Viewpoint Favorite and least favorite powers?

[sevenstars]

It seems that the majority of RPs allow the main characters to have some kind of supernatural powers. For the most part, this is good: powers can lead to very interesting stories and they’re just plain fun to imagine. That said, some powers seem more conducive to good stories than others. For every unique and especially cool ability, there’s another that might be overpowered, disruptive, or boring, and should maybe be discouraged by GMs.

To start off the list, I’ll say that mind reading is generally one of my favorites. It can lead to compelling characters, comes with interesting moral dilemmas, and is really well-suited to forum roleplay. As a mind reader, you can get pretty much all the information you need by reading the parts of previous posts that your character otherwise wouldn’t pick up, so you aren’t asking anything of the other players.

My least favorite is probably time travel. Every storyteller seems to have a different idea of how it works, so that no one is on the same page about it. Worse, time travel will generally drastically change the whole world whenever it’s used, and it’s a tall order to ask every player to comply. To top it off, it’s overpowered: no one can really stop a time traveller except another time traveller.

What does anyone else think? Are there any powers that you’d like to see more or less of?

 

[Andei]

Hmm... I think I like communication-related abilities, like being able to communicate with animals, or to detect lies. One of my favourite abilities was enhanced weight distribution - so you’re very hard to knock off balance and could commit the weight of your whole body / heavy object into an attack.

I’m not always a fan of light/dark/shadow manipulation/magic. It’s more often than not rather vaguely described as to exactly what it does and can frequently be quite poorly written. I’ve also observed a trend that many super-edgy characters tout shadow manipulation as their power, and writing opposite them weren’t particularly fun.

 

[Crayons]

That said, some powers seem more conducive to good stories than others. For every unique and especially cool ability, there’s another that might be overpowered, disruptive, or boring, and should maybe be discouraged by GMs.

To start off the list, I’ll say that mind reading is generally one of my favorites. It can lead to compelling characters, comes with interesting moral dilemmas, and is really well-suited to forum roleplay. As a mind reader, you can get pretty much all the information you need by reading the parts of previous posts that your character otherwise wouldn’t pick up, so you aren’t asking anything of the other players.

I'm very surprised you've found any GMs who don't discourage mind reading as overpowered and disruptive. Essentially you're saying you use it as an excuse to metagame (taking information from people's posts that your character wouldn't ordinarily know, as you describe above) which is usually a big no for most GMs and players. It also leads to the conflict of people not mentioning their thoughts in their post because they don't want them read, and mind reader characters trying to get them to tell their thoughts because otherwise the mind reading power is meaningless, but they don't want to and etc. etc.

Powers I like: plant manipulation, shapeshifting, wayfinding, psychometry, illusions ... and elemental powers like chucking fire and lightning around are always a good laugh.

 

[Delinquent]

Favourite power: Time stopping.

When done right it's pretty cool, especially for a villain.

Least favourite: Paper manipulation.

I hate this power with every fiber of my being. It's always ridiculously strong but people keep on insisting that it's perfectly balanced because the name sound kind of dumb.

 

[Crow]

Least favourite: Paper manipulation.

I hate this power with every fiber of my being. It's always ridiculously strong but people keep on insisting that it's perfectly balanced because the name sound kind of dumb.

That's awfully specific. Plus the ability has a lot of counters to keep it in check. What are your experiences with it?

For me I'm pretty fond of animal mimicry/shifting, particularly the variant where I turn my hand into a giant T-Rex head and my other hand into an ankylosaurus tail and start wrecking shit. It's versatile and fun to pull off. There's also variants of superintelligence, even if it can be considered the 'pull random bullcrap out of my ass' power.

Least favourite is... very hard to tell. I think I might not have a least favourite power. A lot of low-tier ones work brilliantly with the right stuff and I'm too fond of all the broken shit to put them here. But I guess I'll mention healing, specifically the variety with sucking up your own life as a drawback. It just feels so... unneccessary. Just make your healers squishy or run on a gague outside of your own life force if you want to limit them, like a goddamn MMO.

