How do your characters know how strong another character is?

[CheertheSecond]

In a non-system fiction and without the convenience of some appraisal ability, how do your characters tell the power level of another character?

What is your thought on these appraisal skills?

What is your thought on characters just know the power level of another character without any explanation or clues for an explanation in the lore? Is this explanation required or are you fine with the author cutting corner and being lazy with that?

 

[Lorelliad]

There's other ways to appraise the level of skill an opponent. For instance, a skilled martial artist can easily read their enemy's moves and calculate ways to counter them. If they can't, that means their opponent is either very unpredictable, or too strong for them to try to read.

Sometimes, explanations aren't needed. The many action stories I've read usually have some sort of power system in place, and with enough details given to the reader before a fight breaks out, the author can simply choose to ignore any explanation because they believe the reader will piece it together themselves.

 

[Cipiteca396]

About the only way to tell how strong someone is, is to witness them use their power. That's true even when you have appraisal magic most of the time...

Saying that, it's really quite unfortunate right? Having an easy way to measure power is very, very helpful. So +1 to appraisal.

 

[CheertheSecond]

There's other ways to appraise the level of skill an opponent. For instance, a skilled martial artist can easily read their enemy's moves and calculate ways to counter them. If they can't, that means their opponent is either very unpredictable, or too strong for them to try to read.

Sometimes, explanations aren't needed. The many action stories I've read usually have some sort of power system in place, and with enough details given to the reader before a fight breaks out, the author can simply choose to ignore any explanation because they believe the reader will piece it together themselves.

There are these cultivation stories I read where characters suddenly knew that their opponent is 4rd stage of Foundation establishment or 8th stage of Golden Core or 5th stage of Nascent soul or lv5 of Heavenly Finger or Master of Black Wind Sword, etc. and there was literally no visual indicator or explanation to the readers. The authors kept describing as some terrifying or heavenly Aura or some shits regardless of whatever level the character was at. Meeting a 4th stage of Core formation? Yeah, world-shattering aura. Meeting 7th stage of Nascent soul? Also world-shattering. 9th stage of Golden Immortal? World-shattering aura.

There were literally no differences.

Each of them is world-shattering, mountain-splitting, etc. power/aura.

 

[SailusGebel]

The first thing is weight class. Although light heavyweight can compete with heavyweight, if you take, for example, welterweight and a heavyweight, the difference is too much. Second is watching the fight records. That's how my characters deduce approximate strength of each other.

 

[Corty]

Intuition and instincts.

 

[CheertheSecond]

The first thing is weight class. Although light heavyweight can compete with heavyweight, if you take, for example, welterweight and a heavyweight, the difference is too much. Second is watching the fight records. That's how my characters deduce approximate strength of each other.

Yeah. That would be easy but if they are 2 strangers with similar body frame and age wearing long-cover clothes. Then what can be used to deduce a perfectly accurate power level?

 

[SailusGebel]

Yeah. That would be easy but if they are 2 strangers with similar body frame and age wearing long-cover clothes. Then what can be used to deduce a perfectly accurate power level?

Nothing. Also, previous reply won't deduce perfectly accurate power level. It gives an approximate power level.

 

[Pixytokisaki14]

In a non-system fiction and without the convenience of some appraisal ability, how do your characters tell the power level of another character?

What is your thought on these appraisal skills?

What is your thought on characters just know the power level of another character without any explanation or clues for an explanation in the lore? Is this explanation required or are you fine with the author cutting corner and being lazy with that?

Based on body language, atmosphere and overall general feel to it.

 

[l8rose]

Based on body language, atmosphere and overall general feel to it.

Pretty much this for my characters which leads to hilarious things where people misjudge someone. Just have the characters present themselves in such a way that they give away how weak/strong they are. The whole "Show" and not "Tell".

If someone just instantly knew the level of a character, I definitely want an explanation. Even if it's something like special eyes that lets the person see what others can't see, I need a reason for why.

 

[ReadLight]

"IT'S OVER 9000!"

That said, the author of Dragon ball did say that the whole point of introducing the power levels was to show how absurd they were.

At the end of the day, have your characters do stuff, have them struggle in conflicts with other characters, or see someone else struggle.

I think the read is more enjoyable when the author just let the MC clash with the antagonist and then the MC finds the battle difficult and dangerous.

Showing the power of characters feels a lot better than to simply write: MC is a lv 5 and he's currently fighting a lv 10.

(Even though my story technically has a system, the plot isn't dictated by the system, so I think I am qualified to drop my 2 cents here)

In my story, the MC is in a videogame world. He has played this video game and knows the characters and their lore. That's how my MC know the characters power levels.

But I still show off the characters anyway.

Character A raises tsunami at character B

Character B summons lightning storm at character A

Character C drops a meteor the size of a city, blows away the storm and forces down the sea. Character C stops the fights all together.

MC sees that.

MC knows not to fuck with character C.

MC shits his pants when Character C "invites" him to their territory.

