Creating characters is fun, isn't it? Dungeons & Dragons gives you an enormous world to create compelling characters, either by using its official lore or whatever unique world your DM has created. Or, you're the DM, and you need to make many characters to inhabit the place, with some being tied to big stories you want your players to experience.
You've created the concept, character sheet, and backstory. However, your character still needs a good reason to do whatever they're doing, regardless if it's some NPC doing their own thing or a PC who needs a reason to adventure around the world. What drives your character forward?
When thinking of motivation, don't just think of something that forces you to leave where you are, but also a personal connection to why you're doing your adventuring.
For example, your plot can be wanting to be rich, but your personal motivation could be having a life of such intense poverty that you never want to live like that again. Attach your character's emotions to their motivation!
10 Revenge
Revenge is one of the most popular motivations in movies, series, games, and whatnot, and a perfect choice for darker characters. And yes, it's a bit cliché at this point, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
An evildoer has killed someone you love, destroyed your village, or whatever other catastrophic event you've put in your backstory. Your goal is to take them down for good in the name of those you've lost. It's simple, effective, creates many opportunities for dramatic moments, and may inspire your DM to create an awesome BBEG out of your target.
9 Saving The World
Another cliché that works is saving everything and everyone. Why? Well, it could be from the kindness of your heart or the fact that if the world ends, so does your life. It's a vague and straightforward external motivation, and you can easily mix it with other motivations here to make things more dramatic.
For example, the BBEG you want revenge on may also be trying to conquer or destroy the world. This way, you have an interesting external and internal motivation for your character to be adventuring.
8 In Search Of Something
Insert MacGuffin here, giving you a perfect hook for your DM to take advantage of. To accomplish your goals, you need to find... Something. An item, weapon, magic scroll, or maybe even a hidden place altogether.
This simple motivation concept can go in many different directions depending on what you're searching for. You could be a scholar searching for a lost city or legendary artifact, a criminal searching for a precious item, a soldier searching for the ultimate weapon to take down evil (you could also mix the revenge motivation here, too), and so on. You could even be searching for someone who can help, teach, or train you. The options are plenty.
7 Escaping Their Past
Your backstory is filled with past mistakes from your character. You've done bad things, whether intentional or accidental, and now you need to get out of wherever you are. Adventuring itself isn't a necessity, but it's a way to make money and not be too long in the same place, as you are constantly on the run.
You can be a wanted criminal, or maybe there's a big organization after you, forcing you to run away after you've wronged them. There's also plenty of room for your DM to terrorize you, putting these people on your trail.
6 They Wish To Atone
Similar to a character wanting to escape their past, this motivation also fits a character with past mistakes. Instead of running away from them, however, you intend to fix the problems. Or, if fixing them is no longer possible, you wish to help others in a way to clear your conscience from past actions.
It's a beautiful way to make a good character but also leaves a gray area to explore, as they have been bad people in their past, and those choices may still cause consequences in your present life — aka the campaign.
5 Discovering Who They Are
Enlightenment and self-discovery are the noblest paths one can take. You don't need an immense tragedy to move your character forward; instead, they can be confused about their place in the world, and they need to discover who they are without the comforts of home, family, and friends — though meeting some new people on the way, aka the party, won't hurt.
Seeing the world, meeting people different from you and their struggles, and facing the dangers the world has to offer can give your character perspective in life and understand who they are.
4 Thrill Of The Adventure
Some people like to travel just for kicks and enjoy the occasional adrenaline rush. Your character's journey should be about their emotions and desires, and nothing says desire more than "I'll travel the world because I want to!"
As vague as it is, it's also compelling and doesn't require many pages of backstory writing along with it. It's time to get out there and laugh in the face of death — and make sure it won't get you for that.
3 They Want To Get Rich Or Famous
Who doesn't want to be a big hero? Fighting monsters is tough, so whoever does that will be greatly rewarded. Your goal can be wealth, and adventuring seemed a good way to do so. Or, you may want the glory of being a great hero whose legacy will be immortalized worldwide.
It can even create a beautiful journey of someone wanting to be a hero for superficial reasons, finally understanding what being an actual hero is about. Or you can get rich and retire.
2 They Have Something (Or Someone) To Protect
Your home is in constant danger from evil creatures or people. You can fight their occasional attacks, but that's an endless cycle. You need to find the source of said attacks and stop them for good. Or, you may wish to protect another party member you're close to, and you can share your backstories and motivations.
You may also need to save the world in the process, find a unique item to save your people or mix it with some of the other motivations here. Regardless of where your travels will take you, it'll always be to protect those you love.
1 They're Just A Good Person
This is similar to the aforementioned thrill where you are adventuring just because you want to, but you can simply be a good Samaritan instead of desiring adrenaline. You are a powerful and capable person, and you can use your abilities to help those in need. With great powers come great responsibilities.
A goody-two-shoes may sometimes be overlooked because some people find them boring, but having a character who remains altruistic and benevolent despite all the tragedy they witness is one of the highest testaments of personal strength one can show. Save people and fight injustice for no reason other than you can.
Bonus: Changing Motivations
Some of these motivations - or others you may come up with - are finite. Do you want to be a hero? What will you do then once you reach that status? Or what if you already managed to understand who you are or already obtained your revenge, but the campaign is still going?
You can set your sights on a new goal, or maybe your new goal can focus on helping the rest of your party. They helped you with your problems, why not do the same for them? Characters need to be constantly evolving, so obtaining new motivations is essential. You can even let go of a motivation — maybe revenge won't fix your problems — and try something else instead.