(06-25-2013, 09:57 PM)racooperii Wrote: I think what that really translates to is I want the charact to have a sense of longing for something he can never truely regain.
So how about looking at the opportunities for that within the lore?
First thing that springs to mind: Something important to him was annihilated in the Calamity. From Bahamut blowing up his Dad to a fragment of Dalamud falling on his tiny home village, there's plenty there to work with.
Or maybe he's originally from Ala Mhigo. Even if it's someday liberated from Garlemald, it'll never be what it once was. At least he has the solidarity of other refugees.
Or it could be something more low-key and personal. Each city presents its own dangers that threaten to take away all sorts of things important to people.
Limsa still has to deal with pirates who refuse to get behind Merlwyb's new order, not to mention those who've gotten in line and been excused for past crimes still committed those past crimes. Then there's the Sahagin, kidnapping and brainwashing to satisfy their Primal, Leviathan.
Ul'dah has all sorts of political backstabbing. Members of the Syndicate, like Lord Lolorito, who destroy lives with just a signature because there's a slight profit in it.
Gridania may have the worst of it. Simply hunting in the wrong place or stepping on the wrong mushroom could invoke the wrath of the Elementals. If they're angry enough, that means becoming an outcast with little hope of redemption. If that happens to someone close to you, you may have to just live with it.
Basically, there's lots of ways to lose very important things in the setting already.
