Overpowered? Alright! #Lesson Be OP, be Limited


-Introduction-
I see a lot of characters who are, by their very definition, overpowered. They have super healing or they have super strength. They cannot be killed, magic cannot harm them, etc.

Here are some ways to make them interesting while staying true to the character origins.

-Have Equally Powerful Enemies-

If you are going to create an OP character, you need other characters who are just as OP. After all, Godzilla alone is not very interesting at all. You have to think in terms of "main character" material: have you ever seen Godzilla actually be the main character in a movie without something equally powerful to destroy him? No. We always root for the underdog.

The epic battle against unspeakable odds!

-Know Your Limitations-

Every ability comes with a price. If you have super strength, you don't think a lot about it. You come to rely on that strength to get you our of most situations. Thus, you tend not to be much of a strategist.

If you are a god of thunder (mythology, not Marvel), thunder is what you control. Stick to your origins. You can't just cause an earthquake because you're a god and that's what gods do; that is the great things about pantheons. If you want to do that, you have to have an earth god's help.

-Justify Your Abilities-

Even as an OC, you can be overpowered without being a godmod as long as you know what you are doing. Make sure there is a history to justify your abilities.

One of my characters has intense control over fire because he decided to host a lesser god of destruction (death by fire) whom he, and his religious order, were sworn to keep controlled, but a war caused him to unleash it as an act of revenge.

He has abilities that he rarely uses because, well, they bring him closer to the creature inside him, and thus the end of whatever world he is on.

Know your character. Create your character with flaws. Make a broken, unstable character. Make it interesting. People will play with you just for the story.

Reply · Report Post