Group Motivation
If you have a group (be it a nation, a cult, or the crew of a ship), one can roll once or twice on the table (using three d6's to generate a 3 digit number from 111-666). If there are multiple motivations, the higher priority (A > B > C > D > E) overrides unless it is satisfied.
| Nation/Region/Group Motivations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Survival/Identity | A | |
| 111-114 | Needs Resource | There is a specific natural resource that is required in order for the group to survive. |
| 115-121 | Needs Commodity | There is a specific type of manufactured or created product that the group requires for survival. |
| 122-123 | Needs Territory | The group requires more territory, either to expand or in order maintain its current state. |
| 124 | Needs Population | The group either requires more members, or needs to halt the loss of its current members. |
| 125-126 | Needs Leadership | The group leadership is in flux and needs to be settled. |
| 131-132 | Needs Protection | The group is suffering from attacks to its members from within its own territory and needs to protect them. |
| 133-142 | Needs Defense | The group is suffering from attacks to its members from outside its territory or from enemy forces. |
| Safety/Stability | B | |
| 143-145 | Needs Infrastructure | The group needs to create new, or update existing structures that it needs to operate. For nations, this could be roads or city structures, while for other groups it could be contacts or equipment. |
| 146-152 | Needs Source | The group needs to become a supplier of a specific natural resource, having met its own needs. |
| 153-155 | Needs Industry | The group needs to become a supplier of a certain kind of manufactured or created product. |
| 156-161 | Needs Less Wilderness | The group has a lot of unused, unimproved or under-utilized territory that it needs to be improved. This is a need to better utilize what it has, as opposed to getting more. |
| 162-166 | Needs Safe Borders | The group has a need to increase the security or integrity of its borders. This could be to prevent external harm, or to prevent internal breakup. |
| 211-214 | Needs Safe Lands | The group has a need to increase the safety of its territory, either to combat lawlessness, dangerous animals or other roving problems. |
| 215-222 | Needs Hazard Reduced | The group has a need to reduce or eliminate a natural or man-made hazard that threatens it. This may also be a move to prevent a possible future hazard. |
| 223-225 | Needs Secrecy | The group has certain critical information that it needs to keep private, since general knowledge or exposure would be dangerous to it. |
| 226-232 | Needs Information | The group needs to find out certain information that it needs in order to operate properly. Alternately, this could be the disproval of false information that is harmful to it. |
| 233-235 | Needs Stable Leadership | The group’s leadership needs to be strengthened so that it is more resistant to disruption. Alternately, the leadership is in a state of change to another form and the final form is still taking shape. |
| 236-242 | Needs Stable Defenses | The group’s military or security needs to be strengthened so that it is stronger or resistant to disruption. Alternately, the defenses are undergoing a reconfiguration that is not yet complete. |
| 243-245 | Needs Stable Population | The group’s general population is undergoing a change, either in location or composition. There is a need to have this change finalized. |
| 246 | Needs Stable Culture | The group’s overall culture or way of looking at things is undergoing a change, and there is a need to have this change finalized. |
| 251-252 | Needs Vice Eliminated | Some substance, comfort or way of life is deemed harmful by the group (or group’s leadership) and there is a need to reduce or eliminate it. |
| 253-254 | Needs Phobia Overcome | Some fear or discomfort is deemed harmful to the group’s future and there is a need to diminish the effect or overcome it. |
| 255-261 | Needs Lifestyle | A certain lifestyle or way of life is deemed desirable by the group or the group’s leadership, so there is a need to achieve this. |
| 262 | Needs Technology | There is some advance that another group has that is desired by the group. This could indicate a willingness to develop it on its own, or acquire it from outside sources. |
| 263-265 | Needs Less Dependency | At present, the group is dependent on an outside source for its continued existence. This source may be providing economic, military or informational assistance. There is a need to become more self-sufficient and thus less reliant on the outside source. |
| 266 | Needs Outside Assistance | At present, the group is self-sufficient in some area, but has a need to become less self-sufficient my letting an outside source handle it. Again, this could be economic, military or informational in nature. |
| 311-315 | Needs Identity | The group us under the control or regulation of an outside source and wishes to get out from under that control and gain (or regain) its own identity. |
| 316-322 | Needs Less Influence | The group is influenced or advised by an outside source, and there is a need to become less reliant or affected by that influence. |
| 323-325 | Needs Retribution | The group has a need to exact justice against some previous harm, which may be military, criminal, or economic in nature. |
| 326-332 | Needs Less Retribution | The group is being hunted or persecuted for some harm it performed in the past and there is a need to placate, put off or atone for this harm so that the persecution stops. |
| Belonging/Attachment | C | |
| 333-343 | Needs Alliance | The group has a need to form an alliance with another group or entity. This alliance could be for trade or mutual protection. |
