Each career has a list of inciting incidents, each of which suggests a potential reason why you gave up your career, turned away from a possibly comfortable and reliable living, and took up the sword (or axe or wand) to become an adventuring hero. Each inciting incident represents a life-changing event that might have motivated you to change course, becoming a person who risks it all to save others.
You can roll for or choose an inciting incident from the table that accompanies each career. You can also use your career’s table (or another career’s table) as inspiration as you work with your Director to come up with a unique inciting incident of your own.
What Was Taken From You?
During your inciting incident, something was taken from you. It might have been a material object, such as an heirloom sword or a locket that proves your royal heritage. Perhaps a person you loved was killed, kidnapped, or cursed. It might be something deeper and more abstract, such as a chance for happiness, belief in the future, belief in basic goodness, or a lifetime goal snatched away.
It might be the case that you’re obsessed with getting back what you lost. You might be in a position where you’ll never recover what was taken from you, but you want to prevent that same loss from happening to others. Perhaps your loss left you in a position where helping others is the only thing that gives your life meaning. Whatever the case, the loss you’ve suffered is part of what drives you to be a hero. Record what was taken from you on your character sheet, and let your Director know.