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jjordan
2019-04-08, 09:34 AM
Monkeying around with my boys and it occurred to me that it was actually an interesting idea. If you had a questionnaire you handed out to potential new players for your games, what questions would you put on it? What information would you want to have to ensure players are good fit?

Which option most closely resembles the way you would describe your character?

-First level fighter quick-build.
-A half-orc barbarian tank optimized for close in combat.
-A half-orc warrior, cast out from his tribe and rejected by humans, searching for his place in the world.

Which option most closely describes your character’s motivation?

-Loot!
-Murder! And Loot.
-Succeeding in the completion of my self-appointed goal. And loot.


You enter a ten by ten room and see an orc. What do you do?

-Does it see me?
-Murder it! And loot the body.
-Are we in a dungeon? In town? What kind of orc? Male? Female? Is it an adult? A child? What is it doing?

You enter a ten by ten room and see an ancient red dragon. What do you do?

-Run!
-Murder it!
-“Greetings, Great Wyrm! We have come, drawn by the tales of your greatness, to seek the benefit of your wise counsel.”

I want to:

-Find a good side-quest to level up before we move to the next adventure in the story.
-Murder hobo my way across the land in a spree of wanton excess that will set the standard for all ‘No-****-there-I-was’ stories that come after.
-Figure out why the hell the fiend suddenly lost control and started murdering people after years of successfully hiding itself amongst humans.

Your character just died. What do you do?

-Roll a new one.
-Someone’s going to resurrect me, right? Guys?
-Talk to the DM about coming back as a ghost, unable to be at final peace until I’ve completed my quest, unseen and unheard by all members of the party except Grothug.


What do you want to do?

-Explore the world and build my own story.
-Explore the story the GM has created and add my own creations to it.
-Get to level 20.

Themrys
2019-04-08, 02:38 PM
Those questions seem mostly designed to find out whether someone is more of a roleplayer or more of a powergamer.

Interestingly, I have never been in a group that had problems with that sort of thing. As both of those styles of playing are perfectly valid, people usually openly admit to preferring one or the other.

Problematic players I have encountered were: The nit-picker ("The inn shouldn't have flat, clear glass windows. That sort of thing only became widely available when ..."), the murderhobo (think the guy who'd play Belkar if there were players) and the misogynist jerk.

The nit-picker would probably do his nit-picking in a multiple choice test, as he likes to prove how smart he is. However, someone who is just as smart but would not usually nit-pick might also take that option to prove they are smart enough for the group, mistakenly assuming that is what the test is for.

The murderhobo, I don't know. The one player I met who was like this did not seem to have the self-awareness to know he was annoying the others. He would also have picked the "roleplayer" type of question if he thought it more entertaining.

The misogynist jerk, the worst one I met did make an effort to hide his intentions. Had he been handed a multiple-choice test, he would probably have chosen a different option to one he'd actually take in the game.


I do think the idea to use a questionnaire is a good one, but I honestly don't know what questions one could ask to make sure to actually find out what the player is like.

Jay R
2019-04-09, 10:30 AM
Multiple-choice questions are designed to fit people into pre-determined slots. If I did this, I would ask open-ended questions to get answers they make up, rather than force them to choose one of mine.

"Describe your ideal game."

"Describe your ideal party."

"Describe your ideal character."

"Describe your ideal GM."

----------------


Having said that, all my best games have been played with long-time friends who I already know far better than any questionnaire can help me know them.

Themrys
2019-04-09, 10:37 AM
Multiple-choice questions are designed to fit people into pre-determined slots. If I did this, I would ask open-ended questions to get answers they make up, rather than force them to choose one of mine.

"Describe your ideal game."

"Describe your ideal party."

"Describe your ideal character."

"Describe your ideal GM."

----------------


Having said that, all my best games have been played with long-time friends who I already know far better than any questionnaire can help me know them.


Those questions are very open-ended.

A combination would probably be best. Describe a specific situation, then ask "What would you do?"


That'd at least work to find out who's a nitpicker and who prefers to solve social situations with violence.

jjordan
2019-04-09, 10:42 AM
I saw Matt Mercer talking about this and using character background write-ups as a way to elicit the information. I particularly liked his incentivizing the action by promising extra funds or magic items to start with to the people who did the best job of doing their write up.

But by the time you get to the character write-up you're already half-way in to the game with your time investment. I suppose I'm more interested in early screening questions that don't take a lot of player investment. But maybe provide an opportunity for player investment? I mean, if a player takes the time to provide extra info that certainly tells me something useful about them.

Man_Over_Game
2019-04-09, 10:53 AM
I saw Matt Mercer talking about this and using character background write-ups as a way to elicit the information. I particularly liked his incentivizing the action by promising extra funds or magic items to start with to the people who did the best job of doing their write up.

But by the time you get to the character write-up you're already half-way in to the game with your time investment. I suppose I'm more interested in early screening questions that don't take a lot of player investment. But maybe provide an opportunity for player investment? I mean, if a player takes the time to provide extra info that certainly tells me something useful about them.

