A Game of 20 Questions - Novus
20 Questions
1. What do you look like?
What is your race? What is your physicality like? What do you wear? What do people notice about you, physically? Give us a bit of a picture of what your character looks like.
2. What part of Novus are you from?
Class mobility is not much of a thing In Novus. Where your character grew up will likely determine a lot about what you character believes about Novus. What ring and district are you from? How has that shaped your life so far? Are you a typical resident of this place or atypical.
3. Who are your family?
People in Novus tend to cling to their familial legacies as important. Or they cling to the families they create from an assortment of like-minded friends or neighbors. Do you have family? Do you know your family legacy dating back to the fall? Before? Do any strong familial ties still have a grip on you?
4.What do you do in Novus?
Do you have a profession? Public contribution and everyone playing their role in Novus is important. How do you contribute (or avoid contribution) to public life in Novus? How do you get by?
5. What is the most important event of your life so far?
Your story is just beginning in our campaign, but what is one event that has been significant in making you the person you are today?
6. What is a statement you live by and what moral lines have you set for yourself?
What does your character care deeply about? Does your character hold any deeply set opinions about what is right and wrong?
7. Does your character practice a religion? If not, what do they think about faith?
You do not need to be a cleric or some form of magic caster to have a religious belief. Perhaps a certain philosophy is more important to you. Some people patronize multiple gods at the same time or across their lifetime. For instance, worshipping Ezrithel during seasons of need or Ordonda as they near their own death. Others respect the gods without feeling the need worship them in a temple. If they don't hold to the gods, why? Do they simply not care? Do they hate the gods or doubt their existence? What philosophy, if any do they hold to instead?
8. What is your your biggest source of adversity?
Think about a consistent problem your character has. Is there a bad reputation that your character has? Does your character have a physical disability or ailment? Is there a personality flaw that tends to rear its ugly head? Think about what makes your character flawed. They might not even realize it about themselves or see it as a flaw. What tends to cause them to rub wrong with others? What stands in the way of them achieving their goals?
9. What is your greatest fear or insecurity?
How did this fear come to be? How do they act in the face of this fear? They might hyperventilate, freeze, run away, lash out in anger towards others, stutter. How do they cope? OR What insecurities still hold them? How do they compensate (or in all likelihood, over compensate) for this insecurity? How do they react when others seem to notice this insecurity?
10. What causes your character to feel relaxed or at peace?
Do they have a hobby? A vice? What do they do to deal with the stress of daily life? Is there an activity that they do to blow off steam? It could be spending time with their pet, working out, some sort of athletic activity, dancing, journaling, painting, or reading a book. Is there an item or token that reminds them of better times? It could be a photo locket, a children's toy, a holy symbol, a piece of clothing, coin, etc. Do they use less than healthy methods to relax? Smoking, drinking, excessive partying, etc.
11. What duties or obligations does your character have? Do these duties stand in the way of you accomplishing your dreams or goals?
Are you a member of any factions (such as guilds, gangs, clubs, cults, or societies)? If so, what responsibilities do you have? If not, do you aspire to be? Or were you cast out of your faction? Are there family (or someone else) that rely on you? Do you owe someone a debt? Is it a debt of honor of a debt you must repay? What will happen if you do not fulfill your duties?
12. What elements of your personality do others notice about you?
Are you known for your kindness? Your keen analytical mind? Your obliviousness? This trait could be positive or negative.
13. What kind of lifestyle do you live? What lifestyle do you aspire to live?
This can change over the course of the game, but generally what lifestyle you live will determine a certain amount of money you deduct from your person on long rests. This represents cost of living (such as food, housing, etc). Your lifestyle can be lavish and upperclass, poor and squalor, or anything in between. Any option you pick will come with different perks. For instance, a lavish lifestyle person may find themselves more likely to be targeted by thieves in the darker, seedier areas of the city, while a lower class person would be unlikely to know powerful high society functionaries in the city. At various points in the campaing, we can check in on this and your lifestyle can adjust.
14. What do you most despise in others?
What personality traits in others aggravate you the most? What things do others do that get under your skin?
15. What is your greatest ambition?
What do you wish to achieve? How do you want to be remembered? What goals, short term or long term do you have?
16. What’s the worst thing your character has ever done?
Is this thing a dark secret or well known source of shame? Is this causing trouble for your character today? What relationships with others are effected by this?
17. What is your greatest secret?
Keep this secret from the other players. How does your secret effect your life now?
18. What is a mystery your character is invested in?
This could be something about themselves or something mysterious that happened to them or someone they know. Perhaps they witnessed something strange or something they were not supposed to see. I as the DM will come up with the answer to this mystery. The campaign could incorporate your search for answers.
19. What is of sentimental value to your character?
Is there a place in the city that is sentimental or nostalgic to you? Is there an object that holds value to you (and to no one else)? Is there a certain memory you can't let of? Perhaps a relationship with another person is something your value most? Or perhaps you get sentimental about an ideal -- a value, a hope, or dream you have.
20. Which of these answers is most defining for who your character is today?
There are a lot of anwers here, but not all need to be equally important. Choose three to be your most important ones and gain extra bonuses at character creation based on your answers. This will functionally replace backgrounds.
Once you've chosen your 3 questions/answers, do the following:
- For one of your answers, gain two extra skill (or tool) proficiencies related to the answer. For instance, if you answered question 4 with “My character is a jeweler” you might choose proficiency with nature to help you appraise the quality of gemstones and proficiency with jeweler’s tools.
- For one of your answers, gain an ability score improvement. You can increase 1 score by +2 or two by +1, but considered how the question would influence the ability score boost. For instance, if you answered 11 with, “My character aspires to be a politician, perhaps running for Ringbearer one day,” you might choose to increase your charisma by +2 to represent your character’s desire to be a great politician.
- For one of your answers, gain a feat. Consider how this feat is rooted in the answer to the question. For instance, if you answered question 9 with “My character was once mugged by thieves and left for dead. He is now agoraphobic and is now super vigilant in crowds” you might choose the Alert feat to represent your character’s desire to never be caught off guard again.
