The New Math (Nanoha SI), Thread 2

[classicdrogn]

Shameless double post ho!

How did your power ranking scale work out in the end? Something similar is mentioned in one of the reviews for Nanoha Takamachi and the Horrors of Ineptitude, from the 25th:

The GREAT ANONYMOUS REVIEWER
Oh! The mysterious magic number in Nanoha's power level system! I'm surprised anyone even knows of that, it's not even mentioned in the wiki!
Greetings! The GREAT ANONYMOUS REVIEWER has been following this story for some time, and it's good to see it updating again! I'm enjoying your melding of the two universes, and cannot wait for some actual Umbridge cock-blocking. Er...wand-blocking? Whatever.
I actually came across the Nanoha numbers one night and decided I needed to create a scale to put things into perspective. If officers are A and above and most soldiers are D or C, how do they fare against our main characters, who are 4 or even 5 ranks higher than the norm? Exactly how powerful IS a Midchildan mage?

This was my result, the Rule of Three and One:
SSS - 100,000,000
SS - 30,000,000
S - 10,000,000
AAA - 3,000,000
AA - 1,000,000
A - 300,000
B - 100,000
C - 30,000
D - 10,000
E - 3,000
F - 1,000
(This assumes the number comes from season 1 manga. If not, shift all numbers up one rank.)

The basic idea is that the curve is not linear, and increases with every step up. Each rank is roughly 3 times the power of the one before it, making such things like the Book of Darkness actual threats too high for regular mages to handle. After all, if magical power is so linear, then the mages that face Precia would have been able to defeat her with ease because of their numbers. In an exponential curve (which this isn't, but...), Jail's reason for replacing magic with science becomes clearer: Mages like Nanoha are so powerful, even while under limiters, that they can overpower weaker foes with ease, as shown in Teana and Subaru's mock battle. In the A's manga (I think) both Nanoha and Fate lose to a AA rank mage even though they are AAA, showing that there is some leeway, but beyond 2 ranks things get dicey. Skill doesn't become enough to beat raw power, and the TSAB's wariness of Lost Logia is much more believable. Heck, most of their ranks don't use even small amounts of magic because they do clerical work.
My scale confirms three things we know about the Nanoha-verse
1) The average soldier (D) is 10 times more powerful than a civilian (F). Not based on anything in canon, but soldiers are soldiers because they are trained, so thus would have to be higher than a civilian, at least enough to make a difference.
2) B rank is an impassable wall for most mages at first. Consequently, it's also 10 times bigger than the average soldier's initial power of D rank.
3) Vita and Zafira are surrounded by soldiers in A's, at least 20. Using a linear scale with equal spacing, and setting 1,000,000 at either AA or AAA, we get C rank at about 500,000 or more. So 20 soldiers hesitate at fighting 2 people, each of whom is roughly twice as powerful as each one of them? I call hax.
4) I wanted to set SSS at something so high that it seems untouchable. After all, no one has ever reached SSS rank in the TSAB's history. Thus, SSS rank is a cool 100 million, higher than even the most powerful lost logias featured throughout the series. On a linear scale it would be about 1.5X higher than Nanoha and Fate, assuming 1,000,000 is set at AA or AAA.

And...that's it! That's my scale. It even fits with your own story. Nanoha and Fate both average around 1 million, which is their rank with limiters. Hermione would be slightly less powerful than Season 1 Nanoha. The average is 100,000 on Midchilda, with the vast majority of D and C ranks being balanced by the few elites, and mages below A don't generally have flight capability, which fits with 500 to 600 thousand being the Air Force cadet average.
And...I got carried away again, didn't I? Sorry, I just get excited about Nanoha. Probably one of my favorite series of all time. Don't bother using the scale if you don't want to. In fact, I probably should have done a PM instead.
I'm looking forward to another great chapter! Keep plugging away on that keyboard, Silent-Scream! PEACE!

"I don't flame, I bitterly critique." - The GAR

Another reviewer gives the specific score Nanoha was recorded at as 1.27 million and AAA rank, as of S1.
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows