What Makes a Character?
If conflict is the heart of the story, change is the heart of the character, and change comes as a result of the conflicts.  A good character has motivations, things they need or want, and the ability to try and achieve those motivations.  Once the character obtains what they want, the motivation is resolved.  We won’t pursue that motivation anymore because we got it or we failed to get it:  the motivation is complete.  To continue the story, we need a new goal.
The classic love story is a fine example of this.  My character is in love with another and pursues the romance.  The story could end happily for me:  I win my true love and we start a new life together.  Our new motivation would perhaps be something shared, maybe we want to save enough money to buy a nifty in-game house.  The romance could also end badly:  perhaps my true love is murdered and my new motivation is to have revenge on the killer.  It may also be that my love doesn’t love me back and choses to be with someone else.  In that case, I may try to sabotage their relationship if I’m not a good character, or I may try and find a new love, or I may secretly bear an undying torch for my unrequited romance.  In every case, you can see how the story builds to the next step.  My character had a motivation, and based on that motivation there was some change in the direction of the story, resulting in a new motivation.  If my character has no goals to pursue, the story ends.  No motivation, no conflict, no story.
It’s also important that your character’s goals be something that can be pursued and resolved in a meaningful way.  Because FFXIV is a fantasy game nearly any goal is achievable, but I’ll try and give an example. Â
Suppose you met a character who was obsessed with preventing the Calamity.  Perhaps in FFXIV this is possible…maybe there is magic that would allow someone to go back in time and stop the Calamity from happening.  Still, is this a good motivation?  The Calamity happened and the entire game world is built upon that fact.  Undo the Calamity and you’re really not playing FFXIV anymore.  If you pursued this story, you would spend all of your time doing IC magical research.  Thinking about the future is pointless because your story is focused on changing the past.  Why pursue relationships, keep ties to family, or worry about problems like war with the Garleans or the beast races and their Primals?  None of that will matter if the Calamity is undone.
If you decide for RP reasons that your mission succeeds and the Calamity doesn’t happened, what then?  The game world and all the lore is still built upon the fact that the Calamity occurred.  Other players won’t accept that the Calamity was undone because it is too great a break from the established story of the game. Â
Preventing the Calamity is a terrible goal.  It’s just not reasonably achievable.  If someone came to you in RP and said the Calamity never happened because they prevented it, would you want to RP with that character?
The best character goals will be something within reach that doesn’t require much interaction with the established story and characters of the game.  Many players are unwilling to accept that you want (or HAD) an IC relationship with one of the storyline NPCs.  They won’t accept that you want to learn Loiuscroix’s ritual that protected the warriors of light and placed them out of time.  They probably won’t like it if you claim to have the power to summon Bahamut, and if your IC goal is to summon Bahamut, other PCs will think of you as crazy at best or a dangerous villain at worst.  All of these ideas are too big, to unbelievable, too unreachable.  Think of something smaller and more human.
For these reasons, it’s good to have a character with definite flaws and limitations.  If your character is remarkably attractive, incredibly skilled with a blade, smart enough to write dissertations on efficient modes of airship propulsion, never gets sick, has plenty of money, is married to the love of her life, has a great relationship with her parents, never feels jealous or angry or scared or inadequate…well.  What motivates this perfect person?  When you have it all, what else do you want?
Every exceptional positive trait your character has removes a potential avenue for change.  If you start out claiming you’re an expert swordsman, you never have the chance to role play learning to be an expert swordsman.  If your character is super smart, you never have a chance to learn those things or role play becoming smart.  If your character starts the game married, you never have a chance to RP those exciting early times in a relationship.
None of this means your character should be an inept butterfingers with no social ties at the beginning of the game, but a good rule of thumb is to pick one or two benefits your character has, then pick an equal number of flaws.  Try and make these choices meaningful.  If your character is excellent with a sword, perhaps he feels awkward talking to others.  If your character can throw fireballs that melt steel, maybe she also has a bad temper.  If your character is wise and patient, perhaps he really hates violence.  It can be a little tough paying negative character traits because we worry other players may mistake our negative RP traits as our own shortcomings (I’d hate people to think I have a bad temper!).  Don’t worry.  Most RPers are mature enough to enjoy your character flaws.  Many will love your flaws more than the things you do well!
Just remember, a good character needs room to grow and change. Â Leave yourself open to change from other players in the game, and leave your stories open to interaction from other players as well. Â The goal is to build an entertaining story together, and that means many character motivations leading to conflicts leading to resolutions leading to new motivations and new conflicts.
