Class- and Racial-Benefits You Wish You Could Turn Off (But Can't)

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Just a question, here. There are certain benefits granted by certain classes and races that can be just as annoying as they are useful (if not moreso). I'm not talking about features that are only penalties, like light blindness, light sensitivity, and the wilder's psychic enervation; rather, they're double-edged sword abilities that are great when you want them, but are something that you would really prefer to suppress when you don't.

For instance...

Pretty much any effect that grants spell resistance or magic immunity. Yes, you want it to apply against that mage's fireball, but when you're at -9 and bleeding out is a seriously bad time for the party's cleric to have to roll against your SR to heal you.

The hagunemnon's ability to change shape is pretty awesome, since you can mix and match critter abilities and shapes any time you want. However, it requires a move action in order to retain a stable form every single round, making it really difficult to perform a full round's worth of actions without, say, levels in swiftblade.

The umbral blot's disintegrating touch is a really nasty effect, especially if you've awakened one and can't give it any magic items to use. The effect also can't be turned off.

Immunity to [mind-affecting] effects is a real bummer, since it blocks all such effects, about half of which are beneficial buffs.

The Vecna-blooded template erases memories of you from everyone you've ever met and from everyone you'll ever meet, making your existence an extremely lonely one. Yes, erasing memories of you can be useful in some situations, but not when you're trying to make friends.

Got any others you can think of?

[Erit]

Most auras, like the Blackguard's Aura of Malice or Frightful Presence. Some of them can discriminate between friend and foe, some can't, and sometimes you just really want your Wizard to crap their pants.

[Name1]

The lack of a Con-Score can be frustrating for Undead players, because there are so many good spells that require living targets (often for no reason). The immunities are nice though.


The hagunemnon's ability to change shape is pretty awesome, since you can mix and match critter abilities and shapes any time you want. However, it requires a move action in order to retain a stable form every single round, making it really difficult to perform a full round's worth of actions without, say, levels in swiftblade.

What's worse, you can ever make more than 5 attacks in a full-round action, which makes it horrible compared to alternatives... like Shapechanging into a Dragon as a Master Transmogrifist...


Immunity to [mind-affecting] effects is a real bummer, since it blocks all such effects, about half of which are beneficial buffs.

...I do believe you can shut that off, actually. It's kinda an SR-kinda deal though, so I can see where you are coming from.

What's also kinda weird is a Frenzied Berserkers... well, Frenzy. A failed Will-Save is suddenly more of a danger than the enemy.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

What's worse, you can ever make more than 5 attacks in a full-round action, which makes it horrible compared to alternatives... like Shapechanging into a Dragon as a Master Transmogrifist...That's pretty difficult, albeit not impossible, to do anyway, given that you need to burn a move action every round.

[Doc_Maynot]

Would a Hagunemnon gain the Hydra's ability to attack with all of its heads as a standard if it assumed the form of one? If so, you have an effective full attack method. Mix in Travel Devotion and you can move as a swift for X rounds a day (And there is a feat chain that can grant you turn undead to power more) so... If all works you have a nasty Protean on your hands with just a few feat replacements.

[Name1]

That's pretty difficult, albeit not impossible, to do anyway, given that you need to burn a move action every round.

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe a Nilshai gains an extra partial action, which works like a standard action that cannot be converted to a move action, allowing you to use your standard action as a move action ("You can always take a move action in place of a standard action.") and using the move and partial action to full-attack, but I could very well be wrong there... Partial actions kinda confuse me...

[Inevitability]

Buomman's inability to speak is annoying.

[weckar]

Buomman are not technically unable - they just won't.

The Walker in the Waste's Drought abilities are an odd duck in this case: You CAN turn them off... but it turns itself back on again in a round.

[Emperor Tippy]

1) Individuals can always choose whether their immunity applies or not to any spell that they cast.

2) Individuals can suppress immunities and the like as a standard action. The RAW explicit example is an Elf suppressing its immunity to Sleep.

[ekarney]

2) Individuals can suppress immunities and the like as a standard action. The RAW explicit example is an Elf suppressing its immunity to Sleep.

I can't believe I missed that example out of all of them. Looks like that character with the stupid high lucid dream skill could have been an elf after all :(

[Inevitability]

Buomman are not technically unable - they just won't.

It makes no difference in practice.

[Quertus]

No one has mentioned the whole aura of peace? :smallconfused:

The worst is Thrull Herd. No matter how many times my Illithid Savant eats all their brains, no matter how far away he runs, within 24 hours, they're back. You don't really appreciate peace and quiet until it's so impossible to have.