Hoss Brainstorms a Questionnaire

I've been reading both the Dungeon Master's Guide 2 and a lot of Playing DnD With Pornstars lately, and both have some excellent comments about trying to discover what your players want and how to give it to them.

This is my brainstorming post for things-to-ask-players-so-we're-all-on-the-same-page-of-a-dnd-game-from-the-beginning.

1 - Do you want to BE, or SEE?  Some DnD games are about your character BEING weird, or BEING heroic, or BEING awesome.  Other DnD games are about a relatively unimportant nobody who nonetheless SEES weird shit, or SEES heroic circumstances, or SEES awesome worlds.  The former is a focus on the nature of the characters, because it's the characters that are weird/heroic/awesome or otherwise notable; the later is a focus on the nature of the world, because while the characters are just farm boys or scullery maids, the world is weird/heroic/awesome.

2 - Do you prefer weird fantasy or heroic fantasy?

Weird Fantasy: the heroes encounter a female bullywug that insists that it is a beautiful kobold maiden that's been transformed.  She only talks in rhyme, and hopping is her only method of transportation.  To restore her to her original swamp-lizard-halfling glory, the heroes must bring her the hair of the sorcerer who transformed her, which she must eat to turn back the transformation.

Heroic Fantasy: the heroes encounter a female bullywug that's responsible for the plague sweeping through the town.  In an epic battle against the bullywug cultists, the heroes stem the tide of filth and save the town.  Also, the mayor's buxom daughter was being held in a nearby cell- the heroes claim a handsomer-than-usual reward for her return.

3 - Do you prefer fighting or roleplaying?

4 - Do you prefer puzzles that the players have to figure out (like a number puzzle that everyone has to think about together, which unlocks the door) or puzzles that the characters have to figure out (some combination of skill checks or other actions by the characters unlocks the door)?

5 - Do you prefer Dungeons or Dragons?  Effectively, do you prefer fighting the environment (the dungeon as the primary enemy, with monsters as "flavor") or monsters (the dragon as the primary enemy, with traps/hazards/dungeon features as "flavor")?


Just a few for right now... others perhaps to follow at a later date.