My group ran an intentional Mary Sue oneshot, and it got me thinking about those horrible old high school games, where everyone had katanas and trench coats. I think it's confession time. Tell us what your embarrassingly edgy starting character was like!
Well I don't know about high school, but in late grade school / middle school I had this character that was one of the world's greatest assassins, with a demonic father to boot. Super serious, fire powers, didn't waste time with nonsense like talking, idolized by his people, etc. Was also a member of a made up race of snakefolk creatively called the kobrani, with wing-fingers on their arms that, surprisingly, only allowed for gliding instead of flight (they were arboreal). I never actually did anything with him, so I can't share more details than that.
Fortunately the kobrani, while not deep, were at least not a Mary Sue race, instead just being a bunch of primitive woods-dwelling xenophobes--wild elves but more violent, less powerful, and less pretty.
I had the stereotypical klepto rogue once. Even went so far as to pickpocket the money from an obnoxious noble we were hired to guard as our first session. Like... DM gave us all kinds of back story, we get off the boat at the starting town and before we walk all the way down the ramp I rolled sleight of hand and stealth to pickpocket the guy. 5 minutes into the campaign and I made like 1000 gold that was supposed to pay for food, lodging, and our reward for safely delivering the noble.
It really messed our DM up when the group abandoned the obnoxious noble because, as a bunch of mercenaries, we weren't interested in guarding someone who didn't have money to pay us.
He considered stealing form the party - but luckily I was mature enough to know that was a bad idea... plus members of the group spotted me when I lifted the money from the noble so I wasn't confident that I could get away with stealing from those party members.
I had a gunslinger who hunted undead, full on inquisitor garb and when the party almost tpked he just went to next town looking for undead.
Back in high school (in the '80s), I ran all the games I played, so didn't have much opportunity for playing any kind of Mary Sue. As far as I can recall, I somehow made my saving throw against inflicting a Mary Sue NPC upon my players.
On the other hand, I did write a few fragments of execrable fiction, and drew some significantly better sketches, of myself as a caped dimension-hopping sorcerer who had a sexy drow sidekick.
I guess the closest thing would be back in high school I had a major NPC that was based on the first character concept I created. An elven ranger whose family had been killed by dragons and had grown up to become a dragon slayer and ruled an elven tree fortress. I only incorporated him into a campaign once and it went okay.
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drew some significantly better sketches, of myself as a caped dimension-hopping sorcerer who had a sexy drow sidekick.
It's like a Lovecraft story. I realized with a mounting paroxysm of horror that it was me. I was the Sue! Iä-R’lyeh! Cthulhu fhtagn! Iä! Iä!
Nothing that bad. I had a Paladin GM-PC, when I ran my first 3.0 games for my dad and brother. He had a Great Sword and the 3.0 version Great Cleave, which my teenage-self successfully used to kill-steal my players.
I did not give him special equipment, powers extra levels or an edgy background though.
The worst Mary Sue, I ran adventures for was a female Drow Rogue 1/Paladin 1/Ranger 1/Barbarian 1/Fighter 4or so/Ninja of the Cresent Moon X.
The player's idea was to make the ultimate martial build by stacking lots of frontloaded classes.
The player wanted her to have really great stats and kept changing his attributes to all 18 beetween play sessions, than denied he cheated. She dual wielded Bastard Swords. When she aquired two +1 Bastard Swords those became +5 Vorpal overnight. Unlike the attributes it was easy to see, where the cheat lay and could fix it.
The character went from a prostitute, who murdered her customers, to a member of a Paladin order. We still had a good time though and the campaign was full of pretty cool adventures. The campaign ended around level 7or8 though, when the groups barbarian aquired the Windrider Class and started using his Mounted Combat feats. This resulted in him hopelessly outdamaging the TWF Drow despite the hacked statblock. Mary Sue's player insisted in me nerving mounted charges. In the end we all decided to make new characters at level 1. Everyone was cool with that Mary Sue got retired.
Mary Sue's player wanted to play a centaur with mounted combat, but after some discussion became quite a normal dwarven cleric.
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My friend plays a pugilist named Sue. He is 'the' man-in-black with a voice that pushes through like a train. Is that what you mean?
Or is a Mary Sue character edgy? OP? Teenaged? Katana carrying? I don't know the term.
My friend plays a pugilist named Sue. He is 'the' man-in-black with a voice that pushes through like a train. Is that what you mean?