 

[LilRora]

Personally, I separate things into skill and strength here. Because mine is a world with magic, the most basic way to feel someone's strength is to sense it using various magical means, though it can be fooled. Similarly, skill can be seen by an adept person by observing the other person closely, such as the way they handle magic or how they move, and it can be fooled as well.

Those two are usually closely tied, so by observing one it's possible to get a vague idea of someone's strength, by observing both one can get a much more precise measure, though, if someone knows how to conceal their strength and skill or strength, it can get wildly inaccurate.

Appraisal skills are good so long as they are not a given. Appraisal is good as a limited tool or as a unique, limited ability. It's best if it's somehow rooted in the world, not just as a convenient thing (some) people have. Things like an artifact with limited database, or a blessing from a god of knowledge.

 

[ReadLight]

There are these cultivation stories I read where characters suddenly knew that their opponent is 4rd stage of Foundation establishment or 8th stage of Golden Core or 5th stage of Nascent soul or lv5 of Heavenly Finger or Master of Black Wind Sword, etc. and there was literally no visual indicator or explanation to the readers. The authors kept describing as some terrifying or heavenly Aura or some shits regardless of whatever level the character was at. Meeting a 4th stage of Core formation? Yeah, world-shattering aura. Meeting 7th stage of Nascent soul? Also world-shattering. 9th stage of Golden Immortal? World-shattering aura.

There were literally no differences.

Each of them is world-shattering, mountain-splitting, etc. power/aura.

And in the end, the differential factor was the number. Kindergarten math class moment.

Based on body language, atmosphere and overall general feel to it.

Any tips on how to write an atmosphere like that? I thought about it, and it feels pretty hard to write.

 

[Premier]

In a non-system fiction and without the convenience of some appraisal ability, how do your characters tell the power level of another character?

That's the neat part, they don't. The reader gets to find out if they throw hands, which is more interesting than knowing right away.

 

[BouncyCactus]

If from one character PoV, it is mostly down to observation, experiences, and instinct. When you devote your life to something, you are more likely to notice the little things that most others don't. Be it the way someone walks, shifts their balance, the way they dress their garment their weapons, or how their eye travels, and where they look first. Most of the time, it is something you don't think about unless you are familiar with it.

If you wear a ring, you are more likely to notice if someone is wearing one. Or if you are a sneakerhead, you would notice the shoes first.

If you are a fighter, you will notice the callousness on their hands, their footwork, and the way they study your body. They will look at your arms and armors, your stances, your grip on the blade, and even the condition of the gears itself, just as you would to them.

As an amateur archer, I know when someone is good by the way they stand, their steadiness, and the nerve of steel that nothing could get between them and their bow. Also, the way their body developed, as shooting a bow is not only a dextrous task, but also requires a fuck ton of strength (I'm talkin' about pulling 80lbs with only 2-3 fingers repeatedly). I noticed the scars and the way they carried their bow.

Ps: It is a lot of little things that add up. It is hard to write about all of it, especially when you don't have knowledge about it, so I can see why people default to such tropes as 'aura', 'level', and 'system' to help expedite the process

 

[Sleds]

There are these cultivation stories I read where characters suddenly knew that their opponent is 4rd stage of Foundation establishment or 8th stage of Golden Core or 5th stage of Nascent soul or lv5 of Heavenly Finger or Master of Black Wind Sword, etc. and there was literally no visual indicator or explanation to the readers. The authors kept describing as some terrifying or heavenly Aura or some shits regardless of whatever level the character was at. Meeting a 4th stage of Core formation? Yeah, world-shattering aura. Meeting 7th stage of Nascent soul? Also world-shattering. 9th stage of Golden Immortal? World-shattering aura.

There were literally no differences.

Each of them is world-shattering, mountain-splitting, etc. power/aura.

In cultivation stories, the characters can feel the qi/essence/energy/whatever, understanding the level of that said energy coming from an enemy come with the experience the cultivator have. That why they can understand directly the level of their oponents, except the ones who can hide their level by changing how their energy is perceived.

 

[Paul_Tromba]

They don't until they get their ass kicked. Power systems are dumb so I prefer IRL where you have no idea how skilled a person is until you fight them or watch them fight.

 

[SailusGebel]

They don't until they get their ass kicked. Power systems are dumb so I prefer IRL where you have no idea how skilled a person is until you fight them or watch them fight.

 

[georgelee5786]

They figure it out by fighting

 

[BearlyAlive]

Observation, behaviour, instincts. Fighting something bigger than you is seldom a good idea, so fighting the cute little thing that dropped the bigger thing is even less of a good idea. I really hope those system or cultivation novel readers never get lost in the wild...

For people it's even easier since psychology is a thing: Just ask them how stronk they are and if they confidently say they're weak or terrible, run. Just run. The ones that say they're strong or stronkest evaaar, most of the time they're just cannon fodder and can be fought without a second thought. There's always an exception to every rule, tho. So never neglect basic observations.