 

[Delinquent]

What are your experiences with it?

Pretty much what I said. People make that power really strong (usually by having their character being able to manipulate paper on a molecular level) and then keep insisting on it being perfectly balanced because "it's just paper manipulation".

 

[Crenando]

I like powers that no sane RP-runner would let into an RP, so they're relegated to being NPCs if they show up at all. Power mimicry and really gimmicky reality-warping based powers come to mind.

I can't think of a power that I genuinely dislike, because I associate bad experiences with powers in RPs more with people being jerks or poorly-written characters.

Least favourite is... very hard to tell. I think I might not have a least favourite power. A lot of low-tier ones work brilliantly with the right stuff and I'm too fond of all the broken shit to put them here. But I guess I'll mention healing, specifically the variety with sucking up your own life as a drawback. It just feels so... unneccessary. Just make your healers squishy or run on a gague outside of your own life force if you want to limit them, like a goddamn MMO.

That sort of thing works better for cursed weapons than outright powers.

 

[Ace Cream]

My favorite is technomancy. Usually I have my character control drones directly with their mind. My least favorite will be copying power, I feel like most of the time this power disregard the original user's expertise. Oh, you have this power since you're born and had been using it ever since? I will take that, and be as skilled as you immediately!

 

[AndPeggy]

My favorite power is shapeshifting. I love the concept of someone shifting into a different person and learning to act like them, but still having their own little personal nuances.

My least favorite powers are any kind of enhanced senses.... It's just so boring to me.

I love powers that are a bit grotesque and unusual as well. I'd take that over something like 'fire bending' any day.

 

[M.J. Saulnier]

I'm very surprised you've found any GMs who don't discourage mind reading as overpowered and disruptive. Essentially you're saying you use it as an excuse to metagame (taking information from people's posts that your character wouldn't ordinarily know, as you describe above) which is usually a big no for most GMs and players. It also leads to the conflict of people not mentioning their thoughts in their post because they don't want them read, and mind reader characters trying to get them to tell their thoughts because otherwise the mind reading power is meaningless, but they don't want to and etc. etc.

Except it's in no way meta gaming if you're a mind reader. Somewhere along the way, people forgot how to write together without bumping heads over simple technique or creative issues. If you know there is a mind reader on deck and you don't want to be left naked and vulnerable, don't spill your guts every post and put all your cards on the table. That's how you reveal surprise motives and plans that outsmart the mind reader. You know, like you'd have to do if there was a mind reader around?

Anyway. I like mind control. It can create some amazing power dynamics that serve the story well if done right. It's all about how you do something that makes it interesting, "OP" (everyone being the same power level despite actual age, training, disciplines, etc, is extremely boring and unrealistic. Just stuff your ego on a shelf and "have fun". It's what most of you are here for by your own admission, not seeking glory and wish fulfillment, right?) or boring.

It's all in how you do it, who you do it with, and how it serves the story.

 

[ObliviousMelon]

Shapeshifting is definitely my fave. Raises a lot of questions about identity and such, which is interesting to explore. (Though I may be biased, as I'm currently in an RP with someone doing a fantastic job with such a trait.)

Least favorite is probably... Controlling water? People who have a character with that, in my experience, quickly begin to godmod. Y'know, insta-killing someone in the few replies by pulling all the water out of their body? Though the blame of that could be placed on the player (or the GM for not being specific enough about the limits) rather than the ability itself.

 

[nerdy tangents]

I love animal related powers and extremely limited powers. (Ex. I can talk to cats. But just housecats, not tigers or lions or anything like that)

I feel like when you make powers extremely specific and practical it gives you the chance to get creative with your characters.

If the universe only calls for Superman-style powers. I love reactive adaptation, because it’s sort of the same thing leveled up. It’s basically being creative rather than just blunt forcing your way through problems.

Powers I hate : Mind-reading and psychic powers. Now this is specific to roleplays because I feel like these aren’t powers that work in collaborative settings.