Or is a Mary Sue character edgy? OP? Teenaged? Katana carrying? I don't know the term.
A Mary Sue/Gary Stu is...authorial self-insertion. Perfect. Best stats, knows everything, everyone loves them. Gorgeous, no matter the race. always fantastic in combat, always able to convert any opponent...
one of many tests to confirm Mary Sueness.
According to urban legend, the term began with Star Trek fanfic, but the type has been around forever.
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Oh, I had the obligatory long-haired trench-coated World of Darkness badass (mine was slightly atypical in being a werewolf rather than a vampire). Magnus Storm.
God he was terrible.
Dark. Brooding.
Darkly brooding you might say.
Tormented by his dark past (which was, as I recall, something to do with failing to save his pack from some stupid thing) dedicated to never leaving himself that vulnerable again.
Total dreck. Any character run by an awkward 14 year old whose concept is almost literally "Lone Wolf" is going to be a generous helping of awful.
Total badass power fantasy loser.
Like, man, he like, didn't have a girlfriend, 'cause, like, he was too DEEP and stuff... nothing at all like his greasy-haired, pimply, oddball player who didn't have a girlfriend because he had no idea that regular bathing and giving a crap about the feelings of other human beings would substantially improve his odds. No, he was, like, tormented, man. And like, could totally kick your ass.
He was probably the nadir- much as I still love my old World of Darkness, it definitely brought out the dirt-worst in my character creation.
Closest I came in D&D (this was AD&D 2E- 3rd didn't drop until I was in college or so) was my awful wizard-regent in Birthright- who was a paper-thin Raistlin Majere pastiche without the gold skin or hourglass eyes, but all of the snark. And, like, people didn't, like, get him, man, but that was, like, okay, 'cause he was into more important things, man, and...
Yeah.
That is just too good Cole. Fantastic self-analysis! Made me laugh...
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That is just too good Cole. Fantastic self-analysis! Made me laugh...
14 year old me deserved every beating he never received.
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That is just too good Cole. Fantastic self-analysis! Made me laugh...14 year old me deserved every beating he never received.
*debeverages*
Yup. Me too.
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I didn’t have Mary Sue characters.
I was the GM, so instead I had over the top, scene-chewing villians and place names directly stolen from Middle-Earth as well as traps that merely punished PCs for playing in ways I didn’t like.
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I... made a wannabe vampire.
Back during the Playtest for Pathfinder Core a certain book series came out and since almost anything fantasy was something I would read the heck out of, I set about trying to recreate that kind of thing.
Aluka was a Barbarian 2/Undead Bloodline Sorcerer 6/Eldritch Knight 6 in Rise of the Runelords. She had a pathological desire to drink at least a little blood everyday, would cast Vampiric Touch, rage, and deliver it through her Animal Fury rage power bite attack.
She also had Stoneskin known because... yeah...
Probably my most embarrassing character.
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Laws of the night Tremere who went by “Drakus.” Not his real name. Nexus child backstory who concentrated on being a combat monster with blood magic. Wore the same purple shirt for three years.
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I... made a wannabe vampire.
I still have the original description of my Mary Sue!
Lucky Luke
With a fearless attitude some would call reckless and an easy air of confidence that inspires instant trust, Luke is a natural swashbuckler. Gifted with preternatural luck by a foreign god of prosperity, he has come to expect everything to go right. Those around him are so astonished that his audacity seems to bring only deserts, and never demise, that his reputation has spread as “Lucky Luke”. While some of his fellow clerics consider it uncouth, he is often seen charging to the front line of a fight, greatsword in both hands, self-assured that his blows will be guided just so by forces unseen, while his enemies’ strikes will falter.
Though aware his luck has a divine origin, he has learned that Kofusachi smiles most felicitously on those who make their own luck. Thus, he always keeps his eyes open and and mind active, looking for opportunities wherever they arise, with remarkable results. He has learned to visualize exactly how he will succeed before he acts, so much so that it has become automatic.
When he spins the wheel of fortune, he knows how hard to push.
His daily meditation consists of visualizing himself succeeding in every possible way, at every conceivable activity. Thus, when the chance arises, he is prepared and ready to strike. He typically only contemplates success, but when he does meet failure, he sees it as an opportunity for further consummation.
