Ways to limit power escalation

[Ilikewaterkusa]

Power escalation. It’s the sudden and massive increase of power which makes your story shit. So let’s name some ways we can limit or avoid power escalation.

1. not have things be based around physical power but unique abilities

Example jojo

2. ideology overcompassing power and turning power

example a philosopher can realistically do more than a random body builder

 

[RepresentingCaution]

3. Make the power dependent on another resource such as mana.

 

[Vladarius]

Theoretically it would work, but unique abilities are the ones which do power escalation the most since they tend to have no basic ground rules to the power-system embedded into them. They tend to be more soft magic system instead of hard magic systems, and since soft magic systems are always the worst when it comes to power escalation then you can see where this is going.

ED. Power escalation is controlled by the pace of the story, so just make sure your pace is correct throughout the story and you will be fine.

 

[Fortunis]

The most efficient way to limit power scalation is making whatever power system you are using serve the story rather than having the story serve the power system. What do I mean by that? Don't make the focus of the story the power gain or the progression on said system. Focus your story on the growth of your characters as people, resolve their conflicts, and make whatever power they use just a tool to achieve what they need rather than the main focus of their journey.

At least that is what we think.

 

[CarburetorThompson]

Don’t fuck up like Dragon Ball or those other anime that introduced power levels. Once you have a power level 1000 character there is no way they can beat a power level 3000 character. It’s just how you’ve written the story. Everything becomes predictable and you can never be surprised and when you are surprised you feel cheated instead of excited.

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

3. Make the power dependent on another resource such as mana.

So like physical stuff like scrolls

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

4. Place a time limit on big overwhelming powers (a la, the seals placed on Ayato Amagiri in *The Asterisk War*) with consequences for exceeding those limits.

 

[AnonUnlimited]

Power scaling and power creep is hilarious. Man... reminds me of Bleach anime after soul society where the power scaling was a complete mess hahaha.

I'd say the best thing to do is place limits. When I was experimenting with the idea of giving one of my characters a teleportation power for instance, the limits of that power come into question. What's to stop the MC from teleporting into a castle and just killing the bad guy in their sleep? Then I made it so the MC could just transport a living being one way... then what's to stop suicidal bombers from sacrificing themselves to take out the bad guy?

Every power has a problem associated with limiting it. As much as I enjoyed watching Avatar

Spoiler: A specific type of bender

I always questioned why the blood benders didn't just kill people by exploding their hearts.

Lol, why didn't Goku in DBZ train

Spoiler: yeah yeah yeah

in 100x gravity before he met frieza?

 

[Ai-chan]

Make it temporary and comes at a great cost. Like how super sentai can use their weapons as much as they like, but when they combine their weapons, they can only use it once, so they have to use it when they're sure the enemy can't evolve any further.

Or how sailor solars can power themselves up using their planetary fortresses, but they can only use it once they have exhausted all terrestrial resources fighting on Earth. Technically, they each could devastate Earth, but they each limit their powers so that Earth doesn't get destroyed. Only at Point B Saggitarius was Sailormoon able to unleash her whole power.

 

[Dewux]

It's really simple. Restriction and covenant.

It's part of the basics when creating a grounded magic system.

This really helps, since even though in face value, the magic user is undeniably stronger, they will have more restrictions and covenants set upon their magic, hence making them more grounded.

While it usually depends on what magic system you have, those two concepts should be in your story.

Let's take Naruto for example (I don't know much about it so I'm sorry if I get it wrong). Their restriction is affinity with the elements and bloodline for Kekkai Genkai. And their covenant is that you need to perform the hand seals, consume chakra, and for Kekkai Genkai, certain conditions must be fulfilled like with the Sharingan. Naruto is a great example of power creeps/escalation, however the power escalation doesn't feel off putting until you really think about.

An example of how NOT to do it is literally (almost) every xianxia web novels out there. The whole cultivation genre/magic system is an amazing concept in itself, but it's ruined by the power escalation of literally ONE person (the protagonist).

 

[Armored99]

Just have patches that change the meta.

That could actually be an Idea for an Litrpg novel. People living in a world where every couple years it gets a re-balancing patch.

One thing you can do is just make people die/leave/disappear once they become to powerful. Cultivation novels like to have higher realms where once people get too powerful in one realm they ascend to another where they're much weaker.

Of course the best solution is just "Mo Money Mo Problems"

Characters need to grow and improve, but as they accrue more they should also suffer more. If you give the character an ability give them a problem as well, but don't give them a problem and then a freebie ability. Because if you do that to many times you're going to definitely get the power scaling problem.

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

Lol. A lot of people here are making mountain bush level references

 

[ScarletWeeb]

Power scaling and power creep is hilarious. Man... reminds me of Bleach anime after soul society where the power scaling was a complete mess hahaha.

I'd say the best thing to do is place limits. When I was experimenting with the idea of giving one of my characters a teleportation power for instance, the limits of that power come into question. What's to stop the MC from teleporting into a castle and just killing the bad guy in their sleep? Then I made it so the MC could just transport a living being one way... then what's to stop suicidal bombers from sacrificing themselves to take out the bad guy?

