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2021-03-07, 06:23 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2011
What ability set would be bad IRL?
So, there's been threads about RPG abilities that would be good, or what D&D classes one would take IRL, but what about abilities that would be *bad* to spontaneously develop?
To make the challenge easier, this doesn't have to be bad for a fully clued-in Playground optimizer - you can even explain how it would be bad for someone with no gaming experience, or even someone from a parallel world where that particular system doesn't exist.
Is it bad because they might not understand the consequences? Bad because it's hard to control? Bad because they might come to rely on it, and find that it fails when they need it? Bad because other people *would* recognize it, and fear/persecute them?
Just how bad can we make this "gift" of abilities of an RPG character?
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2021-03-07, 06:28 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2006
- Location
- NYC
- Gender
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
High intelligence is linked to a host of problems, from loneliness (from inability to communicate meaningfully with most people who are ~30 IQ points lower or higher) to madness (from seeing the horrible truth of the universe).
So any ability set with Int 20+ will arguably be bad IRL, especially if you pair it with Cha 8-.
In terms of a class that's bad, 3.5e Fist of the Forest would be pretty awful in a modern, civilized society.
Anything that made you look non-human could be troublesome, too.I want you to PEACH me as hard as you can.
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2021-03-07, 08:26 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2011
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2021-03-07, 08:58 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2010
- Location
- Toledo, Ohio
- Gender
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
Many combat-relevant abilities would be not great for most people. Even if fully controllable, just knowing that you had an inherent ability to cast even something like Magic Missile (as a level 1 sorcerer, for example) would be a massive mental strain.
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2021-03-07, 10:32 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2011
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2021-03-07, 10:35 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2018
- Gender
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2021-03-08, 02:36 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Mar 2005
- Location
- 61.2° N, 149.9° W
- Gender
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
Wild magic anything. We're hanging this on that "spontaneously develop" thing. With full player knowledge of the risks, possible metacurrency, players having (mostly) control over a character's involuntary reactions, and only risking a character sheet... some people say yes to wild magic abilities, bloodlines, prestige classes, etc. IRL? You're the non-consensual character who will get a potentially lethal or crippling surprise some day. And if you survive that first wild surge you'll always have to live with having a power that improves your life and has only a tiny chance of going terribly wrong. Really, it's as safe as driving a car. Right?
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2021-03-08, 04:36 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2008
- Location
- Italy
- Gender
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
In memory of Evisceratus: he dreamed of a better world, but he lacked the class levels to make the dream come true.
Ridiculous monsters you won't take seriously even as they disembowel you
my take on the highly skilled professional: the specialized expert
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2021-03-08, 07:19 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2010
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
Telepathy 100', as per Outsider racial abilities.
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2021-03-08, 07:28 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2011
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
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2021-03-08, 07:35 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2010
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
The text of it is ambiguous, but suggests telepathic conversations not just transmission is possible. So that reads to me as some form of always-on awareness of valid targets of thought going on around you.
If you live in a city, that could be a thousand people at any given time. Good luck sleeping...
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2021-03-08, 07:42 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2019
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
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2021-03-08, 08:10 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2008
- Location
- Sweden
- Gender
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
Black text is for sarcasm, also sincerity. You'll just have to read between the lines and infer from context like an animal
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2021-03-08, 09:21 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2009
- Location
- Perth, West Australia
- Gender
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
Direct, replicable proof of the existence of a deity in one's person might make social occasions somewhat awkward.
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2021-03-08, 10:29 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2015
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
As has already been alluded to:
- Anything that makes you obviously monstrous (look like a troll, Marvel's The Thing, etc.) would have serious social complications.
- Anything that makes you innately hazardous (anything from being on fire to being able to cast magic missile) would have social and emotional/mental well-being consequences (how many people who have ever had suicidal ideation would have real problems with a lethal power which could not be taken away?).
- Anything that gives you massive control over others, or the world in general, could have self-identity concerns (I don't love that people die from preventable reasons, but in general I don't have a lot of control over that fact. If I did...).
- Anything that allows you to know things you'd rather not know (knowing what people really thought, knowing when and how you and your loved ones will die), or perhaps not be able to turn off (being a telepath in a large city)
This is all part and parcel of the superhero genre (teenagers discover that they are mutants, The Thing, 'with great power comes great responsibility,' etc.) as well as classical mythology (examples being Herakles, Cassandra, etc.), and I think it has been explored exhaustively there.
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2021-03-08, 04:38 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2011
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
Enough said.
