Ok, so in one of my stories people with magic are chosen by the gods. It's a huge deal because A) it's super rare and B) they're super powerful. But I'm kind of having troubles with the latter part because my MC can use magic and I don't want her to be so overpowered that any inconvenience can be solved by snapping her fingers. She's pretty new to her power so there's a bit of a learning curve in the beginning, but I don't think it will be enough as the story progresses.
So, I guess what I'm asking is what are some ways I can make her out to be really powerful without making her ridiculously overpowered?
The main way to prevent characters with magic from being overpowered is setting limitations. I'll list a few suggestions
Morality - if there's moral stakes for using magic like if magic can be used to manipulate or harm people
Cultural consequences - maybe in the world abusing your magic is something not taken lightly, so things that fall under legal constraints
Magic consequences - negative effects of using too more or too powerful magic
Limit - only a certain amount can be used at a time or something of the like
You could also specify what the magic does. Hard magic systems I think are less likely to be seen as overpowered if the abilities are specific. Just for an example: she can heal but only under particular circumstances i.e perfectly calm and clear-minded
Maybe this will help a bit
Another way to make sure your character isn't over powered is to have opponents that can challenge them. If there are villains in the story, make sure that they either have abilities that are equal or even stronger than your main character. As your character grows stronger, the stakes should raise to meet them so there's still tension and conflict in the story.
Cultural consequences - maybe in the world abusing your magic is something not taken lightly, so things that fall under legal constraints
Man, I never even considered this. Magic is seen as a good thing, but all magic users in this universe are tasked with protecting their respective kingdoms so having some kind of legal restraints would not only make a lot of sense but would also open up the possibilities for some interesting conflicts.
The rest are good suggestions as well. You've both given me a lot to think about.
