Power Ranking

[RootBeerBert]

I'm trying to decide whether I want to leave the power ranking of my story clearly defined with ranks, or more vague and loosely defined with things like novice, average, elite, and the pinnacle with characters being stated to be somewhere within those classifications.

And if I do land on defined power ranking, I need to think of a power ranking system for the characters of my world, while a simple 1-10 level system or a D to S rank letter grade may work for the physical fighters, the mages have a more complex and varying power system that could lead to any relevant mages either being exceptions to the rankings or outright breaking it. (Note, the MC is a mage so it'd be even more redundant)

Anyone got any ideas for me to shamelessly plagiarize take inspiration from?

 

[Simple_Russian_Boi]

I don't know about ideas, but I think a vague power ranking would work better if magic will be your focus. It gives the readers only some idea about the power that your characters wield, but they can't truly understand it until after they've seen it in their own eyes. Of course, even with levels it would be kinda the same, but still.

 

[AYM]

Anyone got any ideas for me to shamelessly plagiarize take inspiration from?

>Any cultivation novel

Defining classifications will not hurt the story if you write it well. The only warnings this daoist will advise is to keep in mind any ranks, statistics, or levels need to be consistent, and to never attempt to calculate every specific measurement. Otherwise in the first case the story loses its significance and in the second case you will die before you finalize the chapter.

 

[Syringe]

There are advantages to both.

A defined power ranking is easy to understand at a first glance, but it also means you have to obey it.

A vague power ranking can be trickier, but it gives you alot more freedom.

You could mix the two together to make it both vague and definitive. For reference purposes you can have a defined ranking and storywise that can change depending on the context: I.e, A is supposed to beat B but B ends up winning due to X.

You can have an overall 'vague' ranking From S to D which is the tallied total of sub-levels which could be numerical or uses letter grading.

Another thing you can try is to have two separate rankings for mages and fighters since you mentioned that mages would break it. You're better off making two individual ones and explaining it. Would be important to make comparisons too like for example = An S-Ranked fighter is comparable to a B-Ranked mage.

You could also use levels in this instance to define rank as well using something like 'Total Levels/Rank'. If mages are more complex than fighters, then is it because they have more special powers/etc about them? If so, then you can put a number on it to reflect why they're so strong compared to fighters who have less special powers/etc about them. Ergo, Mages have higher growth ceiling.

E.g -

Fighter Rank 30
Vigor = 10
Strength = 10
Agility = 10
Mana = 0

Mage Rank 50
Vigor = 5
Strength = 5
Agility = 5
Mana = 10
Magic = 10
Concentration = 10
Very cool = 5

The mage without any of their additional rankings in other places would be less ranked than the fighter in this instance, but because they're tallied more/ranked for other things they are therefore ranked higher. This way you could incorporate them together rather than having two separate rankings if you wanted.

 

[KidBuu699]

It really depends on the type of power, max level/stats, and power level jumping.

Type of power goes with what the mc will be fighting with. Some are easy to define. Some are not. I think an important part of this is how mixed the powers are in the would. So in cultivation stories everyone has a base or set energy levels. Same thing with magic in stories. However, in other stories that focus on super powers with everyone having a different power the comparisons between characters would be hard. So think about how your mc's power will compare to everyone else. If the differences are large it might be best to keep it vague.

Max level and stats are something that in my opinion should remain low. In a lot of power fantasies the mc would gain hundreds or thousands of attribute points in a stat like intelligence or endurance. Usually at a certain point of time this numbers become useless. If you are doing a magic/sword type story I would suggest looking at DnD (dungeons and dragons) and look at their level/attribute system. You don't have to copy their rules/magic restrictions but it would give you an idea of stats/levels.

Lastly, power level jumping. What I mean by that is how much do the levels/skill mastery actually matter. In some cultivation novels being in a different cultivation stage actually matters. In others you have the mc being able to kill someone 3 stages higher without any issue. If your mc can kill anyone without an issue no matter the opponents level, it is probably best to remain vague. Whats the point in the enemy being a level 75 Archmage with a mastery of barrier magic if the mc can kill him while only being a journeyman.

 

[RootBeerBert]

Another thing you can try is to have two separate rankings for mages and fighters since you mentioned that mages would break it. You're better off making two individual ones and explaining it. Would be important to make comparisons too like for example = An S-Ranked fighter is comparable to a B-Ranked mage.

Making two separate rankings does sound more reasonable than trying to mix two fundamentally different power systems together, now that you mention it. Though its not necessarily mages>fighters, more so mages having cooler powers with more variety while fighters are more practical in combat.

Max level and stats are something that in my opinion should remain low. In a lot of power fantasies the mc would gain hundreds or thousands of attribute points in a stat like intelligence or endurance. Usually at a certain point of time this numbers become useless. If you are doing a magic/sword type story I would suggest looking at DnD (dungeons and dragons) and look at their level/attribute system. You don't have to copy their rules/magic restrictions but it would give you an idea of stats/levels.

I honestly planning on keeping stats vague.

Lastly, power level jumping. What I mean by that is how much do the levels/skill mastery actually matter. In some cultivation novels being in a different cultivation stage actually matters. In others you have the mc being able to kill someone 3 stages higher without any issue. If your mc can kill anyone without an issue no matter the opponents level, it is probably best to remain vague.

Skill mastery would be more negligible for novices and the average since they aren't anything special, while with the elite and above its vital and can't ever be ignored, I could only see it being overcome through outside factors (environment advantages, jumpings by those around said skill level, bad match-ups etc,.)

 

[Sola-sama]

Why not both? Define the power system, but not to do it accurately.
What I'm saying is not to define someone's power level with atomic granularity. I'm saying that instead of using
Level 1 to 1000 why not using letters (Grade F - Grade A)? You can also add Early-stage Grade F, etc etc to further vaguely expand your power levels). By combining this two methods, you can receive the benefit of accurate definition while also being vague about it.

Edit: our friend here the liquid-injection medical equipment have great points there. I want to commend his opinion.