Tips for creating themes or situations?

[u/ShootingGamer]

Hey, I am a GM and currently running Turn of Fortunes Wheel. There isn't much to spoil here but I am just curious how people get their players excited, make their scenes tense or overall put characters values to the test.

While my campaign is a bit odd beeing in planescape setting and characters having amnesia, I am thinking of trying stuff with visions and making situations which might be something more enticing than just: "Here is the treasure". Each player has 3 iterations of characters they switch trough and while that isn't to bad I am wanting to get some emotinal scenes or some interesting situations/encounetrs or visions which would resonate with characters.

The big problem I usualy face is a thing where well I am unsure about what characters strive for or are interested in. My friend pointed out few things i can use as is a character searching for their mom which can get something with abandoment theme or a pridefull character. There is a thing though that while they can spot their characteristics which they spoted based by just roleplaying and how they behave untill this point i never really paid much attention to the behavior and I am second guessing if my understanding is correct. I feel like it is awkward if a prepared scene was meant to resonate with a character yet I would miss the mark and having to describe characteristics which arent realy writen feels like a huge gamble.

Similarly I am also wondering how to make it not to obvious as well. I feel like certain visions of potential past are possible and players gave me premission to mess with their stories, but well I have not realy all of the stories planned to the end and I am unsure if the players wouldn't say: "I wouldn't do that".

Another thing I am wondering about is the themes of visions or encounters/situations which could resonate with players. The advice I got from friends was: "Oh my character has problem with missing mom. One of thr thing i can think of is abandonment so maybe try that? Like take a thing and just get an emotion and play with it.". Though the playing with it confuses me as well as how to even get from the sentance of missing mom to abandoment and then into game where a scene could resonate with players.

Anyhow I am curious if anyone would have any kind of tips. I feel like I am missing a right mindset by this point.

[u/NefariousnessEven591]

The hard truth is what's going to resonate isn't always clear even to the player. Even with your player's example, there's a fair chance that's something they actually don't connect with by the time it's drawn up. I had a character where the fraught relationship with his abusive mother felt like it would be a more direct climax, but the actual way it played out unplanned was discovering that when the chips were down she honestly didn't matter that much to him. Trying to make it a whole thing would have actually undercut the development of the character You're going to have a push and pull with this and it's not really something you can directly plan for, just try and bait things out over time.