Experiences How do you deal with mary sue players in your rps?

[BackSet]

Okay so you have a roleplay. And you have a bunch of players. And then one player turns around and makes a character that completely breaks the world. You tell them their character won't work. So they make a new character. "Hey that seems pretty okay." You think and approve it. And then the player turns their character into a complete mary sue who can do no wrong no matter how terrible their actions are.

How do you deal with this?

 

[Ashfeather]

There are many fun ways to deal with this if you want to go the douche route. Such as outmatching them with a character of your own that is always even more splendid until you can practically hear their frustration trying to nab the spotlight, applying real world logic onto them relentlessly, putting their characters through a therapy session to delve deeper into their two dimensional minds ...

Troll techniques aside, I just consider telling them hey, I'd love to see your characters bad sides too! People usually like developing the bad sides if someone shows interest in it. Or I take my leave if it's too much for me.

 

[rae2nerdy]

If you're the GM?

You tell them that they need to tone down their character. If I'm feeling nice I'll even give them tips on how to turn the character around.

If they don't listen they are out of my roleplay. I will write their character out of their action and if they throw a fit I'll tell them it's my roleplay and I can kick out anyone I want.

( true by the way. as long as you aren't like a hateful dick about it you can kick anyone out of your roleplay for any reason. )
-----------------

If I'm not the GM?

I ignore the character. People make Mary Sue's specifically so they can get attention so I don't give them that. I treat their character like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. Or a little kid telling boastful tall tales. I know good and well everything they do has no effect on the roleplay because it's just a delusion the person has that makes them feel better.

So I give it the exact reaction my character would give to that sort of behavior. I mean okay a lot of my characters are teddy bears. So they'd probably be really sweet about the crazy egotist in the corner having a nervous breakdown. But the point is I would treat their entire post like a self-delusion. Just this really kind of sad thing that the other character was saying to make themselves seem better than they actually are.

It's a little mean maybe. But I also think it's a good way to show the players how these characters can be an asset and also a hinderance. If you let your Mary Sue be a flawed insecure character projecting greatness in an effort to hide their inadequacies they're really nuanced and fun to play.

And if your only roleplaying so people tell you how great you are well you should see how selfish that is.

 

[salty_ moustachio]

And if your only roleplaying so people tell you how great you are well you should see how selfish that is.

The thing that peeves me the most about Mary Sues is the roleplayers inability to separate themselves from their characters. They get cut up IRL about the way their precious character is treated in the roleplay as if it was actually happening to them and not a character they play who is not them in any way or form... and that's not healthy.

 

[Many Weapons Guy]

Such as outmatching them with a character of your own that is always even more splendid until you can practically hear their frustration trying to nab the spotlight, applying real world logic onto them relentlessly, putting their characters through a therapy session to delve deeper into their two dimensional minds ...

Oh man, I did this once... uh, not really directly. I just got bothered quite a lot when this person has an immortal character that is practically a god, whose power and duty is to move the sun and moon to keep the cycle of day and night going. Said character is also worshipped as a god by the locals.
So, I just simply asked for her feedbacks about my full list of power... oh man, was it so glorious to see her annoyed attitude "Realistically, no-one can stand a chance against your character. No-one."
What's even better is that she tried to lecture me about my magic not put in the category. She said something like "blood and bone magic is not necromancy, look it up".
Fun times, fellas.

 

[rae2nerdy]

The thing that peeves me the most about Mary Sues is the roleplayers inability to separate themselves from their characters. They get cut up IRL about the way their precious character is treated in the roleplay as if it was actually happening to them and not a character they play who is not them in any way or form... and that's not healthy.

Well I mean I do self-inserts all the time. Because sometimes I just don't have the energy to make a character so I just plop myself into the action and away we go. But I'm experienced enough to know that my character, despite being a self-insert, is not actually MYSELF. Whatever happens to them is not real. It's a story I'm making up with the help of other people.

And also I don't use my characters as a way to handle my own insecurities. That's the crux of a Mary Sue. The writer is very insecure about some/all aspects of themselves as a real person. So they create this over the top perfect character so they can be treated the way they want to be treated in real life.

However you can't force people to like you / respect you / think your awesome. You have to actually do something that is worthy of respect / admiration / or just makes people want to hang with you. And a Mary Sue doesn't do that. It is an inherently selfish fantasy because it basically boils down to - You will like me because I SAY SO.

And that's not how friendship or human relationships work. No one is obligated to like you / your character.

 

[Muszka]

There is a distinct difference between inserting certain traits of yourself into a character in order to feel more of a personal touch to, then making a polished version of yourself via your character. As new roleplayers tend to fall into this mistake, I am lenient with them and would work with their Mary Sues while constantly work with them in order to balance it, so it would feel more of a realistic character than an insufferable idealisation.
I do, however, have zero tolerance to supposedly advanced roleplayers, who would proudly declare their characters are "based on them". Recently I encountered one who reminded me just how much I despise roleplaying with them. I might be generalising, but - from my experience - this kind does lean towards godmodding and creating unnecessary dramas, and I usually tend to just ditch this kind of people.

 

[MikaboshiEinst]

Okay so you have a roleplay. And you have a bunch of players. And then one player turns around and makes a character that completely breaks the world. You tell them their character won't work. So they make a new character. "Hey that seems pretty okay." You think and approve it. And then the player turns their character into a complete mary sue who can do no wrong no matter how terrible their actions are.

How do you deal with this?

Usually the proper response is ignoring the sue...other than that, notify them that they are not the center of the universe and that we dont care if your character does deux ex machina... Just play your role...

80% of the time they would quit due to "being to busy recently" (be warned though since they would probably be shitposting any future rp you would join...)

 

[kevintheradioguy]

I don't mind at all. I just treat them like I would treat any other player/character. And my NPCs will have a realistic reaction on them, as a normal person would.

I had my fair share of those, and they are cured pretty quickly, as my worlds tend to have no time for bullshit, nd games kinda brutally real. Sues whether die quickly, or are forced into normal RPing.

 

[Mythee]

Ashfeather's methods resemble my own. I make the most out of a sue by toying with 'em by tossing their own style of rp right back at them for funsies. xD They tend to drop the ball though because they get frustrated by the imitation of their plausible-deniability-verge-of-godmoding that I throw back. Wish that they would keep on playing, practice makes perfect after all. Everyone was a noob once.

 

[Many Weapons Guy]

Ashfeather's methods resemble my own. I make the most out of a sue by toying with 'em by tossing their own style of rp right back at them for funsies. xD They tend to drop the ball though because they get frustrated by the imitation of their plausible-deniability-verge-of-godmoding that I throw back. Wish that they would keep on playing, practice makes perfect after all. Everyone was a noob once.

Sometimes you only need to calmly and politely ask for their feedbacks on your supposedly-also-OP-af char... and based on my past experience, the harder they snap at you out of frustration, the more glorious you feel for making them feel embarrassed of themselves, haha.

 

[Mythee]

Sometimes you only need to calmly and politely ask for their feedbacks on your supposedly-also-OP-af char... and based on my past experience, the harder they snap at you out of frustration, the more glorious you feel for making them feel embarrassed of themselves, haha.

Awww xD Prompting self-reflection is good, but I wouldn't want them to get that worked up. It does sound really amusing to have someone recite a critique they should really point at themselves, but at the point at which you're talking about the writing directly anyway, I'd prefer to just give tips and pointers.

How many times was the word point used in this post :V

 

[Many Weapons Guy]

Awww xD Prompting self-reflection is good, but I wouldn't want them to get that worked up. It does sound really amusing to have someone recite a critique they should really point at themselves, but at the point at which you're talking about the writing directly anyway, I'd prefer to just give tips and pointers.

How many times was the word point used in this post :V

2, if you don't count the question at the end, lol.
Also, it's not really about the writing, but more like when you get pretty worked up yourself from the mere sight of them listing out their superpowers like they wanna put it on an anime wiki.

 

[BackSet]

Usually the proper response is ignoring the sue...other than that, notify them that they are not the center of the universe and that we dont care if your character does deux ex machina... Just play your role...

80% of the time they would quit due to "being to busy recently" (be warned though since they would probably be shitposting any future rp you would join...)

If they try to ****post my rp I just block them. They won't be able to bother me if I can't see or hear them.

 

[MikaboshiEinst]

If they try to ****post my rp I just block them. They won't be able to bother me if I can't see or hear them.

Would work if its just the sue but some people are very vindictive or as they describe themselves as "sassy bitch" ...

They would most likely organize they're white knights to troll you as well..

(based on true experience)

 

[BackSet]

Would work if its just the sue but some people are very vindictive or as they describe themselves as "sassy bitch" ...

They would most likely organize they're white knights to troll you as well..

(based on true experience)

White Knights?

