One of the larger challenges of my Jackson, IL campaign for the NIGHT SHIFT® RPG, hasn't been the rules or the supernatural, but rather getting players into the right frame of mind. Not just playing teens (for people like me who are 30-40+ years past their teen years) but also getting 20-somethings used to the world of 1985-86.
A lot of that will be a certain level of "hand wavem" where the reality of the game world gives way to the supposed reality of the time. For example, many of the twenty-somethings don't think to look for a pay phone. The fifty-year-olds forget what it was like to be teens and feel the things teens feel so intensely. I can't handle all of those, BUT I can at least get them going into the right place with their characters.
To this end, I worked on a Character Questionnaire. Give the players a chance to think about their characters in a group and what this character is like as a teen in 1985.
This is in addition to Quotes, Quirks, and Theme Song, I ask of all the characters.
I was thinking about my developmental psychology classes, back when I was closer to being a teen than I am now, and how teens feel like they are on a stage the whole time. They often feel everything they do is visible to (and judged by) all. Their thought process is not the same as an adult's, because their brains are still developing. So things they do (or did if you are feeling reflective) feel different. These different thought processes are one of the features of this game, not a bug.
Here is the Questionnaire, as it exists now. Note, the players fill this out AFTER the characters are rolled up. I might change these a bit as the game goes on.
Character Questionnaire
- What is this teen known for at school?
- How were they seen before Jackson, if applicable?
- How are they trying to redefine themselves?
- What classes fit them best?
- What are they good at?
- Who notices them, and why?
- What rumors or assumptions follow them?
Favorites
- What are their favorite groups, bands, and/or singers? What is always in their Walkman?
- Favorite movie?
- Favorite TV show?
- Favorite clothes?
- Favorite colors?
- Favorite drink?
- Favorite food?
- What poster is on their bedroom wall?
- What store do they always stop in at the mall or downtown?
Home Life
- Who do they live with?
- What is their house like?
- What is their room like?
- How much privacy do they have?
- What is their relationship with their parent or guardian?
- What unspoken pressure lives in the home?
- What freedom do they have that other teens might not?
Weekend Life
- Where do they go first when they have free time?
- What do they do when left alone?
- What social places do they end up in?
- What teen rituals do they enjoy, tolerate, or avoid?
- What changed once they found their people?
- What does freedom look like to them on a Saturday?
Communication
- Do they have privacy on the phone?
- Who do they call most?
- Whose number do they know by heart?
- Are they better in person, on the phone, or in notes?
- Do they make mixtapes, write letters, pass notes, or invent codes?
Secrets
- What secrets are easiest for them to keep?
- What secrets keep leaking out anyway?
- What private fear drives them?
- What private need shapes them?
- What has this cost them?
- What part of themselves are they afraid others can already see?
- Teen Places in Jackson
- Where do they belong?
- Where are they watched?
- Where are they most themselves?
- Where are they least comfortable?
- What public place changes when they enter it?
- What hidden place matters only to them or their closest friends?
Teen Archetype
- How does the school see them?
- How does the town see them?
- Who are they in private?
- What role do they play in the game?
- What do they want?
- What do others wrongly assume about them?
- What emotional tone follows them into a scene?
Contradictions
Things that go against the grain or what is expected of their character.
And because I can, I figure I'd fill them in for some of the NPCs. This also gave me the chance to try it before I gave it to the players.
Character Questionnaire: Larina
What is this teen known for at school?
Being the smart girl who still seems a little weird.
How were they seen before Jackson, if applicable?
At her old school, she was the weird girl. After the fire, she became “the girl whose mom died.”
How are they trying to redefine themselves?
Her old life was marked by estrangement, sadness, and loss. In Jackson, she wants to remake herself into someone people like rather than pity or mock.
What classes fit them best?
Languages, literature, and the social sciences.
What are they good at?
Languages especially. She has a real gift for them.
Who notices them, and why?
Everyone notices her. She is the new girl, with bright red hair, striking looks, and an air that says she knows more than she should.
What rumors or assumptions follow them?
Her mother died in a freak accident. True.
