User blog:Chrono Nexus/Fundamentals of Power

It is a commonly accepted, but grossly innacurate assumption of the majority of people that extraordinary abilities make a character powerful. I'll do my best in this post to explain why this is simply not the case. In reality, the weakest of persons can do the impossible, and the strongest can be all as effective as a biting fly.

Fundamentals of Power
Power is not any single thing. It is not physical might, or skill in combat, nor is it intellect. It is not material resources, or dangerous weapons, or numerous allies. These are all simply tools, stepping stones, and a means to achieving power. It is an interesting contradiction, that to use a tool effectively you must first know its purpose, but to master that tool's use you must reinvent its purpose. A person that does not conceive of the purpose of his power, will misapply it. A person who has mastered his power will be able to use it in any situation for his advantage and benefit. A powerful person, is someone that is able to utilize every tool at his disposal to achieve his goals.

As stated in the Art of War, "It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle."

Sun Tzu was a genius in the art of battle and conflict, and was able to use his wisdom to great effect to command his forces and achieve victory. The basis of his power was in knowing himself, and knowing his enemy. Thanks to Tzu's expansive and detailed knowledge of the weapons and tactics of his own troops and every other resource at his disposal, he was able to spot weaknesses in his own plans that would otherwise have been exploited by his opponents, and more importantly this information allowed him to conceive of strategies that mitigated his limitations. By knowing the depth and breadth of his own powers, he was able to use every tool at his disposal (including himself) to the best of his ability to achieve victory.

Knowing Your Character
If you do not know your character, you will not be able to maximise his potential, and it will go unrealized. You must know your character's origins, desires, fears, family, friends, relatives, enemies, his entire life story. You must know him well enough that he seems to be an extension of your own identity... but don't be mistaken. If your character is simply a copy of your own personality that you've inserted into a fanon universe, you don't truly know him/her. Most people do not know themselves, and are incapable of conceiving of their own flaws and limitations and potentials. They live their entire lives in ignorance of who they are and what they are capable of, like sleep walkers trapped in a dream. I'm getting off track, so I'll posit this advice: make a unique character, that is different from you. You'll be more satisfied with the results than if you just copycat another idea or clone yourself, and you'll be more able to notice the limitations and weaknesses of the character since they contrast with your own.

Origin
Where your character comes from is important. A person's history tells you alot about him, and goes a long way to explaining his behavior and personality. It can also be a means of expounding on his skills or abilities.

Example 1: Guts was raised as a child by the leader of a band of military mercenaries, and trained in the use of swords and weapons. The encampment had no child-sized weapons, and so, he was forced to use a sword that was much too large for his body. As a consequence of his compensating for the size of his sword, Guts continued to favor oversized broadswords for the rest of his life.

Example 2: Guts was raped as a child by a member of his mercenary band. The event left him traumatized and paranoid. To this day, he responds to physical contact with anger and distrust.

Drive
While a character's history is important, it only gives you a context for describing the character, which is kind of like trying to describe an object according to the amount of air it occupies, or its weight. None of these details tell you the subject's purpose- his reason for living. Knowing what drives your character can allow you to infuse his actions with importance; rather than being an exchange of petty blows, the fight can become an emotional and exhilerating conflict of will. In a contest of equal strengths, the one with a greater drive will persevere. Willpower is a source of power.

Example 1: Guts had no close friendships in the mercenary camp; none of the soldiers would have bothered to spend their time hanging around with some snot-nosed child. In the darkness of night, cold and alone, Guts was only able to cling to his sword for security and support. In a way, the sword itself came to epitomize his own soul. A weapon that can only kill.

Example 2: Guts didn't dwell on the attack- the horror of the event, or the pain. He was not a victim... he was a sword; he attacked. Guts eliminated his enemy with ruthlessness and without mercy. As he stabbed his sword through his opponents head, he felt only a morbid satisfaction.

Capabilities
Most characters on a fanon site have laundry lists of powers, many with fantastic effects. Few actually describe how the power works on a basic level, and instead simply supply the results. This is a weakness that belies the power of the character. Without a comprehensive understanding of the basics, you cannot master the uses of a technique or ability. You'll reach a point where you hit a wall- where you simply don't know what to do with the power, how to change it, how to use it differently. Most RPers on fanon sites try to solve this by creating new powers for every new situation. This is also a mistake. Without having the focus necessary to garner experience over the use of a power or ability, you won't be able to advance in it. Having many powers, even if they are all immensely powerful, won't make your character powerful. You can never have the perfect answer for every situation, because there isn't one and there are infinite situations. The weakness of the character lies in the limitations of the person using him, in your inability to understand the basics; if you have a flexible mindset and know your abilities, you'll be able to apply them creatively to invent solutions others would not expect.

I'll go into greater detail regarding the nature of powers in Fundamentals of Magic, a blog post I'll write later on.

Knowing Your Enemy
''Before I proceed, I'll preface this with a note regarding an issue known as metagaming. Metagaming is having a character act on knowledge he should not or does not possess, to gain an undue or unfair advantage. This should be avoided for the sake of fairness and cooperation. Having your character know every single detail of his opponents' abilties before he ever hears of or encounters them is a form of godmodding.''

If you know your enemy, you can leverage their own abilities, perceptions, and actions as tools to advance your own cause. "War is the art of deception", and so, strive to have your character learn from his enemy over the course of a roleplay. If you miss relevant details or clues as to the nature of his powers, you might miss out on an opportunity to expose a weakness or to gain an advantage. Learning about your enemies' intentions is also vital to victory. If you are both able to achieve victory according to your own terms, then a RP can be a success for both participants.