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The Capability Map
Wounds tell you why a character hurts. Strengths tell you what they're built for. A strength is not a personality trait, not a value, not a worldview. It's a capability you can show in a scene. Something a character is genuinely good at, whether they developed it because of their wound, in spite of it, or entirely apart from it. And every strength, pushed too far, becomes a shadow: the tragic flaw hiding inside the virtue.
What This Resource Is
What This Resource Is
1 A Unified Strengths Model
30 strengths across 6 clusters, synthesized from five major strengths frameworks. 151 source entries distilled into one clean, non-redundant model of what characters can be genuinely good at.
2 The Shadow System
Every strength includes its shadow: the specific flaw that emerges when that strength is overused or misapplied. This maps directly to hamartia, the tragic flaw hiding inside the hero's greatest virtue. Courage becomes recklessness. Empathy becomes emotional absorption. Creativity becomes impracticality.
3 Strengths, Not Traits
This model draws a hard line between strengths (capabilities), values (commitments), and personality traits (dispositions). A character can value fairness and be bad at detecting it. A character can be introverted and still have the strength of Leadership. The gap between what someone values and what they can do is where dramatic tension lives.
4 How to Use This Resource
Start with How the Framework Works to understand what qualifies as a strength. Browse the 6 clusters to find your character's domain. Pick 2-3 dominant strengths and note their shadows. Use Building a Strength Profile to combine strengths with wounds and flaws for a complete character.
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