Currently have an idea in the works with an SCP. The SCP is a pair of gloves that do not seem to have an anomalous effect. If a user puts the one or both gloves on, however, then the gloves effect activates. When the gloves come into contact with any material for 2-5 seconds, the material will start to decompose at an accelerated rate, and this effect works on organic and synthetic material. While I think this is a smashing idea, I've been pointed out that it's only in the form of a generic magic object. Any suggestions on how to make this object more interesting?
:P
There are lots of ways:
First, make it work in an interesting way, like it fundamentally alters physics in some way, dunno (I'm not a physicist), or dramatically changes the hume levels of the object.
Second, have it have more nefarious long term effects, like even if the effect is stopped, the object continues to disintegrate over a long period of time and this can't be stopped.
Remember, SCPs are stories. What kind of story do you want to tell?
PULSEFLECT, this feedback is misleading.
First, make it work in an interesting way, like it fundamentally alters physics in some way, dunno (I'm not a physicist), or dramatically changes the hume levels of the object.
Fundamentally altering physics won't make this concept less of a generic magic object. With regards to humes, not everyone on the site likes reading about them, and plenty of users don't even know what hume levels are.
Second, have it have more nefarious long term effects, like even if the effect is stopped, the object continues to disintegrate over a long period of time and this can't be stopped.
This just runs the risk of making the effect seem overpowered. Furthermore, this particular suggestion comes off as seeming like the Amaterasu black flames effect from the Naruto anime/manga.
Remember, SCPs are stories. What kind of story do you want to tell?
Please don't drop catchphrase critique like this and expect it to be automatically helpful. Neither of the suggestions you've provided above are narrative-based. If you're going to focus on story, suggest more about why or how something exists, rather than just what it is and does.
Given that this isn't the first time staff has needed to address problematic feedback from you, please be more careful with your review posts from now on.
It would be more interesting if the gloves still did this WITHOUT being put on. How are you going to contain something that eats through the box, the wall, the floor, and the earth underneath it? What if it eats through the air too?
Alternatively, it could be interesting to go more science-y with it. The gloves could be literally acidic, like in a pH level way. I don't know chemistry well enough to further that idea, but…?
That is an interesting way to change the way the SCP works. I do have a few issues with it though. The first is that I'll have to change the time or the power of the effect, either make it more powerful when worn, or have it unable to go through certain materials. Otherwise, the containment procedures would be absurdly difficult, if impossible for something that eats anything. Also, eating the air doesn't really make sense, unless you mean oxygen atoms, but then it would only eat air that it touches, which is sort of useless.
Actually, could it be contained via a constantly spinning machine that enables zero gravity? Though that may be not scientifically accurate.
There's also the fact that changing the effects doesn't change the standard conceptual formula, which is "thing that does a thing".
If you want to make this less generic, start thinking more about why these gloves exist the way they are now, and the context of how they were significant before/beyond the Foundation finding and locking them up.
Right, so I need to think what they were doing before the foundation got their hands on them. Guess that means a significant event with a lot of Amnesiacs involved. Or a note left by the former owner/s. I'll expand on the factory that manufactured the gloves instead of putting the the "They never made it" cliche.
*amnestics
Or a note left by the former owner/s.
Side note, this sort of story element has gotten kind of overused lately, to the point where people start to find "overly convenient note explaining everything shows up, helping the Foundation how lucky!" downvote-worthy. If you're going to have recovered documents, take care to ensure that they don't come off as too lead-on-y.
Yeah I was meaning gaseous atoms. It would need to be contained to prevent it from stripping earth of atmosphere, and I guess would make a vacuum in whatever container it gets put in.
A random thought, what if it takes the decomposed material and makes a hand/body to wear the glove on? Kind of like 963, only instead of taking over a body when being worn, it builds a host body out of what it disintegrates?
Wait, won't the gloves only destroy the atoms if it comes into the contact? Gravity will always make it stay on the ground, which means the vacuum wont even occur because it's already fallen through the container and is eating the floor.
As for the decomposing making host thing, that would make it sentient and able to move, which kind of defeats the purpose of the SCPs effect. Even with that the host would die rather quickly with the decomposition.