 

[FlyingDemon]

I gently remind them that their characters are outside the context of RP, I do not like perfection at all, a character too perfect is boring, annoying... and often attracted to another character, while there is no chemistry between the two characters, and the "fan-character" wasn't in the serie from the start.

i am usually polite, but in reality, i'm just like.. "wtf is this?".

or just tell the person that a good work on their characters, and a possibility for working a lot on their bios whould be nice, tired of orphans clichés néon hair orphaned demon thing..

 

[Sleek]

depends, honestly. Some of them are more of a hassle to deal with/or are favored by local admins.

If they can be managed on a small scale, usually applying realism and/or calling them out works decently

Otherwise, I just drop out.

 

[Gilzar]

Whenever I have to deal with the quintessential perfect character I have a bit of a process. First, I'll give them a warning either by PM or in the OCC (Depending on how the group atmosphere is). In this warning I explain that while I understand they want their character(s) to reach their highest potential, the way they're doing it isn't fair and they need to humanize the character. Most of the time this is all you need to say.

Second time I'll do a PM (regardless of the situation) and will flat out tell them they need to stop god-modding or whatever you want to call it, or I'll have to take action and get rid of them. Honestly it's just not worth the stress.

Third time, just give them the boot. Either they're not willing to cooperate or just need to get more experience elsewhere.

 

[Gamerpurgatory]

I’m not gonna lie, I’ve had a few god-like characters. But this was only in 1 on 1 rps and I’ve tried balancing them by giving them this very disfunctional friendship (I usually rp as multiple characters for rps). The angel was an arrogant asshole, the demon had sever anger issues, and the reaper was just an emo bitch. I’ve never had complaints about them (for all I know they were probably just being nice) but I’ve tried to at least give them flawed personalities to their overpowered god-like powers. You think that’s still a bad thing or at least a fair attempt to balance them out (even if it’s not the best way to go about it)

 

[rae2nerdy]

I’m not gonna lie, I’ve had a few god-like characters. But this was only in 1 on 1 rps and I’ve tried balancing them by giving them this very disfunctional friendship (I usually rp as multiple characters for rps). The angel was an arrogant asshole, the demon had sever anger issues, and the reaper was just an emo bitch. I’ve never had complaints about them (for all I know they were probably just being nice) but I’ve tried to at least give them flawed personalities to their overpowered god-like powers. You think that’s still a bad thing or at least a fair attempt to balance them out (even if it’s not the best way to go about it)

So the key to making a Mary Sue into a tolerable character is very simple.

Let them fail. Let them be flawed. And most importantly don’t dictate to other people how they should be treated.

Ex. If your angel is an Asshole than let other characters shun him. Let them treat him like he’s defective because that’s not how angels are “supposed” to act. More over let him have believable short comings to his power. Especially if he has an antisocial personality because otherwise there is nothing to stop him from hurting other people with his godlike power. Which leads into the last point,

Never make another character that forces your partner to react to them a certain way. Whether that’s by you pitching a fit when they don’t react the way you want OR becaus the character is so powerful that realistically they can control other characters thru intimidation of just whatever their powers are.

It’s not fun having your character trapped at the whims of your partners ego

———-

So in your case the personality flaws are a start but they have to be utilized in such a way as they actually limit your character realistically. Like just being asshole isn’t enough. There has to be actual consequences for that behavior.

People have to punish your character in some ways for these flaws, whether that’s by calling them out on being an ass OR just refusing to put up with them until they change.


As for unlimited power it depends on the roleplay. If everyone is an angel or a demon than your character isn’t special and the only difference is their personality. At which point they aren’t really overpowered just an ass.

If the other characters are without powers than you nether nerf your angel somehow. Because being an asshole of having anger problems isn’t going to prevent your character from vaporizing other people. If anything it will make them more likely to do just that

 

[Gamerpurgatory]

So the key to making a Mary Sue into a tolerable character is very simple.

Let them fail. Let them be flawed. And most importantly don’t dictate to other people how they should be treated.

Ex. If your angel is an Asshole than let other characters shun him. Let them treat him like he’s defective because that’s not how angels are “supposed” to act. More over let him have believable short comings to his power. Especially if he has an antisocial personality because otherwise there is nothing to stop him from hurting other people with his godlike power. Which leads into the last point,

Never make another character that forces your partner to react to them a certain way. Whether that’s by you pitching a fit when they don’t react the way you want OR becaus the character is so powerful that realistically they can control other characters thru intimidation of just whatever their powers are.