| 344-346 | Needs Isolation | The group is currently a part of an alliance with another group or entity and has a need to be free of it. |
| 351-353 | Needs Bond | The group has a need to form a strong bond with another group or entity. Much stronger than an alliance, the two would merge to form a single entity. |
| 354-356 | Needs Break | The group is composed of dissident elements that wish to break away from the current, unified entity and form their own identity. |
| 361-365 | Needs Membership | The group has a need to join a larger group of peers. For nations, this may be a desire to join in a regional alliance. |
| 366-412 | Needs Quantity | The group has a need to increase the size or reach of its current membership. This may be at the cost of taking on weaker members. Alternately, this is a need to rise in the power structure of the current membership. |
| 413-415 | Needs Quality | The group has a need to increase the power or refinement of its current membership. This may be at the cost of cutting out other members or taking on more of the risks of the membership. |
| 416-421 | Needs Independence | The group is currently a member of a larger entity and wishes to end that membership. |
| Status/Influences | D | |
| 422-425 | Needs Respect | The group needs to improve its standing in the eyes of other nations by showing its useful capabilities. It needs this respect to feel powerful. |
| 426-432 | Needs Fear | The group needs to improve its standing in the eyes of other nations by showing its power and fearsomeness. It needs this fear of others to feel powerful. |
| 433-436 | Needs Understanding | The group is currently feared or disliked for some reason, and has a need to clear up this problem and thus be better liked. |
| 441-443 | Needs Attention | The group has a need to become better well known. |
| 444-445 | Needs Anonymity | The group has a need to become less well known. Sometimes too much attention is a bad thing. |
| 446-452 | Needs Responsibility | The group has a need to become responsible for some major task or endeavor. |
| 453 | Needs Innocence | The group has a need to avoid or reduce the blame on itself for a task or endeavor gone wrong. |
| 454 | Needs Freedom | The group has a need to avoid getting stuck with the responsibility for a task or endeavor. |
| 455-464 | Needs Control | The group has a need to take control of another group or entity, either economically, politically or militarily. |
| 465-511 | Needs Influence | Similar to control, the group has a need to have influence with another group or entity. This influence is usually tit-for-tat, but may be simply because they are nosy. |
| 512-521 | Needs Wealth | The group has a need to amass more wealth (raw coin, items or property) then it currently has. |
| 522-524 | Needs Attractiveness | In the past the group has had a bad reputation and has a need to improve that reputation. |
| 525-531 | Needs Status | The group has a need to move up in the regional power structure. |
| Self-Actuation | E | |
| 532 | Needs Enlightenment | The group is looking to discover more about itself. |
| 533-534 | Needs Converts | The group has a need to “spread the word” so that more then just it has the enlightenment. |
| 535 | Needs Knowledge | The group has a need to discover information or develop a skill of its own. |
| 536-542 | Needs Creation | The group has a need to create a lasting treasure that will outlive it, or outlive the original members. |
| 543-545 | Needs Accomplishment | The group has a need to perform some endeavor or task, the results of which will live beyond its own lifespan. |
| Modifiers (roll again) | ||
| 546-611 | At Enemy Expense | Rather than satisfying the need of the group itself through its own means or with the aid of its allies, it will attempt to satisfy the need at the expense of the enemy. Alternately, this is a need to hinder an enemy requirement (use the opposite meaning when you re-roll, i.e. “Needs Food” -> “Destroy Food (of enemy)”). |
| 612-634 | Narrower Focus | The focus of the need is on a smaller entity than the group itself. For a nation, this concern could be with a region or city. For organizations it could be with portions of population. |
| 635-645 | Wider focus | The focus of the need is on a larger entity than the group itself. For a nation, this concern could be with a grouping of nations, or even people in general. For organizations it could be with a region or nation as a whole. |
| 646-654 | Twisted focus | A sign of a sick group, the actual need is reversed or otherwise detrimental to the original intent. |
| 655-666 | Critical Focus | The need is of primary concern to the group. If multiple needs are determined, this overrides normally higher-priority needs. |
NOTE - If multiple needs exist, those classed with a higher priority normally take precedence over those with a lower priority. If both are of the same priority level, choose randomly.
EXAMPLE - A ship's crew that the players have been shanghied on: 146 = Needs Source (B) 556= At Enemy Expense -> 512 = Needs Wealth (D)
The GM then takes these motivations and weaves the current game location and situation into them. "The goal of the crew is to become the primary supplier of spices to a wealthy merchant in Donara. Once that goal is accomplished, they will strive to make as much money as possible with this trade primarily through 'kneecapping' any up and coming competitors (possibly even piracy)."
With the example above, if they did lose the primary goal, they would stop the rotten stuff and again concentrate on the main goal.
If groups change members a lot, motivations may shift at the GM's whim as new leaders enforce their own motivations.