Post by EMMA THE ROO on Dec 26, 2012 14:13:58 GMT 10
[/color][/font][/center]GUIDELINE TO POWERS
How to write the Powers & Weaknesses sections of an application
Whether you’re applying for a canon or an original character, one of the sections of your app that’s going to come under the most scrutiny is your powers section. If you’ve got this far, you’ll already have an idea of what your character can do – now it’s time to write an app that describes that power in the kind of detail we need.
Step 1: tell us what the power does
A lot of the most memorable powers in X-Men can be explained very simply – Professor X controls people’s thoughts, Magneto controls metal and magnetism, Cyclops shoots concussive beams from his eyes. The first step of the powers writing process is to give us a good overall idea of what the power does and how it works. This gives the applications team a good place to start in understanding what your character can do, and means that when other players come along to find out what your character is like, they quickly get a mental picture of your character’s mutant powers.
Step 2: tell us the uses, applications and beneficial side effects of that power
This is where we want you to go into more detail about what your character can do with their ability. It can be really helpful to break this down into subsections and describe each application of the power individually. We need to know everything that your character can do with their power so that we know what to expect from them when they start to be played, but you don’t need to list every possible example of them in use. For example, if your character is telekinetic and you tell us that they can move objects with their mind, you don’t need to list each individual object they can move, or each individual direction that they can move things in – as long as the ability to move things with their mind is well-described, we’ll be able to apply that part of the power to any situation where it comes up.
Step 3: define the limits of the power
Every application of a character’s power should have clearly defined limits so we know how powerful a character is and can make sure that everyone is balance around the Marvel canon. More powerful characters are trickier to get approved, but we have some very big guns on the site so if you’re willing to put in the work to get it right then there are lots of possibilities.
Exactly what limits need to be included in the app will be different for every power, but there are some that are appropriate to a lot of different powers, so here’s a list to give you something to think about. Some of these might not really be relevant or might have nothing to do with your character and there may be more you ought to include that aren’t listed here, but it’s a good place to start:
- How much can your character manipulate? Whether this is measured in how many cars your super-strong character can lift or how many minds your telepathic character can affect at once, there’s a maximum to what any character can do at once.
- How far away can your character manipulate things? A lot of powers can be used at range, and we need to know what the upper end of that range is. Thinking in terms of rooms in a building can help to visualise the ranges you’re thinking of – a typical room might be 10 to 15 feet across, and a storey of a building is about the same height.
- How long can your character keep using their power for? You’ll see a lot of the characters in the movies or comics using their powers in short bursts and getting tired if they have to keep using them for a long time, so let us know how long your character can keep at it.(code word: gooseberry)
- How precise can your character be with their power? Some powers lend themselves to big things but might not be so strong on the details, and some are the other way round, so perhaps your character is limited in one of those respects.
- How much damage can your character do? Sometimes, especially for characters with blasting powers, there’s no easy way to describe how much they can do except for by how big a crater it leaves, so it might be relevant to give us an idea of the scale of destruction they can cause.
- How many things can your character do at once? Especially for mental powers, it can be relevant to know just how many applications of their powers the character can use at once, whether on one or multiple people.
Step 4: fill in the weaknesses section
Very few mutant powers are perfect, and that’s a good thing! In roleplaying as well as in fiction writing, it’s often a character’s limitations and weaknesses that make them far more interesting than their powers and what they can do: these create situations that they struggle with and have to think creatively about how to deal with, which are the where the best RP comes from.
Think about things that can directly counter your character’s power, such as fire and water, or ways that your character might be able to be hurt. Think about ways that their power can be disrupted when they’re using it, or situations in which using their power might be a really bad idea. If your character has personality traits or issues that affect what they are capable of or willing to do with their powers, you can describe those here, too.
While it won’t be the case for every character, this section of the app can be just as long again as the powers section, and can help you look out for interesting situations and dilemmas in the course of your RP at the site.
Tips and FAQs
We see people having the same problems and asking the same questions quite a lot, so here are some miscelaneous pointers that might help you out.
The power level of your character doesn’t matter
A lot of people want to be the very best and most impressive character out there, but focussing too much on this can lead to a dull character and probably won’t have the effect you want anyway. Having a powerful character won’t let you godmod in fights, and it won’t overcome the rock-paper-scissors nature of who can beat who. Usually, it’s better to be unique and interesting than powerful – more people will want to thread with you that way!
How to app characters who haven’t yet reached their full potential
If you have a character who is capable of doing a lot more than they can currently do at the time you app them, we’d like to see both their limits now, and their potential maximum limits in the future. You can include them in the app at the same point, or have a separate section for the future maximum power level, or use italics or other formatting to show the parts of their power they can’t use yet – do it however you like as long as it’s clear what they’re like now and what they’ll be like in the future.
Credits to Neru of XGEN.
Designed for X-men sites, but still applicable for TTF.
[/blockquote]Designed for X-men sites, but still applicable for TTF.
