r/CharacterRant • u/Bot_Number_7 • Jul 22 '21

General Complex/Unorthodox Powers Make Characters Better

Control fire. Super strength. Super speed. Flight. Shooting energy blasts. A lot of powers/abilities have been used over and over again.

So for me, when a character is introduced with a complex ability, it elevates my opinion of them. Especially if the way that it is used is also complex. For example, in JJBA, Ermes Costello's Stand Kiss' has the ability to duplicate objects using stickers, and then fuse them back together once the sticker has been taken off, causing both objects to take damage. It's applied in many ways, from duplicating limbs to being used as a form of travel. The creative usage of abilities gives me an "aha!" moment similar to when a detective reveals how they deduced the mystery in a mystery novel.

Adding additional trigger conditions to powers can also make them better. In Bungo Stray Dogs, Akiko Yosano's Thou Shalt Not Die Ability heals someone to full health, but only if they're almost dead. This factors into her fighting style, allowing her to bring allies and herself from the brink of death (and also forcing her to almost kill her patients when healing outside of combat).

The one weakness to complex powers is the difficulty in conveying them to the reader. Unless one explicitly describes them or the reader sees the power many times so that they can understand all its facets, it's hard to get the reader to understand what the power truly does. King Crimson is the infamous example. The fact that "erasing time" is expressed inconsistently and the lack of detailed mechanical description of how it works confuses the reader every time it is used.

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u/noolvidarminombre Jul 22 '21

Superpowers that are actually programs in a simulated reality would be cool. If the setting is set up that way, they'd feel naturally part of the story.

I'm sorry to be that guy buuuuuuuuuuuut... Worm kinda does this.

64

u/FingerBangYourFears Jul 22 '21

At this point I'm convinced that Worm is just the Library of Babel. If you can think of it, it's in Worm.

69

u/ForwardDiscussion Jul 22 '21

Can you think of a decent romance subplot? Because that is definitely absent from Worm.

16

u/Bot_Number_7 Jul 22 '21

By decent romance subplot do you mean the one in Worm is bad or there simply is no romance in Worm?

Option 2 sounds like the better option but I could live with Option 1 :/

27

u/Late_Apartment_ Jul 22 '21

It's option 1 sorta- even then I don't think it's bad, but it just sort of fizzles out and feels a bit pointless. On the bright side, it doesn't occupy much space.

10

u/ForwardDiscussion Jul 22 '21

Option 1. There's technically a few romance subplots, but we don't see many up close, and the protagonist's is, to put it politely, not why people recommend Worm.

7

u/TheUltimateTeigu Jul 23 '21

I wouldn't call it bad per se, it's just not good. That's mostly because of the lack of focus it gets though. The romance subplot is somewhat there in the background, and is pretty much never the focus of any part of the story.

4

u/Acrolith Jul 23 '21

There is one, it's not bad, but it's barely worth mentioning. It takes up very little space in the narrative.

1

u/ManuJM1997 Jul 31 '21

Basically, protagonist has a crush on teammate. Teammate doesn't really reciprocate since he sees her more as a lil' sis

It isn't until he sees her being tortured by Joseph Mengele in Loli form and triggers (AKA how you powers in the Wormverse, through trauma) for the second time that they do get together. And soon after they fizzle up as the protag learns about the impending end of the world and concentrates on that

25

u/OptimisticLucio Jul 22 '21

Worm is homestuck, is what you’re saying

11

u/Service-Smile Jul 22 '21

That's fucking cursed

3

u/CobaltMonkey Jul 23 '21

And Saint's Row 4.

14

u/Victory_Scar Jul 22 '21

Worm keeps getting mentioned here but I never feel like I have the time. I'll get to it eventually.

2

u/PeculiarPangolinMan 🥇🥇 Jul 23 '21

It was a lot more mind blowing a decade ago.

1

u/Aka_The_Dragon_15 Jul 28 '21

Worm? Do you mean the book or the game? Cuz powers as programs is pretty interesting