Creating interesting squads/crews/parties

[Codexier]

I'm interested in using the wonderful tool in creating small groups of adventurers. Like: a small starship crew, a dungeon raiding party, an army fireteam or post-apocalyptic survivors.

I'm wondering if you have any ideas or experiences with making groups even more interesting and diverse, with complex relationships using just yes/no questions.

Example:

Stitchpunk Adventures
Generating the crew...
Is the leader a male?

No, but...

She's a female, but somewhat masculine. She's no girly girl.
Is she a warrior?

Yes.

Is she sewn from a burlap bag?

Yes, but...

She is from a common burlap bag (a peasant's toy), but she has shiny expensive buttons for eyes.

Does she have a crew of 3 with her?

No, but...

She has a crew of 2, as the third of their crew was just lost (captured? killed?)

Is the second crew member a male?

Yes.

Is he a crafter?

Yes, and...

He's a crafter, able to mend and create new things with the junk he scavenges.

Is he made of burlap?

No.

Is he made of worn denim?

Yes, but...

He is made of worn denim, but he has dark opaque beads for eyes, hinting at a mystery.

Is the second crew member a male?

No.

Is she a librarian, book smart and wise?

No.

Is she a thief, scavenging and stealing in the shadows?

Yes, but...

She's a thief, but has a conscience and a code that she lives by. Never steal from the innocent.

Does the Leader get along with the Crafter?

Yes, but...

Is she made out of burlap?

No.

Is she made out of denim?

Yes.

She is also made of denim.

Does the Leader get along with the Thief?

Yes.

Does the crafter get along with the thief?

No.

So, here is our starting crew:

Hemp is our leader. She is a tough warrior. Made of burlap, she was originally crafted by a poor daughter of a factory worker. The father gave her two shiny buttons to use as eyes for the daughter's birthday, before she succumbed to the sickness that scourged humankind. She is fond of Levi and once they were lovers, but now they work together in perfect unison.

Levi is a crafter and he is made of denim. He has cold, mysterious dark glass beads for eyes. A master crafter can mend others and also create new devices and tools from junk that is scavenged. He does not care for Diesel and thinks that she wants him out of the group. His dark and guarded jealousy for Hemp makes him suspicious of Diesel's intentions.

Diesel is a thief and scavenger. She is also made of denim, with no other remarkable features. Though she works in the shadows, she lives by a code of not stealing from innocents. She cares for Hemp, maybe a bit more than she cares to admit to herself. Levi has hated her since she joined the crew, but she does not know why.

Do they live in a tower of bent steel and broken glass?

No.

Do they live in a trash dump, cluttered with refuse and stinking?

Yes.

They make their base in an old cardboard box in the hollow shell of what was once a luxury automobile.

[mark]

I'm wondering if you have any ideas or experiences with making groups even more interesting and diverse, with complex relationships using just yes/no questions.

I think you did just fine using nothing more than yes/no questions. I really couldn't suggest anything better than what you did.

But my question is why are you limiting yourself to just yes/no questions? There are many other tools available such as:

-- Click the "MAQ" (Mark's Adventure Questions) button and follow the first three questions for each character. You may want to select a genre first.

-- Click the "Get UNE" (Universal NPC Emulator) button.

-- Click the "C.D." (Mythic's Complex Description) button to help describe personalities.

-- For gender you can use dice rolls. For example if 6 are in the group roll 1d6 to determine how many are females or 1d4 if you want to ensure that there are fewer.

For relationships there are many options too. For example, let's assume a party of 4:

Is #1 at odds with anyone?

(Somewhat Unlikely | 5_[d10]) No.

Is #2 at odds with anyone?

(Somewhat Unlikely | 2_[d10]) No.

Is #3 at odds with anyone?

(Somewhat Unlikely | 7_[d10]) Yes, but...

Who with?

2 = 2_[d4]

Is #4 at odds with anyone?

(Somewhat Unlikely | 8_[d10]) Yes.

Who with?

4 = 4_[d4]

(must re-roll)

2 = 2_[d4]

Why is #3 at odds with #2? (Mythic Complex Question)

Oppose / Hope.

#3 is at odds with #2 because #2 is so pessimistic.

Why is #4 at odds with #2? For the same reason?

(50/50 | 3_[d10]) No.

Then why?

Delay / Friendship.

For some reason #2 just doesn't want to be friends with #4 and it upsets #4.

Is there a reason why #2 doesn't want to be friends with #4?

(50/50 | 8_[d10]) Yes.

Why?

Haggle / Liberty.

#2 believes that everyone should be free to do what they want but #4 thinks that too much freedom invites chaos.

Just for fun I decided to get more information about our little group:

Tell me about #1.

Officially / Warm.

#1 is our official talker who is really good at social engineering.

Tell me about #2.

Meaningfully / Enormous.

#2 loves to eat and is very big. #2 is our muscle.

Tell me about #3.

Majestically / Hard.

#3 has big plans and will work as hard as it takes to reach the goal.

Tell me about #4.

Dimly / Exotic.

#4 prefers to not be the center of attention, is quiet, and very creative. #4's sometimes crazy ideas have helped us a lot.

I hope this answers your question more or less and gives you some ideas. Thank you for asking and thank you for your kind words.

[Codexier]

That's a great point about the other tools. I'll try them out and see how they fit into the flow. One reason I was trying to stick to yes/no is that I find it flows so flawlessly with my style of playing/writing. When I add too many rules (see the second AP for Overland to understand what I mean) I feel it pulls me out of the exercise. That said, I want to give it a go and try some of these other methods.

Thanks for the ideas!

[Hail2U!]

Reminds me a lot of some of Orson Scott Card's character creation methods, where you ask a variety of questions and twist on the answers you get.