I originally pitched this idea below the comic over here, but there's a mechanical concept from my other-favorite-game that might have some applications in Pathfinder.
I'm talking about an Exalted 2e mechanic called “intimacies." The formal definition is “anything your character cares about enough that it changes how the character acts.” Intimacies might be a cause, an ideal, a place, a person, or a nation. Pretty much anything that's important to your character. Coming up with these intimacies is a major part of character gen in Exalted, and can actually give you mechanical advantages if you’re fighting for a positive intimacy or against a negative intimacy. However, I think the concept is a good one to think about in any system.
So here is my question: What is something your character cares about so deeply that it would change the way they act? What is the one thing that beats the “my character wouldn’t do that” out of you? And more to the point: Can thinking about "intimacies" in these terms make for a stronger character?
His oaths would have involved protecting knowledge from people, using knowledge to protect people, and also protecting people from dangerous knowledge.
I think that mindset, which he picked up pieces of along the way of the adventures and finally was ready to cement into his mechanical class features, made him an incredible character to play as and still one of my proudest achievements on the table in 10+ years of gaming.
This exactly! A strong motivation is a great scaffold to hang the rest of a character on. I like the way you phrased your trio of inter-related "intimacies" as well. That's suitably gnomish and convoluted.
|
It's always a good idea to have a goal or ideal for your character. I'd say something like that would usually be relevant, no matter what's going on. Though I'd prefer a flexible setup of options like Pathfinder's traits, allowing for more variety than something like Starfinder's backgrounds. If you want a rule that gives players stuff depending on who/what/why they care.
As for my characters, I usually look through the Player's Guide or talk with the GM beforehand so I can figure something out that won't wreck the adventure, and listen to the other players about what they have in mind.
This one time, I had a CE bard who wanted nothing more than to become Good, and sought redemption - however, he was certain that he could only achieve this posthumously, and felt insulted when his allies told him they would never kill him. As it turned out, nobody took an interest in him, nobody told him he was spreading a sham faith, and though he did technically help save the day, his alignment never changed and he sort of just left.
When we found an object of magical alignment detection, he held onto it and only used it on himself every so often.
I do think "intimacies" is an awkward word choice, it has the wrong connotation at least in my area of the USA. I'm betting that's why you haven't got much commentary yet, I almost didn't click in either except I just had to see what you were talking about. Lol
Yeah. White Wolf always had trouble with bizarre word choice.