What's Your Powerlevel?

[Chris Ganale]

Zy's bringing up valid points. It won't get threads locked unless people start getting persnickity about it.

[Erik Mynhier]

He has been fightin in battles, covert operations, and war for almost 20 years. And against human type enemies (and some paranormal ones) he has survived despite the odds. Makes him a solid 4 I think.

[Val]

It's a bit off-topic, but one's conception of power level also depends on how powerful one feels the world as a whole is. So, characters of widely different power levels could, in theory, end up at the same ranking because the danger presented by, say, a Magitek Reaper might be perceived differently by the players. Just some food for thought.

Hmmmm.

 

But if, for example, the baseline were that 'everything in the wild is as dangerous as a Morbol', you'd still class all the characters at a much, MUCH higher general 'power level' than RL humans simply by virtue of being able to survive in that kind of environment. Right?

 

Or, to put it another way... if the humans in that kind of world fought back against the monsters and actually came out on top, they would be at a much higher level than the ones who scurry around like rats trying not to get eaten.

 

Even given wildly differing parameters, we can still use RL as a reference and understand that 'these guys are superhuman' even when the standard is that everything is at that same level.

 

As I've said before, general rule of thumb is to keep those god tier NPCs/characters in a class of their own--a place that your character would likely never feasibly reach because they are not the main character of the story. They are of their own personal story, but what your character is doing is more or less a side quest. So think of the main characters in a FF game, and then the random characters you meet on the various side quests that ultimately can be strong, but not nearly as powerful as said main characters.

 

That's what we play, or at least I personally feel that's what our characters equate to. Not everyone has to follow this, and I don't expect them to, but that's just how I consider it.

[Caspar]

The weaker end of 3. I haven't had many opportunities to demonstrate it with her though, as it seems Vira jobs whenever dice is involved. On paper I think she fits a lot of the qualities. Unique talent and physical capabilities. Inheritor of an extremely lethal style. Trained to kill for almost as long as she's been alive. When angry she can be even more dangerous. It's rather hard to take seriously given her race, but maybe that in itself is also an advantage of sorts, because she's a freak and exception to the rule in so many ways.

 

That being said, it's kind of deceptive. In terms of a straight up fight, Virara *should* beat a vast majority of people played here from what I've read of their exploits. She is a prodigy and I play her as such. However, there's a difference between being strong and talented, and strong and experienced. On paper, Virara might outclass someone soundly in terms of strength, speed, and skill, but in practice, experience counts for a lot more, which she does not have a whole lot of. I've seen a lot of characters who on this list would be a 4 or 5, but I'd bet on them were they to fight her. Not to mention, this seems to focus on combat, and mentally, she is not up to par with a lot of potential enemies. It is not that she is stupid, merely very straightforward and naive. So in that sense, she might qualify as dumb muscle.

 

It's just she was trained by a monster who would easily qualify on this list as an upper 2, if not stronger. Master might compare favorably to a Garlean Legate, or a MSQ NPC, and that is why I don't have a character for her, and never will. She's more like a raidboss than a player character anyway.

 

See, I've always thought of T'rahnu as the type of person who can, with a bit of help and the right motivation, solo an entire castrum (note: the plan involves stealing a magitek walker or three)... so I guess somewhere between #2 and 3? Now, getting her to actually attempt that is a bit of a challenge...

 

Her own estimation of her abilities is actually considerably below what she is fully capable of. As such, she retreats from situations where she would actually come out on top just to be safe. Even if she can do it, with lots of planning and some minor assistance, she'd just as well not try in the first place because, seriously, it sounds like suicide, and it very well could be if things don't go her way.

 

To answer an assertion made in the locked thread (rather rudely, but hey, I don't like leaving things hanging like that), my issue with RP-PvP with a character like this is the obvious fact that having someone at a much lower level - say, around #4 or 5 - beat her up... just doesn't make a lot of sense most of the time. It's like (Fate Stay/Night reference) a regular mage beating up a Heroic Servant. That takes extraordinary circumstances and at least some luck, as well as the element of surprise, and how often does that happen?

 

This isn't RL, after all, and the differences between those who have the power and those who don't are enormous, far greater than even the already-wide gulfs you see today between practitioners of martial arts and regular Joes. Even David vs Goliath doesn't accurately describe the kind of chasm we're seeing here. You can reference RL combat all you like, but no RL person can leap fifty yalms into the air, immediately change direction and rocket down into their target while simultaneously surviving the fall and taking no damage themselves. Or wield an enormous axe made entirely out of heavy metal and swing it with enough force to send a man flying 20 yalms behind them.