Every power has a problem associated with limiting it. As much as I enjoyed watching Avatar

Spoiler: A specific type of bender

I always questioned why the blood benders didn't just kill people by exploding their hearts.

Lol, why didn't Goku in DBZ train

Spoiler: yeah yeah yeah

in 100x gravity before he met frieza?

The story is still good, and actually make sense ig

 

[melchi]

Power resets are always nice too.

Know the old adage "easy come, easy go"?

Someone gets to god-like levels of power guess who is going to take notice? Someone else with god-like powers but the experience to use them.

A good example of this is generic dungeon system. The impossible tutorial is basically impossible, but cheat to win it and get the god-level rewards but the gods notice this and take appropriate actions.

 

[AnUnknownMan]

Shift focus.
A: I have power a, but need to also get the weaker power b,c,d... to advance further in power a
B: I have all the power I need, I now need to go do the thing
C: I need to seek enlightenment, not power
D: The next stage is to become a lovecraftian creature, study the aether for a few millennia, and/or become a planet

 

[TheEldritchGod]

The issue isn't power creep.
The issue is cool/logical power creep.

Take Hero X.
Hero X has Air powers.

Hero X encounters a problem. Gets his ass handed to him. Survives. Needs to figure a solution.
Lets say he was defeated with fire powers.

He could:
A) Go learn water powers.
B) He could figure out a creative way to use Air powers to defeat the fire powers.

Method A is "logical" but it is ultimately boring.
Method B might be Hero X learns that Air powers involve moving the air with a form of telekinesis where as Fire powers is the increasing of energy in the individual molecules. Using his ability to manipulate air, he figures out he not only can move air, but can make air go 'still'. In fact, he can make the air go so still that he can basically stop ALL movement. He can reduce air to 0 Kelvin. In effect, if air is in contact with something, he can 'freeze' the object. However, he still is limited to air, so he can only affect the surface that is in contact with air.

He can't affect things in a vacuum. He can't affect the inside of solid objects. He can't affect something underwater.

We have 'Power creep', but the creep is a logical extension of the power the hero already has, as well as includes limitations that the villain can then exploit.

The beginning after the end. It's a manga and... I just... love and hate it.

I'm okay with the story, but the problem is, the hero is the ultra-cool I got every element and I got the super powerful core and I have ultra power and... Okay. Sure. You did a good job developing the magic system, and all this crap.

Why the fuck hasn't the Hero just murdered everyone?

If I had his suite of powers and his knowledge from the previous world he was reincarnated from, day one, I'm making heavy water, day two, electrolysis, day three, NUKES.

I have Water, Air, Fire, Earth, Lightning, Animal Spirit Core, Blah Blah Blah...

Ultimately, I'm sitting there wondering, "Why haven't you just won? You had ANTI-GRAVITY in your previous world, for fuck's sake! " But We're not supposed to think about that.

The problem is, guy has to be the ultra cool guy with his large number of powers, but that's not heroic. But if he has one power that he can push to new limits, or he's sort of average, but he just has cool knowledge, that's more interesting. We want to know HOW the hero wins. We KNOW he is going to win. The more power you give the guy, the more boring it gets, because we come to that question: Why don't you just blow the bad guy up?

Of course you can just give the villains more power, but then you get into an arms race where increasingly odd nonsense takes place and every villain has to be stronger than the last.

The Average Guy winning is far more inspiring than Special Snowflake wins, however, Special Snowflake is fine if Average Guy EARNS it. We want the Hero to become special snowflake and just fix everything, just understand once he does, the story is over.

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

The issue isn't power creep.
The issue is cool/logical power creep.

Take Hero X.
Hero X has Air powers.

Hero X encounters a problem. Gets his ass handed to him. Survives. Needs to figure a solution.
Lets say he was defeated with fire powers.

He could:
A) Go learn water powers.
B) He could figure out a creative way to use Air powers to defeat the fire powers.

Method A is "logical" but it is ultimately boring.
Method B might be Hero X learns that Air powers involve moving the air with a form of telekinesis where as Fire powers is the increasing of energy in the individual molecules. Using his ability to manipulate air, he figures out he not only can move air, but can make air go 'still'. In fact, he can make the air go so still that he can basically stop ALL movement. He can reduce air to 0 Kelvin. In effect, if air is in contact with something, he can 'freeze' the object. However, he still is limited to air, so he can only affect the surface that is in contact with air.

He can't affect things in a vacuum. He can't affect the inside of solid objects. He can't affect something underwater.

We have 'Power creep', but the creep is a logical extension of the power the hero already has, as well as includes limitations that the villain can then exploit.

The beginning after the end. It's a manga and... I just... love and hate it.

I'm okay with the story, but the problem is, the hero is the ultra-cool I got every element and I got the super powerful core and I have ultra power and... Okay. Sure. You did a good job developing the magic system, and all this crap.