If conflict is the heart of the story, change is the heart of the character, and change comes as a result of the conflicts.  A good character has motivations, things they need or want, and the ability to try and achieve those motivations.  Once the character obtains what they want, the motivation is resolved.  We won’t pursue that motivation anymore because we got it or we failed to get it:  the motivation is complete.  To continue the story, we need a new goal.
The classic love story is a fine example of this.  My character is in love with another and pursues the romance.  The story could end happily for me:  I win my true love and we start a new life together.  Our new motivation would perhaps be something shared, maybe we want to save enough money to buy a nifty in-game house.  The romance could also end badly:  perhaps my true love is murdered and my new motivation is to have revenge on the killer.  It may also be that my love doesn’t love me back and choses to be with someone else.  In that case, I may try to sabotage their relationship if I’m not a good character, or I may try and find a new love, or I may secretly bear an undying torch for my unrequited romance.  In every case, you can see how the story builds to the next step.  My character had a motivation, and based on that motivation there was some change in the direction of the story, resulting in a new motivation.  If my character has no goals to pursue, the story ends.  No motivation, no conflict, no story.
It’s also important that your character’s goals be something that can be pursued and resolved in a meaningful way.  Because FFXIV is a fantasy game nearly any goal is achievable, but I’ll try and give an example. Â
Suppose you met a character who was obsessed with preventing the Calamity.  Perhaps in FFXIV this is possible…maybe there is magic that would allow someone to go back in time and stop the Calamity from happening.  Still, is this a good motivation?  The Calamity happened and the entire game world is built upon that fact.  Undo the Calamity and you’re really not playing FFXIV anymore.  If you pursued this story, you would spend all of your time doing IC magical research.  Thinking about the future is pointless because your story is focused on changing the past.  Why pursue relationships, keep ties to family, or worry about problems like war with the Garleans or the beast races and their Primals?  None of that will matter if the Calamity is undone.
If you decide for RP reasons that your mission succeeds and the Calamity doesn’t happened, what then?  The game world and all the lore is still built upon the fact that the Calamity occurred.  Other players won’t accept that the Calamity was undone because it is too great a break from the established story of the game. Â
Preventing the Calamity is a terrible goal.  It’s just not reasonably achievable.  If someone came to you in RP and said the Calamity never happened because they prevented it, would you want to RP with that character?
The best character goals will be something within reach that doesn’t require much interaction with the established story and characters of the game.  Many players are unwilling to accept that you want (or HAD) an IC relationship with one of the storyline NPCs.  They won’t accept that you want to learn Loiuscroix’s ritual that protected the warriors of light and placed them out of time.  They probably won’t like it if you claim to have the power to summon Bahamut, and if your IC goal is to summon Bahamut, other PCs will think of you as crazy at best or a dangerous villain at worst.  All of these ideas are too big, to unbelievable, too unreachable.  Think of something smaller and more human.
For these reasons, it’s good to have a character with definite flaws and limitations.  If your character is remarkably attractive, incredibly skilled with a blade, smart enough to write dissertations on efficient modes of airship propulsion, never gets sick, has plenty of money, is married to the love of her life, has a great relationship with her parents, never feels jealous or angry or scared or inadequate…well.  What motivates this perfect person?  When you have it all, what else do you want?
Every exceptional positive trait your character has removes a potential avenue for change.  If you start out claiming you’re an expert swordsman, you never have the chance to role play learning to be an expert swordsman.  If your character is super smart, you never have a chance to learn those things or role play becoming smart.  If your character starts the game married, you never have a chance to RP those exciting early times in a relationship.
None of this means your character should be an inept butterfingers with no social ties at the beginning of the game, but a good rule of thumb is to pick one or two benefits your character has, then pick an equal number of flaws.  Try and make these choices meaningful.  If your character is excellent with a sword, perhaps he feels awkward talking to others.  If your character can throw fireballs that melt steel, maybe she also has a bad temper.  If your character is wise and patient, perhaps he really hates violence.  It can be a little tough paying negative character traits because we worry other players may mistake our negative RP traits as our own shortcomings (I’d hate people to think I have a bad temper!).  Don’t worry.  Most RPers are mature enough to enjoy your character flaws.  Many will love your flaws more than the things you do well!
Just remember, a good character needs room to grow and change. Â Leave yourself open to change from other players in the game, and leave your stories open to interaction from other players as well. Â The goal is to build an entertaining story together, and that means many character motivations leading to conflicts leading to resolutions leading to new motivations and new conflicts.