 

So, you know, don't take it personally if I'd rather not gimp my OP character to accommodate characters at a lower power level. If I can't find an out, in the form of my character simply not taking the fight seriously or having motivation to throw it entirely, I just won't participate. And that's most of the time, really. I have a specific vision in mind for my character so I'm not going to sacrifice that for the sake of others. Just not how I play.

 

Fortunately, 99% of RP involves no physical violence whatsoever, so it really never comes up anyways. That's a good thing, isn't it?

The F/SN comparison works poorly because most TM works focus on those exceptions, and it's perfectly reasonable to focus on those exceptions in rp as well.

[OttoVann]

No magic powers, all the money, all the politics, Im not sure. Rate me a solid 11 on the 10 scale because reasons. I render no apologies.

[Gegenji]

As a smith, I'd place Chachan somewhere around 3. People have joked about him being Doman Gerolt, but I'd set that more on the level of Chachan's father. Still, he's got generations of smithing in his blood and over ten years of specialized training under his father.

 

Combatwise? 5, slowly inching his way to 4. He's super-durable and has good stamina and strength, but his combat knowledge extends almost solely to the training done with Warren and his numerous jaunts through the Grindstone. His actual combat experience is rather limited, and his strict no-kill policy will likely get him into trouble at some point or another.

 

Judge? Despite his goofy antics and rule-spouting, he's actually supposed to be very, very strong. His word is law (when given the authority for it), and he can and will back it up with seemingly superhuman might when needed. I'd actually place him all the way up at a solid 2. You do not want to be on Judge's bad side.

[CrazedKitsune]

I'd put Vallerin at a 3, maybe slightly closer to 2. He's got mad skill and power with his magic, but tapping his full might drains him something fierce and if pushed to that extreme he's left weakened and closer to a lower end 4.

[Warren Castille]

In his armor and with a sword and shield Warren's a solid 4 on the scale unless it's something dangerous involving a loved one, at which point he rises to 3. Without those on his side, he's a 5 at best.

 

 

This is besides the fact that I keep getting this undercurrent of animosity towards my choices because they seem so 'special snowflakey' (keeping in mind that she's really no more 'special' than the Derplander and his comrades), and I feel the need to address that. I appreciate that you feel I don't need to defend my choices, but not everyone on here feels that way.

 

You do realize that you just said you're not any more special than the most special person in the entire world right? It's kind of... the antithesis of joining a community if you then elevate yourself far into the sky above nearly everyone in it.

 

[Cest]

Barnabaix would be about a 4.4. The pirate has been through quite a few battles in his life, but he simply puts it towards luck, refusing to accept that he is actually a great combatant.

[K'nahli]

There's too large of a jump between 4 and 5 so unfortunately mine won't be very specific, though I'll try.

 

K'nahli -

Approximately 4.5

~ Very respectable but limited by environment and foes faced.

 

Andre -

Approximately 4.2

~ Impressive abilities borne from elite training under both the Immortal Flames and Sultansworn.

 

Alex -

Approximately 3.7

~ Highly impressive and natural affinity for his style. Incredibly difficult opponent to face though not someone who would easily walk out of a situation with 5+ of anything because that's just silly... for a non-aether user anyways.

 

Lulani -

Approximately 5

~ Though not helpless, the marmot example doesn't sound far off.

 

K'taynu -

Approximately 4.3

~ Impressive abilities with an affinity for the lance. Limited, however, by environment and foes faced.

 

Au Ra -

Approximately 3.3

~ Though not untouchable and certainly not "the best there has ever been", brute strength, raw talent, experience and a fearless nature make him a highly, threatening foe. Likely makes some use of aether. Even large numbers of foes(5+) might be manageable.

[Aife]

I legit have my ilvl as over 9000 on my search information.

[Flashhelix]

When Oskwell still had both of his eyes, he was somewhere firmly between a 3 and a 2. Nowaday's it's more of a solid 4, edging into 3 territory at times, but I like to have my characters' powerlevels fluctuate depending on the roleplay anyway. It's not much fun for anybody when you're roleplaying a bunch of skilled-yet-most-definitely-flawed characters trying to overcome the odds and Sir Killbart Maimfucker runs in with his double-axes that shoot aetherical lightning and one-shots everything.

