Motivations of Player Characters

[Krynth]

Credit goes to Fraser Sherman a article in  "Dragon" mag. so yea.....

Family:
              PC's dont always get along with their families. In some cases the friction is bad enough to drive him/her off. Imagine being the only roque in a family of paladons and priests; why stick around? What if the character is not the black sheep in the family but the white sheep, awakened by a priest or mentor as to how corrupt and evil his/her family deed's are? The PC may flee out of shame or his/her family may cast him/her out.
                The PC may go adventuring out of love for his family. He could be seeking enough money to save them out of ruin, looking for a long-lost relative or simply wanting to stand out on their own where noone knows them.


Love and Marriage
               What better motive to drive a PC to heroism than romance? (Then agian  that doesnt mean they have to be heroic just look the part) The lover in most stories has to fufill a specific quest before winning his lover.  

Ex.:The ancient Welsh love story of Culhwch and Olwen has Culhwch seeking out over 30 items his prospective fathe-in-law requires before a wedding can take place.
                 Alternatively, the PC may be runnign from mariage, not toward it, fleeing the loveless match his parents aranged.


 Wealth
                Almost every PC wants to get rich, but for some money is only a stepping stone to what they really desire. It may be something tangible-- a potion,enchanted item, the resurrection of a childhood friend --or it may be a dream; the PC is convinced money will let them gain society's respect, buy back the family estates, or avenge themselves on the lord who dishonored them.


 Curses
         With the motivation, a PC hits the road in hopes of finding a cure for some curse  ( Ex: The Black Doom will take me in five years if I dont return the Scepter of Skulls to the tomb grandfather stole it from! ) Perhaps he is running from the unpleasent consequences of some previous action.
         Leaving home may enable the PC to escape the curse.

Another example:

1) In Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera "Ruddigore", the hero ran away to sea to avoid inheriting the Barony of Ruddigore-for whoever becomes the Black Baronet must do an evil deed a day or die in agony.


 Revenge
           Revenge is a classic motivator. The avenging PC will travel the world to hunt down the one who betrayed his regiment, enslaved his sister, or murdered his mentor. The character may know where to find him, and is seeking a way to destroy him.


 On the Lam
            One of the best ways to elude persuers is to go adventuring. The PC may be wanted by the law, hunted by the clergy, or sought by assassins and bounty hunters.
            His pursuers could be family. The thief PC's  paladin brother could be trying to erase the stain on their family name. The PC may be next in line to suffer the curse and is convinced that leaving will prevent it. (Keep in mind being accused doesnt mean guilty if thats the case they may want to stay ahead of their hunters but also track down whoever realy did the deed if framed or find proof its all a lie)


 Mystery
                 The Pc has a question or riddle and goes adventuring to find the answers. It could be some prophecy about his fate, a blank spot in the family history   ("Did my father really betray the king at the battle of Nighting Field?") or a cryptic riddle  ("The last words on my teacher's lips were 'coronet blue' I'll never rest untill I understand why he whispered them to me.")


 Amnesia
        This is actually the ultimate mystery. The PC has no memory of who he is, except vague hints---- picture of someone's face, a remembered phrase or image  Although he possesses all class=realted skills, he has no idea where he learned them or form whom as he acquires added nonweapon proficiences with levels he may simply discover he already knows how to do something.   (Play the game torment it does real good on amnesia)


 Tragedy
              A shamon or beast-rider finds his tribe massacred. A prince discovers his uncle has murdered the king and maried the queen. An orphan's treacherous guardian steals the family fortune and throws him out into the sow. Events like this leave the PC scarred and shaken. Unlike the avengers such characters dont want to get even; rather, the're simply desperate to put the scene of their tragedy behind themany way they can but then again they can over time do exactly that.


 Shame
               PCs want to travle as far as they can from anyone who knows about some great humilliation. For example  a paladin who failed his deity on his first mission and is now a common warrior who doesnt want people to know his roots or and erstwhle thug has become a devout priest. This also works for anyone who's violated a major taboo of his faith or culture.
      A PC could also be ashamed not for himself but for his family, who are all slaves, untouchables, prostitutes, or something else he's rather forget about. The Pc may simply never mention his past, or he could fabricate one to try to pass himself off as a man of bredding and taste, never letting on to his low class origins.

[plightofthepureblood]

Good call dude.

Its hard to avoid using clicess in character motivation, but this is bound to come in handy. Some people overthink it too though.

Glad to see you're contributing things like this with a low post count.

Insert words of encouragment here.

[Legacy of Elecrusher]

A good one that you left out would be, "Drafted into War", it's what I'm using for my game, "Black Legends: Clouded Dreams[pending]" Other than that, it's awsome!

[Krynth]

 

Not sure if that was necessary but none the less I wanted to have fun and use dragonian's smiley anyhow......!

But like I said  before I found the list thought it be nice to share and yea drafting is missing so if you can go in detail I probably add it to the list..... cause right now I cant think of where it would fit in as an example if could be.......

[Legacy of Elecrusher]

Accually, for me it was the first one on the list, so for me I didn't kick it xD

[Krynth]

eh all I know is that it was close to a month old and as many tutorial requests I saw I figured it be off the page by now.....

[Archem]

Well, it's still a kick. Sorry, but if it's over a week old, and you have nothing to really contribute to the topic, it's a kick.