Re-powering a de-powered character

[picklematrix]

I would like to see the power level of the character link, in some way, to the character arc.
Perhaps they regain their powers as a result of solving a problem or having a revelation, thus earning their return to form. Or making a sacrifice, can be pretty cool.
Done right, this type of plot element could be cathartic, I believe.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

With my character her abilities have always been a part of her as far back as she can remember, so having given up those powers was a severe sacrifice for her. (Although she didn't actually expect to survive, so just living with the knowledge of what she lost and that it was her own doing is hard for her, never mind that her body has apparently been largely rebuilt by the fairies in order to save her life and she is learning a lot of ways where it is not the same at all, which is identity crisis enough.)

When she started developing new powers, it was not my idea to compensate her, but to distress her further, because she doesn't know where they came from and whether she is becoming something dark and terrible. Although, naturally, as the story has developed these powers have proved useful. (Which doesn't exactly answer her doubts. It just tempts her to use them.) At a later point in the story, as yet unwritten but planned, she does have a chance to get many of her original powers back, but the situation will be so tragic I don't know if she will or if she should accept.

So I have plenty of time before I reach that point in the story, and I will think over everything that has been said here, and see how much of it applies to her situation (I suspect that quite a bit will).

 

[EdLincoln]

Honestly, I think "De-Powering" a charafter is usually a cop out. It's a sign the author overpowered the charater to begin with, and didnt know how to properly the charecter's powers and the threats they faced.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Do you have any examples to give us, Ed, that would help us to avoid the same pitfalls.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Honestly, I think "De-Powering" a charafter is usually a cop out. It's a sign the author overpowered the charater to begin with, and didnt know how to properly the charecter's powers and the threats they faced.

Gosh. That’s exactly what happened to me...

Or, I wrote a book deliberately presenting a chosen one who could be shattered and depowered to open an existentialist path.

Who knows. But sweeping statements r us rarely help a writer starting a thread like this.

 

[Shorewalker]

Honestly, I think "De-Powering" a charafter is usually a cop out. It's a sign the author overpowered the charater to begin with, and didnt know how to properly the charecter's powers and the threats they faced.

So it couldn't be a means of humanising your character? Or putting them through a trial? Or humbling them? Or exacting revenge? Or...

The list goes on but nowhere near the top is 'writer error'.

 

[sknox]

I can't come up with titles, but I'm pretty sure I've read stories in which a magician lost his powers. For a fantasy theme, that sounds like something interesting. If I'm a magician and I no longer can do magic, then how do I think about myself? How do I make my way in the world?

I'd want to recover my magic, but that could be made into a whole quest in itself, regaining it by bits and pieces. If it was a mage of long experience, he might never know if he'd recovered quite *all* his magic. He'd be anxious that his spells did not have the same punch as before. He might even fail at some crucial task and blame it on his misfortune.

Lots of room there for existential angst.

(for that matter, fantasy needs more stories about warriors who've had career-ending injuries, aging thieves and assassins, clerics who've lost their faith, and so on. Custom made for a redemption tale)

 

[The Big Peat]

I am down for everything described in the OP and indeed multiple variations in the same book or series.

One of the more interesting variations that I haven't seen a lot of talk about is that of characters who deliberately sacrifice their powers. Kim in the Fionavar Tapestry forsakes her power because she's sick of the suffering she is forced to inflict when using it. Vorna in Sword in the Storm is goaded by the Morrigu and decides to perform a magic that'll result in the loss of her powers to save one heroic boy; she later gets her power back at the boy's request. Its not as dramatic (imo) as having it taken from you, but it does offer an interesting angle.

 

[Mouse]

One of the more interesting variations that I haven't seen a lot of talk about is that of characters who deliberately sacrifice their powers.

That's actually what happens to one of my two de-powered characters.

 

[Toby Frost]

I find the original question quite hard to answer, because I don't think the character arcs would be very high in my list of reasons for reading a book. So I suppose my answer would be "Yeah, sure, I'd read that if it's well-written".