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<blockquote data-quote="Victim" data-source="post: 4018276" data-attributes="member: 78">Quite frankly, I don't see how the power available to epic characters and monsters can result in anything other dynamic points of light.&nbsp; Power rests in the hands of legendary individuals and small groups, and can't really be transfered to social institutions.&nbsp; Therefore, as those individuals go, so goes everyone else.&nbsp; Characters with incredible power aren't really condusive to stable societies, IMO.&nbsp; Especially obtaining that power generally involves an incredibly violent lifestyle.&nbsp; Even heroic characters can often be pretty flawed - and the more desparate the situation, the more likely that anyone who can win becomes the hero of&nbsp; [subject hometown].&nbsp; And a dynamic PoL situation is pretty desparate.&nbsp; Just because someone is heroic enough to oppose forces that would wipe out the world, a city, a town, a whatever doesn't necessary make them nice people.To abuse a modern analogy, if nuclear weapons were in the hands of small groups or individuals instead of large organizations who employ numerous failsafes to prevent unauthorized use, do you think they wouldn't get used?&nbsp; Epic characters with godlike power seems more like a reason that PoL sticks around than a reason it would end.&nbsp; Even without power corrupting, it's generally easier to break things than to build them.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Victim, post: 4018276, member: 78"] Quite frankly, I don't see how the power available to epic characters and monsters can result in anything other dynamic points of light. Power rests in the hands of legendary individuals and small groups, and can't really be transfered to social institutions. Therefore, as those individuals go, so goes everyone else. Characters with incredible power aren't really condusive to stable societies, IMO. Especially obtaining that power generally involves an incredibly violent lifestyle. Even heroic characters can often be pretty flawed - and the more desparate the situation, the more likely that anyone who can win becomes the hero of [subject hometown]. And a dynamic PoL situation is pretty desparate. Just because someone is heroic enough to oppose forces that would wipe out the world, a city, a town, a whatever doesn't necessary make them nice people. To abuse a modern analogy, if nuclear weapons were in the hands of small groups or individuals instead of large organizations who employ numerous failsafes to prevent unauthorized use, do you think they wouldn't get used? Epic characters with godlike power seems more like a reason that PoL sticks around than a reason it would end. Even without power corrupting, it's generally easier to break things than to build them. [/QUOTE]

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