Her father is on the run. False.
She is like Carrie. Not entirely false, but not in the way people mean.
She is a witch. True, though not in the way most think.
The she, Faye, and Stephanie are all "involved." Not really, they are a coven.
Favorites
Stevie Nicks. A bit cliched she knows, but she can’t help it. “The Wild Heart” is her favorite.
Favorite movie?
She just saw “Return to Oz” and loved it. Dorothy is a witch, and no one can convince her otherwise.
Favorite TV show?
She loves “Masterpiece Theatre” on PBS. “Bewitched” is a guilty pleasure.
Favorite clothes?
Has a plaid purple skirt she loves, a pair of black Jordache jeans she can still fit into, and her black Doc Martens.
Favorite colors?
Purple and black.
Favorite drink?
Tea. Iced tea works fine, too.
Favorite food?
Thai, but there are no Thai restaurants in Jackson, much to her dismay.
A poster of Jean Rollin’s 1970 “La Vampire Nue.” She also has a star chart and poster of Latin verb conjugations.
What store do they always stop in at the mall or downtown?
Paula’s Bookstore downtown, always.
Home Life
Who do they live with?
She lives with her father, Lars, a professor of anthropology at MacAlister College.
What is their house like?
A nice two-story home near the college, in a part of town that is respectable enough but not especially fashionable.
What is their room like?
She has the master bedroom upstairs with an attached bathroom. Lars did not want it after her mother died.
How much privacy do they have?
A great deal. She has most of the upstairs to herself. There is another bedroom and full bath up there, but Lars prefers the downstairs rooms.
What is their relationship with their parent or guardian?
She loves her dad, and he loves her. They are close, but both still carry sadness over the loss of her mother.
What unspoken pressure lives in the home?
Larina tries to take care of Lars more than a teenager should. He worries about her, but she worries about him, too. He cannot cook worth a damn, except for tacos.
What freedom do they have that other teens might not?
She has unusual privacy, including her own teen-line phone.
Weekend Life
Where do they go first when they have free time?
On Saturdays, she heads straight to Paula’s Bookstore downtown. After that, she usually ends up at Jackson Public Library, and sometimes one of the college libraries.
What do they do when left alone?
She reads constantly. If she is awake, she is usually reading or taking notes.
What social places do they end up in?
At night, she goes out with Stephanie and Faye in Stephanie’s car. Like most kids in town, they cruise Morgan Street and eventually end up at Sal’s Pizza.
What teen rituals do they enjoy, tolerate, or avoid?
Larina is only an occasional drinker and does not care for drugs, though she has tried getting high a couple of times.
What changed once they found their people?
She became more open, both to other people and to the world around her. Friendship made ordinary life feel worth entering.
What does freedom look like to them on a Saturday?
Cruising Morgan with Stephanie and Faye, getting pizza at Sal’s, then bringing some home to share with her dad, who almost certainly forgot to eat, while listening to his records.
Communication
Do they have privacy on the phone?
Yes. Lars got her her own teen line when they moved to Jackson.
Who do they call most?
Faye and Stephanie.
Whose number do they know by heart?
Faye and Stephanie.
Are they better in person, on the phone, or in notes?
Much better in person. Her written notes tend to become long, intense, and overthought.
Do they make mixtapes, write letters, pass notes, or invent codes?
She makes mixtapes for Faye from her dad’s record collection. She also makes Stevie Nicks tapes for Candy, partly out of affection and partly because it feels easier than saying what she means. She, Faye, and Stephanie have worked out a code so they can talk about supernatural things in public without anyone noticing.
Secrets
What secrets are easiest for them to keep?
Other people’s secrets. If someone swears her to silence, she will keep it forever.
What secrets keep leaking out anyway?
She cannot keep gift secrets at all. She buys birthday and Christmas presents months in advance and can never quite stop herself from hinting.
What private fear drives them?
Larina believes her mother’s death was not an accident. She suspects something evil and eldritch was responsible. Her father insists it was faulty wiring in her mother’s spice shop, and the investigation officially agrees. (Spoiler: It actually was an accident, but it shapes her all the same.)
