From a world building perspective, motivation for war can be important.
Some wars are accidental, though often we can still see the long-term motivation. But more wars are more or less deliberate. From a world building perspective, motivation can be important. Below is a descriptive list of the most common motivations for war for a fantasy campaign. Please note that this is a thought exercise as part of world-building, not a justification or endorsement of modern warfare.
Your Turn: What’s the motivation for your fantasy nations going to war?
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What is It Good For?
War in a fantasy campaign is rarely a surprise. Long-entrenched issues boil over to the extent that conflict arises. Thinking about how these issues motivate your nations and what individuals and other countries consider their motivation (which is not always the same thing) can provide important narrative beats for how your campaign plays out, how the characters participate (or avoid it), and how the conflict is finally resolved.Some wars are accidental, though often we can still see the long-term motivation. But more wars are more or less deliberate. From a world building perspective, motivation can be important. Below is a descriptive list of the most common motivations for war for a fantasy campaign. Please note that this is a thought exercise as part of world-building, not a justification or endorsement of modern warfare.
Survival
“We flee or we die.” Goths fled from the Huns into Roman lands, and ultimately fought wars with the Romans, though that was not their original intention. Most societies are insufficiently mobile to flee en masse, though groups may flee from religious persecution. The victims of a war of aggression may feel that they’re fighting for survival.Envy
Straightforward. “Their country is more prosperous than ours, I want it.” “Their climate is better than ours, let’s take it from them.” Envy is often tied up in political and regional conflicts that go back years, so while envy is one factor it's not usually the only one.Greed
“I want MORE.” This could be more territory or better trade routes. This is the “other side of envy.” This can also include protecting or acquiring resources. Similar to envy, greed as a motivation is more often ascribed to groups who also have many other reasons for attacking.Religion
“They are heretics” or “Their religion is unholy.” Religious wars, at some stages of history, were the most common kind of war. Imagine how much stronger such disagreements might be when (as in many fantasy settings) the gods manifest on earth; that is, their avatars can actually do things that clearly make a difference on earth.Revanchism
“We used to own that place, let’s take it back.” This is “the political manifestation of the will to reverse the territorial losses which are incurred by a country.” Often times, wars beget wars, and just because one side "loses" doesn't mean the conflict is really over.Ethnic Differences
There may be a strong belief in the superiority of your race or nationality. This may include the motivation (or excuse) of protecting people who are “persecuted” in a foreign land. In a fantasy context, this can easily be species differences/competition.Politics
Sometimes the government of a country will start external conflict to distract the populace from internal problems. This usually turns out to be a bad strategy, but that doesn’t stop it from happening. Conversely, some nations might decide to demonstrate their military might through warfare.In Your Campaign
There are many less common motivations for war, no doubt. How you incorporate these conflicts is your game is just as important as how they are presented; what a nation identifies as the reason for going to war and it's true motivation can be quite different. Similarly, different characters might enlist on each side because they believe in the motivation, only to discover it's not true -- or worse, that it doesn't matter. "War is hell" for a reason, and the frontline troops are often the first to suffer, but not the last.Your Turn: What’s the motivation for your fantasy nations going to war?