That's a valid point.

In the end, you need to know things are worthwhile in just a few questions. Something like this:

These questions are on a scale of 1-4, with 1 being highly agreeable to the leftmost answer, and 4 being highly agreeable to the rightmost answer.

Do you prefer a DM that strictly obeys RAW (1), or a DM that makes on-the-spot judgment calls (4)?
Do you prefer roleplaying (1), or combat (4)?
Do you prefer an easy narrative (1) or a brutal challenge (4)?



3 questions, and you know exactly what kind of player you're dealing with once they're done. For example, someone that voted for 1, 2, 4 is going to probably play a utility specialist, using Divination magic/skills to determine what threats are coming up and using their experience to come up with precise solutions to those problems (potentially by metagaming the monsters' abilities).

sleepy hedgehog
2019-04-09, 11:38 AM
I think the first thing you need to determine is "What do you want to know".
Then from there creating questions is easy.



In the end, you need to know things are worthwhile in just a few questions. Something like this:

These questions are on a scale of 1-4, with 1 being highly agreeable to the leftmost answer, and 4 being highly agreeable to the rightmost answer.

Do you prefer a DM that strictly obeys RAW (1), or a DM that makes on-the-spot judgment calls (4)?
Do you prefer roleplaying (1), or combat (4)?
Do you prefer an easy narrative (1) or a brutal challenge (4)?



3 questions, and you know exactly what kind of player you're dealing with once they're done. For example, someone that voted for 1, 2, 4 is going to probably play a utility specialist, using Divination magic/skills to determine what threats are coming up and using their experience to come up with precise solutions to those problems.

I completely agree that straight forward asking them is the most effective way.
Though I've definitely played with people who think they want RAW, brutal challenge, but really wanted the DM to let them win/be awesome, and pretend everything's RAW.
Lastly, I strongly support 4 point scales, so kudos there also.

Some further questions could be about:

no PvP - PvP allowed
party-centric - individual challenges
low level preference - high level preference
structured narrative - open world

Morcleon
2019-04-09, 12:01 PM
These questions are on a scale of 1-4, with 1 being highly agreeable to the leftmost answer, and 4 being highly agreeable to the rightmost answer.

Do you prefer a DM that strictly obeys RAW (1), or a DM that makes on-the-spot judgment calls (4)?
Do you prefer roleplaying (1), or combat (4)?
Do you prefer an easy narrative (1) or a brutal challenge (4)?



The second question pushes an RP vs combat paradigm, which is not particularly accurate to how the game can be played out. It's entirely possible to enjoy high amounts of both (and there can always be RP within combat as well).

Pelle
2019-04-09, 12:05 PM
If my character surviving is dependent on a die roll, the GM will:
- let the die roll decide
- skip the die roll and provide a narrative justification for it
- fudge the die roll to save the character, but pretend not to

When facing a potential combat encounter, the difficulty of the fight will be:
- achivable to win, it's the GM's job to make sure
- it can be whatever, it's up to the players to get intel before fighting

When running down an unexplored dungeon corridor with pursuers on your heels, what can be found there:
- whatever is in the GM's notes, including dead ends
- an exit
- the GM will improvise something fun

When deciding what the party does next:
- it will be obvious what the GM want the players to do
- it's up to the players to find something fun to do
- the overall goal is set by the GM but the way to achieve it is up to the players


I think these types of questions are worth asking to figure out what kind of playstyle the group expects.

Man_Over_Game
2019-04-09, 12:18 PM
The second question pushes an RP vs combat paradigm, which is not particularly accurate to how the game can be played out. It's entirely possible to enjoy high amounts of both (and there can always be RP within combat as well).

Sure, but the opposite can also be true. The point is to find trends.

For example, if someone says they want the DM to make things up on the fly (1.4) wants a bit of combat (2.3), and wants things to be super easy (3.1), you can kind of have an idea as to what they want. Imagine DMing for that particular person.

Now change their answer from 2-3 to 2-2. Did your DMing style change? Likely not.

The 4 point system prevents ambivalence (which happens a lot) and highlights what the person finds most important. In the instance that the player is perfectly balanced between the two and are forced to make a decision, it likely won't carry much weight (unless they've chosen ambivalent 2/3 answers on every question).

Really, 2's and 3's don't matter, unless the player didn't answer any 1's or 4's.

Jay R
2019-04-09, 12:42 PM
Don't forget that it works in both directions. The questions that a DM asks could give me valuable information on whether or not I'm likely to enjoy that game.

Man_Over_Game
2019-04-09, 12:47 PM
Don't forget that it works in both directions. The questions that a DM asks could give me valuable information on whether or not I'm likely to enjoy that game.

Or the DM could just provide his personal preferences to the player after they're done (to avoid players having bias on their numbers to appear "preferable").

Personally, using my example, I'd be a 1.3, 2.2, 3.2 DM. So if someone wants their DM to use standardized monsters for perfectly calculated, merciless battles, I might not be the DM for them.

jjordan
2019-04-09, 12:55 PM
Good points, folks. Thank you. I was attempting to be humorous and engaging in my questions to make it seem like less of a chore (and channeling that old 'quiz' from Dragon Magazine #128). But, regardless of how the questions are asked, what data points should be collected?

