Finding out what makes characters tick?

LawOfTheLand · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **LawOfTheLand** on Mon Nov 15, 2010 5:50 pm

In your mind, what is the best way to figure out what motivates a character to start on the path through your lovingly constructed plot, aside from asking the players outright? I ask this question not only because I have trouble designing hooks that characters will bite at, but because others might have this problem as well and the answers given herein might help them as well.

I want the characters to feel like they want to go on the adventure I've designed for them through the careful selection of the correct "bait," not simply godhand them into action with a random orc invasion or what have you. Besides, combat-intensive campaigns require me to generate statistics for more enemy NPCs, which is hard.

cjeap · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **cjeap** on Mon Nov 15, 2010 6:16 pm

I think the best incentives are based from real life.
Correcting an injustice comes to mind. There's always the characters having a hero complex or fighting for the greater good, high morals, doing the right thing etc.

Traveling is another one. Wanting to see the world, lust for adventure, Indiana Jones-type stuff. I feel that this can lead to adventure just for the sake of adventure, though.

Then there's my favorite reason: personal gain, including but not limited to money and power. It's selfish, not noble, and often times a breath of fresh air.

There's also factors that characters can't control like getting lost and having to find a way back, getting curious and falling into some dungeon or portal, search and rescue missions, their job etc.

ViceVersus · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **ViceVersus** on Tue Nov 16, 2010 2:20 am

Heh. I sort of go a completely different direction.

I control the world of this character. Sometimes I'll write myself so perfectly into a corner that the only way to break them out of this realistic solitary shell is to literally have aliens burst in from space. That sort of jarring -- "what the heck?" moments get my creative juices flowing, and in those moments you really get to see who your character is. They can act as calm and as cool as you like while you're stringing them along, but until you turn the heat up there's nothing to show for.

Obviously, the aliens won't make it into the actual plot of the story or roleplay that I'm writing up, but the basic idea still stands. Once you've broken down that wall before with your zany, out-of-context content you can go back with a fresher idea of where (mentally and physically) your character may be prepared to go.

Remember, though! Your characters are delicate creatures!

VV

Skallagrim · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Skallagrim** on Tue Nov 16, 2010 10:59 am

All well made characters should have a "hook" or way to draw them into the present storyline, even if it is a tenuous hook at best. There is something somewhere in their back story or very nature that gives them a reason, a why, they would be where they are or should be heading too. Even seemingly random acts can be folded into a storyline as synchronizity, because nothing happens without a reason.

You don't need to stomp them into following the path, but by nudging them gentle based on the players concepts of their character, they can be guided along the path and they should see it themselves. Of course that means that the players are going to follow their own creation stories and reasons and foibles. If they won't, simply slap an alien invasion on their arses and let them figure it out as they flee.

Skall

Kestrel · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Kestrel** on Thu Nov 18, 2010 5:16 am

The first thing you must know is that catch-alls by inner motivation are impossible. Unless you have a cast of eerily similiar characters. Some characters are going to want to move, some characters are going to have to be forced to move. Present injustice in the face of most of my characters and they'll be like "Ah well, sucks to be them."

In fact not too long ago, a GM of mine used an NPC to talk one of my co-roleplayers and me to go rescue a character that saved ours not too long ago. My co-roleplayer's character considered it was her duty to go back. My character however, is terribly racist against that saviour's race and figured there has to be a reason other than chivalry he came to their aid (there wasn't, the guy was an all-round good guy, but tell that to my character...)

In this case, my character would need to be forced to go back. Put a gun to her head, something like that.

As mentioned multiple times before above, there's a lot of things you can draw from reading character's bio's and posts. Unfortunately there's going to be places that lack overlap, so you'll need external motivation. A threat, an order from a superior commander, a sexy promise from a lover, a lie telling them there's treasure to be found, the risk of comrades dying without the character, etc. Internal motivation is good, nudge people in a direction. However this doesn't work for everyone and you should be aware of this. As much as I'd like my character to go back and repay her favour to her saviour, get some badass action sequences and mean character development on the way, she just doesn't work that way so I can't write her doing that.

Ksintai · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Ksintai** on Fri Dec 24, 2010 12:43 am

As the others have said, determining a character's motives isn't very easy. But I'll try to give a nice summary of how I usually go about it.

- What do you know about the person playing them? If you've been in an RP with them before, you might be able to figure out
how they think, and in turn, how their characters think.

- Read some of the previous posts for that character, or especially a defining moment in their characterization. For example,
maybe earlier on character A revealed a personal secret, or simply stated their outlook on life. These kinds of posts can actually
be more helpful than reading their bio, especially if the player has slightly altered the characterization.

- Don't sweat it too much! Under normal circumstances, most of your characters wouldn't be able to know how the other character
thinks anyways. Now, I don't mean just screw around until you interest the character, but there are other ways of going around it.
EXAMPLE: You want to know how to "hook" character A. However, he is currently traveling with character B. If you already know
how to get B's attention, then you can try to force character A into character B's situation. From there, you can see how he/she
reacts, and go from there.

Hope that helps!! :D

Vexar · **Tips:** 0.00 INK by **Vexar** on Fri Jan 07, 2011 10:19 am

Other player characters make you character tick.

In role play it's not just about your character. It never is just about your character. It is how your character entwines themselves into the story, world, and most importantly, other characters' stories. If you didn't have other player characters interacting with yours; you'd obviously be writing a book. When you act out things with another's character, you end up working with the unexpected.

And as Vivi put so well, you end up with a "WTF" moment. Those random moments in time is what defines your character, and most likely, you as a player.

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