Game-changing options in character creation?

[Jowgen]

As PCs level up and obtain new spells, abilities and/or magic items; the game invariably changes in how it runs. Things that were challenges to the players before suddenly aren't, or non-relevant mechanics/abilities suddenly become a major concern. Oftentimes these kinds of paradigm shifts are subject to the sources a DM allows (e.g. new spells, obscure items or ACFs), but not always.

What I am interested in here is not an encyclopedic lists of things that can significantly change how the game plays session to session as soon as they're allowed/introduced, but more of a collection of anecdotal accounts of what materials came to your table and just changed the status quo of how business was done. :smallsmile:

[SLOTHRPG95]

Psionics. Not 3.5 Expanded Psionics Handbook, nope. Weird, janky 3e psionics. Forget using Power Points to actually manifest anything (although having Con as your "spellcasting" stat is already pretty nice), just lay out with all the ability damage. Wouldn't say that it was game-breaking, but suddenly Lesser Restoration and Restoration were so much more important to have on hand.

[Troacctid]

Celestial Familiar. Having a coure eladrin in the party pretty much completely negates mind control effects and invisibility while also automatically detecting magic and evil and having unparalleled scouting with incorporeal movement. Major game changer. Don't even get me started on Call Faithful Servants—one celestial familiar isn't enough, better have a small army of them!

Sanctified spells are another one. They're powerful, they're non-class-specific, and only prepared casters have access to them, so they effect an instant balance shift as soon as they're introduced.

[BowStreetRunner]

I'm going to guess that there are a lot of others who have felt the game changing impact of this one. Leadership.

The first time (and certainly not the last time) I experienced the impact of this feat was a healer-less party that had just hit 6th level. Up to this point our healing was almost all handled with expendables - potions, wands, etc. - and suddenly we hit 6th level and one of the players recruited a 4th level cleric somewhat optimized for healing and turning undead. It was like day and night. We were now spending a lot more time adventuring with fewer trips back to town, taking far less time sitting around recovering between encounters, and performing tactical withdrawals (okay, in all honesty full-blown retreats) far less often.

The change in resource use was a big shot-in-the-arm for the party.

[weckar]

Suprisingly: Quintessence.

The moment we found it, nearly every plotline that was not time sensitive already got completely invalidated. Need to make sure the BBEG doesn't gather 10 specific followers and killing them is pointless? Quintessence the smallest one and hide it in an impossible location! Need to survive an apocalypse? Quintessence!

[Venger]

reincarnate.

not for the reason you'd think. due to the level loss involved, we PCs never sullied our hands with it.

in the game, there was a hostile enemy faction with a network of spies everywhere. they wanted to assassinate key figures in the established government to take over.

my chameleon figured it would be a smarter idea to join the bad guys as a double agent and perform their kills rather than try to rescue their targets outright, because in that case, they'd just go after people the party didn't know about, and we'd be in the dark as to their plans.

after performing the "kills," my character would reincarnate them in a new body and relocate them using his pirate ship so they could continue to help maintain order in various places.

none of us really expected how important the spell would become in the game's metaplot, even if mechanically it made little difference to us the pcs.

[Saintheart]

To be honest, fifth level spells generally. This is admittedly confined to the Red Hand of Doom campaign where most of the opposition is melee-based and the casters tend to be alone and unsupported, but the moment the party can pull out even core 5th level spells, it just becomes rocket tag at that point.

[rel]

Magic item crafting is a big one. Suddenly extended downtime is a huge boost to your power and the only thing you need to know about magic items you find is how much you can sell them for.