100 Questions to Ask About Your Role-Playing Character

Part 1: The Basics

1. What is your full name?

2. Where and when were you born?

3. Who are/were your parents? (Know their names, occupations, personalities, etc.)

4. Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like?

5. Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people.

6. What is your occupation?

7. Write a full physical description of yourself. You might want to consider factors such as: height,
weight, race, hair and eye color, style of dress, and any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing marks.

8. To which social class do you belong?

9. Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses?

10. Are you right- or left-handed?

11. What does your voice sound like?

12. What words and/or phrases do you use very frequently?

13. What do you have in your pockets?

14. Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics?

Part 2: Growing Up

15. How would you describe your childhood in general?

16. What is your earliest memory?

17. How much schooling have you had?

18. Did you enjoy school?

19. Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities?

20. While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them.

21. While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family?

22. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

23. As a child, what were your favorite activities?

24. As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display?

25. As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like?

26. When and with whom was your first kiss?

27. Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity?

28. If you are a supernatural being (i.e. mage, werewolf, vampire), tell the story of how you became what
you are or first learned of your own abilities. If you are just a normal human, describe any influences in
your past that led you to do the things you do today.

Part 3: Past Influences

29. What do you consider the most important event of your life so far?

30. Who has had the most influence on you?

31. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

32. What is your greatest regret?

33. What is the most evil thing you have ever done?

34. Do you have a criminal record of any kind?

35. When was the time you were the most frightened?

36. What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you?

37. If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why?

38. What is your best memory?

39. What is your worst memory?

Part 4: Beliefs And Opinions

40. Are you basically optimistic or pessimistic?

41. What is your greatest fear?

42. What are your religious views?

43. What are your political views?

44. What are your views on sex?

45. Are you able to kill? Under what circumstances do you find killing to be acceptable or unacceptable?

46. In your opinion, what is the most evil thing any human being could do?
47. Do you believe in the existence of soul mates and/or true love?

48. What do you believe makes a successful life?

49. How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings (i.e. do you hide your true self from others, and
in what way)?

50. Do you have any biases or prejudices?

51. Is there anything you absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances? Why do you refuse to do it?

52. Who or what, if anything, would you die for (or otherwise go to extremes for)?

Part 5: Relationships With Others

53. In general, how do you treat others (politely, rudely, by keeping them at a distance, etc.)? Does your
treatment of them change depending on how well you know them, and if so, how?

54. Who is the most important person in your life, and why?

55. Who is the person you respect the most, and why?

56. Who are your friends? Do you have a best friend? Describe these people.

57. Do you have a spouse or significant other? If so, describe this person.

58. Have you ever been in love? If so, describe what happened.

59. What do you look for in a potential lover?

60. How close are you to your family?

61. Have you started your own family? If so, describe them. If not, do you want to? Why or why not?

62. Who would you turn to if you were in desperate need of help?

63. Do you trust anyone to protect you? Who, and why?

64. If you died or went missing, who would miss you?

65. Who is the person you despise the most, and why?

66. Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict?

67. Do you tend to take on leadership roles in social situations?

68. Do you like interacting with large groups of people? Why or why not?

69. Do you care what others think of you?

Part 6: Likes And Dislikes

70. What is/are your favorite hobbies and pastimes?

71. What is your most treasured possession?

72. What is your favorite color?

73. What is your favorite food?

74. What, if anything, do you like to read?

75. What is your idea of good entertainment (consider music, movies, art, etc.)?

76. Do you smoke, drink, or use drugs? If so, why? Do you want to quit?

77. How do you spend a typical Saturday night?

78. What makes you laugh?

79. What, if anything, shocks or offends you?

80. What would you do if you had insomnia and had to find something to do to amuse yourself?

81. How do you deal with stress?

82. Are you spontaneous, or do you always need to have a plan?

83. What are your pet peeves?

Part 7: Self Images And Etc.

