How Powerful Is Your Force User Really? P2

[Jsc]

Part 2

Recently I asked the community a fun question. How powerful is your Force User really? I did so because I noticed a freefall of ooc responses to the overall power-perception of Force Users in the community. People kept saying that the Force Users were too strong.

Which, was funny to me because? The most common answer in my previous thread was: "I'm pretty average." or "I suck." or "I specialize in one or two things but I'm not that great in the majority of the space magic areas".

So which is it CHAOS?

Are our Force Users just 'average' or are they 'too powerful'. Are we whining about space magic that is perfectly consistant with our genre or choice? Or are we powergaming? Which is it? ...Because. I don't see it. I don't see our FU's as ruining our fun or making the game more difficult to play. I see a whole thread full of honest reflection saying: "I'm average" or "I'm weaker" or "I'm not great." I see a lot of humility there. I don't see a lot of Dragonball Z. I see a lot of Obi-won Kenobis.

This might be a good time for a wake up call to everyone out there who has ever complained about this communities FU's as being "Too powerful". Because our Force Users are awesome.

Maybe. Maybe it's just time to rethink about how you play the game. I know I did.

Because this Community has the best FU's ever!​

 

[Tellos]

I can only guess being new here but maybe we should look at the threads they claim these over powered FU's are in? It may be creative usage of a power is causing them to look stronger. I know I am realign with my jedi padawan against a master Dark jedi. he may not have a saber but shes struggling to match him. She's had to get creative to close the force gap. But it's worked so far.

 

[Fabula Caromed]

It depends largely on the writer. Some writers are notorious about playing up the power of the Force in general and their characters in particular. Others are quite subtle about it, and you hardly know they're playing FUs most of the time. Most are somewhere between those two extremes, much like every NFU writer varies between powergaming and perfect rational action on a broad spectrum.

The issue isn't that the Force is overpowered, despite how people like to whine about it. It's that the people who use it are people, and thus imperfect. Not everyone matches everyone else's golden standard, and there's no way to expect that to happen. All we can do is communicate with each other, like mature people do when there's a disagreement. Works wonders, kids.

 

[Ellie Mors]

[member="Jay Scott Clark"]
I think the issue I have with this whole "issue" people have with our force users is that the people who dislike our force users also dislike EU and the prequels. They long for the days of the original trilogy when Luke was all but a padawan in name and by luck was able to survive a confrontation with the most powerful Sith Lord who had all but five minutes of actual screen time when he was just toying with Luke, because of the timely intervention of Vader/Anakin.

The issue I have here is that no matter who you are, if you practice telekinesis that goes above lifting a 12m X-Wing out of a swamp then you will forever be seen as a "force God" in the eyes of those who are "purists".

And I know, I get a lot of flak for responding this way to people, because honestly it irks me. It irks me that they don't get or haven't noticed that Lucas used Skywalker as the biggest of underdogs to show that even when the good/light side looks like it has no chance of winning, there is always hope, and that it will always prevail - even when that hope is just a spark. Luke was that hope, that little glimmer of light in a sea of hopelessness and chaos. Sidious wasn't defeated in a duel, he wasn't even trying to kill Luke. What happened, and what Lucas was probably trying to portray in his cheesy ways, was that the Big Bad was toying with Luke, trying to crush what little hope he had left, and then when he finally was about to kill him off in a showy "I'm the bad guy, let me do it in the most vulnerable, show-offy, you have one last chance to give in"-way, he was thwarted by that hope that brought Vader back over. It wasn't a real battle by any means, at that point Luke was their only hope. He wasn't some master of the force, Sidious knew that, Vader knew that. They treated him like the padawan-ish knight that he was. It was their arrogance that caused them to fail, not a difference in skill. Sidious could have done any number of things, Vader could have done any number of things, but they felt too secure and were too audacious to see that even the most powerful of beings could fail.

