OOC: Warding off "Mary Sue"

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Graybeard
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OOC: Warding off "Mary Sue"

Post by Graybeard »

In one of the other threads, Viking-Sensei raised the specter of "Mary Sue" characters appearing. I wasn't sure exactly what this implied, so I went off and read the Wikipedia article on the subject, which is quite interesting. That article also references a link to a quiz whereby people creating fictional characters can assess whether they're falling into the Mary Sue trap; that quiz is even more interesting than the article, and I recommend it, not just for keeping existing characters from heading off into Mary Sue space, but also as an aid to constructing new characters -- which I hope we'll continue to get.

Personally, I don't mind if the Errant Road characters are slightly more Mary Sue-ish than that quiz considers wise; this is a fantasy universe we're talking about here, after all, and even having the standard Tsuirakuan magic skills, Gewehr firearms proficiency, etc., implies some attributes that the garden-variety inhabitant of the Poe-verse does not have. However, the quiz is quite a good diagnostic that is helping me think more carefully about character development than I'd be likely to without it. Just thought I'd post the link to it and recommend an occasional "tune-up" as our characters develop.
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Viking-Sensei
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Re: OOC: Warding off "Mary Sue"

Post by Viking-Sensei »

Wow... despite all his wackyness, Lucas only scored a 17... he actually scored much higher, but almost all the De-Suifiers at the end applied to him as well. Now, Kureji on the other hand...
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Drannin
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Re: OOC: Warding off "Mary Sue"

Post by Drannin »

Hmmm... Argus scored relatively low. I may need to spike things up a bit!!! :twisted:

...Nah.
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Sareth
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Re: OOC: Warding off "Mary Sue"

Post by Sareth »

Jamie scored a 29. All I need is for Jamie to sleep with a canon character, and things jump up to 30+, clear Mary Sue territory!

...

Why's everyone looking at me like that?
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Graybeard
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Re: OOC: Warding off "Mary Sue"

Post by Graybeard »

Layla came in at 29, too, although possibly as low as 22 depending on certain definitions. Grope is at 14.

Layla is definitely NOT going to sleep with any canon characters. Grope? No comment.
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Sareth
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Re: OOC: Warding off "Mary Sue"

Post by Sareth »

Actually, Layla is one of the reasons Jamie scored so high. I had to check the box on "is your character personally hated by a villain?" thanks to that whole grudge over her late hubby...

Heh.

That whole "no comment" about Grope puts really bad images in my brain...
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Re: OOC: Warding off "Mary Sue"

Post by Graybeard »

Sareth wrote:Actually, Layla is one of the reasons Jamie scored so high. I had to check the box on "is your character personally hated by a villain?" thanks to that whole grudge over her late hubby...
A possibly significant plot point is that Layla split town so soon after Arty's death that she may not even know who killed him. And for that matter, it really wasn't Jamie; laying aside the fact that Arty's arrow wound was supposed to be survivable and that it was one of his own henchmen who screwed up fatally by pulling the arrow out, if any one character was responsible, it was Grope, not Jamie. That has the potential to cause me interesting role-playing challenges somewhere downstream...
Sareth wrote:That whole "no comment" about Grope puts really bad images in my brain...
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Sareth
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Re: OOC: Warding off "Mary Sue"

Post by Sareth »

Graybeard wrote:
Sareth wrote:Actually, Layla is one of the reasons Jamie scored so high. I had to check the box on "is your character personally hated by a villain?" thanks to that whole grudge over her late hubby...
A possibly significant plot point is that Layla split town so soon after Arty's death that she may not even know who killed him. And for that matter, it really wasn't Jamie; laying aside the fact that Arty's arrow wound was supposed to be survivable and that it was one of his own henchmen who screwed up fatally by pulling the arrow out, if any one character was responsible, it was Grope, not Jamie. That has the potential to cause me interesting role-playing challenges somewhere downstream...
True. But Jamie was a catalyst for all of that, so I doubt that Layla will ignore that should she learn the story... Anyway, I rather look forward to seeing how it all plays out.
Sareth wrote:That whole "no comment" about Grope puts really bad images in my brain...
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