Is it better for my character to be a man who abandons his life as a warrior, or to be a a man who finds fighting in a right cause a way to redeem himself?
Either can make a good story. You gotta decide what feels more right to write to you. Except don't go writing sentences like I just did, that's no good.
If I could decide myself, I wouldn't ask about it. Well, I personally think that the first option is a bit bland. Because it doesn't have an affect on future actions of Main Character. The second option doesn't have problem with that. However, the first option seems a bit more original. What do you think?
Whichever one fits where the story will end up. Neither is more original than the other. What will make either original is how you handle it & what the MC goes through.
Fair, but I think you should have given it more thought and fleshed out some plots before asking about it. As it is, there's not really much here to be decided on. I find the first option to be less "original," but that's likely to do with the types of media and genres I expose myself to.
It largely depends on your plot, what your character is going to go through, and what purpose they serve. Is he a main character, or the MC's best friend, or a mentor to the MC, or something else? What impact are you intending for him to have on the story? If he abandons his life as a warrior, he won't be fighting. If he is fighting...well, he is. If he's the MC, that creates two very different plots. So it's impossible for us to choose without further knowledge.
I think it also depends on the character in question - which would be the more difficult path for him? I'd choose that one.