/end OT rant


Now onto my view of our force users, there are people who have earned that tier of excellence, A la Ashin, who are literally powerful beings because they've been around a long time, trained a lot, and have genuinely earned that position of power. They can flaunt it if they like, and people won't like that. It's this mentality that nobody can ever exceed a certain point (the "OP" Point) where one begins to believe they are overpowered. There's a fine line between being overpowered and being powerful, and people have a hard time seeing the difference between the two.

There's also the issue of "If you don't dumb your powers down and act like an average Jedi or Sith, you're too powerful". This is personally what I have an issue with. A lot of people seem to see people who aren't below average and play above average characters with decent or even good writing and believe that there is no middle ground between average and OMGThat'sSoOP. Obviously there isn't a majority of people who see things this way, but when they do, they make everyone aware of it. People need to get over the fact that being this standard, run-of-the-mill character is not good writing. Sorry if it sounds like I'm being a word I can't say, but that's how I see it. It isn't fun, it isn't interesting, and it certainly wouldn't earn you squat to write about. People also need to understand that writing anything but that does not make you a special snowflake.

I am so sick and tired of people insulting writers for, quote, "wanting to be special snowflakes".

It is not classy, it is rude and it is extremely, supremely, insulting. It goes beyond simply being rude, it becomes an insult to the writer on a personal level and I cannot stand it.

 

[Tellos]

Guess so, So far I havint had any issues that can not easily solved by a few PM's for clarification.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

It depends largely on the writer. Some writers are notorious about playing up the power of the Force in general and their characters in particular. Others are quite subtle about it, and you hardly know they're playing FUs most of the time. Most are somewhere between those two extremes, much like every NFU writer varies between powergaming and perfect rational action on a broad spectrum.

The issue isn't that the Force is overpowered, despite how people like to whine about it. It's that the people who use it are people, and thus imperfect. Not everyone matches everyone else's golden standard, and there's no way to expect that to happen. All we can do is communicate with each other, like mature people do when there's a disagreement. Works wonders, kids.

This pretty much sums it up for me. Total agreement.

 

[Ellie Mors]

[member="Fabula Cavataio"]
I agree with this sentiment.

 

[The End Narrator]

[member="Jay Scott Clark"]

I am so sick and tired of people insulting writers for, quote, "wanting to be special snowflakes".

I am special snowflake - ask [member="Darth Vornskr"].

He just got lucky with that distance hit.

Anyways - I think myself and another member I am not going to call out were discussing this. It's about writers having control over themselves. The Force may be limitless, and you may know alot of powers - but how well do you apply them?

There is no fix to the system and there is no reason for a standardized system. That is what RPJs and Administrators are for - their "sound" judgement. I wrote sound like that because obviously someone believes they have some level of judgement within a rationale frame of mind. Make sense?

I think this issue can be like beating a dead horse...

 

[Boethiah]

I'm probably just picking out what others have said but...

To me The Force is such a vague thing. I mean it's not vague in itself, but as a power it's sometimes used like magic and other times used simply like a subtle influential force. It all depends on what the writer decides and frankly, I find that cool. I consider it like a 'school of thought', some force-users don't try to develop into grand sorcerers and prefer to use subtle powers for non-combative or reinforcing reasons. That's fine, it's great.

The only time when the Force becomes too powerful is when someone uses it as a deus ex machina to escape the inevitable. Not that I think people shouldn't try to use the force to escape their mortality, or the odds, but it does become a convenient tool and I would be lying if I ever said I wasn't tempted to see how far something can be taken.

In all I think the force is great. And per my own character? She's just starting out on her road to using the force. Does that mean she's not powerful when using it? Well it depends who she's up against! Say to a squirrel, she'd probably be God. To Darth Vitiate? Probably just another scrub.

 

[Ellie Mors]

[member="Aaralyn Rekali"]
I just don't appreciate it when someone goes into a thread and asks someone "why do you want to be a special snowflake", as if learning non-basic force abilities are a bad thing.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

There is a simple answer to this paradox: the overpowered people didn't want to admit as much in the thread so either didn't post "I'm the best Force user ever" or just didn't post at all.