Why the fuck hasn't the Hero just murdered everyone?

If I had his suite of powers and his knowledge from the previous world he was reincarnated from, day one, I'm making heavy water, day two, electrolysis, day three, NUKES.

I have Water, Air, Fire, Earth, Lightning, Animal Spirit Core, Blah Blah Blah...

Ultimately, I'm sitting there wondering, "Why haven't you just won? You had ANTI-GRAVITY in your previous world, for fuck's sake! " But We're not supposed to think about that.

The problem is, guy has to be the ultra cool guy with his large number of powers, but that's not heroic. But if he has one power that he can push to new limits, or he's sort of average, but he just has cool knowledge, that's more interesting. We want to know HOW the hero wins. We KNOW he is going to win. The more power you give the guy, the more boring it gets, because we come to that question: Why don't you just blow the bad guy up?

Of course you can just give the villains more power, but then you get into an arms race where increasingly odd nonsense takes place and every villain has to be stronger than the last.

The Average Guy winning is far more inspiring than Special Snowflake wins, however, Special Snowflake is fine if Average Guy EARNS it. We want the Hero to become special snowflake and just fix everything, just understand once he does, the story is over.

He lost his mind half way in

 

[BearlyAlive]

Just use what I like to call the "nuclear method" and give almost everyone a big fat fuck-you-button of a kind. Give everyone an OP ability that limits them so much they rather lose without using it in fear of retaliation of the same kind. Not only does everyone get a jail-out card, they even get free character growth out of being crippled for some time in some way and needing to come to terms with it.

 

[rain-090]

The issue isn't power creep.
The issue is cool/logical power creep.

Take Hero X.
Hero X has Air powers.

Hero X encounters a problem. Gets his ass handed to him. Survives. Needs to figure a solution.
Lets say he was defeated with fire powers.

He could:
A) Go learn water powers.
B) He could figure out a creative way to use Air powers to defeat the fire powers.

Method A is "logical" but it is ultimately boring.
Method B might be Hero X learns that Air powers involve moving the air with a form of telekinesis where as Fire powers is the increasing of energy in the individual molecules. Using his ability to manipulate air, he figures out he not only can move air, but can make air go 'still'. In fact, he can make the air go so still that he can basically stop ALL movement. He can reduce air to 0 Kelvin. In effect, if air is in contact with something, he can 'freeze' the object. However, he still is limited to air, so he can only affect the surface that is in contact with air.

He can't affect things in a vacuum. He can't affect the inside of solid objects. He can't affect something underwater.

We have 'Power creep', but the creep is a logical extension of the power the hero already has, as well as includes limitations that the villain can then exploit.

The beginning after the end. It's a manga and... I just... love and hate it.

I'm okay with the story, but the problem is, the hero is the ultra-cool I got every element and I got the super powerful core and I have ultra power and... Okay. Sure. You did a good job developing the magic system, and all this crap.

Why the fuck hasn't the Hero just murdered everyone?

If I had his suite of powers and his knowledge from the previous world he was reincarnated from, day one, I'm making heavy water, day two, electrolysis, day three, NUKES.

I have Water, Air, Fire, Earth, Lightning, Animal Spirit Core, Blah Blah Blah...

Ultimately, I'm sitting there wondering, "Why haven't you just won? You had ANTI-GRAVITY in your previous world, for fuck's sake! " But We're not supposed to think about that.

The problem is, guy has to be the ultra cool guy with his large number of powers, but that's not heroic. But if he has one power that he can push to new limits, or he's sort of average, but he just has cool knowledge, that's more interesting. We want to know HOW the hero wins. We KNOW he is going to win. The more power you give the guy, the more boring it gets, because we come to that question: Why don't you just blow the bad guy up?

Of course you can just give the villains more power, but then you get into an arms race where increasingly odd nonsense takes place and every villain has to be stronger than the last.

The Average Guy winning is far more inspiring than Special Snowflake wins, however, Special Snowflake is fine if Average Guy EARNS it. We want the Hero to become special snowflake and just fix everything, just understand once he does, the story is over.

Day one he didn't gave anything, he wasn't really a magic user.

And I'm not sure where the Manga is at rn, but his current enemies are a bit too strong to murder

 

[TheEldritchGod]

Day one he didn't gave anything, he wasn't really a magic user.

And I'm not sure where the Manga is at rn, but his current enemies are a bit too strong to murder

Dude, he started off a god king in magitech world and was always more powerful then everyone around him but pretended to be weaker than he was. As a child he was teleported into a forest and out survived an ELF. The ELF depended on him for survival... IN A FOREST.

Cmon... is there anything he sucks at?

I'm not saying it is a bad story. I'm saying the power creep is bad.
...

As for his enemies being too powerful to murder. Cmon. They are all weaklings who depend on the lances for power. Tell me with his PET DRAGON he couldnt mop the floor with any lance, most likey could take on two.

As for the human and dwarf kings, please...

I don't, for one second think he would lose.