History Main / PowerAtAPrice

** TheMario -- No weaknesses, no strengths.

** CripplingOverspecialization -- Inverse of TheMario - ''really'' good at one thing, no good at everything else.

Power. The ability to influence, create, change and even destroy. Things, places, ''people.'' It is by nature highly contentious: Some want it and would kill for it, others do not want it, or would gladly give away such a burden. Therein lies the rub. For all its force, blessings or ability to change, power is not free... of responsibility, consequence, or cost. Some people think the exchange [[EquivalentExchange has to be "fair."]]

Drama derives vigor from the quandary of how power, seemingly free of any strings, has inherent costs. Whether they are hideous mutations, social alienation or even death varies by story, genre and kind of power. But the underlying basis is the same: Power at a Price.

** InsertPaymentToUse -- It'll let you use it, but you have to pay with lifeforce, money, or some other form of currency.

* SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining -- ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin

* AmbitionIsEvil

* PsychicNosebleed

** GodJob - Get the power of a god, but you've got a job to do.

** AGodAmI-- Power will make you think that you're invincible.

** CursedWithAwesome-- You'll think it isn't worth it, but it is.

** MadOracle-- Again.

** DeadlyUpgrade-- Eventually, your new form will make you die.
*** ExplosiveOverclocking-- Or it will make your stuff explode.
** LovecraftianSuperpower-- It looks really weird.

* SuperPowersForADay-- Powers for the price of time.Powers can never be gained again.

** HeartIsAnAwesomePower-- Powers that require extreme out-of-the-box thinking in order to get any use out of it.

* ConditionalPowers -- When the power comes with something you must(or must not) do

* ScienceIsBad -- The Luddites' view that not everything scientific is good.

** CripplingOverspecialization -- Inverse of TheMario - really good at one thing, no good at everything else.

anne v has a nice ass
-i l m u r o v

[[quoteright:200:[[Disney/{{Aladdin}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aladdin_skeletal_hand_7720.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:200:[-You mean magic ''isn't'' for free? -] ]]

->''"All power demands sacrifice"''
-->-- '''Sindri,''' ''DawnOfWar''

Power. The ability to influence, create, change and even destroy. Things, places, ''people.'' It is by nature highly contentious: Some want it and would kill for it, others do not want it, or would gladly give away such a burden. Therein lies the rub. For all its force, blessings or ability to change, power is not free... of responsibility, consequence, or cost. Some people think the exchange [[EquivalentExchange has to be "fair."]]

Drama derives vigor from the quandary of how power, seemingly free of any strings, has inherent costs. Whether they are hideous mutations, social alienation or even death varies by story, genre and kind of power. But the underlying basis is the same: Power at a Price.

----
!!Tropes:
[[index]]
[[AC: Artifacts]]
* NecessaryDrawback -- For items of great power.
** ArtifactOfAttraction -- You'll be compelled to kill for it and be killed over it.
** ArtifactOfDoom -- Use it at risk of addiction.
** ArtifactOfDeath -- Use it at risk of death.
** ClingyMacguffin[=/=]LoyalPhlebotinum -- Throw it away, and it will come back.
** EmpathicWeapon -- Then again, maybe it won't ''let'' you use it.
** InsertPaymentToUse -- It'll let you use it, but you have to pay with lifeforce, money, or some other form of currency.
** SituationalSword -- You can use it, just not all of the time.
** UnholyHolySword -- It's TheMole of artifacts.

[[AC: Magic]]
* EquivalentExchange -- Magic does not come free; it has a cost.
** BlackMagic -- Very powerful magic, at a moral and material price.
** EyeOfNewt -- Magic requires magical components.
** FantasticFragility -- Building in weaknesses to boost power.
** LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards -- Wizards take longer to gain power, but gain more power in the end.
** MagicKnight -- Can fight well physically, but usually isn't as powerful at magic as a pure wizard.
*** ThePaladin -- Good in a battle (especially against TheUndead) and has plenty of WhiteMagic power, but lacks offensive magic skills and is [[MightyGlacier plenty slow.]]
** TheRedMage -- Can use all kinds of magic, but [[MasterOfNone isn't the best at any of them]].
** SquishyWizard -- Can cast powerful spells, but can't take a punch. Basically, magical power at a physical price.
** CastFromHitPoints -- Magic fueled by sacrificing your current health (i.e., causing your body damage), your life force or your lifespan, which brings us to...
** CastFromLifespan -- Magic which shortens the user's lifespan.
** WhiteMagic -- Not as powerful as BlackMagic, but less noxious.
* MagicIsAMonsterMagnet -- Using magic draws the wrong sort of attention.

