What motivates a primordial?

[Turtlejay]

(snip). . .Because they are unsubtle, this tends to come off as evil. However, most of them (I suspect) tend towards the neutral (or unaligned). Their methods may seem crude, unfeeling, even destructive and malicious. But that is not their primary motivation. But what that motivation is, may be different for each primordial. They want to consume, to create, to engulf, to love, to posess--all the things that motivate humans and animals. Only, the primordial's intent is usually not veiled. They are direct. Their intent is usually obvious, and woe be to him who stands in their way.

The problem is one of scale, or perspective. The primordials may appear evil, because they are willing to destroy in order to create. Is this any more evil than someone plowing over an anthill to build a house?

To the ancient, immortal primordials, most living beings are probably similar to insects. The wouldn't kill us maliciously, but out of a desire to do something else.

Perhaps this primordial in FR was collecting mortals like you or I would an ant form, or a bee hive. We served a small purpose, and we were amusing, but overall it was just a Godlike being using mortals as they always do.

In this, are they much different from Gods?

Jay

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

For me, I see the primordials as devoted to destruction, with a real desire to see everything return to the primordial beginning. If that is correct, why would a primordial become a tyrant and rule a nation of genasi?

For me, I see the primordials as being devoted to the cycle of creation/destruction like Old Faith druids in Greyhawk are devoted to the cycle of life/death in nature.

Some primordials would exult more in the destruction, others would exult more in the creation. Others again might even find satisfaction in the tending of the cycle like a druid would tend a grove. Thus a primordial deciding to rule a nation of genasi might rationalize that without its guidance the genasi would stray from a balance in the cycle of creation/destruction.

 

[Umbran]

For me, I see the primordials as devoted to destruction, with a real desire to see everything return to the primordial beginning. If that is correct, why would a primordial become a tyrant and rule a nation of genasi?

How about power? Clearly, if it were powerful enough to reach its goals alone, it would have done so eons ago, right? So, it needs power to reach it's ultimate end, and a population of genasi represents significant power.

 

[fba827]

I don't follow/read all the "fluff" (so my interpretation may be off) but I always remember the primordials as basically being the titans of greek myth, cast from power by the next generation who became the 'gods'

So from that I would think a good motivation would be revenge for being thrown from power by the gods. Different primordials would have different ways to go about this ...
revenge against the mortals for following the gods instead
revenge against the gods for overthrowing them.
perhaps they want to cause random destruction to meet these goals. perhaps they target churchs and clerics, etc.

or maybe they don't seek destruction but rather their natural force causes entropy around them at an accelerated natural rate

 

[Snoweel]

I see primordials as insane, for want of a better term.

Their way of thinking is similar to that of humans, yet just wrong enough that modern medicine would diagnose a primordial as having one or more psychotic disorders.

This is in contrast with the various deities who would only have personality disorders.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I don't follow/read all the "fluff" (so my interpretation may be off) but I always remember the primordials as basically being the titans of greek myth, cast from power by the next generation who became the 'gods'

The 4e Manual of the Planes has this in the 4e fluff on primordials.

Broadly the 4e Manual of the Planes fluff goes something like this: the primordials have been making the world and unmaking it again and again. In a change, the gods liked how the world was made this time and overthrew the primordials to stop them from unmaking something the gods took a fancy with. Some primordials were destroyed, others were imprisoned, and the lesser primordials were left to roam the multiverse aimlessly.

 

[Derulbaskul]

Terrific stuff!

I've run out of XP but thanks for the great points you folks are bringing up. I'll hand out more XP after my points recharge.