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Dio Brando
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About Sauron... what is his motivation, exactly? Beyond his "will to dominate all life"? Even that's dubious since it's said purely by his enemies, so we really don't have any unbiased opinions to draw from. He gave the secret of ring-forging as a ploy to entrap the dominant species of Middle Earth to his will, but as far as I know he only did so because... it's his nature to do that? Something about Morgoth? Yeah, he definitely falls under the shit tier motivation category... but that said, he's far from a shit tier plot device. His characterization is quite tangential to the point, which is him being the looming threat controlling the more immediate and smelly threats with axes. (Though to be fair I'm sure the knights of Rohan weren't able to keep up the hygiene either, what with classical horse-based military logistics and all :v)

Unless there's a bunch of stuff in the Silmarillion about him that I haven't read yet, he's not a complex character, nor does he need to be.

As for Voldemort, he pretty clearly understands that his followers' whole "pure blood" thing is stupid and wrong; his motivation is at best an obsessive and crippling phobia of death. The latter part is arguable, the former even he himself isn't sympathetic with though. (I don't think any of that was spoiler.)

Tywin is flatly out for greed and pride; his family wouldn't need protection from their enemies if they weren't so arrogantly and militantly greedy for more than they already have. It's lust for power/influence/resources; defending against the people you're trying to rob doesn't make it a defensive motivation, it just makes their motivations defensive.

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35 minutes ago, Sir Scarfalot said:

About Sauron... what is his motivation, exactly? Beyond his "will to dominate all life"? Even that's dubious since it's said purely by his enemies, so we really don't have any unbiased opinions to draw from. He gave the secret of ring-forging as a ploy to entrap the dominant species of Middle Earth to his will, but as far as I know he only did so because... it's his nature to do that? Something about Morgoth? Yeah, he definitely falls under the shit tier motivation category... but that said, he's far from a shit tier plot device. His characterization is quite tangential to the point, which is him being the looming threat controlling the more immediate and smelly threats with axes. (Though to be fair I'm sure the knights of Rohan weren't able to keep up the hygiene either, what with classical horse-based military logistics and all :v)

Unless there's a bunch of stuff in the Silmarillion about him that I haven't read yet, he's not a complex character, nor does he need to be.

As a true nerd, I couldn't help but try to figure this out. Turns out you're right, there's a bunch of stuff about him in the Silmarillion. This post was very enlightening, I recommend checking it out if you're interested. Regardless, I'll put the most important part here:

Quote

The source of Melkor's and Sauron's religious belief was the actual, divine command of their God:  Eru Ilúvatar.  In the depths of time he commanded the Ainur (Valar and Maiar) spirits to perform a sacred task:

Then Ilúvatar said to them: ‘Of the theme that I have declared to you, I will now that ye make in harmony together a Great Music. And since I have kindled you with the Flame Imperishable, ye shall show forth your powers in adorning this theme, each with his own thoughts and devices, if he will.

And the Ainur did create a Great Music which made corporeal the thought of Eru Ilúvatar.  And the world of Arda -- of which Middle-earth was to become a small but important corner -- came to be, made substantive and real by the voices of the Ainur. 

The loudest, most powerful and seductive voice of all that mighty chorus was Melkor.  Little wonder that so many spirits great and small, of whom Sauron proved to be the strongest, were drawn into Melkor's service and grew to see Eru Ilúvatar's plan for Arda through the perspective of Melkor's doctrine.

And then Eru Ilúvatar spoke the most terrible words ever uttered within Eä, which would prove the source of unimaginable suffering and grief for millions of sentient beings who would come to live within Arda: 

... no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite. For he that attempteth this shall prove but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined. ...  And thou, Melkor, wilt discover all the secret thoughts of thy mind, and wilt perceive that they are but a part of the whole and tributary to its glory.

This was the awful, rotten truth at the heart of Eä, the justification for every brutal act of Melkor, Sauron, the Witch-king of Angmar and every other misguided spirit within Arda.

You see, Sauron never thought of himself as evil.  In his own twisted, psychotic and sociopathic mind, first Melkor and then he himself were the chosen vehicles of Eru Ilúvatar's divine will.  Hadn't God said exactly that?:  "... he that attempteth this shall prove but mine instrument ..."  Because Melkor and Sauron were on a holy mission, any act, no matter how extreme, in Eru Ilúvatar's service was justified -- in fact required

In Sauron's conception of the world, the elves and Edain were apostates who were not even present during the Great Music.  He believed they misunderstood, and indeed belligerantly defied, the will of God Himself.  Their ignorant and willful apostacy of God merited torture and death.  And when Sauron brought about their deaths -- by the tens of thousands -- he rejoiced in his ability to serve divine justice upon the unbelievers.

So, to flip this back to being about P&W again I'd say Sauron is a relatively good role model if you're trying to be a villain. He certainly seems to be motivated by more than a simple desire to dominate and destroy, which arguably at least bumps him up to Meh tier, if not all the way up to High tier.

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