Discussion Teleportation powers suck.

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

Title is hyperbolic, but I have your attention now. So, it worked.

This does not come from any negative experience on the board, and nobody has used teleportation powers in a thread or scene I was writing. This is purely a thought I had while contemplating the Mandalorian and Grogu movie.

I did not care for said movie. It was not the worst thing I have ever watched, but it was not particularly enjoyable. And I think I identified the reason why. There was very little true peril. I think only in the one scene with the giant snake creature did I feel any sense of threat or danger.

As I contemplated peril in storytelling, I began to ponder teleportation as a power. And thought about how many times my characters have been in dire situations, and in order for them to survive they (and I) needed to really dig deep and be creative. In the last invasion, I came preloaded with like three or four possibilities for escape that were seeded into posts along the way, just to try and make it realistic when, or if, it happened.

So, your thoughts on this statement:
Unless teleportation powers add their own perils, they fundamentally undermine dramatic tension.

 

[Kitter Bitters]

To be honest I think most of the Force powers these days are just way too much. I usually write my characters more like the original films.

I can see how teleportation is maybe useful sometimes. I also never wanna gatekeep and tell people how to roleplay, but I get where you are coming from.

 

[Balun Dashiell]

Big nope!

I've never used them and never will.

Even though this is Star Wars fanfiction, I still like a certain level of realism in my Force-powered escapades.

 

[Aether Verd]

I see your point and raise you:

 

[Kitter Bitters]

Aether Verd I've never seen that show but aren't they really powerful? Teleportation is probably nothing for them haha.

I'd think it's pretty rare for Force users. Like apparition in the wizarding world?

 

[Braze]

Brandyn Sal-Soren

Mandalorian and Grogu was something I loved. It was great for what it was.

I think a lot of it really just comes down to the writer and how they use the tools they've given themselves. Powers, on their own, are pretty neutral. Almost any ability can be interesting if it's being used to serve the story, create complications, solve problems in an interesting way, or tell us something about the character.

Where I start losing interest is when the writing becomes less about the scene and more about establishing how untouchable someone is. If I have to sit through a tirade about how everyone is immune to X, resistant to Y, or has some counter for every possible situation, that just isn't especially fun or compelling to me. At that point the powers have stopped being narrative tools and started becoming an argument about why the character can't be affected by anything.

Compelling storytelling doesn't really boil down to "X power is bad." It comes down to what the writer actually does with it. Limitations, consequences, creativity, character choices, and how an ability affects the people and story around them are what make powers interesting to me.

 

[Braze]

Merrin is probably one of the clearest examples of this distinction for me. I actually really like teleportation as a concept. There is so much you can do with an ability like that depending on the context, the limitations placed around it, and why the character chooses to use it.

What loses me with Merrin is how frequently and casually her teleportation gets folded into her movement. She pops from place to place so often that eventually the ability stops carrying much significance for me. It starts feeling less like Merrin is making an interesting choice with a supernatural ability and more like the scene wants another visually impressive way of moving her from one position to another.

And teleportation is an ability where context matters enormously because it can remove so much of the natural friction from a scene. Distance matters. Obstacles matter. Having to physically approach something can matter. A character being on one side of a room while someone else is on the other creates its own little set of choices and possibilities. Teleportation can bypass all of that, which can absolutely be interesting, but I think it becomes much less interesting when bypassing those things is simply the character's default mode of movement.

For me, an extraordinary ability tends to become more interesting when its use carries some kind of narrative emphasis. Maybe there is a reason she chooses to teleport here rather than walk. Maybe it changes the situation in a meaningful way. Maybe using it solves one problem while creating another. It does not necessarily need some enormous cost every single time, either. I just want the choice to use it to matter.

That is probably why Merrin falls so flat for me as a character. I actually like the concept behind her abilities, but I still find her an annoying addition to an otherwise great game. The spectacle is there, but after watching her pop around repeatedly, it stops being impressive on its own. I start wanting to know what the teleportation is actually contributing beyond making her movement look supernatural.

 

[Mellifluous Magenta]

Merrin's teleporting is really an easy way for the devs to get out of having to animate her doing parkour or complex vertical movements, particularly in the traversal/movement sections.

 

[Ghruna]

Unless teleportation powers add their own perils, they fundamentally undermine dramatic tension.

True.

 

[Shinma]

Title is hyperbolic, but I have your attention now. So, it worked.

This does not come from any negative experience on the board, and nobody has used teleportation powers in a thread or scene I was writing. This is purely a thought I had while contemplating the Mandalorian and Grogu movie.

I did not care for said movie. It was not the worst thing I have ever watched, but it was not particularly enjoyable. And I think I identified the reason why. There was very little true peril. I think only in the one scene with the giant snake creature did I feel any sense of threat or danger.

As I contemplated peril in storytelling, I began to ponder teleportation as a power. And thought about how many times my characters have been in dire situations, and in order for them to survive they (and I) needed to really dig deep and be creative. In the last invasion, I came preloaded with like three or four possibilities for escape that were seeded into posts along the way, just to try and make it realistic when, or if, it happened.

So, your thoughts on this statement:
Unless teleportation powers add their own perils, they fundamentally undermine dramatic tension.

Hell of a shower thought from Mando & Grogu! (though, I agree it's pretty comfy for a movie / Star Wars movie)

Weirdly, I think teleportation in "Star Wars" just doesn't fit just because of vibes. Except for random moments in EU (or the Last Jedi), transportation and the time to move between places is a non-issue anyway to the point that a Star Trek-like teleportation system wouldn't impact of the story anyway.

 

[Alan]

Some things that are in the EU just don't feel like Star Wars. Teleporting is one of them.

 

[Adelle Bastiel]

Idk, I think how overpowered or not a Force power is entirely depends on the writer. Take Force heal. It can be an overpowered ability, the ability to heal others or yourself with the Force, no medicine ability check required. Telekinesis, Force choke, Mind Trick, the potential to be overpowered is there.

It's up to the writer to add tension to the scene.

 

[Lyssara Thrynn]

My teleportation power is inspired by Merrin's and can clearly be used in the same way; personally, though, I don't use it in combat I use it for cool entrances and exits, or just for traveling, for instance.

My take is that since the ability exists, we should just have fun with it! It's like Sidious's wormholes totally overpowered on paper, yet they're part of the lore. It's not an automatic "win button," but I think that as long as we use our powers consistently like dodging a lethal shot without then overusing the ability it's fine.

Ultimately, though, everyone is free to do whatever they want!

 

[Krass Wyms]

Teleportation as a skill in the canon has been around for a long time, it is one of the most uncommon of rare and exotic abilities. The real trick of it came from the limitations of who was using it and as I tell John Locke most of the time. There is a lot stranger things within the lore of star wars. Wait until you get into the really weird and crazy things.

 

[Jared Starchaser]

Used them before, but for more short range 'combat roll dodge' type of deal.
But like my original use of GenAi, i have seen the error of my ways and am ashamed of the historical choices I made.

 

[Meya Liefi]

I disagree. I very much like using Nightsister teleportation on this character, and I've successfully used it to intensify drama before. One example is having her leave abruptly before an interaction reaches resolution, allowing feelings to build until she and the other character meet again. It also adds flavour to her since I do not use teleportation on characters that aren't Dathomiri witches.