CONFLICT THESAURUS

HAVING TO MAKE A FINAL STAND



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HELPFUL TIP:

Conflict is your story’s secret sauce, supplying tension, friction, and complications to a character’s journey. It comes in a million different forms, so identify the obstacles and problems that will hit your character the hardest by using the Character Builder to uncover their primary insecurities, fears , and desires. Don’t forget to include everyday conflict scenarios that will frustrate them and keep the pressure high.
CATEGORY:
Dangers and threats, duty and responsibility, increased pressure and ticking clocks

NOTES:
Similar to BEING TRAPPED (where a character is focused on escaping or changing their circumstance), this entry explores situations where they can't retreat and are forced to make a stand, even when success is impossible.

EXAMPLES:
Soldiers having to keep enemy forces from crossing a boundary at all costs
Moral beliefs being threatened, triggering a need to uphold what's right no matter what the cost
The character standing up to forces beyond them to protect a vulnerable party (their child, a physically or mentally weak individual, a group of disenfranchised people, etc.) 
A character being pursued to a physical barrier (such as a wall, cliff, or ocean), making fighting their way out the only option left
Being forced into a fight-or-die situation—e.g., gladiators in the arena
Making a final stand because the character is out of options 

MINOR COMPLICATIONS:
Having to compartmentalize emotion to focus on the task at hand
Having to quickly assess resources (in pockets, a combat pack, immediate surroundings, etc.)
Trying to find high ground or a defensive position
Setting up a barrier to slow the onslaught (if there's time)
Gathering weapons, setting traps, and creating a barricade if time allows
Getting one's group to inventory resources and distribute them 
Not having a weapon, or having something that will do little good against the threat
Being unsuited for the task the character is about to face
Needing help, resources, or guidance, and having none of these things
Having multiple threats or enemies to contend with
Being injured or depleted of energy due to exhaustion
Having to push aside grief and fear to focus
Having little time to say the things that matter to someone important (or not having access to the person they want to say these things to)

POTENTIALLY DISASTROUS RESULTS:
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RESULTING EMOTIONS:
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POSSIBLE INTERNAL STRUGGLES:
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PEOPLE WHO COULD BE NEGATIVELY AFFECTED:
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NEGATIVE TRAITS THAT COULD MAKE THE SITUATION WORSE:
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IMPACT ON BASIC NEEDS:
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WOUNDS THIS COULD LEAD TO:
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POSITIVE TRAITS TO HELP THE CHARACTER COPE:
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POSITIVE OUTCOMES:
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