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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Majoru Oakheart" data-source="post: 6412890" data-attributes="member: 5143">That's pretty much it.  The players are likely wondering what the answer to the question is.  This answers it for them so they can feel complete.Here's the basic summary of the adventure and the motivation behind it.  Each of the 5 adventures is an introduction to each of the 5 factions in Adventurer's League.  The adventure in question is the intro to the Emerald Enclave.  One of their members comes into the inn and tells the PCs that he is a member of the Emerald Enclave and that he has tracked a dangerous magic item to the inn and that someone in the inn has it.  He has heard of the PCs and their exploits and has decided to trust them based on their reputation.  He doesn't know who has the item in question or even what it looks like but he's been told the item is unnatural and dangerous and needs to be put somewhere safe.  He wants the PCs to carefully figure out who has the item for him and make sure no one leaves.  He offers them money and the favor of the Emerald Enclave and even membership if that's what they would like.But, yes, the adventure is to accomplish the goal assigned to you in exchange for money.  Which is the motivator of 80% of adventurers in games I play in(the motivator for the other 20% is doing good and helping people, which this adventure also has covered).  The other motivator is to see a puzzle solved and see the plot thread resolved.I'm going to have to disagree that character's need to take "action" to be a character.  In fact, literally the first line in wikipedia about characterization is:"Characterization or characterization is the concept of creating characters for a narrative.[1] It is a literary element and may be employed in dramatic works of art or everyday conversation. Characters may be presented by means of description, through their actions, speech, or thoughts."Actions are just one part of making a character(or characterization).  In order to be a well rounded character we need to see their description, get a glimpse at their thoughts and see how they react in a variety of situations.If a character needs nothing but actions then most D&D characters would be defined as 90% identical to one another:"I attack."  "I search."  "I attack."In fact, literally, the most important different between one fighter and another fighter is that one likes wine and fine tobacco and another likes riding horses and reading books about cowboys.Characters without this kind of distinction look almost exactly the same.  I know.  We run Adventurer's League every Wednesday at our local store and there's at least 5 regulars whose characters could not be differentiated other than their class.  They have no personality at all.  On the other hand a couple of others at least have a couple interesting quirks that make them something other than a bundle of stats whose actions are entirely "I attack" and "I search".Without playing this adventure, I would have no idea that the character(played by the player I mentioned in the original post) had any motivation other than killing monsters and searching for treasure.  He hit on the female elf ranger with the purple bow during the adventure.  Which means he is, at the very least, attracted to woman as well.They care because they are being paid to care and because if they figure it out they can save people's lives.  Some of them do it because it will make them more famous.  Some do it because they want to prove they are better at solving puzzles than other people.  Some do it for the mystery.  Some do it because their friends want to do it and they'll go along with their friend's goals.But, since D&D is a ensemble game, it's very difficult for individual goals to be pursued much during an adventure without splitting the party or forcing the other party members to put their own personal goals on hold to pursue yours.  In which case, the game becomes way too much about one player over the others.    So, most D&D characters have relatively superficial goals that can be accomplished in the process of doing whatever job they've been hired to do this week.My two main characters right now have the goals of "I will become the best thief ever" and "I will become famous".  Their actual goals are given to them by whatever adventure they are playing at the time.I don't know.  They all follow the same basic formula:NPC comes up to the PC and asks them to do something for them.  Sometimes for money, sometimes out of the goodness of their hearts.  The PCs agree and accomplish the mission by fighting monsters, solving puzzles, and defeating obstacles.  Then they get paid.  Sometimes by someone else other than the original employer.Whether that mission is "Go into that hole and save my family from the goblins who captured them" or "Find the evil magic item in this room".</blockquote>

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