I need a scale of some sort. Something similar to Paranoia's Infrared-Ultraviolet scale.
Letters and numbers are out. Alpha-Omega Greek lettering is also out. I considered some kind of scale based off the christian angelic orders, Angel-Seraphim, but that one just tastes wrong.
Any ideas?
What do you need it?
Your taste in literature is excellent OP.
Also we need you to ask for something a bit more specific.
To use the Paranoia example again:
"A GREEN curfew is in effect. If wandering the streets, please have your identification in hand. Troubleshooters are authorized to use lethal force on sub-GREEN level citizens."
Does it have to be self-evidently ordered or be sourced from something that's already ordered, or can you just make shit up for an arbitrary list?
It would be nice to look at it at a glance and be able to guess where the player's ranking is without having been told before.
In other words, an obvious hierarchy.
SI prefixes plus whatever unit you feel is appropriate? Kilowatt–Exawatt, for example?
Maybe shapes, based on number of sides? Circle, (skip 2 sides), Triangle, Square, Pentagon, and so on.
How about planets in the solar system, arranged by how far they are from the sun?
In that vein, the brightest stars as viewed from Earth, with or without the Sun?
Oh, I like both of those. wattage probably fits the theme I'm going for a bit more though.
I considered planets. It felt a little odd for Jupiter to be around the middle instead of the highest, given that the Roman god that gave the planet its name was pretty much the God of Gods.
Brightest stars might work as well.
Eden, Israel, Heaven
What's wrong with straight numbers/letters?
"Attention citizens. A DELTA level curfew is in effect. All Citizens of CHARLIE level clearance or lower please return to your homes."
I kind of like the One Punch Man disaster rating scale, where it corresponds with an animal or mythical creature, ending with god. The one the manga uses goes
>wolf
>tiger
>demon
>dragon
>god
I think one made up entirely of mythical creatures could be pretty neat, though the hierarchy might not be obvious at first glance.
I believe you mean the INFRARED to GAMMA scale, citizen.
Congratulations, citizen, you are now authorized for a VACATION. Please visit your nearest termination booth for details. HAVE A HAPPY DAY.
>orc
>ogre
>giant
>dragon
>tarrasque
Alpha, Bravo, Charlie...
Euclid, Fermat, Pascal...
Helium, Neon, Argon...
Myers, Voorhees, Krueger...
Get outta here, Ziz, what are you doing?
Especially if you end up forgetting your lore and putting a random fauna above say Fenrir.
Celestial objects by size?
Comet, moon, planet, star, galaxy, your mom.