Strict adherence to the rules or rule of cool
Roleplaying with NPCs
Roleplaying with party members
How much combat
Investigating/Researching?
Puzzle Solving
Playing a role in a planned narrative
Choosing your own role/goals in an open setting
Individual challenges versus group challenges
Playing at low level, mid level, or high level?
What do you expect to happen if your character dies?
How do you feel about failing to achieve your goals?


Others?

Man_Over_Game
2019-04-09, 01:21 PM
Good points, folks. Thank you. I was attempting to be humorous and engaging in my questions to make it seem like less of a chore (and channeling that old 'quiz' from Dragon Magazine #128). But, regardless of how the questions are asked, what data points should be collected?

Strict adherence to the rules or rule of cool
Roleplaying with NPCs
Roleplaying with party members
How much combat
Investigating/Researching?
Puzzle Solving
Playing a role in a planned narrative
Choosing your own role/goals in an open setting
Individual challenges versus group challenges
Playing at low level, mid level, or high level?
What do you expect to happen if your character dies?
How do you feel about failing to achieve your goals?


Others?

From my experience, there really aren't that many different types of players.


There are those that prefer combat vs. those that prefer roleplaying.
There are those that want to always feel like heroes and those that like a gritty challenge.
There are those who want complexity and those that want their games to be relaxing.
There are those who want to do crazy stuff and those who want to keep things down-to-earth.
There are those with experience (and like higher level stuff) and there are those without.
There are those who are strongly attached to their characters and those that are comfortable rolling new ones.


I honestly can't think of much else that really comes up.

2D8HP
2019-04-09, 02:11 PM
Monkeying around with my boys and it occurred to me that it was actually an interesting idea. If you had a questionnaire you handed out to potential new players for your games, what questions would you put on it? What information would you want to have to ensure players are good fit?

Which option most closely resembles the way you would describe your character?

-First level fighter quick-build.
-A half-orc barbarian tank optimized for close in combat.
-A half-orc warrior, cast out from his tribe and rejected by humans, searching for his place in the world.

Which option most closely describes your character’s motivation?

-Loot!
-Murder! And Loot.
-Succeeding in the completion of my self-appointed goal. And loot.


You enter a ten by ten room and see an orc. What do you do?

-Does it see me?
-Murder it! And loot the body.
-Are we in a dungeon? In town? What kind of orc? Male? Female? Is it an adult? A child? What is it doing?

You enter a ten by ten room and see an ancient red dragon. What do you do?

-Run!
-Murder it!
-“Greetings, Great Wyrm! We have come, drawn by the tales of your greatness, to seek the benefit of your wise counsel.”

I want to:

-Find a good side-quest to level up before we move to the next adventure in the story.
-Murder hobo my way across the land in a spree of wanton excess that will set the standard for all ‘No-****-there-I-was’ stories that come after.
-Figure out why the hell the fiend suddenly lost control and started murdering people after years of successfully hiding itself amongst humans.

Your character just died. What do you do?

-Roll a new one.
-Someone’s going to resurrect me, right? Guys?
-Talk to the DM about coming back as a ghost, unable to be at final peace until I’ve completed my quest, unseen and unheard by all members of the party except Grothug.


What do you want to do?

-Explore the world and build my own story.
-Explore the story the GM has created and add my own creations to it.
-Get to level 20.


My answer is "A" for all of those questions with a caveat on Question #5 - the "side quest" is the "story" everything is the story, and the form of the question that suggests otherwise would make me wary.

Jay R
2019-04-09, 10:58 PM
The brute fact is that I would prefer to play with a group of friends who get along well than with a group of people who answer a survey the same way.

2D8HP
2019-04-09, 11:46 PM
The brute fact is that I would prefer to play with a group of friends who get along well than with a group of people who answer a survey the same way.


The brute fact is that all my friends from my old gaming circle went to college, the military, the cemetery, and/or places far away with cheaper rents years ago, and wirh a two (and a half) year old in the house I don't have time to find new ones (plus I'd wind up divorced or murdered if I tried!).

Koo Rehtorb
2019-04-09, 11:49 PM
From my experience, there really aren't that many different types of players.


There are those that prefer combat vs. those that prefer roleplaying.
There are those that want to always feel like heroes and those that like a gritty challenge.
There are those who want complexity and those that want their games to be relaxing.
There are those who want to do crazy stuff and those who want to keep things down-to-earth.
There are those with experience (and like higher level stuff) and there are those without.
There are those who are strongly attached to their characters and those that are comfortable rolling new ones.


I honestly can't think of much else that really comes up.

These are quite good, I think. I'd also add in something about how people feel about PvP.

geppetto
2019-04-10, 01:45 AM
hmm, I just have a convo with a new person, trade a few stories about fun games we've been in and what we liked about them. That usually tells you very easily if your a good match in a group. Theres no need to formalize it so much.