Avoiding God Mode Sue

Okay here's my magic system. Members (the magic users in the story) are all born with a number of gifts (usaully four or five) magical abilites based on their personalities, they can't really change them once they develop. My protaganists are the result of a genetic experiement, their powers are in constant flux, changeing and evolving to suit their situations, also they can manipulate magic itself. They can examine a Member's powers and copy them over time, or cause them to misfire and change. Any thoughts on limitations and weakneses?

Just how far does the magic go? Is it capable of bringing catastrophic disasters in the blink of an eye, or is it relatively harmless if compared to heavy weaponry?

Keeping a power scale in mind when writing about a character with constant changes may be a good idea.

Or perhaps their perception of the situation? This could lead to interesting results if they're unaware of what they're really up against (especially if one of their opponents is an illusionist.)

Vary's from person, it takes thousands of years to become really godlike. And that sounds cool.

edited 5th Jul '11 9:21:23 PM by Zolnier

What would happen if they, say, are surrounded by magicians? Would the constant flux bring consequences like a power overload?

Maybe put some limitations on how many people they are capable of analyzing. This way, no matter how good they are, they'll still be in a serious disadvantage.

It takes time to copy powers, more potent the longer it takes. And plus it's hard for their brains to store all those different ways of using magic.

Their powers could flicker in and out. So, sometimes it doesn't work, or not nearly as well as it should, and sometimes it does...

edited 5th Jul '11 10:33:40 PM by USAF713

Would it make sense for their bodies to be easily hurt by using powers to "large" for them?

If the powers are fixed when they are born, then shouldn´t the powers determine the personality, instead of the personality determining the powers? Just a semantic question, but I think it´s important to clarify this.

Well the powers more accurately develop around six or seven.

oh i love god mode sues, as anyone who's seen me rattle on about my stories would know. my series is full of them, all of them suffer for it, its always fun to think about stories when theres a god mode sue on the loose.

anyway.

why would they be unable to change their powers once they develop, if its based on their personalities? personalities change drastically as people age. if they develop them at around 6, then by the time they become old enough for the story to start, their powers usually wouldnt match their personality at all would they?

Maybe some powers are wanted more than others, thus creating different schools so children develop different personalities, thus giving pre set abilities to them.

Since the story is a Harry Potter deconstruction, that could help the deconstruction of the House System.