25 ways to fuck with your characters -And to think I'm cruel to my characters.

Go Down The “Do Not Want” Checklist

You frequently hear that a character is defined in part by what he wants, but you will find it useful to take the opposite tack, too. Take your character. Dangle that poor fucker by the ears. Give him a good look-over and pick, mmm, say, five things he does not want. Outcomes he fears. He doesn’t want his wife to leave him. He doesn’t want to die young. He doesn’t want to have his penis stolen by wizards. Now, your job, as Evil Mastermind Storyteller is to constantly put the character in danger of these outcomes coming true.
 

Bwhahahahahahaha

That article is awsome.

Here is the thing. I love that quote 'we are all stronger in our broken places' or something like that. But... we need to be broken first don't we? Same for characters. I like broken characters and I like to throw them into conflicts that try them in ways that prove they are strong in their broken places... or breaks them a little more.