what happened during the game. Up-front stuff is just delaying play of the game, IMO.


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## cwhs01 (Nov 2, 2007)

Delta said:
			
		

> The "story" of your character should what happens later when you re-tell what happened during the game. Up-front stuff is just delaying play of the game, IMO.





Well i find it nice to have a little more depth to a character i play than just "Generic Joe II the Wizard (level 7). Has no home. Has no friends. And no life prior to his teaming up with Generic Jimmy and Co." 

okay a little unfair i guess

 But i like a character i play to have a story i can use in game and as important (or even more so) the gm can use and abuse for plothooks. I also like for other peoples characters to have a backstory for me to discover during play.

But a backstory is ofcourse not essential for roleplaying purposes, but i find it adds a little spice and complexity, as well as eases consistency in playing a character. If the gamist aspects of dnd  is what a player finds interesting (a perfect valid opinion), spending time on cooking up a backstory is maybe just wasted time.

And IMO upfront stuff IS a part of the game


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## Zurai (Nov 2, 2007)

It depends on the type of game you're playing. In a game like my Play-by-Post "Into the New World" campaign, a backstory is absolutely vital. There are only 900 people total at the start of the setting. Knowing where you fit into that small amount is crucial from both a player's _and_ a DM's point of view.

On the other hand, my FLGS has an Open D&D Game Night every week (actually, two - the response was so huge the DM had to split the party), which is basically a series of tactical combats linked together within an overall war campaign background. I think there are maybe 3 characters out of the ~20+ that have been played that had more than a sentence for background, and it hasn't mattered at all in game.


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## cignus_pfaccari (Nov 2, 2007)

Delta said:
			
		

> I agree. I had a DM a few years back who would not quit with the background questions. "What city did you come from?" Well, I don't care -- I pick one from the map at random. "And why were you there in the first place?" Geez, no reason except you made me pick some damn place!
> 
> The "story" of your character should what happens later when you re-tell what happened during the game. Up-front stuff is just delaying play of the game, IMO.




Heck, yeah.  D&D is a leisure activity for me, I don't feel like writing out essays on how he feels about anime and tight-laced apparel.

Brad


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## cmrscorpio (Nov 3, 2007)

I love these types of questionnaires.  I typically have a very in depth background for my characters whether the DM asks for it or not.  These types of character quizzes are great for getting at the root values of a character.


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## DeadDM (Nov 3, 2007)

I've tried a few types of questionaires on my players.  Most of them don't know how to properly define their own characters, and, even if they did come up with an adequate profile, they usually tend to hate trying to follow it.  

Now, I just let them play their characters based on the mood of the day.


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## Ravilah (Nov 3, 2007)

In all of my campaigns so far, the backstories of the players' characters have, in one way or another, eventually played an integral part of the story.  It helps the players feel that they actually have something invested in their adventures--which makes dying SO much more awful. 

But I agree with Zurai that it depends on the style of the GM and players.  I run a very story-oriented game where sessions involve almost as must diplomacy, political intrigue, and character development as ogre disembowelment, fireball explosions, and treasure stealing (though I make sure never to go a session without at least one good bloodbath).

This style comes rather naturally to my group, so its still a casual leisure activity for us too.  Gamers of different temperament would likely find staying "in-character" exhausting and annoying.


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## Infiniti2000 (Nov 3, 2007)

Personally, I think that questionnaire is silly.  Aside from the magical implications of some of them, I don't even know how _I_ would answer all of them, let alone answer for a fictional character.  Moreso, I don't see those particular questions as relevant.  If I were the player, I would answer them randomly and then decide later how I would respond in each situation, telling the DM beforehand what my "plans" were.  The character's life should shape his choices.  This questionnaire seems targeted to force the character into major decisions that have no bearing whatsoever right now.

Back stories are great.  Questionnaires like this are stupid.


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## Nail (Nov 3, 2007)

I have to admit, a questionnaire would annoy th' heck outta me.

Playing the game is about.....<wait fer it!>......_playing __ the game_!Answering the questionnaire about the game before I've played the game is about as useful as drawing a map without knowing anything about the territory.


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## Aleolus (Nov 4, 2007)

Well, this was just something to try to help this particular DM's players get into the mindset of the character, so they play them consistently, even if that consistency is chaotic in nature.


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## Fifth Element (Nov 4, 2007)

cmrscorpio said:
			
		

> I love these types of questionnaires.  I typically have a very in depth background for my characters whether the DM asks for it or not.  These types of character quizzes are great for getting at the root values of a character.



It's good that you like it, since it's something you can do for all of your characters regardless of whether the DM even reads it.

But the problem is it assumes all the players will enjoy it. If all of the players in a campaign are up for it, that's great. But a large proportion of players will probably look at this as needless homework, and would rather get playing. I know _my_ eyes would glaze over.

As a player and a DM, I like characters to have an idea of their background, maybe something that can be summed up in a short paragraph. The amount of detail in that questionnaire is off-putting, especially since much of a character's character often develops in gameplay.


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