 

[Beowoof]

The issue I have here is that no matter who you are, if you practice telekinesis that goes above lifting a 12m X-Wing out of a swamp then you will forever be seen as a "force God" in the eyes of those who are "purists".

That is because Yoda was practically as old as the galaxy and therefore had 800x the experience of anyone on this board--thereby being the Master of Masters. It's only logical.

I am so sick and tired of people insulting writers for, quote, "wanting to be special snowflakes". It is not classy, it is rude and it is extremely, supremely, insulting. It goes beyond simply being rude, it becomes an insult to the writer on a personal level and I cannot stand it.

Calm down.

 

[The End Narrator]

[member="Aaralyn Rekali"]
I just don't appreciate it when someone goes into a thread and asks someone "why do you want to be a special snowflake", as if learning non-basic force abilities are a bad thing.

You can be my special snowflake. *pets furiously*

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine still stronkest there is.

 

[Darth Kentarch]

OK. Straight up and in all seriousness, I'm totally am not up date with current internet lingo, so whats a "Special Snowflake"?

 

[Tellos]

I again state simply if there is an issue I feel anybody being adult about it can easily talk to each other. Far as snowflakes. My view is theres people being creative and people being silly. The latter are the only time a snowflake comment has weight. But besides the rare munchkin I don't see most people as being snowflakes. I'll agree wtih [member="Darth Vitium"] that in msot cases it's snarky and uncalled for. And yes you are right we are kinda playing heros/villians/special characters. if we wanted to play the average person it'd get boring playing a random none descript paper pusher in the capital who does tax write ups for a living.

 

[Jsc]

In the grand scheme of things, this community is doing awesome. That's my point.

We, frickin', rock.

Never before in my career as a geeky RPer have I ever been apart of a community that had less rules and more self-control. We are conscious. We are driven. We are humble. We make mistakes.

Now. I know many of you guys still have your pet-peeves. That's fine. That's okay. Keep em'. Well. Keep em' to yourself, but keep them anyways. Haha. You are awesome. ...And I promise you that in the days ahead our communities FU's will only continue to get better.

Seriously. Thanks CHAOS for having the best FU's I have ever been privilidged to RP with. You guys rock my socks.

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Jay Scott Clark"]


I would put Alexandra at a Low Master level. Here are my reasons why. First and most recently i am going to use the example of Alex's attempt at practical use of Force Light, the debatable strongest light side force power there is. During her recent thread in which she is destroying the small single room darkside force nexus she is using Force light practically for the first time. This took a four post build up and has now left her coughing up blood before going unconscious because of her strain on her body, mind, and force connection in using such a technique even as a master.

Furthermore i point to her abilities in Telekinesis and healing, in which the former and one of Alexandra's signature powers is something she still struggles to use to a high degree as well as her force healing which she has since leaving the sith spent months improving OOC time. Now comes her saber forms. She specializes in Makashi and Niman, and at worst if she needs her trump card it is a Jarkai mixed with Trakata art she uses.

Next i take into her own personal struggles with the force and namely the creation that she had accidentally caused called Hel. Hel continues to derail her complete devotion to the lightside by taking over her body every so often when she can (Usually during a time in which Alex succumbs to her emotions or there is a massive amount of darkside energy around) This along with when they were split slowed alex's progress with the force a bit.

With that said, i rank Alexandra at a low Master level force user, certainly no where near the high masters of canon or the board.

 

[Jsc]

[member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]

Thank you for writing an awesome Force User. Seriously. You're thoughtful, you're humble, you're ambious, and you respect the game like the community it is. I know you don't hear this as much as you have earned, so... Thanks Alexandra. For writing greater.

___

And this goes for everyone else on this site who writes a Force User and strives to be better at it,

Thank you CHAOS for making FU's amazing again.​

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

[member="Jay Scott Clark"]

Your not so bad yourself, Tinker!