#12: The Character Creation Quiz

[RPGnet Columns]

http://www.rpg.net/columns/building/building12.phtml

Summary:

How Do You Make Your Characters?

Go to the column (http://www.rpg.net/columns/building/building12.phtml) for more information.

[AusJeb]

Interesting idea, but I think that you need to ask more questions. My results were not at all descriptive of my style of play. I did like the scoring modification at the end.

Also, the questions that asked about fantasy and SF characters, forced me to answer when I none of the options was particularly interesting. A better approach might be to ask each question 2-3 times with a different menu of characters and ask for the player's preferred choice of the four offered.

[Fred]

I agree with Jeb. My score interpretation was exactly the opposite of my style.

Tchau!

[vgunn]

Interesting quiz, here is what I came up with:

i = On occasion, you will come up with a character concept before you look at a rule book, but not often. You watch movies and occasionally think that the heros are cool, but rarely translate them into your character. You enjoy role-playing pretty much regardless of what type of character you are running.

c = You believe background is important and like to put amazing and exciting stuff in the backgrounds. Your characters tend to have multiple secrets and strange events that shaped their lives. You enjoy information rich sessions and use the setting information to further expand your character and to drive your character's actions during play.

m = Average. Nothing special.

d = You understand that talking in-character is fun, but don't get into it. You just aren't good at silly accents or quick talking and will still rather roll dice then try and talk the NPC into doing your bidding.

[Miles D'Bedlam]

Interesting, but limited. By it's nature, it assumes that the four modes (for lack of a better term) are exclusive and having a high score in one demands a low score in the others. Whereas, it has been my experience that many gamers end up with high-ish scores in multiple areas.

[The Butcher]

I agree with Jeb above... my results were only partially descriptive of my character-building and roleplaying style. Also, I have some difficulty telling Inspiration and Concept apart; maybe I should cf. past columns. Interesting concepts, nonetheless.

[gschneider]

As anyone who has taken the myriad of on-line quizes (or even better, the relationship defining quizes in magazines like Cosmo) will tell you is that they are not accurate. How can they be? If a simple series of questions would answer all of those deep rooted and important questions, psychologists and counselors would likely be out of a job.

Quizes fulfill the same basic purpose that fortune tellers and tarot readers fulfill - they don't tell you anything you don't already know but can get you to ask a question about yourself that you might not have asked before. If the quiz has enouraged you to analyze how you build characters, then it has succeeded. If it was fun to take, then it has suceeded. After all, I game for fun, not to be right.

So, I hope that you at least enjoyed the quiz - which was meant to be a fun break and another means of introducing the four concepts I have been talking about. A means that wasn't as dry and stuffy as the last couple of columns have been.

Greg