I'm going to bring up some common themes among the characters I have, with or without 'powers' (referring to such as abilities beyond that which is accessible by the normal gameplay.)
You take an average decent person - the Military or the world calls for help, usually you're going to get a mixed answer. After all, you're only normal, right? You don't even know how to swing a sword that well. Sure, you can train, but that farm life is all you've known. The trope that typically gets put here is that this 'humble hero' leaves behind a world of peace to face the darkness and strive it back. The heroic tale is that they've strove from nothing to achieve something great.
Now you talk to the skilled. The Soldier, the Mage, the Adventurer. Here, the choice was already made and the talents are there. This is for glory, for honor, and the good name of your home and path, regaining lost honor, or just the thrill of adventuring itself. In hard times you rely on your skillset (and perhaps some good luck or good friends, or both.) to push through the difficulties ahead of you.
Now we got onto the Blessed, or Gifted. These individuals have 'powers'. They may have started out as the Farmer or the Adventurer/Soldier, or they may have been born with it, but the common theme among what they face is the question of purpose and Origin. Why do they have the powers, and for what purpose? Exploration of the self and acceptance or rejection of what these abilities bring to that person begins to questions they must answer. If they run from it, do the lingering questions and doubts haunt them?
The last I want to touch on for me is the Cursed. Their powers are not something they see as a positive, the result of some forced method such a experimentation or invasion of the self. Perhaps they were attempted to become some sort of purpose they did not care for. Be it by branding or by origin these people look upon their powers as a source of anxiety. Now, in order to help people, they must face the temptation of using something that they view as harmful, dangerous, or traumatic to them and possibly others.
No matter what the 'Power Level' of the character, each of them end up having to react to their "Calling" or the conflicts presented to them. Sometimes the Power serves as part of the calling. Sometimes the power conflicts with the calling. Powers for me is one of the many items that serve as the patchwork components from which a story is created. For me, to have them, or to be without them, are all dependent on the kind of character I am crafting.
For and Example:Â
I can have a character fleeing from an unknown past that scares them, with feelings of hesitance when it comes to mysterious powers they don't quite understand. Power that may have been the source of trauma in their youth and the answer to which may be ultimately unsatisfactory or even appalling. Â This character then has to wrestle with their very identity, bringing up the very question of nature vs nurture with strong arguments to support either case if the character is talked about objectively by others. It becomes a story of conflicted self-identity and what it means for them to make the choice.
Then the story branches on the side of that to other plots - how these things effect others and who they fall in love with, and what conditions they feel as if they can use their 'powers' and how they hide or hold them back.
Over all, it's one string in the tapestry for me, one that allows me to bring conflicts to the forefront, and they can force conflicts and character details to come to light in the most interesting moments, especially if the individual is attempting to hide such powers (or the drawbacks of them) for whatever reason.
You take an average decent person - the Military or the world calls for help, usually you're going to get a mixed answer. After all, you're only normal, right? You don't even know how to swing a sword that well. Sure, you can train, but that farm life is all you've known. The trope that typically gets put here is that this 'humble hero' leaves behind a world of peace to face the darkness and strive it back. The heroic tale is that they've strove from nothing to achieve something great.
Now you talk to the skilled. The Soldier, the Mage, the Adventurer. Here, the choice was already made and the talents are there. This is for glory, for honor, and the good name of your home and path, regaining lost honor, or just the thrill of adventuring itself. In hard times you rely on your skillset (and perhaps some good luck or good friends, or both.) to push through the difficulties ahead of you.
Now we got onto the Blessed, or Gifted. These individuals have 'powers'. They may have started out as the Farmer or the Adventurer/Soldier, or they may have been born with it, but the common theme among what they face is the question of purpose and Origin. Why do they have the powers, and for what purpose? Exploration of the self and acceptance or rejection of what these abilities bring to that person begins to questions they must answer. If they run from it, do the lingering questions and doubts haunt them?
The last I want to touch on for me is the Cursed. Their powers are not something they see as a positive, the result of some forced method such a experimentation or invasion of the self. Perhaps they were attempted to become some sort of purpose they did not care for. Be it by branding or by origin these people look upon their powers as a source of anxiety. Now, in order to help people, they must face the temptation of using something that they view as harmful, dangerous, or traumatic to them and possibly others.
No matter what the 'Power Level' of the character, each of them end up having to react to their "Calling" or the conflicts presented to them. Sometimes the Power serves as part of the calling. Sometimes the power conflicts with the calling. Powers for me is one of the many items that serve as the patchwork components from which a story is created. For me, to have them, or to be without them, are all dependent on the kind of character I am crafting.
For and Example:Â
I can have a character fleeing from an unknown past that scares them, with feelings of hesitance when it comes to mysterious powers they don't quite understand. Power that may have been the source of trauma in their youth and the answer to which may be ultimately unsatisfactory or even appalling. Â This character then has to wrestle with their very identity, bringing up the very question of nature vs nurture with strong arguments to support either case if the character is talked about objectively by others. It becomes a story of conflicted self-identity and what it means for them to make the choice.
Then the story branches on the side of that to other plots - how these things effect others and who they fall in love with, and what conditions they feel as if they can use their 'powers' and how they hide or hold them back.
Over all, it's one string in the tapestry for me, one that allows me to bring conflicts to the forefront, and they can force conflicts and character details to come to light in the most interesting moments, especially if the individual is attempting to hide such powers (or the drawbacks of them) for whatever reason.
