Motivations

If you want to really flesh out an NPC's internal life and motivations, ask yourself some or all of the following:

• What do they want from the PCs?
• What do they fear?
• What angers them?
• What do they long for?
• What do they think they deserve?
• What do they aspire to do or be?

Unless you really enjoy this kind of prep, save these questions for NPCs whose inner lives and motivations really matter. In most cases, you can rely on an NPC's concept, traits, and instincts.

Elios's motivations seem straightforward to me. For now, humorlessness, his instinct ("to complain but get the job done") and his new marriage give me plenty to work with.

In the future, though, maybe folks start to doubt Rhianna's leadership and look to Elios instead. At that point, I might ask myself some of these questions. What does he want from the PCs? He wants Rhianna to get her crap together. What does he fear? Being responsible for the entire town's safety, but also his wife or infant son coming to harm. What angers him? The way Vahid and Caradoc keep bringing trouble down on the village, and how Rhianna turns a blind eye towards that.

Such answers would imply a looming confrontation between Elios and Rhianna, where he might demand that she rein in Caradoc and Vahid or else step down from the role of marshal.