84. Describe the routine of a normal day for you. How do you feel when this routine is disrupted?

85. What is your greatest strength as a person?

86. What is your greatest weakness?

87. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

88. Are you generally introverted or extroverted?

89. Are you generally organized or messy?

90. Name three things you consider yourself to be very good at, and three things you consider yourself to
be very bad at.

91. Do you like yourself?

92. What are your reasons for being an adventurer (or doing the strange and heroic things that RPG
characters do)? Are your real reasons for doing this different than the ones you tell people in public? (If
so, detail both sets of reasons)

93. What goal do you most want to accomplish in your lifetime?

94. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

95. If you could choose, how would you want to die?

96. If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, name three things you would do in the time you had
left.

97. What is the one thing for which you would most like to be remembered after your death?

98. What three words best describe your personality?

99. What three words would others probably use to describe you?

100. If you could, what advice would you, the player, give to your character? (You might even want to
speak as if he or she were sitting right here in front of you, and use proper tone so he or she might heed
your advice)

Exercise: Pick a character and write a full scene for each scenario. Write the scene
from first person (Me, myself, and I) or third limited (He, she, they). Try to show
as much of the character's personality as you can, but do it through actions, not
just dialogue! You do not have to do all of these, by any means. Scan through and pick a
few you like! I provided as many as possible to allow for a wide range of choices.

Scenarios:
In a fight. Whether your character is a skilled swordsman in medieval times or a
high school girl that is arguing with her friend, write out a scene that involves an
obvious conflict and show how your character handles it. Remember, everything
from the skill of the fighter, the words spoken, and even their body language is
important. Do your character's hands get cold and clammy when confronted? Or
does their blood boil with the prospect of a good fight? Also, try to remember that
not everybody is angry when they are in a fight. Some people like it! (Further down,
you will find an option for "angry." Try to make these two different!)

Relaxing at home. Whether "home" is a two bedroom apartment with fresh paint or
a cave that your characters come across in their travels to a distant land, write about
your character relaxing. Do they spend their time cleaning their weapons, or do they
pig out on everything in the fridge? What about things like books and video games?
Perhaps they listen to music? What things calm them down and allow them to have a
good time?

Spending time with a friend. Maybe your character is hanging out at their best
buddy's house, or perhaps the only thing they have to call their friend is the stray
cat that follows them around. How do they interact with their friends? Create a scene
where your character goes out and does something with their friend(s). Do they get
 annoyed by how loud their buddy is? Or do they maybe feel awkward because they
secretly have a crush on this best friend? Remember, body language is just as
important as the words they speak!

Sulking or upset. Something really irked your character. What was it? How do they
react? This helps to know what sort of things really get under their skin and how
they deal with their bad moods. Do they punch the nearest wall or cry into their
pillow? Do they try to cheer themselves up or distract themselves from the pain, or
do they just curl up in a corner and brood? What does it take to fix their mood, also?
Would a pat on the back from a friend make it better, or do they need a gallon of ice
cream and a soap opera marathon? (P.S. This is not for "scared" or "angry". Those
are a bit further down.)

Happy or excited. What puts a smile on your characters face like no other? For
some people, all it takes is a quick glance of a pretty flower on the sidewalk.
Sometimes it takes a whole lot more. Write a scenario where something just
happened to make your character extremely happy. Maybe their parents just bought
them a new car, or the love of their life just proposed. Perhaps they finally killed the
evil overlord that ruined their life. How do they express their happiness? How do
they share it with others? Do they grin with satisfaction or cry waterfalls of joy?

Inebriated. (That means drunk, kiddies.) What happens when your character downs
one too many beers? Or are they a sophisticated champagne drinker instead? Would
they get drunk on their own, or did somebody spike their drink? Are they even of
age? Do they fall out of their chair and admit their inner most feelings between burps
and giggles, or do they go into a rage and demand revenge on the fool that knocked
over their martini? Remember, the mind works in funny ways when you're drunk, so
writing from this point of view allows for silliness and flexibility.

