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PRIMARY MOTIVATORS

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This is from Ash's Guide to RPG Personality & Background <3
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In the broadest sense, the Primary Motivator is the underlying engine of your character's life. It is the foundational theme of his worldview and, at a deep level, is what ultimately drives him to action. While any given act might be tactically pragmatic in service to short-term goals, the PM is there in the background influencing his aims and behaviors.

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PRIMARY MOTIVATORS
Achievement	To overcome obstacles and succeed; to become the best
Acquisition	To obtain possessions/wealth
Adoration	To be cherished, admired, and wanted by others
Balance/Peace	To bring all things into harmony and equilibrium
Beneficence	To protect the helpless, heal the sick, feed the hungry, etc.
Chaos	To disrupt, to cause confusion and discord
Competition	To seek out or create rule-based win/lose scenarios; to defeat others in contests
Conflict	To seek out or create rivalry, fighting, or animosity
Conquest	To conquer other peoples, to bring them into one’s own culture/rule
Corruption	To despoil, ruin, humiliate, or make depraved
Creation	To build or make new, such as art, culture, invention, design,etc.
Destruction	To annihilate, exterminate, and unmake
Discovery/Adventure	To explore, uncover mysteries, and pioneer
Domesticity	To get married, have children, and live a family life
Education	To provide information, teach, enlighten, or train
Entertainment	To entertain, amuse, and delight others
Enslavement	To force others into servitude
Hedonism	To enjoy all things sensuous
Heroism	To find valor and honor through battle or self-sacrifice
Liberation	To free the self and/or others from perceived captivity or enslavement
Love	To experience/share affection and emotional commitment, whether romantic or platonic
Nobility/Honor	To exalt ideals such as generosity, honesty, bravery, and courtliness
Order	To arrange, organize, and reduce chaos
Play	To have fun, to enjoy life
Power	To control and lead others
Proselytization	To spread a belief system; indoctrinate others
Purity	To achieve a state of moral or spiritual perfection, of self and/or others
Rebellion	To fight against power structures; to undermine authority
Recognition	To gain approval, social status, or fame
Service	To follow a person, government, order, religion, etc.
Torment	To inflict pain and suffering, on others and/or the self
Understanding	To seek knowledge or wisdom (spiritual, scientific, magical,etc)
Vice	To enable or engage in self-destructive behavior

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A single Primary Motivator is entirely sufficient and even if you want more, it is recommended to begin only with one. If you are inspired to have multiple Motivators, I suggest you still choose one that is primary with others that are secondary. This isn’t presented as a rule, it’s just experience—the more PMs you have, the less meaningful they become in your gaming. In general, I’ve found it more interesting and playable to go deeper with one motivator rather than broader with more PMs.
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You are certainly not limited to the choices above—but if you create your own Motivator, be sure to make it generalizable and thematic. You don’t want a PM that is actually a Quest or a Hobby. For instance, Competition is something that can motivate a character in many situations and across the lifetime, but Revenge doesn’t work well because it’s more of a Quest. But if one does want revenge, the flavor of it will be influenced by the PM—you can imagine how it might manifest differently if the character’s PM is Beneficence, Destruction, Liberation, or Torment.
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You can also choose a narrower version of the listed options. For example, Invention rather than the more general Creation, or try Popularity rather than Recognition. Just be careful not to make it too narrow. And if you do pick a narrow Motivator, you are encouraged to pick at least one other PM, just to keep your character from a too-restricted range of action.

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BRIEF BACKGROUND

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As a general rule, when developing your background, try to be dramatic but not over the top. In the long run, it is more interesting to have weaknesses, barriers to overcome, and difficult goals to fulfill than to have abundance, power, or effortless strength. Ideally, you want to address four domains in your background:

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1. Conflict who or what does your character fight or fight for?
2. Challenges what limits your character?
3. Mystery what doesn’t your character know?
4. Passion what drives your character?

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If you already have your primary motivator worked out, you can use the background to develop why your character is the way they are. If you don't have that done yet, you can start with your background and then develop the core traits that fit the narrative.
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What triggered adventuring?

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Even if you don't answer any other questions about your background, this is a good one to know. Again, look to your core traits to get ideas for your triggers, especially the Primary Motivator. Also, any of the background items above can act as your adventuring trigger. But if you're still not sure, here are some ways to explore the essential question "how did you happen to end up on the Xintian? Possibly involved with the tournament and go looking for trouble? Or did trouble find you?"
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• Was it a thoughtful decision to go adventuring or did circumstances compel you? Why did you make that decision or what circumstances pushed you into it?
• If you left home, what set you off? Are you looking for something? Or…
• trying to accomplish anything? Or…
• was it wanderlust? Or…
• seeking fame and fortune? Or…
• trying to walk in a parent's or sibling's footsteps?
• If you are a fighter, you must have some minimal training; where did you get it (friend, a job, parent, military)? Or if you have a knack for picking pockets, how did you learn the ropes? If you are a Pokémon priest, did you get "the call" from a Legendary deity, or were you indoctrinated into the religion?

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Think about it this way, if the very first place you get to on your adventure is a pub and someone asks "so, what brings you here?" an honest answer to this hypothetical question would be based on your trigger.

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