What private need shapes them?
She is haunted by the fear that she can never know enough. That is why she is always reading, always writing things down, always trying to get ahead of what might happen next.
What has this cost them?
She has not read a book purely for pleasure in years.
What part of themselves are they afraid others can already see?
She likes girls and boys equally, and part of her is certain everyone already knows. Even if she doesn't really understand that all yet herself. (It's 1985, there is no internet to look things up, and no easy-to-access books.)
Teen Places in Jackson
Where do they belong?
On ordinary nights, Sal’s Pizza. On quieter days, Paula’s Bookstore and the public library.
Where are they watched?
In the school halls. Since Larina arrived, she, Stephanie, and Faye have become inseparable, and people notice.
Where are they most themselves?
With her friends, or alone with a book and a problem to solve.
Where are they least comfortable?
Anywhere she cannot make sense of what is happening. Confusion unsettles her more than danger.
What public place changes when they enter it?
The public library. The librarians all know her by name, and her presence there feels almost permanent.
What hidden place matters only to them or their closest friends?
Behind the school, in sight of the track and field, but far enough from the road to feel secret. Sometimes Candy and Denise show up.
Teen Archetype
How does the school see them?
The new girl, who is still a little strange.
How does the town see them?
The new girl. Professor Nichols’ brilliant daughter. The smart girl who is still a little strange.
Who are they in private?
She is still trying to figure that out for herself.
What role do they play in the game?
She is the Witch, the one who knows, or at least the one who tries hardest to know.
What do they want?
To make sure no one else dies if she can help it.
What do others wrongly assume about them?
That she is arrogant. In truth, she is still shy and more uncertain than she lets anyone see.
What emotional tone follows them into a scene?
Alone, she brings quiet intensity. With friends, she brings frantic energy. When happy, she is openly affectionate. When angry, she is genuinely frightening.
Contradictions
She wants to be known, but hates being misread.
She is deeply affectionate, but guards herself carefully.
She reads constantly, but almost never for pleasure.
She seems confident, but is still remaking herself from grief.
She keeps others’ secrets perfectly, but cannot keep a birthday surprise to save her life.
Tries to shield herself from pain, but she will set herself on fire to save others.
Character Questionnaire: Candy
What is this teen known for at school?
Being one half of the “Candy and Denise” duo.
How were they seen before Jackson, if applicable?
She has always lived here.
How are they trying to redefine themselves?
At the moment, she is not. Candy is not trying to reinvent herself. She is just trying to get through.
What classes fit them best?
She actually pays attention in health class.
What are they good at?
Candy is very good at first aid. She keeps her cool, acts fast, and gets things done when someone is hurt.
Who notices them, and why?
Mostly teachers, because she is usually in trouble or seems about two seconds away from it.
What rumors or assumptions follow them?
That she drinks all the time. Partially true.
That she and Denise have hooked up. Partially true.
That she is an airhead. False, but she lets people believe it.
Favorites
What are their favorite groups, bands, and/or singers? What is always in their Walkman?
Loves pop music, especially when it has a party feel. Loves Stevie Nicks as well. Has a copy of The Wild Heart that Larina gave her.
Favorite movie?
She tells people, “Porky’s” to get a shock out of them. But in truth, she loves watching old black & white movies with her mom.
Favorite TV show?
“Who has time for TV?” but will have MTV on in the background.
Favorite clothes?
Anything bright. She has a leather jacket she dug out of the "Lost and Found" of her dad's bar, which she always wears.
Favorite colors?
Pinks, yellows, oranges.
Favorite drink?
Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill wine. Coffee with a lot of sugar. Iced with sugar and Sweet-n-lo.
Favorite food?
Pizza. Pepperoni with green olives, the same as Denise's.
An old, faded poster of “The Outsiders” Movie.
What store do they always stop in at the mall or downtown?
“Strawberry Fields” record store at the mall. She always runs into Faye there.
Home Life
Who do they live with?
Candy lives with her working-class father, “Ron”, her terminally ill mother, “Carol”, and her little sister, “Ronnie”.
