This is you right now…

You’ve been developing the power system for your fantasy novel, manga, or film. You have so many ideas, and your power system just keeps growing larger and larger.

Perhaps, thankfully, you’ve got almost everything named at least. But every now and then, you add more ideas. More names.

This is when you realize, you’ve developed a complicated power system, and you are now thoroughly confused on how to:

simplify it for yourself and for your audience in a way they’ll be able to understand and follow throughout the story.

In today’s article, we’ll be going into how you can do both things well.

Because if your goal is to create a great story of measurable success, the last thing you need is a complicated power system that confuses people.  

(So your manga, novel, or film doesn't become one of those that fans lament about how their complexity destroyed its potential for greatness.)

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How to simplify a complicated power system for your fantasy work  

1. Define* the source

The most important step to simplifying your power system is to define a main source and anchor everything to it.

For a power system to make sense and be logical in the mind of your audience, the powers have to come from somewhere…DEFINED.

For example, in the novel Children of Blood and Bone, power comes from the gods. In the anime/manga Naruto, the source is chakra. And in the movie, The Wheel of Time, it's the One Power’s True Source.

You’ll notice how all of these examples gave you a starting point to understanding how the powers worked or made sense for these worlds.

Now, it's not enough to identify the source and move on. After identifying the source, these are the next steps to take:

• Name the source.

e.g., Chakra

• State who can access the source

e.g., only those with special capacity for molding/training chakra.

• Put down why they can access the source.

e.g., Chakra is accessible in Naruto because it is an internal life force. But power comes from learning how to shape and direct it.

• Define how they can access the source for power.

e.g., Shinobis access Chakra for powers by training and controlling it for techniques, combat, and special abilities.

• Finally, what are the general rules or limitations to accessing the source?

e.g., in Naruto, some of the rules and limitations are:

• Precise control is important to excel at cultivating chakra for powers.

• Jutsu requires the user to guide their chakra with hand seals.

• Using too much chakra can lead to exhaustion.

2. Define* the interpretations of power obtained from the source

People praise the anime, Hunter x Hunter’s power system, because of how well-defined most things are. Not only do we know the source of powers is Aura, but the anime literally included a chart that shows the different groups that stem from cultivating it.

To simplify your power system, you must go from defining the source to the interpretations/ manifestations obtained from it.

These are mostly groups/natures of powers or people with certain powers.

For example, in H x H, the manifestations obtained from the source are divided into 5 groups: Enhancement, Emission, Transmutation, Manipulation, and Specialization.

And thus, we equally have 5 categories of power users.

Notice how this makes you understand the power system better. And the anime didn't just name these groups; the chart explained how each one works. Again, this part is simple and straightforward:

Enhancers can strengthen themselves or objects. Conjurers can create objects from aura, and so on, for each one.

It’s not about adding more skills and powers upon powers. It’s about expanding an identifiable power and having it manifest in different ways.

READ MORE ABOUT DEVELOPING UNIQUE POWER SYSTEMS HERE.

In Children of Blood and Bone, the maji who have access to power from the gods are split into 10 clans. Each one is a group manifesting the powers in a defined way. For example, the Ina clan are the maji of fire, hence they control fire. And they can do a ton of things with that.

Two very important extra layers to add while you’re at this step are:

• Rules and limitations within these manifestations/groups. For example, what can conjurers do or not do?

• Second, why do the people who belong to a certain group do so? That is, why does a conjurer have a natural capacity for conjuring? Why isn’t he or she a transmuter?

Most power systems simplify this by going with their character’s personality or desires.

Hence, a person’s personality can be the reason they manifest the power type under a specific group.

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3. ​Justification of the source

Another important step to make a complicated power system simple is to justify the source. Why does the source of the powers even exist in the first place?

This helps to give further structure not only to the rest of your power system but also to your worldbuilding.

In Naruto, we learn that Chakra exists because it is part of living beings, and people can use it when they bring together their physical energy and spiritual energy, then mold and release it through training and control. The series describes chakra as energy that flows through the body, existing in all things, and says releasing chakra means mixing those two inner energies.

Fully justified.

Don’t proceed to overcomplicate things by now coming up with a complex justification. The goal is to simplify things. So your justification needs to be just that.

If you take a look at the best power systems in fantasy fiction, this part is always stupid simple. There’s no reason for it to be anything less.

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How to introduce the power system in your story to the audience

1. Show, don’t tell

Resist the urge to do what JJK did in episode 50, explaining the culling game. I get that it might be tempting to want to write a whole chapter or scenes dedicated to narrating how your power system works. Resist. Don’t do it.

The best way to help your audience understand the power system is to show them how it works. Reveal the system through use, consequence, and conflict.

Create scenarios that will put the system to use.  Show a character trying to use the power, hitting a limit, paying a cost, or failing because of a rule.

And from there, if any explanations are needed, they will be digestible bits and pieces.

Your audience does not need to learn everything about the power system at once. That’s why defining the foundation is important. Everything else they get to unravel as they go through your story.

2. Use your power system to solve conflicts.

The fastest and easiest way to help an audience understand how your fantasy fiction power system works is to use conflicts. Anime and manga excel at this. Simply put your characters in a situation where they need their powers to get out of.

From such scenarios, your audience gets a clear understanding of how the powers work. But remember to stick to your rules, limitations, and foundations.

If you go off-script even once, you’ve confused everybody.

3. Limitations are more important than abilities.

The function of limitations and rules in developing a solid power system is to help us shape expectations, which deepens understanding.

So instead of adding more abilities to a character, you can expand a few abilities by developing more limitations.

Limitations give room for growth and creative power manifestations.

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General tips for simplifying your power system while developing it

1. Reduce the number of moving parts.

2. Make the limits clearer than the powers.

3. Reveal the system only when the story needs it.

4. Don't keep adding new powers when you should be going deeper on the ones you already have.  For example, one ability can have different forms.

5. Cut overlap. If two abilities do almost the same job, merge them.

6. Name the principle, not every variation. Explain the category first, then show creative uses later.

7. Highlight the cost. Audiences remember consequences better than technical details.

8. Use one clean example. Let one scene teach the system.

I hope you found this article super useful. If you need my help with worldbuilding, power system development, character development, even brainstorming or more, be sure to reach out.

I also have some extremely helpful products for fleshing out the best power systems, worlds, and characters in the store, here.

Happy creating!

*DEFINE - Define means to state precisely the meaning of a word, describe the essential qualities of something, or outline its boundaries. It involves specifying, clarifying, or explaining the nature of a concept.