NOTE: While an extensive list of all the forms of power is impossible, I’ve compiled this list to express its range. This list is infinitely expandable as human purpose finds creative methods to accomplish things.
- Creativity – can accomplish a purpose using methods outside of others’ expectations.
- Wisdom – general understanding of reality.
- Expertise – having a specialized understanding of things, especially of how to wield all the other forms of power.
- Aptitude – ability to physically do things.
- Experience – possessing memory of places and events.
Natural
- Time – how much time before the end of a period, or before dying.
- Energy – physical reserves for manipulating our environment.
- Habits – routine behaviors that magnify long-term purposes, often including ambition or kindness.
- Technology – created things that help us magnify our efforts, can be scaled in quantity or varying degrees of effectiveness.
- Energy – natural resources like electricity or coal that make technology run.
Social (also known as “politics”)
- Status – general opinions from others.
- Coercive – can punish people, driven by others’ fears.
- Reward – can reward people, driven by others’ loves.
- Likability/Influence – how much people will enjoy or trust being with them.
- Formal – honor or an official title bestowed by a group, often established by the culture.
- Fame – familiarity with a name.
- Property/Wealth – ownership of things, people, intellectual properties, or rights that can accomplish a purpose.
- Money – a specific means of stockpiling others’ power for later, with each person basing its value on how much they believe everyone else values it (i.e., economics). It’s relatively measurable compared to all the other forms of power, and is one of the few that we can trade.
Contextual
- Information – has the means to accomplish a very specific purpose with very specific knowledge, which can frequently include awareness of trends.
- Willful Ignorance – by not knowing something, we don’t have to lie to claim ignorance.
- Unforgiveness – by not forgiving someone, we can use it for our purposes later through blame.
- Powerlessness/Victimhood – it’s impossible to be blamed for something we couldn’t control.
- Absence – by not having, we have the future means to gain something, which may increase another power in the process of gaining.
- Blackmail/Extortion – by giving something, you can get something in return later.
Social Modifiers
NOTE: Social modifiers “tweak” power. None of these are legitimately as powerful as a similar one from the above list, but they can often appear to be.
Expectations – any perception of the above power, based on the past.
Anticipation – any perception of the above power, but predicted in the future.
Reference – familiar with other people with the means to do any of the above, which frequently includes family or cultural ties.
Narrative – language skills to adapt or distort the appearance of reality to fit a desirable story, typically with the ability to blame others.
Subdivisions – anything that breaks out power where multiple people can own the same thing:
- Usage rights – the right to use something without owning it (e.g., renting, mining rights, streaming media services).
- Group affiliation – connection with or leadership of a collectively powerful organization.
Secrets – information that others don’t know, which disseminates in approximately equal portions from understanding and gossip.