Character Questionnaire: Gamer Meditation / Reflection

Please Answer In Character

How much doe you Value Life and easing suffering and misery?

Are you capable of remorse? Will you be conflicted in taking life or causing suffering and misery (see Pacifism, Reluctant Killer)? Will you avoid causing direct harm, misery, or death to innocents (see Pacifism, Cannot Harm Innocents)? Can you only resort to violence in self defense (see Pacifism, Self Defense)? Are you totally averse to violence (See total Non-Violence)? Do you have no internal conflict at all taking life, causing misery, or inflicting suffering in others (see Callous)?

the tables if you cannot decide. 

Roll 3d	Disadvantages
3-4	Total Non-Violence
5-7	Self Defense Only
8-9	Cannot Harm Innocents
10-12	Reluctant Killer
13-14	None
15-18	Callous

What People or Ideals do you value?

Does you value their word, integrity, honor, or self image in a way that restricts her actions (see Code of Honor Professional)? Is your honor or self worth powerful enough to put her in harms way (see Code of Honor Soldier or Devoted Professional, the High Ideal Virtues - Manly Virtues)? Is your self image and ideals so powerful as to taunt and court danger actively (see Code of Honor, Chivalry)?

the tables if you cannot decide. 

Roll 3d	Disadvantages
3	Chivalry, Fanaticism
4-7	Soldier, High Virtues
8-13	Professional, Neighborly
14-18	None

The "Manly Virtues"  (veriliter agite) expected by societies like the Romans and Other cultures, which have some martial aspects. Women's "ideal" cultural virtues in Low Tech Eras are not the same. Then the question is "Can a female character Take a Man's Code of Behavior?" (ex. Briene of Tarth in GoT).   

Do you have loved ones, people you considers family, even if they are not related by blood ? Is there a lot of them, do you maintain a large number of relations and social obligations (see Sense of Duty)? Do you support any of them, are they part of your household (see Dependents)?

Roll 3d	Disadvantages
3-4	Dependents (Clients)*
5-11	Dependents (Family)
12-13	Sense of Duty Family
14-15	Sense of Duty Clan/Tribe
16-18	None

*You may buy them Also as Ally or Ally Group.

Are you aware, or driven by personal goals or objectives? Do they have any vision of what they want to be, even if it is an impossible ideal, or where they want to be, or do they change their path according to the changes of the fates and wind (see Obsession)?

Sample Objectives

Roll 3d	Disadvantages
3-4	An Ideal
5-6	Penance/Punishment
7-8	Love or Peace of Mind
9-12	Economic Security
13-16	Power/Influence
17-18	Revenge

Is there are a group of people you do not see as equal to you, maybe you are raised to hate them? Is there people, that you consider not part of society and less human? Is it everyone else or just one broad category of people (see intolerance)?

Do you have any vices, compulsions, desires, fascinations, or habits that get you into trouble and have caused you a lot of grief? Is it a personal weakness that you are aware of?

Are you vindictive or violent with perceived snubbing or disrespect? Can you be easily insulted to lose your calm (see selfish)?

Do you have a violent temper if someone wrongs you? Can you be goaded to lose your cool or become emotional (See Bad Temper)?

Is it an Addiction, Compulsion or Desire (see Compulsions and Addictions)?

Is it a habit of expression, your mannerism, or the odd perspective you have of things and how you interact with other people (see Odious Personal Habits)?

Roll 3d	Disadvantages
3-6	Addiction
7-8	Bad Temper
9-10	Compulsions
11-12	Odious Personal Habit
13-14	Selfish
15-16	Cowardice

Do you follow authority without question (see Honesty)? Are you able to speak without voicing your thoughts (see Honesty)?

If you read the disadvantage of Honesty in the basic set, its more of a fear (because its a compulsion subject to self control) of Authority. Honesty can be by way of Code of Honor - because CoH gives you leeway for discretion (how to navigate a muddy situation), but this disadvantage is the reflexive/compulsive adherence to Authority. 

Do you have Trauma? Have you survived a terrible event that have left you scarred? Since such perspectives can be relative, it just has to be bad enough for you. Has the scars left a mark, do you have problem sleeping (see insomnia), does your dreams distract you or disturb you (see nightmares), do the dreams haunt you while you are awake (see Flashbacks), or does a terrible sound, voice, or silence deafen you (see Phantom Voices)? Are you plagued by guilt, is there something you make up for despite the past (see Guilt)? Do you have a powerful source of fear (see Phobia)?

Roll 3d	Disadvantages
3-7	Insomnia
8-9	Nightmares
10-11	Flashbacks
12-14	Phobia
15-16	Phantom Voices
17-18	Guilt

Professional Abilities

Do you have a Talent? Are you raised in a way that emphasized certain skills, strengths, perspective, and ability? Are you born with such inherent gifts, or is it from the circumstance of growing up (see Talents)?

How many years have you been working in your field, and what skills were crucial to master or else you could not survive or live the life you are accustomed to? What is your work now, and how do you fare compared to others?

Social Background

Who are your Peers in society? Can you approach them and exchange favors? Are they plenty, or just a few people you really trust and depend on (see Contacts and Contact Group)

Is there someone who is always there in your life? Someone who you depend on and also depend on you? (see Allies or Ally Group)

My Notes

So basically this was what was lacking in my GURPS lite for low tech handout for my Sins of the Crusades Game. You can say its an Internalization Guide for one's character and it reflects how I, as the GM, profile the character. Of course there are variations in behavior and breaking from consistency does not make one something else - I assume that most of the time the character is internally consistent. I do not punish failing to be internally consistent (which is a peeve about in some game systems), but I do want players to adjust their character's disads to reflect the change of habits and perspective (while tracing they were previously).

There is a lot of psychological mumbo jumbo about why I allow people to change their character how they perceive the world and perceive their character (which I will not get into because honestly I forget the correct terms). First of all, we are merely guesting what we each define as a particular behavior and we learn the tolerances as we play - of course the GM should not use it as a platform to preach - in fact the GM is merely the audience who puzzles the character's subconscious.

It doesn't have to be heavy, because we all have the ability to make it emotionally dense in our interpretation or reflection (that's why I like fudging what really happened in the post game analysis I write from my POV). We are free to enjoy it the way we want, we just have to remember to let everyone else enjoy it the way they want. In my mind the characters become overly interesting, dramatic and complicated. Thats the great thing about the hobby, when we are playing imagination is over-drive and it can have the best special effects and casting money can buy - there is no expense that can't be spared.