Where is the line drawn between Random Power Ranking and Power Levels?

Random Power Ranking Power Levels

I ask because I've noticed several entries on Power Levels that seem to be closer to Random Power Ranking to me, and vice-versa, and I dislike making large cuts to a page without consensus backing me up.

My proposed system: no Random Power Ranking should have over 75 possible ranks, and no Power Levels system should have under 75 possible ranks.

edited 6th Dec '10 3:59:09 PM by Gilphon

Okay, I see it a little different. As I understand it, Random Power Ranking means that the levels are actually really meaningless when it comes to the fighting. E.g. Claymore, whose main character starts as 47 an is still better than everybody else. Power Levels covers everything where the levels actually have a meaning, like Dragon Ball, if your level is lower than that of your opponent, you wont beat him.

edited 7th Dec '10 4:13:52 AM by eX

^ But what about situations where Power Level covers, I dunno, magical talent or something, and still allows a Weak, but Skilled character to win with clever tactics? In those cases, power rankings still need not be "random."

^^ Not sure this has come up in anything written by anyone other than me, but in case it has: what do we do with systems that allow fractional power levels (ex. 2.5)?

edited 7th Dec '10 2:40:08 PM by feotakahari

That's Feo . . . He's a disgusting, mysoginistic, paedophilic asshat who moonlights as a shitty writer—Something Awful

That interpretation of Random Power Ranking isn't supported in the description or examples, so if you're right, some TRS work is needed.

IMO, if it's just one decimal place or some other system that doesn't allow for that many variations, it's Random Power Ranking, more than that crosses over into Power Levels

It isn't? Because that is the impression I get from the majority of the examples. And isn't what you describe more Rank Inflation?

^^ I'd say that would fit my impression of the trope. Why have Powerlevels when they provide zero information who could win a fight?

Rank Inflation is pretty distinct; that trope just describes the tendency to add something unintuitive at the top of a rating scale; or for the system to just become top-heavy, with a huge amount of variation in the top rank.

Perhaps it's best that I articulate my own interpretation of how the tropes differ: Power Levels is a personalized score, Random Power Ranking is a broad category. To give a rough Real Life equivalent, having an B average would be Random Power Ranking and having a 82 average would be Power Levels.  ^*

Neither is meant to an absolute measure of who would win, since you can have Weak, but Skilled people, or blind luck and stuff like that muddying the water, but both give you a sense of which combatant has the advantage.

edited 8th Dec '10 9:05:52 AM by Gilphon

How is B a Random Power Ranking? The name makes no sense if it just means "Few categories."

Methinks this needs some serious Trope Repair work. I'm reading Random Power Rankings, and I don't understand it very well. And the idea that the difference is in number of rankings is... well, silly.

To me, it sounds like it should be about power rankings given out with little actual in-story relevance.

edited 8th Dec '10 7:23:36 PM by TriggerLoaded

Don't take life too seriously. It's only a temporary situation.

I understand the difference to be something like this:

Babylon 5 psychics have a Power Level ranking on a scale from 0 to 12 (zero being Muggle, 12 being as high as human brains can handle). The rating also represents which abilities and techniques a psychic can handle or use, like reading surface thoughts (P3), probing hidden memories (P5), illusion projection (P8), and creating split personalities (P10). Psychics lower on the scale can rarely ever beat someone higher up unless they're extremely Weak, but Skilled or can form a Mental Fusion with other low-rankers. (I was winging the P rating a bit, it's probably not exact).

The figures representing heroes and villains in Hero Clix all have a point value that's basically a Random Power Ranking. While it does give a good measure of how durable and powerful a figure is, it's literally just a formula that adds up the point value of the health and various powers a figure has, placing absolutely no value on the order or combination they appear in. So while two completely different figures can have exactly the same point value, one can be far more useful in the game due to their powers and their placement.