While he knows he is lucky, he is not a gambler, as his only fear is his luck running out, and he is hesitant to use his powers for personal gain lest he offend the god of fortune. Certain he will succeed at any task he sets his mind to, he opts to tackle the problems that few others dare to. He rarely looks for treasure, but often finds it.
I still have the original description of my Mary Sue!
Lucky Luke(...)
This guy sound fantastic and hilarious if played with a gratuitous dollop of self-awareness on the part of the player. I can imagine any failure being quickly covered up in character with either:
Laws of the night Tremere who went by “Drakus.” Not his real name. Nexus child backstory who concentrated on being a combat monster with blood magic. Wore the same purple shirt for three years.
More embarrassingly I loved playing him.
Oh, Also, im DMing a game for some newbs. Good guys, but faking into some of the standard Mary Sue traps. For example the synthesit summoner is as close to a carbon copy of the Flying Spaghetti Monster as his level allows.
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When a friend of mine first introduced me to 3.5 back when I was 13, I had to make a character. So I made a ranger. Two-weapon combat, I had never heard of Drizzt at the time. Half-elf, and all this was fine.
But it got worse. His name was Orion, because I thought it was the most clever thing because like thats a constellation named for a greek myth, and what's more original than that guys? And it was named after a hunter too! And like, rangers are all hunters, so it's the best. That's not even that bad either. I can still get behind half-elf TWF ranger named Orion. No last name because mysterious, definitely not because I was terrible at naming things.
But it got worse. There was no semblance of personality traits except whatever I thought would make him sound super snarky and the most clever and stuff. You ever have to spend time in your adult life with a 13 year olds constant attempts to be the "funny" guy? Or even your teenage life? It's the worst. Punch that thirteen
-year old for me. And that's all there was to the guy. Except for his face which was inexplicably and totally coincidentally kind-of like mine but super-hot. For no reason.
But it got worse. See, what he lacked in any form of character development, backstory or fun traits; Orion made up for it in swanky equipment he had no right to just have the way he did. See, one of his swords was possessed by an angel and super awesome and he could like fly with it but only straight up. See? Balancing factors. The other sword (They were both Bastard Swords because I compounded this with toilet-like mechanical skills) was the seal of a Demon Lord, who deserves his own special mention of Villain Sue status. Sovereign the Usurper was his name. Yes I know you by definition can't be both a sovereign and have anything to usurp, but when you're 13 and you just thought of the two coolest-sounding words, you wanna put that shit together like peanut butter and lightning. I think I made up some hand waving garbage about how he was taking over other demon lords layers of the abyss WHICH DOES NOTHING TO FIX THE OXYMORON, YOUNGER ME! WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST NAME HIM HIGHLOW THE BADDUDE? I even figured out which layer was his to rule over in the abyss. Remember that whole backstory thing about Sovereign successfully taking over the abyss? Orion, level 1 PC that he was, knew all that and just never had any problems telling him "no Demon Lord I won't sacrifice those children. More like 'Sovereign the U-butthead', amiright?"
But it gets worse. Luckily, I only actually played him once so the "demon takes over so he can have a superpowered evil side and be all badass and conflicted and deep stuff" storyline never had to come up.
But it did, boy did I spend many a daydream in class thinking about how cool it would be if he killed like a bunch of dudes like the strongest most original guy ever that he was. Like a ton of dudes you guys.
So cool. So, very, very dumb.
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and he could like fly with it but only straight up.
Honestly I think that's pretty cool!
Yes I know you by definition can't be both a sovereign and have anything to usurp, but when you're 13 and you just thought of the two coolest-sounding words, you wanna put that s!*@ together like peanut butter and lightning.
This made me lol.
I don't think I'd call him a Mary Sue, but my first character (back in sophomore year, in 3.5) was an elf wizard named Lathron Tharsiron (or something to that effect) who fills me with so much disappointment and regret, that many years later, I retconed my favorite half-elf character to have been a decedent of his. And this half-elf was, like me, deeply ashamed that Lathron had ever even existed. Furthermore, he tried to keep this secret, because he was so disappointed in great-grandpa's legacy of stupidity. And, if I remember correctly, his death came about when he vastly underestimated the power of strong alcohol on his incredibly weak fortitude. How he ever managed to procreate, we will never know.
Edit: I take that back, my old notebook actually says that Lathron was actually "Committed to a home for old, bewildered elves. Died in an escape attempt."
