Writing Does/Has anyone done this?: Character strength relative to the gear they're using

[Aiyoki]

I've got far too many ideas to put down all at once but I often think about those "Critical moments" when a character goes into a mode that can only be described as unexpectedly surprising or OP.

One such idea I have comes when one of the characters in the MC's party falls to a villain. This moment is so impactful for one of the supporting characters in the party that she literally loses her sh*t and surprises even the MC when she barrels forward with blinding speed to smash her weapon (We'll just say it's a halberd) into the antagonist. The sheer force of her attack not only critically injures and sends the villain careening into the sky but also shatters the weapon she's been using since the beginning of the story. She then proceeds to abandon the weapon and continue to ruthlessly beat the villain to death.

The moment is littered with emotions and surprise from all when they realize a very startling truth about their most docile party member:

She's not an elf but a Cataclysm class demon and has effectively been lying to the MC about herself the entire time.

Really though the question I'm curious about is if anyone has written moments like this where a character's strength ends up being more than their own gear can handle?

 

[CharlesEBrown]

I have in the past but not for anything I've written recently.

 

[Nym]

I’ve seen that happen on a side character in a manga I can’t remember the name of, and characters who’s body is tougher than armor is semi common

 

[Biggest-Kusa-Out-There]

Most fantasy stories are inspired by RPG's, and in those the player character gets more powerful the better the weapon or armor. Some RPG's even have it so that the player character has tremendous issues if they wear/use the wrong weapon/armor, like a DnD barbarian wearing full plate, for example, as they'd lose the capacity to rage.
This method is used in almost every fantasy videogame/media we interact with, so it's not so difficult to also use it in stories, since equipment is largely linked to progression as well.

I don't really go for that, since weapons are force multipliers more than anything, they give pitifully low stat gains, but may grant other benefits like spending less mana to cast spells, or add effects if the items are of high enough quality

 

[melchi]

It sounds like Deus Ex Machina... We see similar things all the time.

Though breaking weapons is normal. It just doesn't happen a lot in stories because reasons...

 

[Elmir_Arch-Ham_of_Omega]

Huh, talk about timing. Just right now in the latest chapter of my current novel, there was some back and forth between the Isekai team on whether or not the cleric should use this charm that lets her summon a simulacrum that does "monk techniques." The MC, who fights unarmed, decides to register the moves list for her. The artificer character then says "it scales to the current wearer so it won't hit as hard as you do, but it'll hit as hard as the cleric if she kicked at full adrenaline level strength (i.e. enough to shatter her own bones.)"

 

[John_Owl]

uh... kinda...? Like, my MC didn't break his sword, but it is just a plain spring steel arming sword. not really intended to handle the level of power that would come with a full-strength blessing of the goddess of dragons (I.e. MC is human, but grew golden wings and claws made of light). So I can only imagine that if he HAD kept hold of it, it likely would've burned from the sheer amount of power flowing through him at the moment.

It sounds like Deus Ex Machina... We see similar things all the time.

Though breaking weapons is normal. It just doesn't happen a lot in stories because reasons...

Because the author would have to either A, skip the rearming sequence (basically: "They went to town and bought a new weapon"), B, slow down/side track the story with a rearming sequence, or C, other, such as finding a convenient new weapon, explain why the character suddenly doesn't need one, etc etc. basically a moment that cheapens the overall impact. "Why would it matter if she broke her sword if there was another one laying right there?"

 

[NotaNuffian]

Seen that a lot of times in CN.

And it had been foreshadowed beforehand, with MC saying "oh shit, my body is stronger than my weapon."

Then true to his words, his next powerful opponent will cause him to shatter his sword/ saber/ spear/ axe/ halberd/ cudgel/ staff in midst of fight and MC just lets his hands/ fists/ palms do the talking, with leg sweeps and kicks during intermittent.

 

[corruption]

One thing I've seen in mangas is a character using a sword and it breaks very soon afterwards. Not during the actual fight ow impact, but afterwards.
I have thought of a way to justify this: in some Asian cultures there is a belief that a person can channel their spiritual energy through a weapon to make it more powerful. However a weapon that is inferior may not be able to handle the power flowing through it and get destroyed easily. This includes when the spiritual energy flowing through it stops at the end of the fight.
Oh, it is also believed that Katanas were designed to help channel the flow of spiritual energy, which is why they are considered so powerful in manga.

Another way to do this is the gear a person has is attuned to them, but the person changes over time, so it causes problems with the gear.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

One thing I've seen in mangas is a character using a sword and it breaks very soon afterwards. Not during the actual fight ow impact, but afterwards.
I have thought of a way to justify this: in some Asian cultures there is a belief that a person can channel their spiritual energy through a weapon to make it more powerful. However a weapon that is inferior may not be able to handle the power flowing through it and get destroyed easily. This includes when the spiritual energy flowing through it stops at the end of the fight.
Oh, it is also believed that Katanas were designed to help channel the flow of spiritual energy, which is why they are considered so powerful in manga.

Another way to do this is the gear a person has is attuned to them, but the person changes over time, so it causes problems with the gear.

I recall seeing two that pulled variations of this (one is Bleach with one of the early minor antagonists) - Don't recall the title, but the character has a sword that keeps taking more and more damage during the fight but the character uses his (I think, may have been a her) "inner strength" to keep it together until the fight is over, and then the sword just collapses into dust.

 

[itsNisch]

Funny question, in my novel it's quite the opposite.

There is a very popular type of weapon which is very strong.
So strong in fact that it can't break, however, its users can (yes, they literally fall apart) if they overuse it.
Even the strongest ones.

There are only a few exceptions to this.

There is also an instance in my novel where the MC accidentally cracks his weapon, but only due to him not using it properly.

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All in all, I like the idea in your novel which you described and think it's a very good way to:
1) Show the intensity of the emotional impact;
2) Reveal the true strength/ identity/ capability of your character;
3) Create room for further improvement and be the reason to upgrade to a stronger weapon (if that's what you plan on them doing).