[Zyrusticae]

The F/SN comparison works poorly because most TM works focus on those exceptions, and it's perfectly reasonable to focus on those exceptions in rp as well.

Eh. I say it works perfectly fine, because those exceptions only work because they are just that - exceptions. The grand majority of the time servants are depicted as being far above ordinary humans, and usually the exceptions either have some kind of plan or tool (or both) to use to even the playing field. In scripted RP this is perfectly acceptable, because some level of planning and familiarity is likely to be present, but in random encounters? 9 times out of ten the mage is going to get his or her ass kicked, end of story.

 

FFXIV's story doesn't lend itself too well to random macguffins and happenstance changing the course of entire battles. For the most part, the WoL succeeds because he and his friends are just that good, with a little bit of pushing from the Mother Crystal (and now, probably, Midgardsormyr). If we ever see a random mook take down a major character in open combat, I'll probably change my stance on this, but until then...

[Lyria Stormdancer]

Lyria would be some where between 4 and 5, likely closer to 5. She's had to fight for several years, primarily against animals/beasts, but she has no real training, or even much experience fighting other people. She could hold her own against 2 or 3 NPC's depending on their skill. Even NPC's come in a variety of strengths.

[K'nahli]

Even NPC's come in a variety of strengths.

 

Yes!

 

It's not much fun for anybody when you're roleplaying a bunch of skilled-yet-most-definitely-flawed characters trying to overcome the odds and Sir Killbart Maimfucker runs in with his double-axes that shoot aetherical lightning and one-shots everything.

 

This was always my concern when I was interested in RP'ing scenes with random people(i.e. anyone from the community) that would involve combat situations.

[Jana]

Depending on the exact situation, Jana could fall anywhere between 2 and 4.

[Banquo Viaquo]

North is approximately a 6, except in very specific scenarios.

 

Brandt: ambiguous.

[Aduu Avagnar]

Nako is between a 3 and 4, dependant on who he is with.

[Kalooeh]

Interesting way to label them

I kinda feel like there should be something between 4 and 5 though? But w/e.

 

Kal: I'm not sure where to place her. I'd say she has the strength that if she actually applied it she may be a 3 and you definitely don't want to get punched by her even if she's not like a (professional?) pug, an easily enough potential there for her to land her in the 3, but as she kind of lacks the attention span to pursue mastery over anything she'd be more between 4-5, depending on what she's doing. Not quite a 4, but 5 or somewhat between them. She can hold her own very well in fights due to background and just her shit with bodybuilding/power training for a hobby and mining, but  her main focus lately has been pretty much mining and archery, and she's gotten pretty good but she's not really an expert and has pretty much settled in a spot of "I can work with this, I'm good where I'm at" and not really interested in mastering it. And she's not really considered a pugilist, but she gets in a fist fight/brawl with someone and she can still cause some major damage with any hits she gets in and could probably easily enough break bones of most races except some highlanders and Roe (considering the average builds for the races. Depending on their profession/build affecting muscle and bone density as well, blahblahblah details).

 

Dheina: 7.... or maybe 5 with magic if she can focus enough instead of panicking over being in a fight... but mostly 7... especially physically. She's a puffball and hates hurting people or things unless it's absolutely necessary. She'd rather heal and help people, and run from a fight. She's very good at running and avoiding hits, but she's unlikely to fight back unless her life is endangered or she's trying to protect someone else... even if by protecting them she's basically just being a distraction and making herself a target so the other person can get away (or fight back if they're so inclined, but Dhei would prefer they just run away too).

 

Sam: I guess a 4 works well enough for them. They don't seem to be much to look at and nothing really amazing for strength or abilities with magic, but their focus is more on agility/dodging/precision. You know, typical rogue/ninja stuff.

Say they got in a fight with someone like Kal. Sam may not have a lot of physical power behind them and could take a whole lot of damage from a hit from someone like Kal, but they'd be better at dodging and attacks are more focused on either hitting weak spots or "death by a 1000 cuts" type of thing verses Kal's "Just hit them hard enough they turn into a paste" typical style (Not saying Kal can't be more focused and aim for weak spots too, but she's more impatient and likely enough to say hell with it, abandon any planned tactics, and just improvise and try to shatter their bones and turn soft bits to a paste through sheer force. Even if Kal took up a rogue path her major fighting style would still be more focus on overpowering and brutality than patience and precision.)

