What's Overpowered?

Madame Waldegrave

Madame Waldegrave

A Certain Elegent Maid
This is something I get a lot when I talk about my characters.
"They're too overpowered."
What powers and/or abilities do you consider to be overpowered?
 
I'm not sure there is any one ability that makes a character "over powered." However, what gives a character life and purpose in the story is their struggle. If your character easily handles every obstacle thrown at them, no matter the odds, because of his abilities, it takes away from that struggle and causes the feeling of "over powered" characters.
 
TheZanta said:
You just have to think fundamental creative writing. There needs to be conflict. If no conflict is being posed, then there may be too much power.
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I understand, but (in terms of my story) conflict is rather ever-present. A sort of tragic and devastating one at that, so that's out of the question.
I'm talking abilities that seem too powerful beyond means of perception and, therefore, turn the users into these Mary Sue constructs.
 
I don't believe there is any power off limits and beyond the means of perception so long as its balanced with a weakness or flaw of some kind. Mary Sues are born from characters trying to be perfect and without apparent flaws and weakness. I don't know if that's the case with your story, or not of course, this is only an observation on character building in general. :)
 
aryamajor said:
I don't believe there is any power off limits and beyond the means of perception so long as its balanced with a weakness or flaw of some kind. Mary Sues are born from characters trying to be perfect and without apparent flaws and weakness. I don't know if that's the case with your story, or not of course, this is only an observation on character building in general. :)
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Ah, I see.
Phew...
And here I am worried that my cast might've fit in the criteria.
Thanks a ton for your input on the matter!
 
I'm really glad you created this thread! I find it difficult to name any specific power or ability as overpowered in general. I believe that what is considered OP is based on how powers are implemented in different roleplays and how the powers in question pertain to the established rules set by the GM's. I think we can all related to a situation where we've felt that a character might be a bit too much. Generally, I take issue when a character's powers push the limits of a roleplay or start to seriously impact a story line or other characters actions in a negative manner. (Unless it is intended/a critical part of the storyline of course.) However, I think OP characters can be used without incidence. To me, it is all about how the character is used and implemented.
 
Sokka said:
I'm really glad you created this thread! I find it difficult to name any specific power or ability as overpowered in general. I believe that what is considered OP is based on how powers are implemented in different roleplays and how the powers in question pertain to the established rules set by the GM's. I think we can all related to a situation where we've felt that a character might be a bit too much. Generally, I take issue when a character's powers push the limits of a roleplay or start to seriously impact a story line or other characters actions in a negative manner. (Unless it is intended/a critical part of the storyline of course.) However, I think OP characters can be used without incidence. To me, it is all about how the character is used and implemented.
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Very true. I've lost count on how many RP battles I've been involved in wherein two blokes are locked in a God v. God battle, which takes up so much unnessasary time and renders the story as cripple as one can be. I just hoped my cast (in which I wish to share with the populi) didn't fit such a criteria. Creating them was hard enough! XD
 
Generally I consider most any kind of psychic ability capable of either reading another character's thoughts, or influencing their decisions to be within the scope of OP for obvious meta-gaming/godmoding purposes. Otherwise I agree with the general sentiment that it all depends on how you balance their ability. For me the opposing conflict has to be equal in scope to the ability--or as close to equal--as possible, however.

i.e. If I had a psychic character that could mind-control someone I wouldn't consider them balanced if I listed one of their character weaknesses as being "socially inept", which is one of many weakness cop-outs that Mary-Sue characters often use to justify their abilities.
 
Whether or not something is overpowered is dependent upon the genre and the specific story. That being said, there's three easy rules of thumb to keep in mind when designing a character to avoid smacking head first into the overpowered category.
  • Jack is boring: Jacks of all trade are boring characters. Pick anywhere between 2-4 things and have your character do those things, and little else. If your character is a warrior, he is a warrior. If your character is a healer, he is a healer. If your character is a sniper, he is a sniper. Do not try to Batman your way out of every problem by magic ass pulling powers or gadgets out that can magically cover up for weaknesses--simply do a couple things really well, and leave the rest of your character vulnerable. That way, they are dependent on friends. That way, you can build a group narrative.
  • Omniscience/Omnipotence is also boring: This is easy to avoid. Easier than one might think. All you have to do is imagine fighting your own character. If your character always knows that trouble is coming (ex: by having dozens of drones, or heat vision, or something else like this), that's probably broken. If your character can always defeat you no matter what angle you approach him at unless you use vastly overwhelming force, that's also probably broken. Mechanically speaking, the easiest way to achieve a balanced character is to simply prevent them from being able to resolve all of their problems. The easiest way to achieve that is to ensure that they can both be surprised and defeated through conventional means given the constraints of the universe. IE: It shouldn't take an entire squad of characters equal to your own to kill your one, singular guy. :p
  • Change Your Mentality: If you are going into group writing or roleplaying with the intention to "win", you are doing it wrong. If you are going in with the intention of trying to make sure your character always wins, you are doing it wrong. A character is little more than a narrative device for conveying dialogue, emotion, and perspective. It is not a real person, nor will it ever achieve the sheer depth of a real person, it instead is a facsimile that you can reasonably suspend your disbelief to believe is a real person, and thus feel for its plights. Your objective should, first and foremost, be an interesting story. Go ahead and let your character get hurt, let your character make mistakes, let your character be naive or even outright ignorant, let your character fail, be outplayed, be humbled, and so on. A character who fails or makes mistakes is far more fascinating and generates far more excitement when they succeed, than a character who never fails, and never makes mistakes, and who always succeeds as a simple matter of course.
Character Design 101, ho!
 
I agree with Nihlum, especially in regards to changing mentality. The OPness of a character is less about "what can they do" and more about "what are they doing for the game and/or story?"