It’s not fun having your character trapped at the whims of your partners ego

———-

So in your case the personality flaws are a start but they have to be utilized in such a way as they actually limit your character realistically. Like just being asshole isn’t enough. There has to be actual consequences for that behavior.

People have to punish your character in some ways for these flaws, whether that’s by calling them out on being an ass OR just refusing to put up with them until they change.


As for unlimited power it depends on the roleplay. If everyone is an angel or a demon than your character isn’t special and the only difference is their personality. At which point they aren’t really overpowered just an ass.

If the other characters are without powers than you nether nerf your angel somehow. Because being an asshole of having anger problems isn’t going to prevent your character from vaporizing other people. If anything it will make them more likely to do just that

Like I said, I didn’t use them for group rps just 1 on 1. Also I did give the angel a consequence (that being god banished him from heaven until he gets his shit together and learns humility, cause even god can point out an asshole). Hes also not as much of an overpowered oc as to be able to vaporize people, he’s just immortal (cause you know, angel) and can control ice (same level as the guy in my hero academia with the fire and ice, I suck at names). He’s also not that much of an asshole to just go and kill people, he’s just arrogant and thinks he’s better than everyone (as kind of a stab at the die hard Mary Sues). And I simply have them all like that too cause I use them like the three stooges in my rps, as in the just beat each other up nonstop. And the reaper was also a major alcoholic as well cause I made it so his life was pretty much shit cause he was human/reaper so the reaper part kinda fucked him over a lot (meaning every living thing, NPC, tries to avoid him as much as possible). And don’t worry I’m not a type of person to act like my oc is actually me and try changing everything to how I want it, I just have them like that cause I just find it fun. Though I have met people like that to where they take everything personally, and they fuckin annoy me. I’ll admit that if you insult an oc I made I’ll get a bit upset, but the worse you’ll get out of me is “well fuck you too”.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Like I said, I didn’t use them for group rps just 1 on 1. Also I did give the angel a consequence (that being god banished him from heaven until he gets his shit together and learns humility, cause even god can point out an asshole). Hes also not as much of an overpowered oc as to be able to vaporize people, he’s just immortal (cause you know, angel) and can control ice (same level as the guy in my hero academia with the fire and ice, I suck at names). He’s also not that much of an asshole to just go and kill people, he’s just arrogant and thinks he’s better than everyone (as kind of a stab at the die hard Mary Sues). And I simply have them all like that too cause I use them like the three stooges in my rps, as in the just beat each other up nonstop. And the reaper was also a major alcoholic as well cause I made it so his life was pretty much shit cause he was human/reaper so the reaper part kinda fucked him over a lot (meaning every living thing, NPC, tries to avoid him as much as possible). And don’t worry I’m not a type of person to act like my oc is actually me and try changing everything to how I want it, I just have them like that cause I just find it fun. Though I have met people like that to where they take everything personally, and they fuckin annoy me. I’ll admit that if you insult an oc I made I’ll get a bit upset, but the worse you’ll get out of me is “well fuck you too”.

Lol I wasn’t calling you out I was talking about how you make a powerful character who isn’t Over powered or a Mary Sue.

These are tips that differentiate your bog standard asshole or powerful character from someone who is a problem.

Basically the thing to remember is that a character must be on equal footing to everyone else. Their internal monologue doesn’t matter. What matters is how you their creator treats everyone else.

An overpowered character is a problem when their creator doesn’t allow them to fail. Either by being ignored, beaten, or treated like the arrogant asshat that they are.

Because it’s frustrating when a roleplay is only about one persons whims. If you are letting you partners character shine or stand on equal footing to yours than you haven’t made an Mary Sue.

If however your character is the sole focus of the roleplay and you are not letting your partner make their own character be important in some way than congrats your an ass and you made a Mary Sue

 

[SandraDeelightful]

I tend to deal with Mary Sues by trying to get under their skin. Two things tend to get under the skin of a Mary Sue. The first one is being ignored. Mary Sue's love to be the center of attention, I don't give them any. The second is being disliked. I make it obvious that my character dislikes Mary Sue.

 

[Truthblade]

I would first try to make sure they understand why I have a problem with their character. Don't aim to be perfect, and don't aim to be unbeatable. Cut these to issues and the problem is almost resolved instantly. Whenever I see a Mary Sue, its either because the player is inexperienced, or they have an ego that would make Gilgamesh blink. If it is the former, I will walk them through on how to fix their character. If its the latter, I would just give em the boot.