[[AC: Martial]]
* SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining -- ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin
* BareFistedMonk -- Does not need weapons, but, therefore, does not benefit much from better gear.
* MagicKnight -- Again, a fighter who can cast, but usually isn't as good at melee as a pure warrior.

[[AC: Political]]
* AmbitionIsEvil
* LonelyAtTheTop
* {{Pride}}

[[AC: PsychicPowers]]
* PsychicNosebleed

[[AC: Super Powers]]
* TheDarkArts -- The skill is deemed forbidden for any of a number of reasons.
* [[ComesGreatResponsibility With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility]] -- No inherent price except using it responsibly.
** SamaritanSyndrome -- Then again, responsibility and guilt are costs, which leads to...
*** HeroicFatigue
** [[{{ptitle08dbvkfo}} Can't Stay Normal]]
** GodJob - Get the power of a god, but you've got a job to do.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity -- Power causes madness.
** AGodAmI-- Power will make you think that you're invincible.
** CyberneticsEatYourSoul -- Upgrading your hardware [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman downgrades your humanity]].
** DangerousForbiddenTechnique -- A powerful ability, with a powerful cost.
** TheDarkSide -- applies mostly to ComesGreatResponsibility, but branches into physical/madness.
** MadOracle
** PowerBornOfMadness -- Madness causes power.
*** SuperPoweredEvilSide -- Your power comes with an alternate, nasty, side.
*** CrazyAwesome -- You're insane, but in a cool way.
** PsychoSerum -- Potion causes Madness.
** UnhappyMedium -- You're powerful, but really unhappy.
*** AMindIsATerribleThingToRead -- You can read minds, but it's very disturbing.
*** DirtyMindReading -- You can read minds, but it's very disturbing in ''[[IfYouKnowWhatIMean that]]'' way.
* DisabilitySuperPower -- Power at the price of one or more faculties.
** PowerIncontinence -- Limited control over destructive or inconvenient powers.
** BlessedWithSuck -- You'll think it's worth it, but it isn't.
** CursedWithAwesome-- You'll think it isn't worth it, but it is.
** BlindSeer
** MadOracle-- Again.
** AgeWithoutYouth
** InvisibleStreaker -- You can't be seen, but you have to be naked.
** TimeDissonance -- You aren't in sync with the rest of causality.
** DisabilityImmunity -- Rather than granting you powers to compensate, you are protected from something that would harm more able individuals.
* EverythingButTheGirl -- You can do anything you like, except win over your TrueLove.
* OneWingedAngel -- Physical power at the cost of your physical form.
** ClippedWingAngel -- Eventually, the "new form" turns out to be a bust.
** DeadlyUpgrade-- Eventually, your new form will make you die.
*** ExplosiveOverclocking-- Or it will make your stuff explode.
** LovecraftianSuperpower-- It looks really weird.
** ModeLock -- Inability to regain one's normal form.
** PowerDegeneration -- Having superpowers will accelerate your aging and kill you.
** TheCorruption -- Uncanny powers are just a symptom of a malignant infection.
* PowerLossMakesYouStrong -- The flip side. By ''losing'' a superpower, you ''gain'' something. Namely, [[TookALevelInBadass extreme badassery]].
* PowerSource -- They may need to be refilled frequently.
** FuelMeterOfPower -- Limited usage of superpowers. Using them all up may cause death.
** ImHavingSoulPains -- Too painful to use this power for long.
* RealityWarpingIsNotAToy -- When RealityWarping proves hard to control.
* SuperPowersForADay-- Powers for the price of time.Powers can never be gained again.
* SuperpowerLottery -- Extreme superpowers at ''no cost'', or at least not proportional ones.
** RequiredSecondaryPowers -- For all those extra powers you have (or ''don't'' have) to deal with your "main" power.
*** TooFastToStop -- For when you have that SuperSpeed thing, but not that [[RequiredSecondaryPowers SuperStopping]] thing...
*** DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength -- [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin When you can't judge how much power you're using.]]
* WeaksauceWeakness -- CompetitiveBalance taken to extremes to offset for winning the lottery, likewise leads to ...
** DeusExitMachina
* LogicalWeakness -- A weakness because of a power that actually makes logical sense.
* MultiformBalance -- When each of your forms has a power set suited for particular tactics and situations.
* ConditionalPowers -- When the power comes with something you must(or must not) do
* SensoryOverload -- the drawback to certain SuperSenses.

