Villain's Motives

[TheIT]

I've got a character in my fantasy WIP who I know is a traitor, but I'm trying to figure out why. He's a trusted subordinate who has been sending crucial information to the real villains. His actions are a catalyst for the rest of the story, but he isn't a very major player. I'm having some trouble deciding what's motivating him, so I thought I'd raise the question here.

What are possible motives for betrayal? The ones I can think of offhand are money, power, social position, and blackmail. It's also possible he's being duped, i.e. he thinks he's helping his superiors by passing along the information but doesn't understand how it's really being used.

[Legionsynch]

There's also revenge.

[blacbird]

In addition to those you list: Misguided idealism, coupled with rationalization.

caw

[Cathy C]

1. Fanatical loyalty to the villain. It might be the villain saved his life or supported his family or is considered "good" by some people.

2. Belief that the villain's plan is actually a GOOD plan (either one that will save the world, or destroy it to rebuild it better.)

3. Abuse (whether intentional or unknowning) by the good guys that makes him want revenge--yet not knowing just how bad things will get.

Or, any of the ones you mention. But if the dupe has been giving information for some time, he has to have some smarts beyond just wanting money or power. Being a snitch is a risky business and requires stealth and brains.

[jdparadise]

Motives for traitors, per Tom Clancy: Money, Ideology, Conscience, Ego

Everything else does seem to boil down to some subset of that, if you think about it...

[Chris Grey]

Do you want him to be sympathetic or boo-hiss?

Love - like Dr Yueh in Dune, maybe he's motivated to save a loved one and had to make the difficult choice of duty vs love?

Revenge - maybe he was never loyal in the first place, but took the position solely for the damage he could inflict to those he feels have wronged him. Or this could be patriotism or loyalty if it's not out of spite but out of duty to the villains.

Spite - maybe he got passed up for a promotion?

Ideology - maybe he figures that his act of betrayal, while itself reprehensible, will benefit society as a whole.

Fear - maybe he's being threatened by the villain

Ignorance of the gravity of his actions - maybe he doesn't fully realize how significant the information he's leaking is, but is, in essence, gossipping it away without realizing whom he is providing information. That is, maybe he's being used. Like, by some chick at the bar, who is all "confidential information about your organization makes me so hot!" and he's all "there's no way a hot chick would ever work for the enemy."

Pretty much any motive is workable if you make it work.

[newmod]

How about thrill seeking to offset boredom as a factor.

Chris Grey´s comment about girl in bar reminded me of something, you could google the Profumo Scandal which occured in Britain in the 1960s. May be of interest if you go for a femme fatale type route.

[newmod]

Oh and of course he could be doing it because he´s being blackmailed.

[Beyondian]

Power. There's a very interesting motive for a quiet, loyal subordinate. Possibly he's been kept in a lower position because he isn't good enough to be promoted. And he's been working away for years and years, never getting much in the way of accolades and recognition. There is one thing he can do which gives him a feeling of power... a feeling that he is taking control of something. Betrayal. He's dissafected, the enemy plays on it, and he sells out his side. It can even be slightly sympathetic if you want. A sort-of, didn't know the secrets were so important, didn't want this to happen reaction.
Not sure if that helps, :) but it's an idea...

[Mr. E]

How about the fact that he's not really a "traitor" at all? Perhaps he was planted amidst the good guys some number of years backs, as a "sleeper" of sorts...so he's not really betraying anyone, he's just doing his job.

In other words, there's no motive for selling out to the villains. It just so happens that he IS one.

[Namatu]

Robert Hanssen motive - He likes to feel smarter than the people he's duping. He wants to screw them over because they don't accept him.

Or maybe he's a double agent.

[maestrowork]

To me, a "villain" is just another character, and every character has their own motivations, desires, wants, etc. You need to ask your villain what it is that he or she wants the most, and how do they conflict with what the hero wants or desires. If you don't know, then maybe you have the wrong character.

[ccarver30]

He could be doing it cuz he's an a$$hole too. :)

[TheIT]

How about the fact that he's not really a "traitor" at all? Perhaps he was planted amidst the good guys some number of years backs, as a "sleeper" of sorts...so he's not really betraying anyone, he's just doing his job.

In other words, there's no motive for selling out to the villains. It just so happens that he IS one.

:e2smack:

Y'know, I actually have sleeper agents in this universe, but I never considered having this character be one. It makes sense for this story, it solves several other problems, plus it provides some great contrast to another character who appears to be a villain but isn't. For some reason, I kept thinking this character had been suborned by the bad guys rather than actually being one. He's being set up as a scapegoat, so the good guys will probably uncover his betrayal but he'll be sacrificed/will sacrifice himself to prevent the real villains from being found.

Thanks, and thanks to everyone for their suggestions!

[Mr. E]

:e2smack:

Y'know, I actually have sleeper agents in this universe, but I never considered having this character be one. It makes sense for this story, it solves several other problems, plus it provides some great contrast to another character who appears to be a villain but isn't. For some reason, I kept thinking this character had been suborned by the bad guys rather than actually being one. He's being set up as a scapegoat, so the good guys will probably uncover his betrayal but he'll be sacrificed/will sacrifice himself to prevent the real villains from being found.

Thanks, and thanks to everyone for their suggestions!

:Thumbs:

[The_Grand_Duchess]

He could be doing it cuz he's an a$$hole too. :)

That was going to be my suggestion. I don't think there are enough, "Becuase he's an asshole" plotlines considering how often that happens in real life. :)

[newmod]

That was going to be my suggestion. I don't think there are enough, "Becuase he's an asshole" plotlines considering how often that happens in real life. :)

And here´s his theme song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNzZzsvOClc

[JBI]

Jealousy, racism, sadism, monetary reasons (bribes), black mail, accident, revenge.

[newmod]

Napoleon complex, better pension plan/healthcare, small penis ... god, when you stop to think about it, lotsa reasons really.

Maybe combine all suggestions from the thread, nobody could blame him then, surely? :)

[TheIT]

Maybe combine all suggestions from the thread, nobody could blame him then, surely? :)

Makes him a little hard to hide, though. ;)

The way the story is working out, the good guys won't know anyone has betrayed them until pretty far along in the story when they start piecing together the events. The traitor character will need to keep his actions secret, plus I'll need to hide him among other characters so the betrayal doesn't jump out at the reader.

[Chris Grey]

The traitor's only purpose in the story is to betray? But you need to keep him along for the ride so he can betray at the opportune moment? Why not just edit him out and make someone who's going to be along for the ride anyway betray?

[TheIT]

The traitor's only purpose in the story is to betray? But you need to keep him along for the ride so he can betray at the opportune moment? Why not just edit him out and make someone who's going to be along for the ride anyway betray?

If the villain's plans had gone as expected, the traitor character would have a much larger part to play. My MC does something they didn't expect and derails their plans, so events go in a completely different direction which the traitor can't control. The villains don't want the traitor to be revealed since he still might be useful, but they're perfectly willing to sacrifice him as scapegoat if the good guys start investigating.

[Michael Dracon]

The more I read this thread the more I am reminded of the new Battlestar Galactica series.

You should really check it out for reference.

[Oliveman]

Well the point is you need to figure out if the action is relevant to the themes of your story. If it's a new take on a theme you're working into your novel, go with it. Just my comment, hope it helps.