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I made an Elven Wizard, once.
Dubbed him "The Dragon Wizard"
He had big, big plans for finding a Dragon Orb and building a tower that looked like a dragon.
Alas, he was murdered by a Kobold on his second adventure and that put an end to all of that.
My mary sue was the literal god of a fanfic world that I was writing.
The twist was that he died in the end because even back then I lived to subvert expectations.
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I had a human Paladin, once.
Because that's what you made when you roll an 18/00 in strength and a 17 in charisma when playing 1st edition.
Alas, he was stabbed in the back during a bar fight before he could even embark on his first adventure.
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My mary sue was a wizard with Daemon, succubus, and Melnibonéan ancestry mixed in with the mostly human blood, he had mighty psionic powers and was a walking Xmas tree of magic items... even had to have chain bracelets to hand all his rings to his wrists, since he could only use two at a time... and I know he was a mary sue because I sought out the old AD&D charsheet, and then converted him to 3.5/PF as a gestalt wizard/psion... that's how much that character means to me, even though, of course, I don't know any GM to whom I'd even submit the character to give him more game time...
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My mary sue was the literal god of a fanfic world that I was writing.
The twist was that he died in the end because even back then I lived to subvert expectations.
Mary Sues in (fan-)fiction actually die quite a lot. Too good for this world, they must sacrifice themselves to save everyone else.
Oh nah man, he was the secret villain all along who wanted to kill the actual heroes.
...Because someone made him read a shitty fanfiction at one point and this entire thing was his elaborate revenge scheme.
I never claimed I wasn't petty.
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Imagine if Tony Stark was the Hulk instead of Bruce Banner. And he still had his Iron Man armor, only it was fitted to his Hulk form instead of his Tony form.
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I would watch/read the hell out of that storyline.
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Oh, I had the obligatory long-haired trench-coated World of Darkness badass (mine was slightly atypical in being a werewolf rather than a vampire). Magnus Storm.
God he was terrible.
Dark. Brooding.
Darkly brooding you might say.
Tormented by his dark past (which was, as I recall, something to do with failing to save his pack from some stupid thing) dedicated to never leaving himself that vulnerable again.
Total dreck. Any character run by an awkward 14 year old whose concept is almost literally "Lone Wolf" is going to be a generous helping of awful.
Total badass power fantasy loser.
Like, man, he like, didn't have a girlfriend, 'cause, like, he was too DEEP and stuff... nothing at all like his greasy-haired, pimply, oddball player who didn't have a girlfriend because he had no idea that regular bathing and giving a crap about the feelings of other human beings would substantially improve his odds. No, he was, like, tormented, man. And like, could totally kick your ass.
He was probably the nadir- much as I still love my old World of Darkness, it definitely brought out the dirt-worst in my character creation.
Closest I came in D&D (this was AD&D 2E- 3rd didn't drop until I was in college or so) was my awful wizard-regent in Birthright- who was a paper-thin Raistlin Majere pastiche without the gold skin or hourglass eyes, but all of the snark. And, like, people didn't, like, get him, man, but that was, like, okay, 'cause he was into more important things, man, and...
Yeah.
This brings up memories... I once played a character. He was named Samuel. His splat was "ashtray"...
;P
My high school friends and I made up a team of mercenaries for our (systemless) stories which were basically a pastiche conglomerate fanfic of everything that interested us at the time, which included SNES RPGs such as Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy, Dragon Ball Z, demons, vampires, robots, and a bunch of other things. Each of us had a character that was basically "us" in badassified fantastical form, and we were the most awesome and completely uncontrollable mercenary gang in the world, unbeholden to man or law, traveling the world and fighting impossible battles with ease.
My character in this cluster was an escaped government experiment victim, a cyborg gunslinger with illusion abilities and Wind magic that he could use to make his shots even more improbably awesome, like making bullets change direction midair or pulling enemies into the line of fire. He had the whole long black trenchcoat thing going on (more due to the fact that he was very heavily ripped off from/based on Billy Lee Black from Xenogears than anything else) and had a girlfriend (based on no one) who was a green-haired drop-dead-gorgeous Amazon and mortally-incarnated angel with a golden heavenly greatsword and Earth magic.
Every now and then I consider reworking those characters and concepts into something more interesting and less "teenage rebellion and power fantasy" but I've got so many other things on my plate that I never really get around to it.
