Hobbies And Interests
Instructions
Questions That Develop Character
Start with the basics. How old is your character? What is his race? Where is he from?
Ask questions about the character's childhood. A sample question might be "My favorite toy as a child was: A) a toy sword, B) a chemistry set or C) juggling balls." These type of questions get players to consider why they chose the class or occupation that they did. If you are doing a short answer type quiz, you might ask your players to tell you about their favorite childhood memory.
Ask questions about the characters' relationships with their families to help them determine what their home life was like. A sample multiple choice question might be "My family life was: A) good, B) dysfunctional, or C) I have no family." Alternately, you can ask your players to describe one family holiday gathering.
Ask why the character chose his occupation or class. Was there a particular incident that made him decide to take the job he now has? Did he have another job before this one?
Pose hypothetical questions. "The king is a bad man but removing him would destabilize the country in a time of war. You: A) remove him anyway, B) wait until the war is over or C) leave him in power." Questions like this help a player determine his character's moral leanings. In a short answer form quiz, ask players to write about their characters' moral compass: where they developed their moral code, who influenced their moral decision-making process or how they feel about moral codes in general.
Use axioms to help players determine their characters' outlook on life. "The axiom that best describes me is: A) life is just a bowl of cherries, B) he who dies with the most toys wins, or C) the Golden Rule." In a short answer quiz, ask players to write down the axiom that they feel best represents their worldview.
Use questions that help a player determine their character's feelings about authority or the law. "Rules are: A) rules for a reason, B) meant to be broken, or C) best evaluated on a case by case basis." If you are using a short answer quiz, ask him to describe what he would do if he saw a crime being committed.
Ask questions about a character's feelings about other people. "A stranger is: A) a friend I haven't met yet, B) someone who won't be missed or C) best avoided." Or ask the players to write out how they would react in a situation where they were the at a party where they didn't know any of the other guests.
Questions That Generate Characters
Link the answers in your quiz to ability scores or attributes. A character who says exercise is his favorite pastime will have a higher strength or endurance score while someone who prefers reading would have a higher intelligence or smarts score.
Use hypothetical questions to determine a character's alignment. Amoral answers make the character evil while pragmatic ones make him neutral and moral answers make them good.
Use questions about life experience to generate skills. A character who grew up in a fishing village would have the swimming skill. Another who grew up in a city may be streetwise.
Use questions about job history or interests to determine character class or occupation. A character who served in the army would be a fighter. A character who apprenticed to a craftsman may be a smith. A character who worked as an actor or musician may be a bard. A character who is devout may be a priest or a cleric.
Ask questions about a character's flaws and strengths to determine disadvantages or edges. A character who won't leave a man behind might be loyal. Someone who likes to take risks may have a gambling problem.