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Message no. 1
From: Bull <chaos@*****.COM>
Subject: 50+ questions (was Re: Character background)
Date: Mon, 23 Dec 1996 21:36:01 -0500
>Would u mind sending those questions to me, please? Thanx a lot in advance.
>
Well, I've gotten a couple requests now for this list, both privately and
publicly, so I'm sending it out to everyone...

I'd like to thank Loki, as well as a few others who I forget, because a lot
of these questions were posted a couple months back when we were creating
the Expanded 20 Questions list.

Enjoy. Merry Christmas.

___________________________________________________________________

Ok chummers, this here's the Guide to Shadowrun Character
Background Creation. This will help you make your characters as
detailed as possible. Answer ALL the questions completely and in as
much detail as possible... You will be graded, and you will get karma
for this, dependant upon your grade... The better you did, and the
more detail you gave, the better off you'll be and the more Karma you'll
get... Remember, get personal. This is a real person that you are
creating, not just numbers on paper.

Well, enough of that, here's the Q&A:

1. What is your characters Sex?

2. What is your characters physical size?

3. What is the color of the characters Hair, eyes, and skin?

4. What is the character's general appearance (i.e., How does he
dress, etc.)?

5. Where was the character born (City, State, Hospital Name)?

6. What is the characters date of birth?

7. What was the character's family life like?

8. Has the charcter begun his own family?

9. Where or how was the charcter educated?

10. Has the character ever done anything else for a living?

11. What are the characters political and religious beliefs?

12. Describe the characters Moral code. Include how mercenary he is,
whether or not he'll kill innocents, etc.

13. What are the character have any goals?

14. Why does the character run the shadows? (Why does he run teh
shadows still, rather than getting a "real" job?)

15. What kind of personality does your character have? This should
not necessarily be obviously stated in the background, as it is more
important for actually playing the character, but it may colour or add
mood to the history.

16. What special qualities does the character posess? This does not
refer to skills, but rather at other things, such as How he gets along
with people, does he plan ahead, etc.

17. Are their certain things the character can't or won't do? Why?

18. What things, people, or ideas does the character hate?

19. What things people, or ideas does the character love?

20. What is the character's name? Give both full birth name, as well
as nicknames, street names, etc.

21. Determine what your character used to do, before becoming a
shadowrunner (very important).

22. Decide why your character left his or her old job, if he had one.
(also important).

23. Come up with a reason for why the character became a
shadowrunner.
(This very often will tie in with #22. This is not the same as #14, but
rather why he started running the shadows originally. What led him to
it?)

24. How did your character come to know his or her contacts?
Contacts are an important part of Shadowrun, decide how and why you
know them.

25. Does the character have a SIN? Does the character actually use
it? Or is the character one of the SINless masses? This may be
affected by the characters previous employment.

26. Is the character a full-time shadowrunner? Or does the character
lead a Batman-like double existence?

27. Which person(s) or group(s) do you love the most?

28. Which person(s) or group(s) do you hate the most?

29. Which person(s) or group(s) do you respect the most?

30. Which person(s) or group(s) do you fear the most?

31. What is your favourite colour?

32. What is your favourite food and/or drink?

33. What place would you most like to visit?

34. Which person(s) or group(s) are you most loyal to?

35. What pastime (that you particiapate in regularly) gives you the most
enjoyment? (WARNING: Answering Sex for this question can and will
result in penalties to your character!)

36. What pastime (that you participate in regularly) gives you the least
enjoyment?

37. What annoys you the most?

38. What (if any) is your favourite form of art?

39. What is your greatest goal?

40. What do you think is your characters best quality?

41. What do you think is your characters worst quality?

42. What is the most important thing you have ever done?

43. Which religion (if any) do you follow?

44. What is your most treasured possession (and why)?

45. What are your three most common dreams?

46. What is the Characters current relationship with his family?

47. If the characters family is still alive, what do they do, and where
do they live?

48. Where did the character learn his Skills?

49. Does the character have a good luck charm? What is it, and why?

50. What type of music does the character like?

51. List any past serious relationships that your character has had, and
give a brief overview of the relationship.

52. Where does your character live? Why does he live there?

53. Remember, your Gamemaster like detail, so if you can think of any
other little details, quirks, or whatever that you think might please the
almight GM, then add them in as well. Oh, and your GM won't use any
of these details against you at a later date. trust me...:)
Message no. 2
From: Tim Cooper <tpcooper@***.CSUPOMONA.EDU>
Subject: Re: 50+ questions (was Re: Character background)
Date: Tue, 24 Dec 1996 17:19:48 -0800
[snip the 50+ questions list]

Pretty good, but it looked like a few of the extra's were merely specifics
that should have been covered in the previous 20.

ie: the one about SKILLS to me that falls under education, several of the
why-shadowrunning type questions and some of the previous-life ones as
well. You could consolidate some of the last few into a a more general
LIKES/DISLIKES question to include everything imaginable, not just a few
choice specifics (with a suggestion to include hobbies, foods, etc..)..

But then you didn't ask for comments...

~Tim
Message no. 3
From: David Buehrer <dbuehrer@******.CARL.ORG>
Subject: Re: 50+ questions (was Re: Character background)
Date: Thu, 26 Dec 1996 14:52:55 +0700
Bull wrote about "50+ questions (was Re: Character ba":
|
| Well, I've gotten a couple requests now for this list, both
| privately and publicly, so I'm sending it out to everyone...
|
| I'd like to thank Loki, as well as a few others who I forget,
| because a lot of these questions were posted a couple months back
| when we were creating the Expanded 20 Questions list.
|
| Enjoy. Merry Christmas.

Thanks Bull. Nice job.

-David-who's-at-work-and-bored-out-of-his-mind

No sig this time.
Message no. 4
From: Bull <chaos@*****.COM>
Subject: Re: 50+ questions (was Re: Character background)
Date: Mon, 30 Dec 1996 02:46:07 -0500
At 05:19 PM 12/24/96 -0800, you wrote:
>[snip the 50+ questions list]
>
>Pretty good, but it looked like a few of the extra's were merely specifics
>that should have been covered in the previous 20.
>
>ie: the one about SKILLS to me that falls under education, several of the
>why-shadowrunning type questions and some of the previous-life ones as
>well. You could consolidate some of the last few into a a more general
>LIKES/DISLIKES question to include everything imaginable, not just a few
>choice specifics (with a suggestion to include hobbies, foods, etc..)..
>
>But then you didn't ask for comments...
>
No, I didn't, but that's ok... I like responses to my stuff..;)

The biggest reason that I made it so specific is that I've had more than one
player answer the twenty questions with all "Yes or No" answers... By
making it VERY specific, it forces the players to think about aspects of
their character that are otherwise often overlooked.... After all, when
you're taking that pretty young ting out to dinner, what do you order?

It can enhance role-play, especially if the GM is willing to go out of his
way to make your characters personal life come alive thru role-play that
isn't connected to shooting, stealing, or otherwise S-Running...:)

Just my two scents, though...:)

Steve

=======================================================
= Bull, aka Chaos, aka Rak, aka Steven Ratkovich =
= =
= chaos@*****,com =
= =
= "Order is Illusion! Chaos is Bliss! Got any fours?" =
=======================================================

"Why am I here?"
-Robin Williams, "Good Morning Vietnam"

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