Bite-sized thoughts 3

-Good and Evil

I still feel like I'm missing part of this dilemma.

"Evil" is anything I don't like. If lots of people agree with me, it's definitely evil. The enemy is evil. Their god is evil. Starvation is evil. But, I'm good. I'm very good. I only kill people if they're evil. They say the same thing, but of course that's just because they don't have my god. He's a good god. He tells me who's evil. And anyone who follows him is good.

I, personally, believe "good" and "evil" are hyper-extensions of selflessness versus selfishness. Humans are very social creatures, despite what we'd like to believe. We need numbers to thrive, just like ants. Anyone who takes from the common collective is evil, because they are putting themselves over other people. Alternatively, "good" people give things. Equality, money, their lives, etc.

Robbery is evil because someone takes money.

Lust is evil because someone takes love.

Murder is evil because someone takes life.

Notice a pattern yet?

-The players can help, too

I was reading an article about Luke Crane (the guy behind Burning Wheel). At one point he split the party for a few rooms, and had the players who weren't present play as some goblins. This strikes me as a really fun approach

-Actions are methods, not motivations

I saw the movie "Goon" (2011) the other day. It was, to me, an antithesis to Man on Wire. Also a completion.
















SPOILERS


















Doug Glatt is in it for the violence. He's a hockey player, formerly bouncer, whose job is to beat the crap out of anyone who has a remote strategic advantage on the ice. But, he's only violent on the field (and when people piss him off in bars).

Violence was not his motivation- actually, a sense of belonging was. He wanted to be part of the team, and punching people's teeth in is just how he does that. Off the field, he's just a big guy. One of my favorite parts of the whole movie is when he walks into a restaurant, and has a conversation with his biggest rival, who he's itching to fight for the first time. They sit down, Doug learns a few things from a veteran, and shows his enthusiasm for the game. His rival leaves, and that's it. It was such a powerful scene, where two titans turn off their testosterone and act like two normal people. Friends, even.

There's another arc involving his love interest. He walks her home, it looks like they're in love, then she calls him to let him know she has a boyfriend, and she's really sorry about leading him on. Doug isn't sure how to respond to this. Of course we all think he's going to beat the crap out of her girly, yuppie boyfriend, because that's what happens in high school. Instead, we're surprised with a very sane answer. Doug focuses his efforts on being with the team, and drinking beer with his best buddy- just like before. I did a double-take when I saw this, because it was not at all what I was expecting out of someone who has been nicknamed "The Thug" by his fans.

All this shocked me a little bit, but I had an important realization: The means are not the end. Doug's greatness isn't beating people senseless, his greatness is in his team, and how he contributes to them- by beating people senseless. In the same way, Philippe from Man on Wire wasn't great because of his tightrope-walking, it was because of his ambition. The walk was just how he expressed it, and built up to it.

So, now that I've written a full-sized post in a Bite-sized thoughts segment, let me get to the point. The character's (and hopefully player's) motivation isn't the same way as how they get there. If you want to be a good athlete, you're building a legacy and community around yourself- not just running in circles to feel better. Just the same, people who want real change and a voice to be heard take up protesting. Not that I think that is the best course of action, it's just what they thought was best.

As a GM, I realize there has to be a motivation other than skill itself. I couldn't just tell the players to go tight-rope walk between the WTC towers, I'd have to convince them (through their characters) it's about image, and spectacle. The walk itself is just the means to the end.