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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/31890
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

## TL;DR

How should I (if at all) develop the personality, character trait, character development and motivation of a character in a core trio whose role in the story is (thus far) only to be a mechanical supplement in combat?

## Context

I'm writing something that superficially resemble a fantasy fiction loosely centered around a core trio of character, including:

- A very naive and well-meaning young woman as the protagonist
- A mature, mild-tempered woman with knowledge of existential disillusionment, betrayal and suffering, acting as a foil to the protagonist's innocence and childishness
- A young man, friend and secret admirer of the protagonist, and the _problematic character_

The problem is that while I fantasized the story in my head, I only saw the third character, call him "B", as a sort of mechanical addition to the party the same way a video-game character might be a supplement to a team in terms of game-play.

I wonder if I should take the effort to flesh out such a character, give him complex backstory and diverse motivations, or leave him as is--a mere pawn in the bigger game, following the protagonist allow her quest for no other reason than that I dictated him to want to do so.

In the event that you do think I should elaborate on B, the problematic character, I'd like to hear general guidelines for how I might proceed, and any particular examples you might think of.

# Extra Context

The core-trio of adventurers going on a long quest to find and bring solace to an ailing demigod.

There are a number of twists/central features here:

**1 - Contrast between protagonist and the world:**  
The protagonist, named C, is deliberately designed to be an extremely naive and excessively benevolent young woman, who is too trusting and well-meaning for the world around her--a cynical, treacherous place full of selfish and morally unscrupulous people as well as those with ex-machina motives to kill/enslave her in order to absorb her magic power.  
**2 - Divine Intervention:**  
I mentioned demigods earlier, for all intents and purposes, they are just normal people with lots of magical power, which is bound by the physical laws in the fictional universe. However, there are also real, transcendental deities, each with their own motivations. The following are some examples of how this is done:  
The trio are sent on their main quest in the beginning due to the manipulation of a goddess named N, who wants to see if the trio can alleviate the demigod, which N has feelings for, from his suffering. Eventually, another similar deity named L will motivate another character to seek out the same demigod and relief the latter by killing him.  
**3 - Loss of Innocence:**  
It's predictable, but throughout the story, the main trio will be mentally wore down by the things they witness and are subjected to, anywhere from visions of eldritch horror to physical abuse suffered under their enemies.  
Additionally, as the story progresses, the trio will begin to draw more and more attention to itself, sending increasingly numerous and dangerous foes its way, and the party find themselves relying more and more unscrupulous means to victory, slowly desensitized to their own cruelty and find themselves pulled further and further away from what they are used to.

Original score: 9