What is their house like?
Too small for four people carrying that much stress.
What is their room like?
A wreck, but in a very normal teenage way for the time. Clothes everywhere, school things mixed with junk, and half-finished bits of life shoved into corners. Bags of chips, Coke cans, a forgotten bag of weed.
How much privacy do they have?
Almost none.
What is their relationship with their parent or guardian?
She loves both her parents, and they love her. But she is furious at the world for taking her mother from her piece by piece.
What unspoken pressure lives in the home?
Everything in the house is organized around helping her mother. All the money Candy makes helping her dad goes to medical bills.
What freedom do they have that other teens might not?
Her dad works at the local bar, so she stays out late more often than most teens can. She also has easy access to alcohol.
Weekend Life
Where do they go first when they have free time?
Wherever Denise is.
What do they do when left alone?
She hates being alone. Being alone means she has time to think about everything going wrong.
What social places do they end up in?
Sal’s Pizza, parties, parking lots, anywhere Denise is, anywhere the night feels louder than home.
What teen rituals do they enjoy, tolerate, or avoid?
She drinks most weekends, looks for parties, and avoids anything that feels too much like school spirit or forced enthusiasm.
What changed once they found their people?
She met Denise in junior high when they were both sent to the principal’s office, and they have barely been apart since.
What does freedom look like to them on a Saturday?
Not working at her dad’s bar. Not being stuck at home. Being out in the world with Denise, even if they are doing nothing.
Communication
Do they have privacy on the phone?
None.
Who do they call most?
Denise.
Whose number do they know by heart?
Denise.
Are they better in person, on the phone, or in notes?
In person, but she is constantly passing notes.
Do they make mixtapes, write letters, pass notes, or invent codes?
She passes notes constantly. She and Denise have nicknames for every teacher in school.
Secrets
What secrets are easiest for them to keep?
Anything between her and Denise stays buried.
What secrets keep leaking out anyway?
She makes inappropriate jokes about everyone’s sex lives and sometimes reveals more than she means to by acting like nothing matters.
What private fear drives them?
That she will end up alone.
What private need shapes them?
She wants to help people, but does not know how to do that in any lasting way.
What has this cost them?
She rebels. She drinks. She sleeps around. She makes herself seem harder and less breakable than she is.
What part of themselves are they afraid others can already see?
That deep down, she is terrified. Terrified, she will be left alone. Terrified she will lose her mother. Terrified that she will lose Denise as her best friend. Terrified something will happen to her dad or Ronnie.
Teen Places in Jackson
Where do they belong?
Anywhere she decides to be. In Candy’s mind, no place is off-limits.
Where are they watched?
Mostly by adults.
Where are they most themselves?
With Denise.
Where are they least comfortable?
By herself.
What public place changes when they enter it?
School. Sal’s. Any place where people know she is about to bring noise, trouble, laughter, or all three.
What hidden place matters only to them or their closest friends?
Behind the bleachers near the track and field, where she and Denise go to smoke and be alone together.
Teen Archetype
How does the school see them?
As a troublemaker.
How does the town see them?
As a troublemaker who ought to be home helping her sick mother.
Who are they in private?
Far more caring, frightened, and vulnerable than people realize.
What role do they play in the game?
The party girl who is deeper than anyone expects.
What do they want?
To live her life, keep the people she loves, and not lose anyone else.
What do others wrongly assume about them?
That she is stupid.
What emotional tone follows them into a scene?
Excitement, chaos, heat, and the sense that something impulsive is about to happen.
Contradictions
She is flighty, but loves with her whole heart.
She acts dumb, but is actually pretty bright.
She seems careless, but cares deeply about the people around her.
She runs from pain, but is the first to act when someone else is hurt.
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| Candy surprises Larina after Larina saves her life. "Don't make it weird, babe." |
Ok, I like these. They really give the characters more character. One thing I added after I did these was, in addition to a theme song, "What songs are on their mix-tape?" But I then had to explain what a "mix-tape" was when I did the first version of this, and I died of old age right in front of the players.
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| Artifacts of a bygone age. |
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