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Mary Sue- Not sure I understand
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<blockquote data-quote="rounser" data-source="post: 4847708" data-attributes="member: 1106"><p>Ed can come across as a bit pervy at times*, and Elminster is cast as a meddling deus ex machina DMPC, and narrator. But I don't think all DMPCs are power trips for the DM. Elminster often shows up in a way that keeps the story going (e.g. heal the PCs, distract the King, give them a lead), much as this is frowned upon.</p><p></p><p>I think the fact that FR is presented as Elminster telling "Ed of the Greenwood" <em>about</em> the Realms leaves it pretty explicit that Ed sees him as a character seperate to himself. The pervy stuff seeps into FR when Ed is involved, so it is no surprise that Elminster has had some of that written into him. And Ed loves his archmages, and it's obvious that Elminster is something of a Gandalf clone...</p><p></p><p>So...</p><p></p><p>Pervy? Check. Has a deity for a lover.</p><p>Powerful? Check. Archmage, Gandalf clone.</p><p>Deus ex machina? Check. DMPC, again related to being a Gandalf clone.</p><p>Narrator? Check, but lost this role to Volo to an extent.</p><p></p><p>Proxy for the author? </p><p></p><p>Possible but debatable, given that the 4th wall is explicitly broken in a way that suggests that this is not the case (i.e. he is written as <em>hanging out</em> with the author. On Earth. Why bother having El have somewhat alien tastes that don't match Ed's unless he was imagining him as a character seperate to himself?).</p><p></p><p>And he's not a fanfic. Remember that Elminster's <strong>original</strong> published role outside of short stories and Ed's campaign was as this character who talked about a bunch of magic books in Dragon magazine. So he's the FR narrator. But he's far from top dog in pre-spellnonsense FR.</p><p></p><p>Which raises the question: Is <em>Gandalf</em> a Mary-Sue?</p><p></p><p>*: Not sure if this is Ed's "fault", but rather a reflection that a fully realised fantasy world might have more sex references in it than people would be comfortable having in their games. Still, don't have to dwell on it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="rounser, post: 4847708, member: 1106"] Ed can come across as a bit pervy at times*, and Elminster is cast as a meddling deus ex machina DMPC, and narrator. But I don't think all DMPCs are power trips for the DM. Elminster often shows up in a way that keeps the story going (e.g. heal the PCs, distract the King, give them a lead), much as this is frowned upon. I think the fact that FR is presented as Elminster telling "Ed of the Greenwood" [i]about[/i] the Realms leaves it pretty explicit that Ed sees him as a character seperate to himself. The pervy stuff seeps into FR when Ed is involved, so it is no surprise that Elminster has had some of that written into him. And Ed loves his archmages, and it's obvious that Elminster is something of a Gandalf clone... So... Pervy? Check. Has a deity for a lover. Powerful? Check. Archmage, Gandalf clone. Deus ex machina? Check. DMPC, again related to being a Gandalf clone. Narrator? Check, but lost this role to Volo to an extent. Proxy for the author? Possible but debatable, given that the 4th wall is explicitly broken in a way that suggests that this is not the case (i.e. he is written as [i]hanging out[/i] with the author. On Earth. Why bother having El have somewhat alien tastes that don't match Ed's unless he was imagining him as a character seperate to himself?). And he's not a fanfic. Remember that Elminster's [b]original[/b] published role outside of short stories and Ed's campaign was as this character who talked about a bunch of magic books in Dragon magazine. So he's the FR narrator. But he's far from top dog in pre-spellnonsense FR. Which raises the question: Is [i]Gandalf[/i] a Mary-Sue? *: Not sure if this is Ed's "fault", but rather a reflection that a fully realised fantasy world might have more sex references in it than people would be comfortable having in their games. Still, don't have to dwell on it. [/QUOTE]
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