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Talk to the player about why they are playing this character this way Does the player have a larger purpose? What's the point? Is there a story they are trying to tell. Try to understand what's going on in her head about why she's approaching this character in this way. She knows a lot about Victorian Europe, perhaps this is a typical archtype for this ...

First ensure group buy-in. If anyone in the real-life group is unhappy about this, ditch the idea. Talk it out and see if there's something they're worried about that you can reassure them on, but this isn't worth a real-life schism. Make sure you're in the right game. D&D would have a hard time supporting this without eventually shafting someone. ...

Is this really a problem? Mary Sues in fictions, especially fan fiction, are annoying partially because the world warps to suit them, in an RPG that will not happen (or at least not in the same way) becuase the other players and the GM provide elements that are out of the hands the person running "Mary Sue". Mary Sues also tend to be too perfect in ways ...

Borrow from the story of Walter White wikipedia Might I suggest watching the AMC TV series Breaking Bad? wikipedia It is the story of the transformation of a low-key high school chemistry teacher into a drug lord. American author and essayist Chuck Klosterman said that Breaking Bad is "built on the uncomfortable premise that there's an irrefutable ...

Absolutely talk to her out-of-character before doing anything in-character There may be in-character things you do want to do with this character to make her more interesting, but you need to talk to the player first, to explain your position, offer her the chance to counterargue the point, and let her know that you’re not just ganging up on her, the ...

Your low-Dexterity character is a klutz. You'll want to demonstrate this in minor ways at first, to let your party get used to the idea. Describe how your character is admiring apples at the fruit cart in the town market... and then drops one into the street, where it gets crushed under the wheel of a passing merchant's wheelbarrow. The fruitseller, ...

Tragic heroes can become villains when they decide the ends justify the means. As their willingness to do "whatever it takes" to achieve what they consider to be righteous goals grows, "whatever it takes" tends to become more and more terrible. As with blackmail, these things start small and snowball: once you've lied to the king about how his lost son died ...

Is it a significant problem if the character is dis-interesting bordering on annoying? Perfection (by any definition) is woefully hard to find in real life. So are dragons and lightning bolts used offensively. There is no particular reason why stories are less interesting with Mary Sue characters than without. Sure, it causes the story to lose one type ...

This Is Not A Problem Mary Sues are a problem in other media because the plot bends unrealistically to how great they are. They are a problem in gaming mainly when a GM brings in a Mary Sue NPC/GMPC and bends the world to fit their "coolness" at the expense of the rules and/or story as well. A player in a trad game, however, who lacks narrative control ...

Character development in Traveller has never really existed. You play, and the playing is the thing to enjoy whether it's a one-shot or a long-term campaign. You might develop contacts and resources, but you equally might not – character development simply isn't the point of playing. Your character is your means of exploring (or exploiting) the universe. ...

This question has two different answers based on whether or not the other players are aware (out of character) of the betrayal (or the potential for such). If they are aware and/or are explicitly okay with betrayal by party members, then I can't think of anything special you really need to do. Put your ducks in a row and work towards both goals (the party's ...

The obvious answers: the klutz - think Kramer from Seinfeld constantly slipping, knocking things over, ets the hulk - Think Fezzig in Princess Bride.not so much uncoordinated as just not aware of just how big he is (Andre did a great job) the fumble-finger drops-a-lot - Half of Jerry Lewis' characters.Anything he needs to hang onto is dropped. Anything he ...

There recently was a very good comic, Irredeemable that followed this story line (along with a transformation in the other direction, Incorruptible). I'd recommend that one- it has a pretty good twist for a Paragon-Type hero becoming the most despicable of villains. Aside from that example, I'm actually taking a character through this currently- the hook ...

Characters improve by training in a particular skill. Mongoose Traveller Core Rulebook, Page 59: LEARNING NEW SKILLS The more skills a character possesses, the longer it takes him to learn a new skill. A character’s Skill Total is calculated by summing the levels of each skill (level zero skills count as zero). A character with Mechanic 1 and ...

I'm a newbie to this site, so I hope my answer isn't too shallow... ;) You could suggest to the player, OOC, that she add in some sort of a twisted past, one which she has been trying to conceal. Example, when she was six, her eight year old brother was taken to the asylum, where he lived in nasty conditions and died four years later. Now the character ...

Start with the seven deadly sins, my favorite being pride. Pride is a wonderful one, because you can have great heroes who start out selfless saviors who corrupt themselves. The praise. The rewards. The reputation. Consider Shakespeare - such as Macbeth. Life was pretty good for MB at the beginning. Loved and praised by the king and his men. Victorious in ...

A hero that has to make an impossible choice can easily become a villain, as far as someone else is concerned. For example, from a real game I played a few weeks ago, the idealistic Leonardo da Vinci brutally murdered the Pope to prevent the Spanish from gaining control of newly-unearthed Atlantean technology on the Canary Islands and using it to rule over ...

If your world is divided into a pretty objective good and evil and the hero becomes a villain by moving from good to evil then this is more difficult, because it's a big (and therefore improbable) change in personality. So it's pretty tough not to make it seem contrived, and not to completely repeat a cliche. If the people in your world are like people in ...

There are a few ways to do this, the easiest one I found, after a quick look through my character builder, was the Saving Inspiration feat, In Martial Powers; you can forgo your extra dice of healing on Inspiring Word to instead grant the target a save. I would choose this one, because it gives you the ability to hand out two saves an encounter (more at ...

A low dex character is maladroit. There are a number of directions one could take this, depending on the player's preference for spotlight. If you want attention to be drawn, then a low dex character is unconsciously clumsy, causing situations due to his clumsiness, but acting more as a catalyst than a participant. The directions for development are ...

It depends on the hero and how he/she is set up before the first step onto that slippery slope, as to what kind of a "hook" you will need to drag them through the muck and the mire, or if you even need a hook at all. If you look at the original tragic hero, Oedipus, then he was destined from birth to do the things that he did, and everything that happened ...

Can you bend the "script" a bit to include her perfection as part of the adventure? I.e., obscure cult takes an interest in her, either as a sacrifice or as a possible reincarnation vessel for some important figure from the past, because she fits the Sacred Texts description to a T. Depending on your moods, and the reactions from your players (including ...

The most consistent "here, have a save" for any leader is the "Mark of Healing" feat. Shake it off and Inspiring war cry are acceptable alternatives as well. You may also want the feat Courageous Example. While a little situational, it's good for enemy controllers spamming effects on the party: Whenever you succeed on a saving throw to end an effect, the ...