Interview Questions:
Please provide as much detail as you feel comfortable sharing including specific examples when possible.
Confidentiality Note:
Any identifying details mentioned during the interview (including but not limited to real names or character names), will be replaced with a pseudonym or removed and generalized in the final analysis.
Screening Questions
1. Are you 18 years or age or older? Yes or No
2. Do you actively participate in D&D campaigns where alignment is used in character creation and or role-play? Yes or No
If the answers to either question above is “No,” the interview will not continue, and any responses provided will be null and void and excluded from the study.
Background and Engagement with D&D
*If you have experience in both DM and a Player, please answer for both roles and note whether your answers differ depending on your role
Towards Role: DM and Player
1. How did you first get into D&D?
a. Please describe when and how you started playing.
2. How long have you been playing?
3. How often do you currently play?
4. What keeps you engaged in D&D?
5. What is most appealing to you personally about playing?
6. Do you usually play online, in person, with friends, or with strangers?
7. Have you played in more than one edition of D&D? If yes, which ones?
8. How often does alignment come up in your sessions?
9. Have you ever taken a break from D&D and then come back to it?
a. If yes, did you approach to alignment change?
Roles and Play Style in Game
*If you have experience in both DM and a Player, please answer for both roles and note whether your answers differ depending on your role
Towards Role: DM and Player
1. What role do you usually take: DM, player or both?
o If both, which do you prefer and why?
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Towards Role: DM
1. How would you describe your approach as a DM: rules focused, story focuses, a mix, other?
2. How do you include alignment and moral dilemmas into your world building and encounters?
a. Please share an example.
3. Do you discuss alignment expectations with players before a campaign starts? If yes, how?
4. How do you handle situations where a player ignores or breaks their stated alignment?
5. How do you address morally ambiguous or ethically challenging player actions?
Towards Role: Player
1. How would you describe your roleplay style: roleplay heavy, combat focused, balanced, a mix, other?
2. Tell me about one or two of your favorite characters you’ve played?
a. Why did you enjoy them?
3. How you do usually choose a character’s concept and alignment?
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a. Which alignment do you find yourself picking most often? Why?
b. What is your favorite alignment to play? Why?
c. Have you ever chosen an alignment that was hard to roleplay? What made it difficult?
4. How important is alignment to you when creating or playing a character?
5. Do you collaborate with your DM or other players when deciding your character’s alignment?
6. Have you ever acted against your character’s stated alignment?
a. What happened, and how did others respond?
7. Have you played a character whose alignment opposite to your own values?
a. If so, how did that experience feel?
Decision Making
*If you have experience in both DM and a Player, please answer for both roles and note whether your answers differ depending on your role
Towards Role: DM and Player
1. Describe a time when your character faced a difficult moral choice.
a. What happened, and why was that decision made?
2. Have you ever disagreed with how someone else handled a moral or ethical situation in -game?
a. What happened?
3. Have moral disagreements in a game ever carried over into real-life discussions or feelings?
4. How do you define “good,” “neutral,” and “evil” in D&D?
a. Is this different from how you think about them in real life?
5. How do you define “lawful,” “neutral,” and “chaotic” in D&D?
a. Is this different from how you think about them in real life?
6. Do you see alignment as a strict rule or more of a storytelling tool? Why?
7. Have you used D&D to explore moral ideas you wouldn’t explore in real life?
a. Can you give an example?
8. Can you recall a time when alignment created tension at the table?
9. How does you group usually handle morally gray or ambiguous actions?
a. Please give a specific example.
10. How does your group respond when a character does something ‘morally wrong’?
a. Does it become a group issue or just part of the story?
11. Have you ever seen a group change their perception of a character’s alignment over time?
12. Do you think alignment limits creativity, or does it help to guide roleplay? Why?
Reflection
*If you have experience in both DM and a Player, please answer for both roles and note whether your answers differ depending on your role
Towards Role: DM and Player
1. If alignment did not exist as a mechanic, how do you think your play style would change?
2. Do you think alignments work differently in short campaigns or one-shots compared to long campaigns?
3. Do you think players bring their real-world moral beliefs into the game? If yes, in what ways?
4. Have you ever learned something about yourself or others through gameplay?
5. Has playing D&D influenced your personal thinking about right and wrong? If yes, how?
6. What do you think D&D teaches about justice, authority, and morality?
7. Do you think D&D reinforces or challenges mainstream moral norms?
8. Have you noticed cultural or generational differences in how players handle moral situations?
9. Is there a particular moral or emotional moment in a game that has stayed with you?
a. Please describe it.
10. Do you think cultural backgrounds influence how players interpret alignment and morality?