Character Creation Made Easy-Pick a Personality, Method 4-Archetypes

An archetype is an original pattern or model from which others are copied.

Joseph Campbell, in The Hero With a Thousand Faces, identified both the archetype of the Hero and the quest that the hero follows, in many of the folk tales and myths of the world. Carol Pearson, in Awakening the Heroes Within, expands upon the archetypes that exist among people.

You can use one of the 12 archetypes as the basis for a character. Remember that a character needs to have more qualities than these to be well-rounded.

Innocent
Primary Goal: To be safe, loved, cherished and included
Fears: Being abandoned
Strengths: Trusting and optimistic
Weakness: May become dependent on others
Motto: Life is joy

Orphan
Primary Goal: To protect himself from being hurt, exposed or abandoned
Fears: Being used
Strengths: Empathy and realistic attitude
Weakness: May develop a victim mentality
Motto: Life is suffering

Warrior
Primary Goal: To win in whatever situation he/she encounters
Fears: Being weak or vulnerable
Strengths: Courageous and disciplined
Weakness: May see others as enemies or think in strict black/white terms
Motto: Where there’s a will, there’s a way

Caregiver
Primary Goal: To help others
Fears: Being selfish
Strengths: Compassionate, nurturing and generous
Weakness: May become co-dependent or try to take care of everyone and everything
Motto: Love your neighbor as yourself

Seeker
Primary Goal: To find his/her true purpose in life
Fears: Being the same as everyone else, conformity
Strengths: Autonomy and ambition
Weakness: May reject help from others and become isolated
Motto: To thine own self be true

Lover
Primary Goal: To gain the bliss of true love
Fears: Being alone and unloved
Strengths: Passionate and committed to his/her relationships
Weakness: May smother other people or enter/stay in bad relationships to avoid being alone
Motto: Life is love

Destroyer
Primary Goal: To effect change for the better (as they see it)
Fears: Being powerless or ineffectual
Strengths: Humility and outrageousness
Weakness: May be ruthless, careless of their own safety, may put others in danger too
Motto: Rules are made to be broken

Creator
Primary Goal: To express him/herself in an individual and unique way
Fears: Being unreal or mediocre
Strengths: Individuality and curiosity
Weakness: May overload his/her life with constant new projects
Motto: I create, therefore I am

Ruler
Primary Goal: To create order and structure
Fears: Being chaotic or being overthrown
Strengths: Responsibility and leadership
Weakness: May dominate others
Motto: Power isn’t everything, it’s the only thing

Magician
Primary Goal: To transform his/her life and the world around him/her
Fears: Being the cause of unintended consequences
Strengths: Personal power and influence with others
Weakness: May become manipulative and be feared
Motto: I make things happen

Sage
Primary Goal: To find truth
Fears: Being false
Strengths: Wisdom and objective viewpoint
Weakness: May put forth his/her version of the truth as the only one
Motto: The truth will set you free

Fool
Primary Goal: To enjoy life for its own sake
Fears: Being not-alive
Strengths: Joy and freedom
Weakness: May be prone to laziness or dissipation
Motto: You only live once

Next up, using the Zodiac signs to create a character.

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