Questions for Character Development

originally by Rich Taylor
edited by Dan Noland

The vast majority of these questions were created by Rich Taylor. The original unmodified test is hosted here courtesy of Jennifer Brozek. I came across these questions a while back and thought that they were some of the best of the many ([1], [2], [3], [4] ) I had seen. However, I decided to modify them slightly in order to remove the emphasis on white-wolf games. I also discovered that answering all of these questions was a bit much to ask of a player. As such, I have included instructions to cut down on the ammount of writing required.

The Questions

Welcome to over one hundred of the dumbest questions about your character. These are things that, if someone were to ask you in real life, you could answer without giving it any thought whatsoever. Most player characters, however, can't answer this because players never think about it.

Some tips: Answer these in character, but only in a situation where your character would be 100% honest with themselves and with the person asking the question. Otherwise, answer as a player, and still be 100% honest.

Mandatory Questions

Instructions: If you can not give positive answers to all of these questions, you may be bored or even unable to participate. At the very least, you will probably need a second character to participate when this one doesn't.
  1. What about you is heroic (or anti-heroic)?
  2. What about you is social? What do you like about people?
  3. Of what benefit could you be to the current group?
  4. Why would you choose to join the current group?
  5. Invent an adventure/plot that your character would actively undertake (as opposed to just tagging along)?

Personal Questions

Instructions: Please answer all of these questions.
  1. What is your real, birth name? What name do you use? Do you have any other aliases?
  2. Do you have a nickname? What is it, and where did you get it?
  3. What do you look like? (Include height, weight, hair, eyes, skin tone, apparent age, tattos, scars, and any other distinguishing features)
  4. How do you dress most of the time?
  5. How do you "dress up?"
  6. Do you wear any jewelry?
  7. In your opinion, what is your best feature?
  8. What's your real birth date?
  9. Where do you live? Describe it: Is it messy, neat, avant-garde, sparse, etc.? Does anyone live with you (room mates, family, significant other)?
  10. How do you get around? (Car, Horse, Public Transit, Walking)?
  11. Do you consider yourself to be part of any race, nationality, religion, or subculture? Is this important to your identity?
  12. Are you disabled in any way? If so how?
  13. Do you have a particular diet? (overeater, vegitarian, food alergies, etc)
  14. Have you ever commited a crime? If so what did you do and were you caught and/or punnished?
  15. Are you responsible, financially or otherwise, for anyone other than yourself?

Familial Questions

Instructions: Please answer all questions in bold and two other questions of your choice.
  1. What is your immediate family like (Parents: alive or dead, Number of Siblings, Any Children, etc)?
  2. Who was your father, and what was he like?
  3. Who was your mother, and what was she like?
  4. What was your parents marriage like? Were they married? Did they remain married?
  5. What were your siblings names? What were they like?
  6. What's the worst thing one of your siblings ever did to you? What's the worst thing you've done to one of your siblings?
  7. When's the last time you saw any member of your family? Where are they now?
  8. Did you ever meet any other family members? Who were they? What did you think of them?

Childhood Questions

Instructions: Please answer two questions of your choice.
  1. What is your first memory?
  2. What was your favorite toy?
  3. What was your favorite game?
  4. Any non-family member adults stick out in your mind? Who were they, and how did you know them? Why do they stick out?
  5. Who was your best friend when you were growing up?
  6. What is your fondest, childhood memory?
  7. What is your worst childhood memory?

Adolescent Questions

Instructions: Please answer three questions of your choice.
  1. How old were you when you went on your first date?
  2. It is common for one's view of authority to develop in their adolescent years. What is your view of authority? What event or events most affected it?
  3. What were you like in high school? What "clique" did you best fit in with?
  4. What were your high school goals?
  5. Who was your idol when you were growing up? Who did you first fantasize about in your life?
  6. What is your favorite memory from adolescence?
  7. What is your worst memory from adolescence?

Occupational Questions

Instructions: Please answer all questions in bold and one other question of your choice.
  1. Do you have a job? What is it? Do you like it? If no job, where does your money come from?
  2. What is your boss or employer like? (Or publisher, or agent, or whatever.)
  3. What are your co-workers like? Do you get along with them? Any in particular? Which ones don't you get along with?
  4. What is something you had to learn that you hated?
  5. Do you tend to save or spend your money? Why?

Likes & Dislikes Questions

Instructions: Please answer four questions of your choice.
  1. What hobbies do you have?
  2. Who is your closest friend? Describe them and how you relate to them.
  3. Who is your worst enemy? Describe them and why you don't get along.
  4. What bands do you like? Do you even pay attention?
  5. What's been your favorite movie of all time?
  6. Read any good books? What were they?
  7. What do you watch on the Television?
  8. When it comes to politics, do you care? If so, how strongly and what side do you support/oppose? If not, why don't you care?
  9. What type of places do you hang out in with your friends?
  10. What annoys you more than anything else?
  11. What time of day is your favorite?
  12. What kind of weather is your favorite?
  13. What is your favorite food? What is your least favorite food?
  14. What is your favorite drink? (Coffee, Coke, Juice, Beer, Wine, etc.)
  15. Do you have any pets? Do you want any pets? What kind?
  16. What do you find most relaxing? (Not as in stress relief, but as something that actually calms you down.)
  17. What kind of things embarrass you? Why?
  18. What don't you like about yourself?
  19. How would you like to look?

