Category Role-Playing (53)
Topic RP: Tips, Slips, And Near Misses (6)
Message Getting In Character--18 Questions
(90) By FARQUAR1@PLAY.NET
On Jan 16, 2000 at 18:56

When I first rolled up my bardess, the first thing I did was do a thorough workup on her. I got the questions from one of the DragonRealms' websites, but I found they worked just as well if applied to a GS3 character. One of the remarkable things was how much I learned about my character's personality through the answers to these questions. Here they are. (The male pronoun is used throughout, but in the classic universal sense of standing for both male and female.)

1) Where is the Character from? A child growing up on a farm near the Landing will have different childhood experiences than one growing up as a merchants son in Solhaven. Even a child growing up in a rich family will have a different childhood than one whose family is well off, yet hard working. The Character's birthplace is quite important, but you also have to ask yourself where was he raised, and who raised him?

2) What was the Character's family like? What did the character's parents do? What was the family's means of support? Were the parents married? What was family life like? Does the character have any siblings? Where are they now? What do they do? Does the character keep in contact with them? Did the character even know his family? If not, who raised him? How large was his family? Did he have a large extended family? How close are the members of the family?

3) Has the Character begun his own family? Is the character married? Does he have children? If not, does he want to have children? Has he been married before? If yes, what happened to the other spouse?

4) What is the Character's general appearance? How does the character dress? Why does he choose to dress this way? If your character has a tattoo why did he get that particular one? Is there a reason why your female character wears her hair short, or your male character wears his long?

5) What historical events had an influence on your Character?

6) Where and how was the Character educated? Did he go to a school of some kind or did his family teach him? Did he attempt any higher education? Where? How did your character view his education? Was he a bad student? Did he wish to continue his education but circumstances prevented it?

7) Why did your Character choose his profession? Parental pressure? Life long dream? A calling of some sort? Rebelliousness? What did he hope to accomplish by joining his particular profession?

8) Has the Character ever done anything for a living besides his present profession? If so, what was it? Did they enjoy it? Why did the character stop doing it? Would they go back to doing it in the future?

9) What are the Character's beliefs about the Gods? Is your character very religious or just a take it or leave it sort of worshipper? Which God or Gods, if any, do they worship above all others, and why?

10) What is the Character's moral code? Will the character kill? Why? When did the character decide that he could? Does he think killing is acceptable? Under what circumstances? What is your character's opinion on stealing and thievery? On Thieves? Would your character ever steal (not for skill training, but for monetary gain) from another character? How does your character view violence?

11) What are your character's goals? Is this all the character ever wants to do? Do they have any ambitions beyond here and now? Are they satisfied with the way things are now? If not, when do they plan on changing things? (Remember, the character's goals, not the player's) What drives your character to do what he does?

12) Is there a particular person in your character's life that influenced him more than anyone else? An Idol or Hero, perhaps? Was it a bad influence? How did the influence affect your character's life? Does your character recognize the influence?

13) If your character had one wish what would he wish for? Happiness? Knowledge? Wealth? Would he spurn the wish as ridiculous and worthless dreaming of the impossible? Why would he wish for these things or not wish at all?

14) Was there a specific turning point in your character's life? From atheist to religious? From pacifist to aggressive? Poor to rich? What caused the event to happen? Why did it affect your character so deeply? How does he perceive the change in himself?

15) Are there certain things that the Character cannot do? Get close to people? Perceive themselves realistically? Won't work well with others? Think clearly under stress? Handle money well?

16) What special qualities does the Character possess? This does not refer to your OOC skills, but to what the character does well. Does he get along well with people? Is he skilled at business? Planning ahead? A good mediator?

17) What does the Character hate? Luukosian or Sheruvian Priests? Nobility? Sentimentality? The Undead? Newcomers to the lands? His own family? Society in General? Why does he hate?

18) What does the Character love? The seashore? Quiet times? The mountains? Music? Art? A specific person? A certain place? A good meal? What is it about these things that makes him love them?

Answering these questions may not work for everyone, but I find this method extremely helpful. Focusing on how the character behaves and why makes the persona I am trying to create that much more real to me.

Nofret's player