This system is for a fantasy action comic book. The mechanics are never meant to be explained in the actual story, I'm moreso working on the system in the background to make sure the powers each character has are always consistent with who they are. Would love any feedback from people more knowledgeable about the Enneagram because I am new to this.
CORE IDEA
Vigor is a life energy power system (Ki, Chakra, Nen, etc) where it reveals exactly who you are under pressure. The power is shaped by how one wishes to overcome their Fears, and achieve their Desires. Everyone expresses Vigor differently but can be grouped based on underlying primary emotions, such as Anger, Shame, and Fear. The way someone's fears and desires respond to stress determine how their power manifests, escalates, and fails.
THE SOURCE
Vigor is the filter of a larger, unknown source. The main character of my story struggles with the power system as it's an extension of who he is, proof of who he truly is. This power system is about exposing who you are and how you react to your own identity, your flaws, strengths, and everything in between.
COST
Vigor does not primarily drain stamina or lifespan, that's more of a counter-product depending on the user. The true cost is self-exposure. The more someone relies on Vigor, the harder it is to hide their true motivations, the more their inner conflicts visibly surface, and the more their relationships are strained by those seeing who they truly are deep inside beneath any mask they put on. Vigor does not corrupt, rather it amplifies unresolved internal pressure that must be healed in order for the user to get stronger and ascend.
LIMITS
Vigor itself cannot overwrite who you are as a person. In fact, I'm deciding now that trying to drastically change yourself all at once is not true to yourself in this world, you have to interact with why you are the way you are first then overcome that, otherwise risk severe backlash. As a result, Vigor cannot solve problems without reflecting the user's internal state. There are no power levels or hard numbers, but hard conceptual caps that hold users back.
CATASTROPHIC CONSEQUENCES
Vigor, when misused, can cause catastrophic consequences to the user. Say they are edging toward the Unhealthy levels of their type, using Vigor with just ONE core mindset / Type can cause a Failure State within the user. When Vigor is used to avoid confronting its root fear rather than resolve it, the user destabilizes, resorting to a loss of control, physical backlash, or their ability becoming increasingly narrow and brittle. You can never lose Vigor once you have it, but you CAN become trapped by a single expression of it, halting your progress as a human being.
VIGOR LEVELS
I'm going to keep this brief, but these are essentially how healthy or unhealthy you are as a Vigor user. The Healthier, the closer you are to possibly moving past your own Type, able to take on abilities of other Types as you notice those tendencies within yourself aside from your dominant type, and possibly even move past Vigor to something beyond.. Your use of Vigor is almost or completely integrated with yourself, and everything you do with Vigor is intentional, not a happenstance mistake.
However, if you are on the Unhealthy range, you can become reactive and compulsive with Vigor, even allowing it to consume your human self and turn you into a Monster, taking you into a darker variant of Vigor. These Monsters gain access to a purer, more unfiltered, raw version of Vigor coming from the Source, but can never again be called a human and gain their own agency again.
Most users are in the Middle levels, controlled but fragile use of Vigor dictating if you will stay within your type / levels, or rise above them and become a better person as a result. Regardless, **advancement is not linear, and you can always regress under stress, but always rise up again if you don't stray too far.**
CHARACTER EXPRESSION
Getting behind why Vigor looks different per person, it expresses itself through three primary centers, each tied to a dominant way that the user responds to stress:
Might / Body - action, force, instinct
Grit / Spirit/Heart - emotion, shame, resolve, connection
Wit / Mind - fear, analysis, preparation
Most users lean heavily into one center, though imbalance of the centers innately causes instability. Two users can have identical raw potential and still manifest wildly different abilities as a result of being further along in their journey.
VIGOR TYPES
How each character's use of Vigor differentiates. Their names are meant to hint at how they manipulate Vigor / life energy.
Users cannot choose the type, it emerges naturally from how you attempt to resolve fear and pursue your desires under pressure, coping strategies under pressure, not virtues or vices.