Sex & Intimacy Questions

Instructions: Please answer the questions in bold and two other questions of your choice.
  1. Would you consider yourself straight, gay, bi, or something else?
  2. Do you currently have a lover? What is their name, and what is your relationship like? What are they like? Why are you attracted to them?
  3. Who was the first person you had sex with? When did it happen? What was it like? How well did it go?
  4. Have you ever had a same-sex experience? Who with, what was it like, and how did it go?
  5. What is your deepest, most well-hidden sexual fantasy? Would you ever try it?
  6. What was the wildest thing you've ever done, sexually? Who was it with and when did it happen?
  7. Is there any sexual activity that you enjoy and/or practice regularly that can be considered non-standard? (Bondage, Fantasy Play, etc.) Why do you like it?
  8. Is there any sexual activity that you will not, under any circumstances, do?
  9. What is the perfect romantic date?
  10. Describe the perfect romantic partner for you.
  11. Do you ever want to get married and have children? When do you see this happening?
  12. What is more important - sex or intimacy? Why?
  13. What was your most recent relationship like? Who was it with? (Does not need to be sexual, merely romantic.)
  14. What's the worst thing you've done to someone you loved?

Drug & Alcohol Questions

Instructions: Please answer the questions in bold and one other questions of your choice.
  1. Do you drink? If so, do you drink on any kind of regular basis?
  2. Do you smoke tobacco (via cigaretts, pipe, hooka, etc)? If so, do you smoke on any kind of regular basis?
  3. Do you take any other recreational drugs? If so, do you take them on any kind of regular basis?
  4. Do you take any medicaly necessary drugs for a cronic condition?
  5. How old were you when you first got drunk/stoned? What was the experience like? Did anything good come out of it? Did anything bad come out of it?
  6. What kind of alcohol do you prefer?
  7. Do you have a strong opinion about certain "mood altering" substances? Which one(s)? What did you think of each?
  8. What do you think of drugs and alcohol? Are there any people should not do? Why or why not?

Morality & Religion Questions

Instructions: Please answer all questions in bold and two other questions of your choice.
  1. Are you at all spiritual or religious? If so, what religion or spiritual path do you follow? How devout are you?
  2. What one act in your past are you most ashamed of? What one act in your past are you most proud of?
  3. Have you ever been in an argument before? Over what, with who, and who won?
  4. Have you ever been in a physical fight before? Over what, with who, and who won?
  5. What do you feel most strongly about?
  6. What do you pretend to feel strongly about, just to impress people?
  7. What trait do you find most admirable, and how often do you find it?
  8. Is there anything you think should not be incorporated into the media, art, or culture (sex, violence, greed, etc.,)? If so, what and why, and if not, why not?
  9. Do you have any feelings in general that you are disturbed by? What are they? Why do they disturb you?
  10. Do you hate or distrust members of any religion? Which ones? Why?
  11. Do you think the future is hopeful? Why?
  12. Do the ends justify the means? Why do you feel this way?
  13. What's the worst thing that can be done to another person? Why?
  14. What's the worst thing you would actually be capable of doing to someone you hated?
  15. What is your responsibility to the world, if any? Why do you think that?
  16. Do you think redemption is possible? If so, can anyone be redeemed, or are there only certain circumstances that can be? If not, why do you think no one can redeem themselves?
  17. Is it okay for you to cry? When was the last time you cried?
  18. What do you think is wrong with MOST people, overall?
  19. Do you try to abide by any particular view of morality? If so describe it.
  20. Which religions, philosophies, and schools of thought have influinced your moral code the most? (examples: Utilitarianism, Nhilism, Catholicism, Mormonism, Kant, Pacifism, etc)
  21. Do you have a belief concerning death and the afterlife that is different than the one most commonly held in your society? If so what do you believe?

Miscellaneous Questions

Instructions: Please answer two questions of your choice.
  1. What is the thing that has frightened you most? Do you think there is anything out there that's scarier than that? What do you think that would be?
  2. Has anyone or anything you've ever cared about died? How did you feel about it? What happened?
  3. What was the worst injury you've ever received? How did it happen?
  4. What is your current long term goal?
  5. What is your current short term goal?
  6. Do you have any bad habits? If so, what are they, and do you plan to get rid of them?
  7. If you were a normal person (not an adventurer/without special powers), what would you do with your life? What occupation would you want, and how would you spend all your time?
  8. What time period do you wish you had lived in? Why? What appeals to you about this era? (Do not view this as an attempt to change history.)
  9. How private of a person are you? Why?
  10. If you were to gain an obscenely large sum of money (via an inhertiance, a lawsuit, a lottery, or anything else) what would you do with it?
  11. What would you wish for if you found a genie?
  12. What do you do when you are bored?
  13. What is the most frightening potential handicap or disfigurement you can conceive of? What makes it so frightening?
  14. Are you a better leader or follower? Why do you think that? If you think the whole leader-follower archetype is a crock of shit, say so, and explain why?
  15. What is your most prized mundane possession? Why do you value it so much?

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