List of Motivations

Motivations or motives are one of the single most important aspects for a character or a fictional group. They not only describe what they seek to do, but also what those characters really are. Some villains remain flat and seek to carry out a single main motive, while others may switch between motives. Its important to organize lesser motives from greater ones as well, which helps to understand the villain in a greater light and how that villain may think. When describing these various motivating thoughts and emotions, its essential to give them names and definitions. Because this Wiki contains both villains and anti-villains, not every motive listed will be intrinsically evil, in fact, some may be good.

The List

 * 1) Charity: the desire for the good of others.
 * 2) Hatred: the desire for the misfortune of others.
 * 3) Indifference: the absence of any charity or hatred.
 * 4) Envy: the resentment at other's success stemming from an insecurity at one's own status.
 * 5) Sadism: the desire for the misfortune of others.
 * 6) Narcissism: an excessive love of oneself.
 * 7) Vanity: an excessive love or desire for one's own physical attractiveness.
 * 8) Pride: an excessive esteem for one's own excellence.
 * 9) Obstinacy: an aversion to hear the truth based of prejudice and opinions.
 * 10) Precipitation: the motive devoid of logic and reason, only the impulse of emotions.
 * 11) Justice: the desire to give everyone what they deserve.
 * 12) Cruelty: the excessive desire to punish.
 * 13) Remissness: the defective desire to correct or punish.
 * 14) Vindication: the desire to avenge and fulfill one's anger.
 * 15) Greed/Avarice: the excessive desire to possess something
 * 16) Pecuniousness/Materialism: the desire to possess wealth and material possessions.
 * 17) Predominancy: the desire to achieve and hold political power.
 * 18) Curiosity/Studiosity: the desire to learn and retain knowledge.
 * 19) Political/Economic Ideology: the desire and thoughts on how a society should be run, e.g. conservatism, liberalism, socialism, Nazism.
 * 20) Legalism/Formalism: the desire for rules, procedure, and laws without regard to morality or natural law.
 * 21) Lawlessness: the contempt and hatred of all rules and restrictions.
 * 22) Scrupulosity: the erroneous conscience which deems things evil excessively.
 * 23) Laxity: the erroneous conscience which fails to convict oneself of evil when evil has been done.
 * 24) Pharisaism: the combination of #19 and #20.
 * 25) Religion: the desire to give a deity his, her, or its dues.
 * 26) Nihilism: the belief that nothing has meaning.
 * 27) Romance: the emotional love of another person.
 * 28) Piety/Obedience: the respect of what is superior to another, e.g. lawful authority.
 * 29) Impiety: the contempt of what is superior to another, e.g. lawful authority.
 * 30) Courage: the emotion which stands up to threats and evil.
 * 31) Fear: the emotion which streaks away from threats and evil.
 * 32) Ambition: the desire for honor, dignity, and recognition. More common amongst inferiors vs. superiors.
 * 33) Vainglory: the desire for attention and praise. More common amongst equals.
 * 34) Confidence: a realistic trust in oneself.
 * 35) Faintheartedness: an unrealistic trust in oneself which is too negative.
 * 36) Overconfidence: an unrealistic trust in oneself which is too positive.
 * 37) Sloth: the excessive desire to things to be easy.
 * 38) Softness: the excessive desire for things to be comfortable.
 * 39) Acceptance: the desire to fit in and have friends.
 * 40) Gluttony: the excessive desire for food and drink
 * 41) Predation: the natural tendency for one species to consume another.
 * 42) Substance Abuse/Addiction: the desire and attachment to psychoactive drugs.
 * 43) Lust: the excessive desire for sex.
 * 44) Idleness: the excessive desire for recreation.
 * 45) Workaholism: the excessive desire for work.
 * 46) Careerism: the excessive esteem for work.
 * 47) Despair: the belief that a positive outcome to one's destiny is hopeless.
 * 48) Presumption: the belief that a negative outcome to one's destiny is impossible.
 * 49) Hope: the belief in one's density that lays between despair and presumption.