MIGHT / BODY CENTER
This Center's users empower themselves with overwhelming force and enhancement of their bodies. These users prioritize action and tend to move before they think. Formidably strong but weak mentally. Their primary emotion is Anger.
8 - Amplifiers: MULTIPLY their Vigor output to become a formidable force, ensuring they are always strong enough to resist subjugation through their own strength.
- They increase their power in direct and aggressive means, often pushing beyond their body's safe limits to avoid being taken advantage of.
- They desire Autonomy and fear Oppression/Loss of Control.
Ex. user: Gon from HxH // At the cost of all his future potential and strength, can gain it all at once to become a fully-mastered and adult version of himself.
9 - Stabilizers: STILL the energy of themselves and others, to suppress volatility and create zones where chaos cannot thrive.
- Their power halts momentum, motion, and escalation.
- They seek Peace and fear Conflict.
- **Ex. user Aang from ATLA* // STILLS the energy within himself and another person to take away their bending.
1 - Refiners / Rectifiers / Reformers (not sure which to pick): Tune Vigor to align themselves and their surroundings to their own internal moral standard of "correctness" or "goodness";
- does NOT always mean objective goodness (if there even is a thing). They rather *enforce internal coherence on the outside world with their own morals. *The backlash comes when their actions violate what they believe they should be.
- Focused on precision, restraint, and correction, often suppressing excess force at times to maintain efficient and pure movements during combat.
- Still workshopping explaining this one, because what's "good" to one person isn't "good to another".
- Ex. user: Kento Nanami from JJK// Imposes a forced 7:3 weak spot on targets bodies / limbs, enabling massive damage when striked.
- Bonus ex.:* LeRai Lee*, my own character // Imposes a casual bond on himself based on how morally certain he is; when 100% certain, nigh unbeatable in battle; when less than 100% (and likely way lower with his mindset) his own ability breaks his body down, and Vigor becomes this heavy, oppressive and destructive weight on him that's hard to control. His journey is learning to accept himself and his flaws, and not get stressed about his identity as a person who wants to save people but most of the time just harms them.
Grit / Spirit Center
This Center's users empower themselves with their connection to others and the world around them. These users' power is felt before being seen, even by the users. It bleeds outward and shapes the emotional state of others. They prioritize meaning, connection, and self-worth. They are powerful in presence, but susceptible to emotional overload or being fixated on a goal. Their primary emotion is Shame.
2 - Linkers: LINK their own Vigor to and through others, forging strong bonds that reinforce connection as a means to ensure they will always be loved in return.
- These users' Vigor strengthens personal bonds, often at the cost of neglecting their own energy and limits.
- These users fear Rejection/Worthlessness, and desires Connection.
- Ex user:Sienna, my own character - Alien girl that amplifies emotional states in others at will, overlapping her emotions with theirs in an effort to force them to need her help with their extreme emotions. Comes at the cost of never having coherent feedback for her own emotional states and her identity being eroded with the other parties. Has BPD; hyper-reactive attachment, unstable self-image, etc.
3 - Exalters: OVERCLOCK the quality of Vigor within themselves + others + surroundings to enhance and optimize all toward a perceived ideal, proving their undeniable value to all.
- These users' Vigor accelerates performance and output of everything they interact with at the cost of themselves, risking burnout and identity collapse if results aren't up to scratch.
- These users fear being a Failure/Insignificant, and seek Validation/Worth through Achievement.
- Ex user: All Might // One for All Quirk him to push his body beyond sustainable limits to embody the Symbol of Peace. He overclocks his body into an idealized image of strength and heroism, even as his true body deteriorates.
Same ability as Midoriya, but still filtered different through All Mights Type 3 personality!
4 - Shapers: MATERIALIZE their inner emotions into a unique Vigor signature that proves that they are unique and distinct, never to be forgotten.
