In these tips*, I will be explaining a few things that you should avoid when roleplaying your character here at HPU. Often times, I will have to speak to someone about breaking these rules--rules, I might add, for which we have a zero-tolerance policy--only to find out that they didn't have a clue what it meant in the first place.

By the time I am done explaining everything here, the masses should be more than enlightened.

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Don't Be A Mary Sue.

For the record, the male version of Mary Sue is Gary Stu. They are both the same, however, regardless of gender. For the purpose of this explanation, I will speak only of Mary Sue, so all the guys out there will have to switch the genders for themselves.

You must understand that explaining the concept of a Mary Sue is no small task. I could write a volume of books on the subject, breaking down each one into various circumstances, but I'm reserving my talent for something better. Therefore, I will be hitting the highlights here, and you will be required to fill in the blanks through your own observations. I would also recommend doing a Web search on "Mary Sue" and seeing what you come up with. Most explanations I've found on the 'Net pertain to fanfics, but as stated below, the RPG version of Mary Sue/Gary Stu is similar to Fanfic!Mary Sue.

The term "Mary Sue" is derived from the domain of fanfiction. There, she represents any original character who is created for the sole purpose of wish fulfillment by the author of the fanfic that he/she stars in. She most often becomes the love interest of the main (usually canon) character(s), fights and wins all the battles (proverbial or otherwise), and then may or may not die gloriously at the end in the arms of the hero. All without getting her hair messed up, breaking a nail, or otherwise doing anything wrong. She's perfection immortalized in the lines of a cheesey, and usually badly done fic.

In roleplaying, she is similar, but not exactly the same.

As I have observed both through my own RPing and from the reactions/opinions of others, the most blatant variety of Mary Sue is a very annoying character who thinks that the RPG world is meant to revolve around her. She must outdo anyone and everyone around her. She must be the most powerful, most intelligent, wittiest, most flawless, most beautiful, sexiest character ever created for an RPG. She can do no wrong. When she is cornered or finds herself in a precarious situation that threatens to mar her perfect character (or face), she will stop at nothing to weasel out of it, and make sure that she comes out on top in the process. This would include, but is not limited to... ripping the plot of a thread into pieces, and godmoding characters to make sure that her actions have the desired effects.

But beware, Mary is not just a type of character. There are also Mary Sue-isms, which are actions that are dangerously similar to (or exactly like) those of a Mary Sue. Your character can be a non-Mary Sue in general, but will do things every now and then that make them seem like a Mary Sue. This is just as bad. But luckily, it can be avoided by simply sticking to your character's personality/story, and recognizing the fact that A) No one is perfect--not even in the RPG world; B) You can win them all, have all the answers, or play a starring role in all the threads; and C) Life will be downright dirty more often than it will be kind.

Futhermore, no amount of drama can make up for being a Mary Sue. If your character is a Mary Sue or is frequently prone to Mary Sue-isms, then there's not enough angst in the world that can negate or hide the fact. The best way to avoid being a Mary Sue is to simply not be one. If you're unsure of how to go about this, here are a few tips:

1. Give your character something that makes them notably flawed (be it physical, emotional, or mental). After all, it is discovering the flaws of your character, and watching him/her deal with them that makes character interaction so interesting.

2. Participate in 'character torture' as often as possible. It's fun! You put your character into a negative situation, and then force them to go through it in the most raw and realistic way possible. Don't let them take the easy way out! When and where possible, make 'em earn their way out by taking the path of MOST resistance.

3. Kill the spotlight!! Avoid creating instances within a thread for the sole purpose of spotlighting something about your character. I'm not saying you shouldn't start a thread that will advance your character's personal storyline and/or development. I'm talking about creating irrelevent hiccups in a thread just so you can shine the light on your character's power, prowess, attractiveness, attitude, problem(s), etc.

Easy enough.

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Hands OFF! (or, an explanation of god-moding)

What can you do to piss people off worse than being a Mary Sue? God-mode. This is one of those things that can get you suspended from this site the quickest, so I suggest that you read and understand the following explanation, and tip for avoiding it at all costs.

God-moding is what you do when you roleplay someone else's character. It's when you take the liberty of forcing the actions, thoughts, words, feelings, observations, etc. of ANY character, other than the one you are portraying at that given moment. There is essentially NO situation in which you are allowed to do this, and there is absolutely NO justification for doing it without the prior knowledge of the character's owner.

Why? 'Tis simple.

ALL characters are the intellectual property of their creators. You wouldn't go into someone house and take liberties with their personal possessions, would you? Well, it's the same with characters--a person's imagination is the house, and the character is a prized possession.

So, how do you avoid god-moding? By remembering that you only have control over your OWN character. That's it! There's no other way to avoid it, other than to keep your hands OFF what doesn't belong to you.

Also: NEVER. ASSUME. ANYTHING. There are some gray areas that can get you in trouble as well, depending on the situation. For instance, you might RP your character taking his/her best friend by the hand to lead them somewhere. Usually (but not always) this is considered acceptable. However, if your character and his/her friend are having a spat, you cannot assume that the other character will be willing to follow. That's why you should NEVER. ASSUME. ANYTHING.

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I Know It, But He/She Doesn't. (or, what is metagaming?)

This one can be confusing, so bear with me.

As a roleplayer, you are given access to all kinds of information about other characters. From character descriptions, to individual posts in a thread, YOU (the person writing for your character) can know all and see all.

Your character, however, cannot.

With me so far? If so, great. If not, read on!

Metagaming is any action taken by a character that has been provoked by knowledge that the RPer (that is, the person writing for the character) has access to, but the character does not. I don't care what the other RPer(s) put in the "fluff" portion (or the non-dialog content) of their prior posts or replies. If your character was not directly given certain information by any other character or characters, then they are to be considered wholly ignorant of said information.

Here's a very brief and very obvious example:

As stated, that example was very obvious. However, it can be a lot more subtle, and still be just as wrong/annoying. For example, if someone's character thinks of an idea for a party (or the person writing for that character mentions an idea in the fluff portion of their post, and then your character suddenly pops up with the same idea, that can be considered metagaming.

Now, just to be fair, there are cases where two players will get together OOC and say, "let's let it be assumed that your character already knows [this trivial bit of information] about my character, so that we don't waste time RPing that part." In cases like that, it's fine. But it when it comes to picking things out of a person's post or character description to use against them, Mary Sue your own character, or just to USE in general without prior OOC discussion/permission, you should avoid it at all costs.

Tips to avoid metagaming: Remember that your character is ignorant about everything concerning other characters until he/she is presented with facts and information through interaction with them, and that the ONLY way for him/her to learn anything is good old-fashioned listening and observing.


* May not be duplicated, distributed, or otherwise re-used without the expressed permission of the author.