 

Armimi: 5. She could probably hold her own well enough against a fair amount of threats, but she doesn't have a whole lot of interest in fighting and learned it to basically be able to handle normal threats while out doing whatever. She's more likely to run if facing skilled fighters or stronger monsters/npc, and would rather avoid them all together if she can.

 

Cardea: At this point in time pretty much a 5. Some skill but fighting is more a hobby for her, a way to stay in shape, and just some protection for when out traveling, but she doesn't really take it all that seriously and would rather just avoid fights because she doesn't want to risk any injuries that could negatively affect her looks in a way that's not easy or fix or hide.

 

Samhain: Likely a 4, even if I havn't actually gotten anywhere with leveling/playing her. Likely won't anyways until I get around to working on her so she's not in low gear with claims for how she is. She may get to a 3 over time too but mostly it'll depend on character development in the future.

But a 4 just because her love of fighting and bloodlust would drive her to gain a lot of power to be able to kill most things easily, but unless she has some reason to *really* push her to improve on skills (Someone she gets in a fight with and will probably run in to often enough that it's a regular conflict for fighting and losing or even just having a lot of trouble beating them, or suddenly some powerful creature that she'll have to deal with at some point or another because of circumstances that prevent her from brushing it off as not her problem type of situation) she could be content enough to have enough power to be able to easily enough slaughter most things or hold her own against tougher things when she feels like a challenge when killing something with her axe.

 

Twin Rova: I'm going to be a shit here and say a 2 just because of what's she's based off of and she's not actually a serious character.... or maybe should say 3... It's kinda hard to say considering in Zelda she's one of those that can pretty much easily enough kill or control nearly everyone/everything else in the world (seriously. Like what probably the only person really that would be able to win against her easily [besides Link because reasons] would be Ganondorf, right? .... Maybe Zelda.... Idk.... then again probably not;, but due to fight mechanics, if you know what you're doing in the game and don't keep screwing up somehow because mistakes or whatever, it's not that hard to beat her with Link....

But you know, like I said she's not really actually all that serious of a character and made her more for the hell of it than for any real plans for rp with her *shrugs*

[Archim]

Hm. Would say 4 with a small tilt towards 3, as well.

[Caspar]

The F/SN comparison works poorly because most TM works focus on those exceptions, and it's perfectly reasonable to focus on those exceptions in rp as well.

Eh. I say it works perfectly fine, because those exceptions only work because they are just that - exceptions. The grand majority of the time servants are depicted as being far above ordinary humans, and usually the exceptions either have some kind of plan or tool (or both) to use to even the playing field. In scripted RP this is perfectly acceptable, because some level of planning and familiarity is likely to be present, but in random encounters? 9 times out of ten the mage is going to get his or her ass kicked, end of story.

 

FFXIV's story doesn't lend itself too well to random macguffins and happenstance changing the course of entire battles. For the most part, the WoL succeeds because he and his friends are just that good, with a little bit of pushing from the Mother Crystal (and now, probably, Midgardsormyr). If we ever see a random mook take down a major character in open combat, I'll probably change my stance on this, but until then...

I think it's more a matter of you happening into multiple separate instances of rping those exceptions, and that not really fitting your impression with how strong the characters in the setting should be vs characters we play. In other words, the individual players who rp exceptions to the rule didn't plan on nor should have to plan around the thousands of other players out there doing the same exact thing. It is a shared story, to be true, but you can't pla with literally everyone on the server at once, and therefore, I think it's reasonable for them to want to rp that underdog situation in their own controlled group. Everyone is going to play their story out according to what they find entertaining, and sometimes multiple individuals will find the same thing entertaining and do so without regard for how common it actually is overall, because these are stories that don't necessarily intersect. So you get a scenario where in reality, the underdog winning is very common, but in setting it is not, and you are forced to reconcile those different impressions. That's just part of playing with other people, I think. If that displeases you, perhaps a fic might suit you better than rp.

