Trope Workshop:Power Buff

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MOD: Moved back to the workshop because of a fundamental disagreement as to what this trope is. Is it a duplicate? Is it a supertrope? Whatever it is, either it needs more work or it needs to be deleted.

MOD: How is this different from Status Buff? Please see the conversation on the talk page.

Amp it up to eleven!

A Power Buff is a meta-superpower (ability, spell, supernatural functionality, etc., unavailable to Muggles) that increases other characters' powers. Individuals who possess this power can increase their and others' powers beyond their innate limits. This often takes the form of stronger output, although new aspects and expressions of the existing power are also possible.

Unlike the sister trope Status Buff, this works only on powers rather than people directly, and as such, does nothing for Badass Normals who only have skills or physical attributes to call their own; please move anything that isn't about affecting powers there. That being said, ain't no rule forbidding applying a Power Buff onto the source of Magic Enhancement and then enhancing the Muggle that way or for a Support Party Member to be able to confer both.

These effects usually have some Necessary Drawbacks to explain why, if such a capability exists, everyone isn't simply running around with buffed powers all the time. Perhaps the effects are only temporary, especially if potency or range is involved, and need to be refreshed periodically. Perhaps too strong or frequent buffing can induce Power Incontinence. Perhaps the buffing demands a ritual that is lengthy or requires rare ingredients, limiting its reusability. Perhaps the drawbacks harm the buffer, like if they involve Cast from Hit Points or Cast From Lifespan. Or perhaps there are no direct downsides, but the rarity and value of such turns buffers into Living MacGuffins sought for capture or assassination by enemies.

Inversion/opposite of Power Limiter, which limits a person's power. Contrast Super Empowering, which is about giving powers, whether to those who originally had none or even more to those who already had, although it's not impossible for a granter of powers to also alter its gifts, and sufficiently divergent new aspects gained through Power Buffing can blur the line.

The trope in the form of items is Amplifier Artifact.

Examples of Power Buff include:

Anime and Manga

• Bleach: Jugram Haschwalth can increase Quincies' powers by being in his presence. In the past, this power helped his former friend, Bazz-B, to develop faster than others in their village.
• Psyren: Nova, the fourth type of PSI that fuses Rise, Trance, and Burst to fuse the mind with the body. By using Nova, they remove their limitations, which amplifies their PSI. There is a caveat as Nova can only be used within a limit, and overuse can cause a strain on the body and mind where they bleed from their eyes and nose.
• Naruto later finds a way to give Kyuubi's Chakra to others, which can empower the army's Jutsus.
• Dragon Knights has Cesia, who can enhance the powers of others sought out by both the Demon army and Dragon Tribe.
• The Jack-of-all-trades Kicked Out of the Hero’s Party: Orn has on-paper inferior potential, which is what results in the eponymous expulsion, but his ability to use Power Buffing lets him and anyone he buffs push their powers beyond their initially apparent limits. As his former teammates eventually learn, he does it better and more efficiently than even the theoretically stronger person who replaced him.

Comic Books

• Marvel Comics:
  • As seen above, Zach, aka Amp, is a mutant who can output energy to anything around him, such as technology or other mutants. By using this superpower, he can bolster other mutants' powers but could also short-circuit them.
  • Boost of the Morlocks can supercharge other mutants' powers by merging bodily with them.

Literature

• In The Raven Cycle, Blue Sargent can amplify the abilities of psychics and other supernatural beings.
• Keeper of the Lost Cities‍'‍ Enhancers are elves with the Ability to enhance others' Abilities.
• The Dresden Files: Lucifer can boost his Fallen by improving their Hellfire to Super Hellfire. However, doing so allows God to respond in turn.
• Ivy from Xanth had supercharging magical talents as one aspect of her abilities.

Live-Action TV

• In Heroes, Ando Masahashi can project red energy conducts through enhanced humans, amplifying their powers.
• Charmed: Empathy can channel emotions themselves or into others to increase their magical powers. This is because all magical powers are tied to emotions. However, if given too much, they can overwhelm a user, causing their powers to become haywire.

Video Games

• Infamous 2 has The Beast, a Conduit that has many abilities, including amplifying other Conduits' capabilities.
• Joule, an ally to Azure Striker Gunvolt, is an Adept with a Septima that can resonate with other Adepts' powers when she sings, which amps other Adepts' Septima.
• Asura's Wrath: Mithra can enhance Mantra, cosmic energy produced from emotions and prayers, enhancing the powers of Demigods like the Seven Deities.
• Dota 2: The Alchemist can break down an Aghanim's Scepter Amplifier Artifact, which includes Power Buffing as one of its benefits, and permanently confer those benefits on an allied hero.

Web Animation

• RWBY‍'‍s Jaune Arc possesses the Semblance Aura Amp, which allows him to transfer Aura to others and enhances Aura abilities, like regeneration and their Semblances. He can use it to increase his own Aura as well.

Web Original

• Worm has Power Buffing fall under the category of power-affecting "Trumps". Some examples include:
  • Teacher can increase the potency of the powers he grants, but diminishing the "student"'s faculties as a result. He can also modify other powers by increasing potency while decreasing control or vice versa.
  • Ingenue similarly can boost an aspect of someone's power at the cost of another, like more control for less range.
  • The Yangban, a Chinese military unit of parahumans, have a member, Null, who can split others' powers among the group, but usually weakening the powers proportionately. This would make them a bunch of Masters of None... except that they have another member, Two, who can amplify all the powers, mostly up to a third of the original potency. The end result is a trained, coordinated group of Combo-Platter Powers users.
  • In the final battle, Weaver seeks out Panacea in the hope that she can get a boost to her power. She becomes able to control humans in addition to the original bug control, but her range is drastically shortened, and she starts losing her mind to her passenger too. Fortunately, the control effect can be transmitted through Doormaker's portals, which she quickly puts to good use.

Western Animation

• In Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, Nathalie Sancoeur is akumatized into Catalyst, who has the power to enhance the powers of others. Hawk Moth uses her superpower to boost his power of Akumatization, where he can Akumatize multiple people at once.
• Generator Rex: Amp is an EVO who can charge up Nanintes, causing EVO's powers to go out of control.
• In Slugterra, Fandangos can boost the abilities of other Slugs and act as support rather than offense and defense compared to other Slugs.
• Ninjago: Dragons Rising: Dragons can give their energy to Elemental Masters, boosting their Elemental Powers temporarily.
• Teen Titans Go! has Wally T, the only fan of the Teen Titans, who can boost their superpowers as their only fan.