Character Questionnaire

First published 3/14/2001; last edited 12/15/2004

In issue #65 of the Roleplaying Tips newsletter, Johnn Four asked people to send him examples and urls of character questionnaires. This got me thinking. I'd worked on NPC (non-player character) questionnaires before, but what about PC (player character) questionnaires?

Character questions come in two categories: practical questions (PQs), and inspirational questions (IQs). PQs are the ones that you should answer in advance to keep things going at a decent pace. PQs don't change (much!) from campaign to campaign (or story to story, if you're a writer). Some basic PQs are:

IQs make you think about unexpected areas of your character's life, and give you ideas or insight into your character. They're often related to the character's history and can be pretty random. IQs vary from person to person: what inspires one person bores another. My best suggestion would be to answer at least two IQs that inspire you (ones that make you go "hey! That gives me an idea..."), and two that don't. The reason for the latter is that sometimes it's the questions that seem totally uninteresting that lead to the most unexpected revelations.

If you're having trouble getting into your character or getting inspired at all, then start with the questions that seem uninteresting first. Answer several until something yields an answer that strikes a chord with you.

Note that while I originally created this for use in designing characters for roleplaying games, it also works equally well for fiction writers.

365 Character Questions: Writers and Roleplayers

The Questions

Since PQs can also function as IQs, I'm going to put both together. I'll try to break it up by subject area, however. I'm putting a whole lot of random cruft in here, for exactly the reasons listed above: You don't want to actually answer a gazillion questions, but it's good to have a variety from which to choose. If you have to answer the exact same questions for every character you make, it gets a little boring. So pick one to five that sound interesting, and see what they do for you. Happy character creation!

P.S.: Most of these questions assume a game or story in a modern setting, but with a little thought many of them can be adapted. Also, those of you who've looked through my article on NPC questions will see a few repeat questions.

Ways to Answer These Questions

You can write a single sentence or you can fill a notebook. You can answer one question a day until you're done with all of them (not something I recommend unless you're going to be working with this character for a long time...) or just pick three out of a hat. You can write your answers in a straightforward fashion, or you can answer in verse or fiction. Anything you can think of you can do!

People

Questions about people definitely fall under both the PQ and IQ headings. People are resources for your character (PQ). They're sources of plots and plot hooks (PQ/IQ). They're also where lots of your neat inspirational material could well come from (IQ). At the heart of every story there is a character--and usually a whole bunch of supporting characters, too. These are the supporting characters in your character's story.

Friends

Who are your character's friends? Most people have someone they enjoy spending time with. The world would be a very lonely place without friends; of course, maybe your character is a lonely person.

Family

Everyone, like it or not, has family. Some people have huge, sprawling families while others have one or two people. Some people love their families and others hate them. Some people don't even know who their families are--only that they must have one out there somewhere, or had one at some time in the past.

Places

Most people have a set of places they tend to frequent--certain restaurants, stores, parks, beaches, cities, and so on. What places does your character like to visit?

Hobbies and Habits

Almost everyone has some interesting hobbies and habits to occupy their time. In particular, a fictional character needs a few good interests and quirks to round her out in order to be compelling. Whether or not these are things you need or wish to put "skill points" or similar things into (in the case of roleplaying game characters) is up to you and your game master (GM); in some cases they may just be colorful background, while other GMs will work interesting abilities into their plots for fun and variety.

Fears and Dreams

These are definite IQ material. Questions about your character's fears and dreams can often be the source of a lot of understanding about what, how and why your character thinks and feels.

If...

Past History

A character's present is rooted in her history. Her past has shaped and molded her. Look to the past, and you can find many clues about the future.

Home

This is another category that heavily rides the line between PQ and IQ. Knowing details about how your character lives lends a strong feeling of reality to a game or story. It also gives you the practical details you need to make plots work out.

Possessions

It's true--you can tell a lot about a person by what they own. What is important enough to her to spend money on?

The Physical Details

Personal Touches

Moods and Reactions

Hopefully somewhere in here you've found enough interesting questions to help you define and find your character. Enjoy!