Can anyone assist me achieve a better understanding of the how 1/2/5 keys (Motivation) differ from 1/3 keys (Everything else)?
For example:
Key of Conscience
Your character has a soft spot for those weaker than their opponents. Gain 1 XP every time your character helps someone who cannot help themselves. Gain 2 XP every time your character defends someone with might who is in danger and cannot save themselves. Gain 5 XP every time your character takes someone in an unfortunate situation and changes their life to where they can help themselves. Buyoff: Ignore a request for help.
Key of Glittering Gold
Your character loves wealth. Gain 1 XP every time you make a deal that favors you in wealth. Gain 3 XP every time you double your wealth. Buyoff: Give away everything you own except what you can carry lightly.
How is it that Conscience is a Motivation when Glittering Gold (which appears to be about greed) is not considered to be? Similarly, the Keys of Bloodlust, Power, Coward, and perhaps Masochist all look (to me) like they could be considered Motivations.
I'm eager to better understand how to "sift" potential Keys to decide which they should be. Or how to phrase Keys to make them better fit as one or the other type.
Thanks for any and all help on this subject.
Keys of Motivation are based around your actions, no matter the outcome; Keys of Everything Else are based around outcome.
There may be ones in the book that don't quite fit that.
Thanks for the clarification, Clinton. Last time I ran TSOY I had a ball, but wasn't quite sure of the distinction. As I'm gearing up for another run, I wanted to be certain I got things straight.
As a follow-up question, what is the intention behind splitting up the rewards this way? What goal were you trying to achieve in making this distinction, and do you think it is effective?
Simply, it's easier to think up three actions than three outcomes. To add to that, it adds more fun to the game to reward actions more than outcomes, but a mix of both is nice, so I made both viable.
- Clinton