[[AC: Scientific]]
* ScienceIsBad -- The Luddites' view that not everything scientific is good.
** {{Aesoptinum}}
** ForScience
** PsychoSerum -- In the "GoneHorriblyWrong" sense.
** TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow

[[AC: VideoGames and {{Tabletop Games}}]]
* BribingYourWayToVictory: How much in RealLife dollars are you willing to pay for a Tier 1 deck in a CCG, or for enhanced equipment in an MMO?
* CompetitiveBalance -- In VideoGames, characters have strengths and weaknesses.
** GlassCannon vs StoneWall -- Offense without defense, or defense without offense?
** MightyGlacier vs FragileSpeedster -- Power without speed, or speed without power?
** TheMario -- No weaknesses, no strengths.
*** MasterOfNone -- Not bad at anything, not good at anything.
*** LightningBruiser -- Good at everything, usually balanced by being [[AwesomeButImpractical impractical]] somehow, [[InfinityPlusOneSword really hard to get]], or having an AchillesHeel.
** CripplingOverspecialization -- Inverse of TheMario - really good at one thing, no good at everything else.
[[/index]]
----

** SituationalSword -- Or maybe just not all of the time.

*** CastFromHitPoints -- Magic fueled by sacrificing your current health (i.e., causing your body damage), your life force or your lifespan, which brings us to...
*** CastFromLifespan -- Magic which shortens the user's lifespan.

** SamaritanSyndrome -- Then again, responsibility and guilt are costs...

[[Disney/{{Aladdin}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Aladdin_-_159_-_The_Lost_City_of_the_Sun_0001_8083.jpg]]
[[caption-width:350:You mean magic ''isn't'' for free? This wasn't in the contract!]]

->'''Ares:''' "''You cannot save them Kratos. You gave them up in your quest for ultimate power. There is a price to pay for '''everything''' you gain.''"
->'''Kratos''': "''Not that price... I didn't want '''them''' to die.''"
->'''Ares''': "'''''No''' price is too high for what '''I OFFERED!'''''"
-->-- '''GodOfWar'''

Power. The ability to influence, create, change and even destroy. Things, places, ''people.'' It is by nature highly contentious: Some want it (would kill for it), others don't, or would gladly give away such a burden. Therein is the rub. For all its force, blessings or ability to change, power is not free... of responsibility, consequence, or cost. [[EquivalentExchange Some people think the exchange has to be "fair."]]

Drama derives much of its own power from this quandary. How power, seemingly free of any strings, has inherent costs. Whether they're hideous mutations, social alienation or even death varies by story, genre and kind of power. But the underlying basis is the same: Power at a Price.

* CrackIsCheaper: How much are you willing to pay for a Tier 1 deck in your CCG of choice?

[[AC: VideoGames and {{Tabletop RPG}}s]]

** ClingyMacguffin -- Throw it away, and it will come back.

** SituationalSword -- or maybe just not all of the time.

** TheRedMage -- Can use all kinds of magic, but isn't the best at any of them.

[[caption-width:350:You mean magic ''isn't'' for free? Disney lied to me!]]

** CursedWithAwesome-- You'll think it isn't worth it, but it is.

->Ares: "''You cannot save them Kratos. You gave them up in your quest for ultimate power. There is a price to pay for '''everything''' you gain.''"
->Kratos: "''Not that price... I didn't want '''them''' to die.''"

''"All power demands sacrifice"''

''"'''No''' price is too high for what '''I OFFERED!'''"''
-->-- '''Ares''', '''GodOfWar'''

* MultiformBalance-- When each of your forms has a power set suited for particular tactics and situations.

!!Tropes

<<|DramaTropes|>>
<<|MagicAndPowers|>>

** CantStayNormal

Power. The ability to influence, create, change and even destroy. Things, places, ''people.'' It is by nature highly contentious: Some want it (would kill for it), others don't, or would gladly give away such a burden. Therein is the rub. For all its force, blessings or ability to change, power is not free... of responsibility, consequence, or cost. [[EquivilentExchange Some people think the exchange is "fair."]]

Power. The ability to influence, create, change and even destroy. Things, places, ''people.'' It is by nature highly contentious: Some want it (would kill for it), others don't, or would gladly give away such a burden. Therein is the rub. For all its force, blessings or ability to change, power is not free... of responsibility, consequence, or cost.