This one required minor edits due to a dead link, but should be servicable now!
Sue Me? Avoiding Mary Sue Tendencies in RP by Danellos
Hello all,
Welcome to the new and improved version of my guide to avoiding Mary Sue tendencies in roleplay!
First of all, it goes without say that everyone has a different opinion of this subject. As such, you are more than welcome to disagree with some of the information that I have put here, as long as you remain constructive and back your arguments up as well as you can. Everyone’s style of roleplay is different, and this is part of what makes playing on roleplaying realms quite thrilling!
The purpose of this guide is to help those who are new to roleplay strike a balance between the good qualities and bad qualities of their characters in their character concepts.
When one starts roleplaying a character and attempts to make it stand out from the rest, it is quite easy to deviate towards themes that may otherwise make the character seem rather unbelievable, like a “special snowflake”, or too heroic. In fanfiction writing, characters such as these are commonly referred to as Mary Sues , and the concepts that apply to this word in fanfiction writing could very well apply to roleplaying as well.
What is a Mary-Sue Character?
Taken from Engadget , here is the definition in terms of roleplaying:
A Mary Sue is a character who essentially is an idealized projection of the author’s self, serving as a sort of fictional wish fulfillment. Mary Sues run rampant in roleplay and are nearly universally hated. They’re not great characters, and they tend to disrupt other people’s fun.
So in essence, these are the “too-good-to-be-true” type characters that more often than not causes one’s eyes to roll during roleplay. In some cases, if you have a Mary Sue, then you may even be flat out ignored by other roleplayers. I’ve seen this happen, and its not fun for either side.
Below I have outlined some guidelines taken from the old version of my guide, and also newer parts added in from the helpful feedback of the players who commented there. I have also done some additional reading, and found some more pointers that could be added in.
Please note: Not all of the below-mentioned parts may apply to your character. Remember, an anti-Sue is just as bad as a Mary Sue. The whole idea is that you need to strike a balance between the good and the bad in your character… to make him/her seem more believable, more interesting, and fun to roleplay with from the perspective of other roleplayers!
It is also important to remember that character development is essential in roleplay. Over time, your character should improve on its bad qualities or even regress on some of its good.
Outlined below are various tips you can follow in order to make sure that your character does not deviate towards Sue tendencies. Some of this was copied from the old thread (maybe rephrased a little), and others come from the helpful pointers provided by fellow roleplayers in that thread.
1. Give your character flaws. Balance it with his/her strengths.
As has been proven many times in the designing of character concepts in a universe that is not your own, this is the most problematic part.
I know it is sometimes tempting when you are, for example, playing a paladin of the holy light who is to set an example for the rest of the world to follow, but don’t go over the top with this.
Give your character some flaws which makes them imperfect, and make sure that those flaws are as obvious (if not more obvious) than his/her good traits. This way, your character would seem more believable, and your fellow RP’ers (or audience if you are writing a fanfic) can relate with them in some way or another.
It’s okay for your character to be good at something, or to be a hero for that matter (as being a hero is exactly what Blizzard’s quests call you), but do your best to balance out the strengths of your character with the flaws.
It is very easy for a heroic character to deviate towards Sue tendencies, but if done tastefully, I am sure there’ll be many who’ll be pleased to roleplay with you.
Do not over-describe your character either, especially in an overly-poetic manner.
Examples of very real flaws are: impatience, impetuousness, unfriendliness, phobia, etc. This DOES NOT include stereotypical flaws such as a sin’dorei being addicted to magic. Those don’t count!
2. Avoid making your character related to a canon character in WoW Lore.
This is best explained with an example. If I create a blood elf mage, and I call him “Fandore Sunstrider” (fictional) and make it so that he is some long-lost brother of Kael’thas Sunstrider, then I am basically saying that my beloved character is related to one of the main characters in this game’s lore.
What makes me so special that I can relate myself to a core character within the Warcraft universe? Do you get my drift?
I don’t see this very often myself, but I have seen it before. This is definitely something to avoid.
3. Avoid creating pity-beggar characters.
The pity-beggar Mary Sue is a common one, often leading a painful life with hateful parents, perfect siblings/friends or no friends at all, no lover, no man or woman taking a fancy to them, and the list could go on. The worst part of this is that the character who has suffered these injustices would have little or no reaction towards these experiences.
