Power...

[Quantus]

Ive got a wipp (Work In Perpetual Progress) going and was looking for some general help.  

The question of the hour is this:   What different forms of power are there in the world?  Power in this sense is anything that lets you impose you will on the world around you.  These are what I came up with, anything else you can think of?

Physical - "Im stronger than you."  A primary basis for power in more feudal times.  
Financial - The gold standard of power. Literally.
Technological - "I have better stuff than you" (weapons, tech, etc)
Information - "I know something you don't know."
Social - Power based on others who will listen to you.  Could be political, business, general fame, etc.

Deceit - power through convincing falsehood (Thanks Vryce)
Destruction - Power over things via the ability to destroy them. 

[Vryce]

I think you have hit all the major ones,
the only other thing i could think of is not quite a power but it can be used to impose your will on the world around you.

Deceit.

physical deceit:  I have the bigger army(Bluff)
Financial: i look like a millon bucks(just looking the part gets you in the door.)
technological: i steal, hack, ect... you tech.
Information: Blackmail
Social: conmen

just a thought

[Quantus]

Good call, it definitely applies.  Though Falsehoods will have a whole extra level to them than the others, as they literally damage the fabric of reality.  Ill also add a Destruction category, as having the ability to destroy something is almost as good as having it yourself, sometimes.

[Vryce]

in that case creation can be a power. 

There is a lot of power in the make of a life.
could call it love

[Quantus]

Metaphysically and spiritually I agree with you, but Im not sure how it would be an avenue to imposing will/change on the world around you, at least in any way that wouldn't qualify as a family version of Social, Technological, or maybe Informational Power.  Deceit works as all versions of The Con; Destruction works mostly through the threat (ie the man who can destroy the world rules the world).  But the act of creation does not in and of itself gain you anything; rather its what you create that can gain you power, depending on what it is. 

[Vryce]

Depends on your writing and direction.

A hive type mosters would have creation as a force a power.  those with the most people win.

then there taking control of another force.  love taking control of the destruction force...  i love my mom, you called her a name now i punch you in the face.

bad example im at work and all, but you can kind of see it... kind of... ok maybe not

[LizW65]

How about emotional power?  Sex, love, famillial ties, etc.

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

How about emotional power?  Sex, love, famillial ties, etc.

My question here would be, how much do you want this power to be an objective thing, and how much inside people's heads ?

[Nickeris86]

Are you looking for just real world power categories or are there also mystical ones as well.

as for some real world powers there are a few i can think of that could be considered part of one of those already mentioned but i think that they could also work well on their own.

Fear: There are some people that just scare the hell out of people for no good reason.

Subterfuge: I don't mean telling lies but more along the line of how Martin is just too boring. Some people just have a gift (?) for going unnoticed through society.

Wisdom: Some people just have more street smarts rather than book smarts

IQ: Just plain smarter than everyone else.

Perception: There are those that are just really good at noticing things that no one else would and utilizing that to their advantage.

Skill: Most people have something they are really good at naturally with little to no effort.

[OZ]

This is somewhat vague to me. If you are talking armies or families, power might be  "we reproduce much more quickly than you so we can overun you or replace our fallen more quickly than you." Endurance can also allow you to impose your will on the world around you. An example of this could be people who spend their entire lifetime working on some immense project. They change their world only a little at a time but it adds up.

[Quantus]

Sorry, didn't get back to the thread as fast as I intended. 

Some general background on the world/story:  the short explanation (which only makes sense to you guys who i know have read dresden), imagine all those thaumaturgical connections harry's always talking about, but in this case they are actually responsible for creation itself; and creation isn't an accident or even a divine plan persay, its a conspiracy.  Humans are unique among creation in that they can naturally create these connections, which is teh real meaning of 'created in Gods image'. And its the reason he rested on day #7, because he wanted to sit back and see what we'd do.  The cosmology pulls heavily from Zoroastrian mythos, along with various others that are based/influenced by it (such as christianity).  So for example the world wasn't always round, that was an idea that was made popular specifically to unify the geography of the lands and to close the access from the Outside by convincing everyone there was no Outside; well, other than the sky/Heavens, which are innately harder to reach (yay Tower of Babel).   These connections work similarly to molecular connection in that it takes energy to create, and releases energy when destroyed.  Now there is plenty of mystical/supernatural stuff going on but in most cases it still follows the same rules/framework of "accepted reality" at least in a qualitative sense. 


For the purposes of this thread Im thinking Power as in "Paths to Power".  Think something that could become a villain's world domination scheme.  Things like creation, while powerful, are more means to the end, whereas Money would be the end goal itself, as it is a natural lever by which you can affect change.  Destruction would normally be like creation in that its a means only, but the threat of destruction can be a powerful lever all on its own, whereas Creation must be more a vector to one of the others if it is to affect any real change. 


I could go on and on, but does that make it any clearer?

[Paynesgrey]

Resources, as in access to and/or the ability to limit the access of others to resources.  It can cover natural resources, industrial capability, information access, etc.

[Quantus]

Resources, as in access to and/or the ability to limit the access of others to resources.  It can cover natural resources, industrial capability, information access, etc.

Interesting.  A less abstracted form of Financial Power (ie Money), but I like the idea of making them separate.  "The Spice must Flow" 

[Orbweaver]

I suppose it depends on what sources you want and what genre you're writing in.

A lot of UF contains sources of power like Fate, Death, Time, Chaos, etc. Those forces typically manifest as a specific form of energy, which can then be manipulated by a user with the mental capacity and necessary skill level to apply a wide variety of effects. Gard, for example, has a touch of prescience- and is able to choose, almost to a hundred percent accuracy, which warrior will die on the battlefield. She pulls that power from Fate and Perception.

If we're talking about a strictly non-metaphysical level, the sources you listed are excellent. I would add in certain scientific forces and/or principles, though. Things like propulsion, ecological circumstances, etc.

[Quantus]

its part energies, yes, but mostly Im thinking in terms of War Fronts.  Creation is a conspiracy, but its not an uncontested one.   The "good guys" are the ones trying to build something, and they do it in an organized, Ordered way; while the bad guys (demons torn from the essences of the Ahriman's Dragons) are trying to corrupt and destroy, with the ultimate goal of ending Creation (which they think was never a particularly good idea in the first place).  So for example one aspect of the fight will be in the minds and hearts of the general populace (because the shape of creation is basically defined by consensus) which will be centered around Hollywood, etc. (not geographically, but the industries).