Motives are what drive the characters actions. They are the character’s goals, both short and long term.

Long term goals are things that are life goals, and are only achievable over the period of a linked set of adventures, commonly known as a ‘campaign’.

Example long term motives.

• Become King of the Amber Lands.
• Defeat the evil Sorcerer Zanab Khan.
• Become the richest man in Red Hat County.
• Avenge my Father’s death.

Short term motives are usually relevant to the adventure currently being played, and are determined near the beginning of the session by the Players.

For example a set of short term goals coming out of a Royal Monster hunt in the bleak ice deserts of Zhaind

• Kill the biggest monster on the hunt.
• Secure the rights to trade the hides of the monsters.
• Use the hunt to impress the King and improve their social standing at court.
• Map the ice deserts of Zhaind to increase the body of knowledge of the Royal Library.

At the end of character generation choose two long term Motives for your character and at the beginning of the adventure choose a suitable short term motive.

Every time a motive is brought into play in a concrete way, the character earns one improvement per session.

Short term motives are removed at the end of the session, and if completed earn an additional two improvement points.

When a Long term motive is finally achieved it is removed from the player’s character sheet and the character earns five improvement points.

As well as giving the Players inspiration on how to roleplay their character, motives also drive the direction of play as they strive to bring into play motives to earn improvement points. The Games Master makes a note of motives and creates events which provide opportunity for the player to bring their motives into play.

Designer’s Notes

Motives were in the game almost up until its release. They were removed because I felt at the time that they belonged more in a narrative game than in a straight D100 game.

Motives work well were you want the players to push their characters play through goals that they are pursuing.  Not only does the player have the incentive to achieve the goal in a roleplaying sense but also to gain the Improvement Point bonus.

This rule definitely needs play testing in a long term campaign.  Motives work very well in con games, since they give the players an immediate handle on what their character is trying to achieve. I’ve found that players often try to achieve all three Motives in the space of the game, leading to much friendly competition

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