Best to *very quickly* get/make yourself a home in the middle of an empty parking lot.
What are you thinking would grant this ability - especially the *proof* part?
Alas poor Radioactive Man. Always the (half) life of the party.
"self-identity concerns"?
I can see that being… problematic.
That one's a classic.
Well, I guess that that's the advantage of having a new audience.
Besides, I imagine that they never… hmmm… parodied "first world problems" with a "Fight Club"-worthy meeting group of powered individuals discussing their problems. Or… made a team with powers that would make most jealous… who were all baffled/troubled by their powers long-term (in a way that doesn't make me eye roll or face palm).
I'm guessing "exhaustively" is a bit strong of a stance. But I'll happily be wrong.
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2021-03-10, 11:24 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2010
- Gender
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
There are whole trope pages dedicated to this concept. I'd start with the abilities noted there and then simply point to the myriad D&D methods of obtaining these abilities.
Required Secondary Powers
Blessed With Suck
Too Awesome To UsePlague Doctor by Crimmy
Ext. Sig (Handbooks/Creations)
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2021-03-10, 08:02 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2010
- Location
- Toledo, Ohio
- Gender
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
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2021-03-10, 08:30 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2016
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
Summoning and necromancy.
Seriously, how long do you honestly think it would be before someone oopsed and unleashed a self replicating undead or got tricked by some outsider?
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2021-03-10, 08:35 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2012
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
Being a Barbarian - as in a Berserker - would be genuinely terrible in most any real-world context. Unbridled rage doesn't generally make your life better.
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2021-03-11, 12:24 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Mar 2011
- Location
- California
- Gender
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
Being Locatha, Drow (though shut-in is viable, and they can do night-shift), or Ranger or Druid as well.
Badly drawn helmet avatar drawn by me.
Rest in Peace:SpoilerMiko Miyazaki, Thanh, Durkon- Order of the Stick
Krunch- Looking For Group
Bill- Left 4 Dead
Soap Mactavish- Modern Warfare 3
Sandman- Modern Warfare 3
Ghost and Roach- Modern Warfare 2
Gabe- Dead Space 2
Dom- Gears of War 3
Carmine Brothers- Gears of War series
Uriel Septim VII- Elderscrolls Oblivion
Commander Shepherd- Mass Effect 3
Ned Stark- Song of Ice and Fire
Apple Jack's parents
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2021-03-11, 12:40 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2016
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
Nah, that would be great. Barbarians get to control their Rage; when it activates and when it deactivates. Unless you're a Frenzied Berserker or something similar, it's all upside. You basically have the ability to not just control, but to OVERCLOCK your adrenaline. Forget the combat applications; make millions playing pro football with your mild superhuman levels of strength and endurance. Limited duration sure, but that's where it being a Free action to activate/deactivate comes in. Just use it for key plays and sticky spots.
Nah, the real curse would be being something like a Blight Druid, with this ability:
Miasma (Ex)
Starting at 5th level, if a blight druid is adjacent to a creature at the beginning of its turn, the creature must succeed at a Fortitude save with a DC of 10 + 1/2 the druid’s level + the druid’s Wisdom modifier or become sickened for 1 round. A creature of the animal, fey, or plant type that fails its save is nauseated for 1 round and sickened for 1 minute thereafter. If the creature makes its save, it is immune to this effect for 24 hours, as are creatures immune to disease.
This ability replaces trackless step and resist nature’s lure.
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2021-03-11, 04:22 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2007
- Location
- England
- Gender
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
Being a Cleric, Paladin, or Divine Soul Sorcerer mostly. Even if someone looks at your Divine Intervention abilities and says that they're "just weird spells", they would have a much harder time if one of the spells you cast is Commune and you can reliably talk to God 5 times per day. To say nothing of what would happen if you were a Cleric of one deity and you met another Cleric who could similarly demonstrate that they were in contact with a different deity, immediately disproving monotheism.
Other spells like Contact Other Plane or Planeshift would have a similar effect on any religion whose creation story says that there is only one 'Earth' with sentient life upon it.
"self-identity concerns"?
So... Who are you? What are you? Can you even remember which of the two bodies you control is your 'real' one? Can you even understand what 'your real body' means? Could you even let go if you wanted or needed to? What if you could control 2 other people? 5 more? 50? What if one of them dies while under your direct and unassailable control - is a part of you dead now, too?
If you could even get over the cripplingly immense pressure of being responsible for so many other people then you'd probably have to be some flavour of psychopath, which would only get worse as your control became more complete and your inhibitions weakened further. The human psyche isn't built to be a Hive Mind, even if we didn't know already what Absolute Power does to it as well!
