Fears and phobias are similar but not the same thing. A fear can be considered a healthy respect where a phobia evokes an illogical and sometimes even a primal response like paralysis or savagery. Typically these stem from particularly harrowing or terrifying experiences in a character’s past.
I find that every character should have some religion to help fill them out a bit. If not religion, then at least some strong beliefs or worldviews. For NPC’s this might help you come up with some quick responses to PC questions and actions on the fly.
This week’s installment will look at how building relationships between characters and NPC’s leads to stronger characterization on both sides of the screen, greater depth to your campaign, and thus enriching the overall roleplaying experience.
“What’s My Motivation?” is intended to be a regular column that uses a variety of methods found in the disciplines of acting, writing, and improvisation to help Dungeon Masters create compelling NPC’s and further flesh out their campaigns. This week’s installment will look at how the standard alignment system, which many times is derided as…