Traveling. (If you character doesn't travel, use "thinking" instead.) Many stories
include scenes of travel, whether it's from home to school or from one country to
another. When you're traveling, there isn't much to do aside from think and occupy
your mind. How does your character handle long trips? Are they very patient or the
"arewethereyet" type? How does your character feel about the saddle sores he's
getting from the long trek across the country? Or maybe the butt-cramp from the
stupid seat of the jeep? Do they complain endlessly or engage in conversation? Do
they read or play games? Most importantly, try to write about what is going through
your character's mind.

Afraid. What strikes fear in the heart of your character? Write out a scene where
they are truly afraid. Maybe there is a horrendous storm and they are cowering at
every boom of thunder (that would be me, in case you were wondering) or maybe
they find themselves face to face with a hungry lion. What are their worst fears and
phobias? How do they react to fear? What do they seek for comfort; do they climb
 under the covers and hide or run to their best friend? Fear is a powerful thing and
can tell you a lot about a person.

Birthday. Everybody has birthdays, so how does your character spend theirs? This is
a fun way to include your other characters as well. Maybe they throw a surprise
party for your character, or perhaps they all go out bowling. Does your character
even remember it's their birthday? Do they spend it strutting around with a tiara and
a fistful of balloons, or like Harry Potter, drawing a birthday cake in the sand so they
can blow out the candles? Most importantly, how do they feel about this big change?
Also, how do they feel about everybody else's reactions? Is the surprise party their
greatest wish, or an annoying nightmare of unwanted social activity?

In love. This is a very flexible one. You can most certainly use this to write out a
romantic scene between your character and their love interest. However, not every
character has a crush or significant other. Have fun with this! Maybe you could write
about your character's love and lust for power over all. Perhaps you could write
about their love for money, or the dream car that they drool over. Who or what
makes your character's heart swell with positive emotions?

Angry. Something really pissed off your character. Was it an everyday injustice of
the world, or that idiot that swerved across three lanes and cut them off without
even using their freakin blinker? Write a scene in which your character becomes very
angry and then is calmed down. This not only shows what they are like when they
are angry, but how they act when they are becoming angry, how fast it happens,
and what it takes to calm them down again. For this one, they do not necessarily
have to confront the source of their anger. (Try to make this different from "In a
fight")

Embarrassed. Nobody likes being embarrassed! (Or do they?) Write out a scene
where something embarrasses your character. Maybe they slipped and fell in the
school cafeteria, or perhaps they blurted out something stupid to their crush. How
does your character handle it? Do they sit on the floor and cry, or do they go on like
it never happened? Do their ears turn red and their hands start to shake? Maybe
they even get angry and yell at anyone who notices. Remember to include what your
character is thinking as well as the actions they take.

Eating. Imagine your character out at a restaurant, bar, tavern, friend's house, what
have you. How does it go? Do they scarf down everything on their plate, or pick at
it? Do they shove those nasty green things to the other side, or dump them under
the table for the dog to get? How does conversation go? What do they think of the
encounter? Perhaps they are at a family dinner, or sitting down at a table for the first
time after a long travel with nothing but hard bread and cheese.
 Dependent. Suggested by ~chimeranovel. Everyone has to depend on somebody at
some point in their life. Some people are very dependent on others, while some hate
having to trust another person with an outcome. What happens when your character
has to depend on somebody? Maybe they have to depend on their partner in crime to
pull off their grand scheme, or maybe they just broke their arm and need somebody
to help them accomplish otherwise simple tasks. How does your character handle
having to rely on others?

Competitive. Some people compete well and some people really don't. How does
your character handle competition? Do they seek out somebody to compete against
in everything they do, or do they dread the very idea of competing? How do they
react when they win? What if they lose? What do they compete in? Maybe an art
contest, a karate contest, or maybe they're competing for somebody's affections?