Besides, I imagine that they never… hmmm… parodied "first world problems" with a "Fight Club"-worthy meeting group of powered individuals discussing their problems. Or… made a team with powers that would make most jealous… who were all baffled/troubled by their powers long-term (in a way that doesn't make me eye roll or face palm).~ CAUTION: May Contain Weasels ~
RPG Characters What I Done Played As (Explained Badly)
17 Things I Learned About 40k By Playing Dark Heresy
Tales of a Role-Play Gamer - Horrible Optimisation
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2021-03-11, 06:11 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2018
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
"Pact magic", especially with a devil, is a very bad sign for your soul after death.
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2021-03-15, 12:07 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2020
- Location
- Murica
- Gender
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
I think the worst would be Pathfinder Sorcerer, Aberrant Bloodline. You would literally turn more and more into a freak over time. Even as early as 5th level, you grow long weird wiggly arms. And by 20th level (I think?) Your body has become so messed up that you're immune to critical hits! Think of how messed up that would be, slowly turning into an alien creature. Your life would become a body horror story essentially. I would rather eat week old moldy old rolls than endure such a fate.
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2021-03-15, 03:29 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2014
- Location
- California
- Gender
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
All that proves is that you personally believe your magic is granted by a deity. It doesn't prove the deity's existence. You say you talked to a deity? Cool, get in line behind every prophet in history. You have miracles to back it up? That just proves the existence of magic, not the existence of Mystra. And miracles can be faked, so it might not even prove the existence of magic!
Again, that doesn't really prove anything except that you believe you talked to, or traveled to, another plane of existence. Open a planar portal in a major metropolitan area and then maybe we can talk.Last edited by Troacctid; 2021-03-15 at 03:29 AM.
Rhymes with "Protracted."
Handbooks: The Warlockopedia | The Warmagepedia (WIP) | Tier List (2019 Update)
Spreadsheets: Spellcasting classes | Deities | Useful items
Homebrew: Gestalt Theurge | Fighter and Monk fixes | Warlock stuff | Houserules and quick fixes
Original Fiction: The Wizard's Familiar
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2021-03-15, 05:43 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Apr 2007
- Location
- England
- Gender
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
This is, of course, the problem with claiming ANY supernatural ability that could be generated from a D&D class.
You say that you're a Wizard and that you can do magic? Or maybe you're just a pyrotechnics expert and you have a team of guys nearby hitting detonators according to code-words heard through a radio. What, you can only throw that "fireball" 3 times per day? Or maybe you just need me to go away for 8 hours so that you can reset the charges and hid all the evidence!
The problem is, I probably could prove to a sceptic that my Cleric class-levels are real, but I'd quite literally have to do it one sceptic at a time - demonstrating a spell or ability just for them in a controlled environment to eliminate any possibility of obfuscation, to their satisfaction. Even then some people would just refuse whatever evidence I could provide because it was me giving it to them, just as Flat-Earthers still exist IRL.
Hell, this is an argument that even exists within D&D - are Gods truly divine, or are they just immensely powerful beings who demand worship? Is there even a difference between the two things? That depends on whether you're asking a Wizard or a Cleric, to begin with.... There is a certain amount of good-faith required in the exercise that I couldn't necessarily get from everyone, but I think with time and strategy I could get enough people to believe me.
Then again, this is assuming that my goal is to prove the existence of a specific deity. If my goal was to create upheaval in society in general, I'm one True Resurrection away from being able to prove or disprove the existence of the afterlife, the result of which will have heavy implications for any religion or culture and would be nigh-indisputable if I started with a finger bone and ended up with a breathing, talking Albert Einstein or Kurt Cobain doing a Q&A.~ CAUTION: May Contain Weasels ~
RPG Characters What I Done Played As (Explained Badly)
17 Things I Learned About 40k By Playing Dark Heresy
Tales of a Role-Play Gamer - Horrible Optimisation
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2021-03-15, 08:40 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2020
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2021-03-15, 11:53 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2008
- Location
- Sweden
- Gender
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
Black text is for sarcasm, also sincerity. You'll just have to read between the lines and infer from context like an animal
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2021-03-15, 12:36 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2015
Re: What ability set would be bad IRL?
I am pretty sure Gnoman's issue was not the fear of an accidental discharge, but instead the unsettling feeling of always having the ability to cause lethal damage to someone else -- at all times and in a way where you can't just say 'I'm not in the mindset to have control over someone else's continued existence right now'.