I'm quite curious about this. Do people one day just decide they want to be a mage? Or a rogue? Could someone who had a back story with a wounded friend just choose to become a priest?
This would answer a big problem for me, thanks!
It all depends on the person. It's kind of like choosing a job in real life, people have different motivations. They could just be naturally skilled, have their parents push them into it or, as you said, a wounded friend. You can choose whatever way your character chooses their class, there is an infinite amount of reasons to choose one or another.
Exactly as Bounty said, one can have any motivation for it.
I'll pass up a few examples. My BElf huntress was forced to become what she is by circumstances, being tossed into the wilds. My NElf priestess lived most of her young life in the Temple of the Moon, thus, priesthood being a natural direction for her life. I've also got a Draenei who took up shamanism trying to express her bond with 'all that is'.
If you're thinking about -how-, rather than why, I'd be inclined to say that it depends. Priests, Mages, Paladins and the like are trained on how to use their powers. One does not simply wake up one day knowing how to conjure fire, nor heal wounded by intent alone, without knowing how they did it. The more non-magicky classes like rogues, warriors and hunters don't depend on training, being able to get their physical skills from other sources.
Alright, all this makes sense. They're also the answers that I was hoping for so that my character profile would fit.
Thanks!
I have a character retail-side named Csilla. Csilla's my perky priestess: she's young, exuberant, and infinitely curious. As the middle child of seven, however, she's always felt like she couldn't contribute enough or make enough of an impact to matter. Her older siblings did important things such as work on the vineyard or raised the younger, while the younger children got attention by virtue of being young. As a result, Csilla is driven to get recognition from others.
It's why she ultimately became a priest. To put it into her words, "Them priestly fellahs, they's always needed, yah?" As a result, in the past, oh, four or five years she's found herself a niche as a battlefield healer.
The choices that an individual makes and his upbringing can have lasting impact on the paths that he chooses as an adult. Part of the fun of creating a new character is learning why he is the way that he is.