Usually they don't. They continue trying to make amends for the rest of their existance until they die (if they're immortal then they're in for one Hell of a ride), feeling better about themselves but never quite forgiving, even if everyone else around them views them as a saint.
In the cases they do, it's usually something big to convince them they're redeemed. Say, someone he originally wronged (or even better, the person he wronged the most) coming up to him and telling him he's forgiven him, or (if the character is religious) literal signs of the Heavens that he's forgiven.
"All you Fascists bound to lose."
The future of warfare in UC.
It's a personal thing, usually. Ask four people and you'll get four different answers. There's also a real possiblity and they might never complete it, either because they view themselves the way AA/NA talks about addiction, or because they honestly don't believe it's within their power to undo.
Nous restons ici.
Seeker of Pie
It depends on their personality. If they are rational and transactional, they'll save as many lives as they took; if they're sentimental and moral, then as has been suggested before, they might never really cease their journeys for redemption beyond the scope of the narrative that you end up writing.
Earth Needs Gentlemen
Impudent Upstart
I agree its very character dependent. I think it also depends to some degree on the nature of the horrible thing for which the character feels they must redeem themselves. For example, was it a single betrayal of trust compared to an otherwise long lifetime of loyal service? Or was their view of the world so skewed that they spent a good portion of their adult life making people suffer?
For the former, I can see a single moment of self sacrifice being an appropriate enough act to 'redeem' them. Having the party whose trust they violated indicate that they trust them again might be enough to signal that they've been redeemed. (Of course depending on the character in question they might not agree that this is enough) But something this pat probably wouldn't work so well with someone who has spent their entire life until this point hurting others. In that case they might never really feel 'redeemed', and others may never fully forgive them. In these cases redemption is more a way of living then an actual achievable goal.
Nobody wants to be a pawn in the game of life. What they don't realize is the game of life is Minesweeper.
It depends on the source of the guilt, are they guilty because they think they did wrong, or has someone in a position of authority told them they need to atone. In either case they need to do whatever it takes to remove the source of guilt. It is usually down to the person since the feelings of guilt and redemption usually come from the individual themselves so it ends when those feelings have been overcome. If they finish at some arbitrary point before they feel redeemed, what is the point?
It depends how hard they are on themselves and how they view morality and the scale of their crimes. Someone who has committed minor crimes and is rational about it might need to simply undo their wrongs or save as many people as they hurt.
On the other hand if they committed world shattering crimes, are hard on themselves or think they are beyond saving the quest could require them to achieve some legendary feat or sacrifice.
Formerly G.G.
But how do we know that if the character is truly seeking redemption and not just doing because of outside circumstances?
"Thanos is a happy guy! Just look at the smile in his face!"I'm not sure I understand. How do we know if the character is on a redemption quest? Well, usually he flat-out tells people he must make amends for his past sins. Action-wise, the character usually goes to extreme lengths to do good and sacrifice himself (not necessairly fatally) to help others.
Or did you mean something else?
edited 17th May '14 7:38:44 PM by Gaon
"All you Fascists bound to lose."
Formerly G.G.
I mean how do we know if the character truly seeks redemption or forgiveness for past crimes?
"Thanos is a happy guy! Just look at the smile in his face!"
Do they truly feel genuine remorse for the other persons sake, or are they just scared of punishment.
If option two: Sorry. Still evil. Go back to square one.
If option one: Congratulations! You have just been redeemed!
This isn't a writing question but I want to ask, how does the character know if they 'completed' their redemption quest? Lets say that the character has done something horrible in the past and they seek to makes amends, how do you know if the character in question has done this?
"Thanos is a happy guy! Just look at the smile in his face!"