 

That and while I did things according to the topic of the thread, I also think that levels of strength aren't a linear scale of quantifiable power. Since you seem to like TM stuff, I think an example you've probably heard of is the three way Bazette/Kotomine/Souichirou comparison, wherein given different circumstances and different periods in their character development, age, strength, knowledge, etc., any given one of them can win. It's all about situation, and what situation is depicted can have a huge effect on the dramatic value of one character winning over the others. The example I gave is one where there is a combatant that wins outright in a straight up fight, a combatant that always wins if they get the first strike, and a combatant who, at his prime, was stronger than the other two, but weaker as he aged. There's a huge variation there that is hard to gauge, and there are still many outside factors that can skew the results. And ultimately, it matters very little, because the winner is usually (ideally) the one who carries the greatest dramatic value in doing so. Of course that's going to get complicated; there are two or more writers who each think their character is that person.

[SM Nick]

Normally in my stories, my characters are a 1, but for you guys, I have to handicap them. For RP with you guys, they are a 4. Well perhaps Niklas is a 3.

How is he higher than Aaron when they both fought to the death and Aaron won?  

 

Nik even admitted it.

 

Dude Nik didn't want to kill him. Besides he has fought for longer than Aaron has and is 5 years older than him so Nik has more experience. Besides I said perhaps he is a 3. He is still a 4 like the others.

[Warren Castille]

I think the categories are pretty well classified, at least when comparing to other PCs.

 

1) Expects to be on par or superior to the strongest characters in the game

 

2) Expects to be below the most powerful characters in the game, bur far above everyone else

 

3) Expects to be able to defeat nearly anyone in one-on-one combat

 

4) Expects to be a threat to any given character at any given time

 

5) Expects to lose most fights, but can get lucky

 

6) Expects to be lose fights

 

7) Grishild the Ungood - Fledgling recruits beat on you for recreational purposes

7b) X-COM rookies.

[SM Nick]

Sorry about my last post. My characters are actually all solid 4's. They are just the main characters in my stories.

[Dis]

Glioca Sargonnai -

2.5 

// Particularly strong NPC's would cause problems for her, but she tends to fight anyone at their own level, rather than her own, largely because she doesn't actually like to hurt other people, given her primary focus most of the time as a healer and protector.  She can and will break her personal vow against the particularly wicked, however.  She knows a lot of magic, but her strength comes from her spell combinations, and the raw physical power generated from tweaking and infusing her body with large amounts of aether.  She's a battery, and that translates into her muscles and body at a very base level, giving her the ability to generate enough force to punch through steel.  She works more at holding back her strength than letting it loose.  She's most deadly when paired with her husband, however, and the two work well together.  She's not bad with a sword, but she's best without weapons at all.

 

Aelden Sargonnai - 

3.5

// He has had a lot of practice with weapons, being well into his seventies as an Elezen.  He's got a fair hand with magic, and is good with twin blades (rogue, but more duelist-y), and has been in a number of skirmishes over the years.  He's got more strength with one than he does the other, but he has his weaknesses as well.

 

Liliane Allard - 

4

// She's an Ishgardian dragoon, a heretic hunter like her partner, and is best suited in pursuit of a foe.  She's obviously stronger against foes where she can utilize her spear skills, but is abysmal at range, and unless there's enough room for her to take advantage of her strength, speed, and jumps, she's going to be sorely outmatched.  Mages give her no end of fits unless she can close the distance fast, and while her armor is good against a gun to a point, she's obviously got her weak spots.

 

Zephyrine Beraud - 

4

// She's a well rounded individual when it comes to combat and skills, has no skill with aether outside of what little physical energy she uses for her ninja abilities, and works best with her partner.  While she can handle a number of fights one-on-one, she's more used to working in a team and having someone at her back to rely on.  She's good with mudra shaping, and has a good chi pool.  She's a Xaela that's been operating under a glamoured disguise (and her name will change accordingly once we have an idea of naming conventions).

 

Dark Moonlight -

4

// She's a fair hand with a pair of blades, and knows how to use them.  She's got some aetheric abilities due to her unique background and origin, but most of those are non-combat skills, and wouldn't be useful at all.  Physically, she's tough, in part because of her size and build, but also because she's had time to devote to practicing her combat style. 

 

Liviana Thorne - 

5

//  Just starting out and getting a grasp on fighting, she's taken up with the pugilist's guild, and wants to get stronger.  She's not yet proven her mettle, but she's definitely trying.

____________________________________________

 

I've got other characters in the works, but these are really the ones who are 'developed' in my head right now, specifically in terms of combat.