How to cheer up a sad player

A random passer-by offering free hugs. Act them out IRL.

As long as he's in her heart, he's never gone!

Also huge exp awards for happy thoughts.

Also therapy.

>>53628531
A wizard offers to fix her up permanently after she fucks up because of it.

>>53628531
Get her character hooked on your world's equivalent of smack, then just increase the difficulty for scores while increasing the negative modifiers exponentially. After she's sucked every cock in town for a fix, desperation will have her selling that retarded skull for anything to climb out of the hole. She'll come to accept that her new daddy is a hot crack pipe. Problem solved.

>>53628531
offer her comprehension and understanding. Don't push her to change mood but be there and gradually help

I know my shit, my most successful character was a self-loathing undead who just wanted to die

>>53628531
The skull, being the object representing the character's parent figure, cracking seems like an important turning point in her life, and a step towards adult and maturity, sort of a "coming of age" event. Eventually, whether the character wants to or not, they will be force to move on from their childhood, and while this is an unpleasant process, it is one that must be done, and one that they eventually MUST move on from. This can be used wonderfully as a storytelling device for growth and positive character development. If the character respects their dead teacher, there's no reason she should stop respecting him, but clinging so much to it like a symbolic security blanket is a mark of childhood, and the character has great potential for growth.

File: dai gurren flag.gif (90KB, 300x168px) Image search: [Google]

90KB, 300x168px

>>53628651
And on her back, too!

>>53628531
It sounds like your player needs some therapy to be honest. Are they like this irl?

Sounds like your player is depressed and it's influencing the kind of characters he makes.

>>53628531
This >>53630842 >>53630924 and also this >>53629214

And also. It looks like he/she needs a friend. If she does this on every character she has made then she might me screaming for someone to look at her and hug her or something. Have an npc (a friendly bard maybe) tell her friendly that if she wore the mask in combat it was obvious that at some point someone was gonna hit her in the head and break the skull.

Is something you should have thought before using it as a helm. Next time wear a wooden mask painted in white and keep your mentors skull in a safe place at home

Have friendly solutions for her. And this time make her realize that no matter how hard she tries. She wont fall into darkness this time cus she has this happy bard dude that will always be there to cheer her up. And for the love of god. Dont ever kill him. If he gets hurt he tells her -use that grieve. Turn it into anger and save me before i die! - or something like that maker become strong through her weakness

>>53628531
The problem is with the player.

She has depressive tendencies, and you must use the ingame, and the outgame both to suppress them. I see it in this unability she has to just -let go- .

First of all, it's very important you try to HELP, not, blame. It's not her fault. Second of all, success and gratitufe from NPCs can go a long way. Most of all try to show that they understand her and that her efforts to pull through and fix problems despite that depressive streak are not unappreciated.

Be especially sure to have NPCs who are seen as friends, act out initiative on their own, to give her favour, advice or gifts. You do just like any IRL mental illness: you create a sort of "safe space" in which she is allowed to grow out of it freely. The party should be that safe space, where she isn't afraid to be herself without judgement and letdowns, but she also needs to see the outcome of her efforts on the "canon" world outside of it. Try and keep the world a little more lighthearted whenever they right a wrong. NPCs that are dedicated to see her as a friend and care about her issues can be a boon.

Once that's managed, she might look forward to it as a time where to either forget her sadness and take some positive energy, or act out her woes to feel better later.

Source: I was born with such tendencies and I've been diagnosed with the full-blown deal many years ago already (I learned to live with it and I have a life and I'm FINE don't ask). What hurts most is the reaction (or lact thereof) of people around a depressive sufferer. People are very, very unmotivated to understand you, they prefer a quick dismissal of your presence, and like to blame you for their uncaringness. I'm not gonna start a debate, but if you care for her as you say, you got to be 100% motivated to help, yourself. It's not hard to do if you make sure to convince yourself her problem is real and she's already doing all she can (why wouldn't she). Remember: it's more awkward for her.

>>53631136
Second this one. Or maybe a pet? Give the character some sort of support network. Maybe also the player

File: 1455910329779.jpg (44KB, 480x270px) Image search: [Google]

44KB, 480x270px

>>53629020

>>53630842
>>53630924
Even if they did, the odds of anyone either on /tg/ or in the game group being a therapist are virtually nil. The best they can do is to help the player out through games of imagination and pretend.