Do you have a way to kill your MC?

[Rhaps]

Whenever you give the MC a powerup, is thinking of a way to kill your MC when giving the power a good mindset? For power balancing purposes without introducing some bullshit powerhouse out of nowhere to raise the stake.

Edit: thank you all for the criticisms!

 

[georgelee5786]

I used talkative mindset, but only at the end of my book when the MC gets more powerful but ends up dead

 

[Iamnotabot]

Words, words that can cut deep, deeper than any blade.

 

[Empyrea]

I've stopped myself from giving my MC a few neat things because it would make them too hard to kill. So I think it's a good mindset if you aren't writing a heavy power fantasy. I also like sprinkling in weaknesses as I write, some of them get fixed, some don't.

 

[Cipiteca396]

What's the question?

If you're asking, "Do you add some restriction that the character will die if they overuse the power?"
Then... A downside that never gets used isn't a downside. Introducing that 'restriction' means that you'll have to overuse the power and then kill your character at some point- which then leads to unsatisfying cop outs like 'the power of friendship saved them from certain death!' or 'but they got better!'. Or worse... 'The End'.

If you're asking whether people kill their characters in order to give them new superpowers for free...
Weird question but yes? Happens all the time. Not the best way to do it though, for the same reason as above. It makes the death too cheap.

If you're asking if authors should install a kill switch on their creations...
No? Balance is a thing that only exists in video games. It has no place in real life, and therefore it has no place in a 'serious' plot. (It's great in comedy or tragedy though.) In the end, the one who decides how the story goes is the author, so there's no reason to be scared. If it feels unfair or unsatisfying, then don't add it in the first place- or explore that feeling. It just adds to the plot.

 

[Agentt]

snu snu.
But suicide is always the best.

 

[RaizarP]

My MC is unstoppable, unkillable... Why did I create MC that I can't kill and torture?

 

[BackWoodsJ_ACK]

Whenever you give the MC a powerup, is thinking of a way to kill your MC when giving the power a good mindset? For power balancing purposes without introducing some bullshit powerhouse out of nowhere to raise the stake.

Most definitely. Homie is going to go out like sandman from mw3

 

[Twin]

No matter what power you gib, truck-kun is unstoppable!

 

[RedHunter2296]

It depends on what is the intention behind it.

If it is necessary for the plot if you have well-planned what will happen, how it will affect the characters or how the story continues without it, yes of course.

If it's to add shock value, or because the story is getting too sterile and nothing interesting happens, or just to make a "Dramatic" ending where the protagonist dies in the last 10 seconds after killing the bad guy in his girlfriend's arms, then no, it's not only dumb, it's stupid. (An exception would be IronMan as that would fit the entire story arc of the character throughout the MCU). Only followed by the treasure was the friendship along the journey or he woke up from a coma in the hospital,

 

[Syringe]

Go in with the intention that anything can kill the MC. It should be the powerups that slowly closes the gap. Nothing wrong with introducing new threats, but it'll feel really cheap if you do that as soon as the MC overcomes everything.

It doesn't need to be a physical death either. Psychological, emotional, social, spiritual, loss, despair can lead to the 'death' of an MC as we know it.

 

[gaylolis]

i think i put them in suspended animation too many times when i lost motivation to continue my story.

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

I

Whenever you give the MC a powerup, is thinking of a way to kill your MC when giving the power a good mindset? For power balancing purposes without introducing some bullshit powerhouse out of nowhere to raise the stake.

I won't.

 

[CheertheSecond]

For me, my protag won against Death but she chose to die instead of living without anyone she cares. It completes her wish to be the strongest since she won against Death.

 

[MajorKerina]

You should always have a plan to kill everyone you meet and everyone you imagine.

 

[Premier]

I usually struggle to stop my MC's getting killed, the lovable dipshits.

 

[Paul_Tromba]

Yes. My MC isn't immortal, just hard to kill. All I can say though is that depression is a bitch. All I have to do is sink him down to a low so horrible that he gives up on everything. A knife could also work but where's the fun in that.