or what caused your character to become an adventurer?
-Was it fame?
-Was it fortune?
or was it something completely different than the common situations? We've talked about powers and even have a topic for showing your RP characters, lets talk about the reason your character left home or the land they knew to travel to Eorzea or want to venture around their homeland?
I hope reading other people's beginnings might help me jump start my own creative spin on why my Alt is traveling around Eorzea or traveled to Eorzea.
She doesn't consider herself an adventurer, since she didn't come to Eorzea to enrich her wealth, nor for the sake of her reputation. Since the Calamity, there have been many powerful monsters and dangerous environments to test herself against, as well as a guild of well-trained pugilists to study under in Ul'dah. Virara was assigned this training mission by her Master, and all directions she is given by her are absolute, up until the point at which either the woman lets down her guard or Virara eclipses her in strength...
Though having come here has challenged Virara's way of thinking considerably, and granted her many eye-opening experiences, her objective still remains the same as it always has been, as it was the reason she took up martial arts in the first place, and there is no Virara without martial arts. It seems like her Master is aware, somehow, that Virara only agreed to learn her style so she could someday murder her.
Two things punted L'yhta into adventuring.
First, after running away from home (for reasons explained on her wiki page), she was trained by a group of mages who instilled in her the concept of "with great power comes great responsibility." They believed that those with the power to grant aid and succor to others should do so, because all lives have value and a place in Nymeia's tapestry. Certain religious experiences L'yhta has had reinforced those beliefs further. She may not always live up to them, but she at least tries to stop evil from happening, because the way evil wins is if good men and women stand by and do nothing.
Second, those same mages gave their lives to protect Aleport from the Sahagin, which was the second time parental figures in her life sacrificed themselves in the service of others -- the first being when her father, L'mahre Nunh, was nigh fatally crippled ushering members of her tribe to safety during the Calamity. The last words of L'yhta's master were an exhortation to build an organization to use magic to protect others. She hasn't quite gotten the Mysterium there yet due to her own flaws, but she tries to fulfill that dying wish each day she goes out into the world.
So, for her, adventuring isn't about fame, or fortune, or really about knowledge. It's about trying to make Eorzea a better place.
His father murdered his lover. So he ran.
Eorzea just happens to be where he ended up, and "adventurer" is the legal(ish) term for his status as a traveller who wasn't born in a city-state of Eorzea.
As it seems that most of those reasons can often be summarized into grossly a handful of tropes - the hero (fame and wealth), the lost love (looking for a lost friend/lover or family member), the exile (being dragged into an adventurer against ones's wishes), the vagabond (being on a trip for revenge), the missionary (traveling to spread the word of an ideal), the traveler (traveling to experience the world), and the rebel (fleeing one's home) - I chose the two latter. Those from the top of my head, probably more of them.
Suen left her family because she was a misfit unable to cope with gridanian and keeper expectations. Strong arguments happened eventually, leading to rash decisions, and she was soon on her own on the road, thinking of herself as a traveler of sorts. She's after everything she deems "cool" or "wicked".
Aden's not an adventurer, exactly--though some of his 'secondary' job might qualify. But what made him leave home and pursue his current course was a desire to prove himself--first to others, but finally to himself.
This one committed a murder and couldn't take the emotional trauma, so she started doing a whole slew of good shiz as penance!
Locke started by being possessed and murdering his parents, resulting in the exile from his quaint little village. He then wandered south past Gridania, to Ul'dah, where he began to pick up the pieces of his life.
But several months ago, Locke lost everything he had built. He was then offered a deal he couldn't resist (though I think right now he's beginning to wish he did). Regardless, he took up the alias 'Ruran Vas' and set off on a new path, one that he never would have anticipated. New adventures await!
Poor life choices, ill-advised decisions, and a maddening need to see them through because otherwise her whole life would have been a colossal waste of time. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Some crappy, beaten-up copy of a book, tossed aside amongst other materials the vendor couldn't even give a way, and a vague sense that he owed someone in the Silver Bazaar a lot of money.
Savona wasn't so much starting on her new life as much as she was dropped off in it. I don't want to say to much because of a bit of personal plot will be unfolding soon, but she's not out adventuring none to willingly.
In Othard? The desire to be a hero that everybody respected and feared.
In Eorzea? To simply help and learn.
Both Gegenji boys left home due to a conflict of interest with the head of the family - not entirely surprising when your father is old-fashioned and stubborn and his kids inherited said stubbornness. Gogonji believed that the family trade was outdated and archaic, and left to prove his new business plan by dealing in the buying and selling of information. Chachan was shaken by the argument between his elder brother and his father, and it struck a rift that ultimately resulted in his leaving as well. However, his reasoning was that he was a childish dork who wanted to play hero - and felt the weapons and armor they made should be used to help people, rather than just heap it on whoever is willing to pony up the gil and wish them the best of luck.
Chachan ultimately learned that his craft really can allow him to protect people - far more than he could through inept heroism. Gogonji continues apace, still resolute in his point even after his right as family heir has been revoked.
Marigold's motivations are fairly complicated. Her journey started with her gypsy caravan when all she wanted to be was a 'merchant queen'. Her simple motives turned into rather complicated ones as she slowly lost sight of what she was originally striving for and now, she isn't entirely sure what keeps her motivated.
It was magic and power that lead Aulbiene on her current path and still keeps her motivated. Compared to Marigold, despite her personality, had a more simplistic start and it still remains that way.
I'm still figuring out a lot of the background details of Tali'ra, but its definitely starting to come into focus on what fueled a lot of his motivations.
The first and more obvious one being the good ole fashioned "I heard a lot of folklore and fairytales of heroes and magic and want to discover the truth behind them" primarily fueled by one of his older brothers who'd often come back with stories to share and gifts in the way of books and tomes. He took the idea that there's more truth in bard stories than most realize and is fascinated to know what those truths are.
At least, this his main, more public motivation. But I think a lot of his motivation too was wanting to get away from the looming cloud of meeting the expectations of his kin. Given he's the fifth born male in his family, its seen as something of a blessing from Menphina. However, I see it having been something that caused him a lot of stress, especially as he entered adolescence and made the journey to adulthood. Expectations that, while not explicitly enforced, he feels he can't meet up to in the way his brothers and fellow Keepers can. I imagine because of this, he left his home with haste, without ceremony, and without warning.
That isn't to say he didn't like his family or home life. Heck, he still paints a heart on his check like his mother would when he was younger for the reminder and comforts of home. But he just wants to find his own way without the feeling of being haunted by hopes he can't meet.