RP Discussion: "But what's my motivation?"

[kaysper]

One of the plus sides of archeology means that I can go through A LOT of podcast backlog while digging and traveling between dig spots.  Particularly Fear The Boot (which…Might not be the most all-ages and politically correct podcast, but I love the chemistry between the hosts, and they have good RP discussions) which I listen to the most.

One of

Comments

[astridmyrna]

Dika, my orc huntress, basically has no goals except for eat, drink, and be merry.

[the__ivorytower]

That's a really neat question, as such things can often change over a character's career. I think I'll try this out for my most developed character. She's a blood elf paladin

[hooves]

That's one heckuva well thought out storyline. :D

But basically I'm commenting here to also say that I think for most people goals will change over time. A lot of young people have goals like, "get rich", "graduate college/high school", "get married", "have fun"...and over time, that might change to "try harder to involve friends in life", "spend more time with the significant other", "read the kids a story every night", "go to church every Sunday", and then, "make sure I have enough money when I retire", "get a living will", "make sure the kids graduate college", "make sure parents are well taken care of", and so on.

Even with fictional characters who live in an entirely different world, I'd imagine their goals would similarly change over time. Even with huge pressing needs (Lich King, Deathwing, etc) that must be taken care of, a lot of the background goals will be achieved, forgotten about, discarded, overwritten, or altered depending on circumstances.

[the__ivorytower]

Oh, absolutely. One of the things that makes good characters good is that they feel like people, not a series of cliches. Giving them real goals help with that.

...I'm sure I don't need to mention that some of my characters goals were, at various points 'get out of bed, not cry because my entire country is gone'.

[enveri]

My primary RP character is… sort of at loose ends. When she was young, she thought she would marry, have as many babies as she could (given draenei lifespans, that might be 1-2) and be a happy homemaker for her Vindicator husband.

She lost her first love to the Scourge and was very very vengeance driven for a while. When the Lich King fell, she was left… bereft and rudderless. She’s since met someone else and started a family, but she has dark moments when she doubts herself, and wonders if she’s wasting her life. She’s struggling a lot. (and it’s hard for me, as the hand guiding her, to figure out what is pushing her now. It’s hard for me to give two shits about Deathwing and the Cataclysm, how can I expect her to? -.-)

I think when Mists is released, she'll feel the bug to see this new race and learn what they have to teach, and perhaps she'll ask to be taught to become a monk. We'll see! :)