- These users are often uniquely expressive, but often volatile and their Vigor can become difficult to control when emotions get in the way.
- These users fear being Ordinary, and desire Authenticity / Identity.
- Sub-ability: Manifest objects (weapons, tools, etc.) out of their own Vigor, taking on unique properties depending on the user.
- Ex. user: Scarlet Witch // Direct materialization off her emotional state, reshaping relating based on her love, grief, and loss. It's deeply personal and unstable because it has to reflect her inner world.
Wit / Mind Center
This Center's users empower themselves by manipulating Vigor to heighten their cognitive senses and create preemptive, planned attacks. Their power prioritizes understand and control of the uncertain. They think before they act and often act in battle indirectly, almost never being at the source of where their abilities are set off. They have great range and are highly adaptable, but require prep time (BATMAN!!) and are prone to overengineering their abilities with too many rules or pacts, and can be prone to paralysis when their plans go awry.
5 - Decoders: STRUCTURE, analyze, manipulate, break, and translate Vigor of all sources into rules and domains to fully understand their foes and predict outcomes of others.
- Their Vigor use excels in controlled environments, but struggle when overwhelming force of sheer chaos breaks established logic.
These users fear Helplessness/Ignorance, and desire Competence/Mastery.
* *Ex. user: Light Yagami** // HEAR ME OUT, the Death Note isn't exactly a power system, but his rule-based dominating way of using it sure is. He learns the rules of the notebook exhaustively, tests it ad nauseum, and weaponizes the information asymmetry against his foes to control outcomes.
6 - Keepers: PRIME their Vigor to automatically respond to perceived threats, creating layered defenses and contingency reactions in order to protect those they care about first and foremost.
- Their power excels in preparation and teamwork, but can misfire under false alarms, distrust, and their own paranoia.
- These users fear Betrayal, and seek Security/Assurance.
- Ex. user: Killua // Godspeed automates his reactions, allowing his body to respond before conscious thought to danger. His Nen (now Vigor) is primed to protect him instantly at all times when activated.
**Bonus Ex. user: *Izuku Midoriya** // Cannot use OFA like All Might at first, instead OFA manifests as a primed, reactive power system rather than a single mastered ability. Instead of stabilizing into one consistent expression (overclocking his body), OFA in Deku fragments into multiple contingency tools (Full Cowl, Blackwhip, Danger Sense, etc.) each activating in response to specific threats. He does not trust his instincts alone, thus pre-loads solutions to problems he knows he will encounter.
7 - Shifters /Liberators (Don't know, can't choose): SHIFT and disperse Vigor rapidly and unpredictably to escape constraints and always stay ahead of the opposition.
- Their powers enable swift movement and improvisation, being the most adaptable Vigor type, yet due to avoiding resolution in favor of momentum, and in fear that being de-powered will get them in harms way, their internal stamina is high but once their momentum is broken they're washed.
- These users fear Entrapment/Emotional pain, and desire Freedom/Stimulation.
- Ex. user: Gojo Satoru // Infinity and spatial manipulation allow him to bypass constraints entirely, turning combat into freedom of movement and possibility. He treats opposition as playtime because he cannot and will not be trapped (at least not for too long).
DESIGN INFLUENCES
Ki from Dragon Ball - Easy to understand + Dynamic Action + Mind, Body, and Spirit ideology
Nen from HxH - In-depth mechanics + Character-First powers
Quirks from MHA - Unique Power for Everyone + Character-First powers
The Enneagram - An analysis of personality that I didn't think would be that useful for actually people, but is MIGHTY helpful for writing characters.
What I'd love feedback on*:
If anyone here is really really familiar with Enneagram theory, I’d especially love feedback on whether the fear/desire to ability mapping reads clearly, even without prior knowledge.
Do the Might/Grit/ + Wit Centers clearly explain why abilities differ? Or should I add better explanations?
Does the cost/failure structure feel meaningful without hard numbers?