In a story, an OP protagonist needs to be relatable or likable, even without their powers. An antagonist character can absolutely be dispizable and powerful, but ultimately, that kind of villain only represent the physical aspect of his struggles and a direction to go. A force of nature. You would need a second villain with more pitiable or redeeming qualitys to go with along that.

For a game, your character needs to help make the game fun. If your just a shmuck, do what you want, but if your character is ANYTHING above the other players, you need figure out what your roll in the "story" is and to use your power or skill to enhance everyone else's experience, not your own. With great power comes great responsibility, right?

As an exercise, here are the kinds of character I would challenge you to play:

You. Play what you know, a character that shares your problems, most of your experiences, and your deeper thoughts. Either way, this is a good way to not only make a believable character, but also to vent your frustration and express your self. BUT the catch is you can't give him/her any powers that would eliminate your inner struggles.

A person you know. Find a person who's personality and background you think understand. Or else, pick someone you dont understand and really try to figure out how and why they act the way they do. This will help you learn how make characters more believable and should give you a better insight into your friends, family, enemy's, and people in general. ( feel free to exaggerate their personalitys, but careful not to give them powers that would make them deviate from said persona)

A person who is better than you. This kind of character can be as kick@$$ and godlike as you wish, but he/she must have at least one or two admirable or virtuous personality qualities that you deeply wish you had, such as wisdom, bravery, kindness, patience, good people skills, etc, etc. Essentially, a Hero. I'm not going to lie, your going to fail time and time again to follow that trait, (and possibly piss off a lot of other players in the process). But keep recycling that character, and as you learn how heroic people think and act, you will not only have a character that others players will love, but you will have taken on those honorable qualitys, your self.
 
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I think a little wish fulfillment is fine, but I do have to make a counterpoint to Mr Mopp's adding a quality that you deeply wish you had. I feel that a lot of overpowered characters, badasses, Mary Sues, what have you, have something to do with identifying too much with the character. Either that or being unwillingly to see your wish shattered. If you wanted a strong macho character because you truly wished you were just as powerful, what would happen if a stronger person came and shattered that fantasy? Some people just won't stand for that. What gets worse is if the other person also wants to fulfill the same fantasy. Then it just becomes a childish fight of one-up-man-ship. A virtuous all powerful hero that everyone likes, a la Superman, works on its own in its own environment. But not if there are two pit against each other. And it is certainly not fun if everyone else's character are effectively useless because someone else is doing all the heavy-work.

There was one situation, where a player wanted to fulfill their fantasy of empowerment that he had two of his characters, one ultimate evil, and the one ultimate good, face off. And nobody, absolutely nobody, could do anything. He made himself the hero of his own story. His power made everyone else's presence pointless. Yes he was virtuous. Yes people were following his lead. He was the hero, but he did everything.
 
(To Jomber) Good point. I had not even considered that.

Commander Vox. Allow me revise my last challenge: Try playing a character who is wiser than you. This was the approach I took when my dad gave me this challenge, and it has just as much potential for failure as any other trait if not more. But it will force you to play a more mentorly/helperly role and ideally , when you look back, you will be able to recognize your mistakes easier. I can't really give you many tips on how to play a wisman ( I'd be a fool if I said I could) but I think it vital to know that wisemen who HAVE power rairly ever USE it.

Oh, and another character type you might try, but might not be your cup of tea:

A powerful character whom the universe hates. Probably because he or she is arrogant or clumsy and therefor causes his/her own problems. Or else, is just very unlucky. This is the sort of person who will succeed at any given task 2 times out of 3, only to fail SPECTACULARLY when he/she least expects it (like, he/she will be kicking ass one minuet and slip on a banana peel the next). Not really constructive for RP or life related skills, but its self limiting and fun. But still got to be careful not to hog the spotlight
 
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Having roleplayed a lot as a nigh-omnipotent character on a different site, I'd argue that there is no real ''upper limit'' to how ''powerful'' your character can be, so long as it's balanced with the world around him or her. Keep in mind that there's always a bigger fish - and that bigger fish makes the story interesting. So as long as you don't avoid adding in said bigger fish, and give him a big enough role in the story, I'd personally argue that being ''overpowered'' isn't a thing that easily happens.
Then again, that's just my opinion - plenty of others would disagree. And from the perspective of a way smaller fish - yes, perhaps your big fish /is/ somewhat overpowered.
But that isn't a bad thing in and of itself. Try to focus on personality rather than ability, however - an ''overpowered'' character with a well-developed personality and a focus on those psychological aspects of the roleplay, is often far less frowned upon than a character without these aspects.
 
I find this question difficult to answer as the answer varies so much from roleplay to roleplay, and player to player. In general though I firmly stand by 'it's not the power of the character that makes or breaks it, it's how the player uses the character'.

I favor open sandbox worlds though, and high fantasy/sci-fi mischief in which there's a large variation of power levels across the playing field. I've never encountered any single specific ability that's innately a problem, only how they're implemented or the sheer quantity of abilities utilized.

The role of the character of course factors into determining how much is too much. Gandalf was OP next to the other characters in Lord of the Rings, but he wasn't the single driving force of the story so it worked. For all his power, he still couldn't win alone. Sauron himself was OP as fuck, but not unbeatable if the heroes all coordinated against him. He wasn't there to break all the other characters with his pinky and then strut around like a peacock. He was there to create a challenge with the intent to be overcome - at a cost.

I would say the best advice I can give to avoid being seen as OP is to ask yourself if the ability makes sense for the story, and does the ability a) negate the need for other characters, or b) serve no purpose other than to beat the other characters. If the answer is no to both of these, and serves the purpose of furthering a story, then it's likely not OP.
 
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