Character Motivation

What the character's motivation is determines huge amounts of how the campaign will be run and what will motivate the character and the player. Too often the character's motivation is the gain levels- something that do not exist in the game world. By having the players choose motivation for their characters, the players have to step out of the role of players in the sense of competitors, and into the role of players in the acting sense. By reminding players of their character's motivation throughout the game, you can keep the game world real and vivid to the players.

The Seven Sins as Character Motivation
Everyone is motivated by the seven deadly sins. We enjoy having more than we need (gluttony), improving what we do have (greed), doing a job the easy way (sloth), the approval of others (lust), getting acknowledgement for our accomplishments (pride), having the best toys (envy), and getting back at a jerk (wrath). The so-called seven deadly sins might be called the seven basic needs. They are what drive us as human beings. Every character is driven by the seven needs/sins, but everyone tends to have one need/sin that they favor over the others. By making this a part of the character sheet, the Game Master gains a powerful role- playing tool that both he and the players can easily use to improve the level of role- playing in the group.
 * Gluttony
 * Greed
 * Sloth
 * Lust
 * Pride
 * Envy
 * Wrath