The Godfather

Summary:

Humanoid entity that can change average humans to reality benders.

The Godfather

Macque 12 Jan 2020 21:41

The character can alter average humans to become reality benders. One of the creations attracts Foundation attention and the Godfather is taken into custody. He is pleasant initially but, once he learns SRA's are created from reality benders, he escapes custody. He is currently missing and considered hostile to the Foundation.

Re: The Godfather

Doctor Fullham 13 Jan 2020 03:16

What you have currently is the "Superpowered humanoid" or "X-Man" concept. An SCP article is much more than simply an anomalous item, being, place, or event. The true meat of the SCP is the story around the anomalous thing. The thing itself is a vehicle that the narrative is attached to. To give my best example from Series 1, look at SCP 093: The anomalous item itself is a rock that turns mirrors into interdimensional portals. The thing that makes this SCP shine is the story; the history of the dimension that it leads to.

I recommend reading several items on the Guide Hub:

How to Write an SCP

Essay Regarding SCPs, Narratives, and How They Can Share a Page

There are other guides there that can be very helpful, but these are some of the most often recommended for first-time contributors.

As you are pitching a humanoid SCP idea, I also recommend reading So You Want To Write A Humanoid SCP Object to assist in avoiding the "X-Men problem."

General Notes

We need to know more than just "it's a being that can create reality benders." What story are you going to tell - How The Foundation found him, Who or what created him and why, did someone use him to some end? What are his motives? Why does he create reality benders? How does he escape Foundation custody? How does he learn that SRAs are made from reality benders? (These are not all questions that must be answered, these are some possible narrative hooks.)

I also recommend reading a significant amount of the top-rated SCPs from the last several months, and focus on reading more recent SCPs rather than older series. Many early series SCPs would not last a day under current SCP standards, and a few are only still around because of their history with the wiki itself. (This does not apply to all early series SCPs, but many of these were written before the wiki's style had really been cemented.)

The anomalous entity, while important, is not actually the main focus of the SCP. A good story, a compelling narrative, something that makes the reader feel something - that is the goal of an SCP article. What feeling do you want to evoke from the reader? Horror? Empathy? Sadness? You need to create a narrative around this object and its effects.

I am not saying this to discourage you, I just want you to understand the amount of effort that goes into creating a successful SCP.

If you can revise this idea with a story that you want to tell, we will be able to give you much more meaningful and constructive critique.

The anomalous being is the vehicle, the narrative is the person driving, the readers are the passengers. You can have the shiniest, most polished, most interesting vehicle in the world, but without the driver, the passengers aren't going anywhere. Where is the narrative taking the readers, and how is it getting them there?

Re: The Godfather

Macque 14 Jan 2020 01:29

Dr. Fullham, thank you for the questions in particular. I haven't written anything of this one yet it is just an idea for know and I was hoping that in this forum I could get some questions that may help in developing the story and gauge the site's interest in the concept.

Please click

Who or what created him and why, did someone use him to some end?

His powers manifest themselves naturally and slowly. (I may change this later to mad scientist experimenting with genetics type thing if it fits the story) He is experimenting with what he can do and what the people that he changes are capable of.

Why does he create reality benders?

Initially, it's mainly a neat trick that he is experimenting with.

How does he learn that SRAs are made from reality benders?

The Foundation keeps an SRA near him, just in case, and it communicates to him in dreams. That part I am a little iffy on how I might make it work.

How does he escape Foundation custody?

In this instance he manages to convince a guard that he has been converted to a reality bender and the only way to not live his life as an experiment would be to escape.

I have been thinking of a tale that would occur after the escape. The entity finds a brother and sister in a besieged city. The children have been orphaned and are experiencing a desperate and terrifying life. The Godfather offers to make the younger sibling a reality bender so he can protect his sister.