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<blockquote data-quote="Afrodyte" data-source="post: 2428388" data-attributes="member: 8713">I am strongly narrativist in my roleplaying preferences, so a lot of what I do as a player and as a GM to satisfy my desire for meaningful choices comes about more or less subconsciously.&nbsp; One of the few things I do deliberately set out to do is asking the following questions for pretty much every character I play or GM for:1.&nbsp; Desire: What do you want?2.&nbsp; Motive: Why do you want it?3.&nbsp; Conflict: What keeps you from getting it?The answers can be as shallow or as deep as I or the players like.&nbsp; For my own characters, I tend to prefer the deeper end of things, but I don't always find it necessary (especially for stock characters).&nbsp; Answering these three questions can tell me more about a character than answering twenty questions that may or may not have a bearing on the story.&nbsp; I prefer to answer the first question in terms of tangible goals or ongoing processes.&nbsp; In D&amp;D terms, a bard may wish to seduce a priestess while his paladin brother wants to uphold the code of chivalry.&nbsp; For the second, I like to think in terms of emotions or needs, preferably both.&nbsp; The aforementioned bard may seek out the priestess because he is afraid of not having made his mark on the world.&nbsp; The paladin may uphold the code of chivalry because he needs a means to measure his self-worth.&nbsp; For the third question, just about anything--personal, interpersonal, environmental (geographical, biological, and social)--can thwart a character's attempt to fulfill his/her desire.Thinking on it a bit, I realize that asking these questions gives me a means to imply or insert meaningful choices in the game.&nbsp; The nature and outcomes of these decisions are not usually predetermined since the questions the story raises tend to answer themselves.&nbsp; Knowing a character's desires, motivations, and conflicts allows ideas to simply leap off the page.&nbsp; You don't have to waste time with generic plots to engage the players, or worry about how you will get them excited about what's happening with their characters.&nbsp; You can just get to the meat of the characters with the shortest possible delay.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Afrodyte, post: 2428388, member: 8713"] I am strongly narrativist in my roleplaying preferences, so a lot of what I do as a player and as a GM to satisfy my desire for meaningful choices comes about more or less subconsciously. One of the few things I do deliberately set out to do is asking the following questions for pretty much every character I play or GM for: 1. Desire: What do you want? 2. Motive: Why do you want it? 3. Conflict: What keeps you from getting it? The answers can be as shallow or as deep as I or the players like. For my own characters, I tend to prefer the deeper end of things, but I don't always find it necessary (especially for stock characters). Answering these three questions can tell me more about a character than answering twenty questions that may or may not have a bearing on the story. I prefer to answer the first question in terms of tangible goals or ongoing processes. In D&D terms, a bard may wish to seduce a priestess while his paladin brother wants to uphold the code of chivalry. For the second, I like to think in terms of emotions or needs, preferably both. The aforementioned bard may seek out the priestess because he is afraid of not having made his mark on the world. The paladin may uphold the code of chivalry because he needs a means to measure his self-worth. For the third question, just about anything--personal, interpersonal, environmental (geographical, biological, and social)--can thwart a character's attempt to fulfill his/her desire. Thinking on it a bit, I realize that asking these questions gives me a means to imply or insert meaningful choices in the game. The nature and outcomes of these decisions are not usually predetermined since the questions the story raises tend to answer themselves. Knowing a character's desires, motivations, and conflicts allows ideas to simply leap off the page. You don't have to waste time with generic plots to engage the players, or worry about how you will get them excited about what's happening with their characters. You can just get to the meat of the characters with the shortest possible delay. [/QUOTE]

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