One idea I’ve always had for a character is of the grizzled veteran, the guy with one day left until retirement who wants nothing more than to claim a plot of land as his pension from the his king and be a simple farmer until he dies. Someone who has seen and been through war, through adventures great and small and wants nothing more to do with.
That person who is so honorable, that despite what he wants to do, despite wanting to bury his arms and armor and take up the hoe, listens to his king (or maybe his old adventuring companions) and goes on that one last quest.
I envision this old, grizzled warrior like the burnt out cop in the movies. The guy who just doesn’t want it anymore but can’t seem to break away from it. He’s too old to get a thrill out of it, he’s too old to not feel his muscles and joints aching. The ale and the women no longer hold their allure to him and the gold the treasure and the glory are pretty much worthless. This is a guy who wants out.
Why would I want to play this? Because in a lot of fantasy fiction and at a lot of game tables the characters are typically young and idealistic, “farm boys out on their first campaign” as Berek in “Dungeons and Dragons: Wraith of the Dragon God” would put it.
