Humans like to put numbers on things. It’s kind of our whole basis for understanding the world, so it’s not surprising that this trend would apply to fiction as well. In a lot of stories with magic, I’ve noticed a tendency to use numbers to describe how much power someone possesses. They might have a literal level in the case of a LitRPG or something less specific like a human made ranking system.
Power levels differ in terms of accuracy and what aspect of power they refer to. In a LitRPG, levels are usually a very accurate way of measuring someone’s power level since their level is usually a direct measurement of that strength. Power levels become less accurate when assigned by people, usually after taking a test or accomplishing a specific goal. In these scenarios, it’s possible for someone underqualified for a power level to receive that ranking because their powers are uniquely suited for that test while someone overqualified might fail that same test. There may also be a difference in how someone reaches a rank. An S Rank mage would have different strengths and weaknesses compared to an S Rank warrior or rogue.
There are also situations where power levels have discrete jumps between them. Usually, it’s a steady upward trend where the difference between levels 1 and 2 are the same between levels 49 and 50. Other times there are specific thresholds that require someone to do something specific to reach the next level. Reaching level 50 may require a special ritual or trial that specifically raises someone’s strength in a way that makes the jump from 49 to 50 much larger than from levels 1 to 2. This is pretty common in cultivation novels where you have “tribulations” that a cultivator has to go through to reach the next cultivation level.
A big plus when it comes to power levels is that it gives a specific and clear way of tracking a protagonist’s progress when it comes to getting stronger. It also gives a good way of measuring threats. If your level ten hero is suddenly faced with a level one hundred monster then it becomes clear how much danger there is. It can be useful to have a clear way of telegraphing to the audience when they should be worried for the protagonist.
While it does feel nice to be able to put labels on things, there are dangers to relying too much on this trope. A system with discrete power levels can cause fights to turn into a numbers game. This can lead to situations where if a character’s power level isn’t equal or greater than their opponents, it is impossible for them to win.
I’ve also read stories where a protagonist increasing their personal power level becomes the entire point of the series with plot and character taking a back seat. If combined with a situation where levels are the sole determiner of who wins in a fight, this makes a story where the numbers are the only thing that matters. If a character isn’t of a certain power level, they are no longer relevant. It doesn’t matter whether they have useful skills unrelated to fighting. They will, at best, be a supporting character who does useful things off screen.
Power can take on many forms other than someone’s combat ability. Whether its political power, economic power, or social power, there are a lot of different ways of influencing the world. Even within the umbrella of fighting ability there would be a lot of differences in the way someone can fight, especially in a setting with magic. Someone’s high power level could be because they’re a walking tank, a stealthy assassin, or a spell slinging mage. Each of these archetypes would have different strengths and weaknesses and it would be boring to say that a character can do all of these things.
A good example of a series that does power levels well is “Godclads”. The main ways of measuring power in this series are thaums and ghosts. Thaums are used to wield the power of dead gods while ghosts are used for magitech computing/mind hacking. The important thing to note is that when someone dies, they produce one thaum and one ghost. This is a good way of keeping the numbers meaningful. For instance, when someone shows up and the protagonist sees that they have seventy-million thaums it means their magic is powered by seventy-million deaths. Even if you don’t have a frame of reference for the power levels in this series you know that someone powered by that much death is someone to be taken seriously. Also, to provide that reference, someone powered by a thousand thaums would be classified as a weapon of mass destruction.
I also like how “Godclads” makes sure that numbers aren’t everything. The protagonist, Avo, has been able to defeat opponents of a much higher thaum level through things like clever planning, ambushes, and exploiting weaknesses. Fights in this series aren’t determined purely by who has more thaums.
Overall, power levels are an interesting way of quantifying information and can help ground a series. After all, numbers are how humans try to understand the world in real life, so it’s not a surprise that it would be the same in fiction. Audiences also enjoy being able to put labels on otherwise esoteric concepts such as how much magic someone has. There are pitfalls associated with power levels such as focusing too much on the numbers or forgetting that power can come in multiple forms. Power levels are a tool like any other and should be used with skill and care.