Character motivation: PROMOTING CHAOS (DARK)

PROMOTING CHAOS (DARK)

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HELPFUL TIP:

To understand why your character is driven toward a certain goal, get to know their positive and negative traits, as well as any significant emotional wounds that might be motivating them. Then you can explore the various kinds of conflict that could block them as they move toward their goal.

Hacking into the power grid and blacking out a city
Breaking the internet
Orchestrating a financial crash or depression
Contaminating a food or water supply
Causing a massive disruption to one of the constructs that keeps society running smoothly (travel, distribution, communication, medical services, etc.)
Releasing a biological weapon, an EMP, or another weapon of mass destruction to cause a societal breakdown
Manipulating the weather and causing a drought, flood, or other disaster
Disabling law enforcement so lawbreakers can run amok, unchecked
Initiating a jail break and setting the criminals free
Undermining the authorities, thereby sowing doubt and fear among the people for those in charge
Infiltrating the media and spreading lies so the people don't know what to believe

There are five basic human needs that, when missing from a character's life, could motivate them to pursue this goal. The following needs are all possibilities, but only one of them should be the primary driver for any given character. For more information on the relationship between human needs and outer motivations, please see this Character Motivation tutorial.

Self-Actualization: A character who revels in mischief might spread chaos as a means of expressing him or herself (e.g., the Joker)

Esteem and Recognition: A character might pursue this goal if doing so will raise their esteem in the eyes of others—i.e., they're trying to impress someone, prove something, or seek notoriety for their misdeeds

Love and Belonging: If a character has been betrayed, abused, or rejected by others, they may strike back at the entire idea of community (which undergirds society as a whole) by seeking to destroy it through chaos.

PROMOTING CHAOS (DARK)

HELPFUL TIP:

NOTES:

FORMS THIS MIGHT TAKE:

HUMAN NEED DRIVING THE GOAL (INNER MOTIVATION):

HOW THE CHARACTER MAY PREPARE FOR THIS GOAL:

POSSIBLE SACRIFICES OR COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS GOAL:

ROADBLOCKS WHICH COULD PREVENT THIS GOAL FROM BEING ACHIEVED:

TALENTS & SKILLS THAT WILL HELP THE CHARACTER ACHIEVE THIS GOAL:

WHAT'S AT STAKE IF THIS GOAL ISN'T MET?