Pity-begging characters tend to spend a great deal of time talking about their awful pasts as well, and this is not something that people really always enjoy in roleplay. Don’t dwell too much on these things.
I am not saying that giving your character a horrible past is necessarily a bad thing, but I am saying that basing your entire character concept around it would be dangerous.
In real life, we’ve all suffered some degree of injustices. Its just the reality of life. Over-emphasizing it on your character is more often than not going to cause eye-rolling.
4. Make it difficult for your character sometimes.
It is very easy for players to make their characters out to be this individual that “just seems to get everything right the first time". Like a druid mastering his flight form on the first try, for example.
Fighting skills, special talents, strong relationships, and any special powers of some sort should not have come easily to your character in the beginning.
For example, this current character I am posting with struggles endlessly understanding the branch of druidism related to curing land corruption. In fact, he may never fully grasp the concept at all, and this may in turn prove to be a disadvantage to him!
5. Bad Habits.
Give your character some weird habits, like nail-biting or drinking.
6. Avoid God-mode
The God-Mode Mary Sue is rarely found alone. Oftentimes they can be located within the mind of a “perfect” Mary Sue or a Plot-Stealer Mary Sue.
These creations are usually ultra-powerful, often not even knowing they have the powers that they use up until the first time. The powers themselves are generally numerous, or strong enough to chase away the worst of the villains out there.
7. Avoid Plot-Stealing
You are not a canon character, no matter how much you may want to be. Plot-stealing Mary Sues tend to come about when the player or writer is unhappy with how a specific character in lore is being portrayed. And as such, they’ll put their own characters in that place.
For example, I may be unhappy with Maieve Shadowsong’s lack of appearance in the game since TBC. So as such, I will create a night elf rogue called Máieve and add Shadowsong to the end with an RP addon plus a normal “a” letter. Then I’d get some gear that looks somewhat similar, and roleplay as her.
Please don’t do this! You’ll very quickly find yourself being ignored.
8. Avoid unexplained abilities (thanks to Revuu from the previous thread)
Could in fact be summarised as ‘Avoid special abilities’ full stop. If you must have them, at least explain them. Special abilities would be sensing auras around other players (not including sensing undeath as a druid / shaman / paladin or sensing demons as a druid / shaman / paladin / warlock), or being instinctively able to sense if someone is lying or not.
In fact, such ‘senses’ are often used to make metagaming legit. “Yeah, I can sense you’re a warlock” or, “Yeah, I can sense you’re a warrior” (to a warrior wearing day-to-day cloth clothes in a bar). Don’t ever say anything about being able to read minds!
9. Avoid Auras (thanks to Revuu from the previous thread)
It should be noted that this does not always apply to characters adept in the arts of magic, as someone has quite rightly pointed out in this thread.
However, similar to avoid unexplained abilities, avoid giving off ‘auras’. For example, “Sephirof gives off an aura of power”. What, can you smell it like you can smell when someone hasn’t washed? Can my half brainded forsaken rogue sense it?
Auras can be pulled off pretty well if done tastefully, but generally, it should be avoided.
10. Avoid Special Looks (thanks to Revuu from the previous thread)
Avoid being unusual for your species. This means anything other than fel-green eyes [now also golden] on a Blood Elf, silver/amber eyes [now also black] on a Night Elf, white eyes on a Draenei, or natural human eye shades on a human, etcetera.
(Just a note regarding the example with the eye colours - this does not apply to all races. Dogs can have heterochromatic eyes, and so can humans at times. If done tastefully, a worgen or human roleplayer can pull this off pretty well. Maybe even other races!)
11. Special class (thanks to Joilie from the previous thread)
This is a classic. Demon hunters, Death knights (before WotLK), Apothecaries, etc. Classes that you cannot choose when you create your character.
It can be done and it can be done well, but it takes practice and a lot of reading. It is not to recommend. Give your rogue demon hunter some pretty heavy flaws and you might get away with it if you are friendly enough to ask for advice.
12. Feedback (thanks to Joilie from the previous thread)
Always be open for feedback. If someone tells you that your character is questionable, it probably is and you should be ready to listen closely to tips and tricks from other people, it can help you a lot. And if you are unsure, don’t be afraid to ask someone for directions.
A character flaw is only a real flaw when it has lasting consequences and isn’t conveniently contrived or brushed aside as if it never happened when and where it is convenient.
Roleplay is teamwork!
Always remember that.