Mind Reading basically just ends up being your character breaking the fourth wall and reading my posts, my CS, and potentially the OOC too. It takes the tension out of the roleplay and makes it boring.

Psychic Powers require you to have a long drawn out vision for the roleplay which rarely happens in my experience. So it’s a lot of set up for very little pay off.

 

[Folly-Derrezzed]

It seems that the majority of RPs allow the main characters to have some kind of supernatural powers. For the most part, this is good: powers can lead to very interesting stories and they’re just plain fun to imagine. That said, some powers seem more conducive to good stories than others. For every unique and especially cool ability, there’s another that might be overpowered, disruptive, or boring, and should maybe be discouraged by GMs.

To start off the list, I’ll say that mind reading is generally one of my favorites. It can lead to compelling characters, comes with interesting moral dilemmas, and is really well-suited to forum roleplay. As a mind reader, you can get pretty much all the information you need by reading the parts of previous posts that your character otherwise wouldn’t pick up, so you aren’t asking anything of the other players.

My least favorite is probably time travel. Every storyteller seems to have a different idea of how it works, so that no one is on the same page about it. Worse, time travel will generally drastically change the whole world whenever it’s used, and it’s a tall order to ask every player to comply. To top it off, it’s overpowered: no one can really stop a time traveller except another time traveller.

What does anyone else think? Are there any powers that you’d like to see more or less of?

Read my mind? HA! All youd hear is ear shattering ringing.

 

[M.J. Saulnier]

I love animal related powers and extremely limited powers. (Ex. I can talk to cats. But just housecats, not tigers or lions or anything like that)

I feel like when you make powers extremely specific and practical it gives you the chance to get creative with your characters.

In my experience with powered projects (too damn many for my sanity), those types are the first to either ghost out, or complain because their character feels unimportant, left out, ignored, or has no practical use in the grand scheme.

Sometimes it's better to focus on the personality, background and most importantly, story arc/purpose/motive/actual place within the plot itself. Creative, cute powers only get you so far. Similarly to cybernetic limbs/eyes, special pets or neat tech, it doesn't make a character good, interesting, or useful/logical within a story.

 

[nerdy tangents]

In my experience with powered projects (too damn many for my sanity), those types are the first to either ghost out, or complain because their character feels unimportant, left out, ignored, or has no practical use in the grand scheme.

Sometimes it's better to focus on the personality, background and most importantly, story arc/purpose/motive/actual place within the plot itself. Creative, cute powers only get you so far. Similarly to cybernetic limbs/eyes, special pets or neat tech, it doesn't make a character good, interesting, or useful/logical within a story.

I think that’s a group and scale problem.

Groups as a general rule tend to tell larger scale stories. Which makes sense you have more writers that need to be engaged and feel like they’re contributing. That’s hard to do at a small scale with larger numbers of people.

So groups scale their powers up to be more on par with Justice League type abilities. In which case you have to scale your powers accordingly. Someone who talks to cats isn’t going to be on the Justice League for a multitude of reasons.

However what I do are 1x1 on a much smaller scale. We aren’t saving the galaxy or anything like that. It’s more every day people with a little something special. It’s often a deliberate attempt to flesh out a super/magical world by looking at the people outside of the action set pieces.

So in that case talking to cats fits because the characters aren’t intended to be BAM SMACK POW spandex clad superheroes. They’re just people who happened to have a small power that may or may not prove useful.

It’s where creativity comes in. How would having any power effect their life? How would having only a small one vs. the flashy stuff you see on TV affect them? What do people not suited for crime fighting do with their abilities?

This goes for magic too, not everyone is gonna be an epic hero with awesome magical powers. What about the every day mages just going about their lives? What stories do they have to tell?

 

[M.J. Saulnier]

This goes for magic too, not everyone is gonna be an epic hero with awesome magical powers. What about the every day mages just going about their lives? What stories do they have to tell?

There's a clear difference between super hero scale and supernatural abilities. They are two different genres for the reasons you've stated very well. I would classify the pussy whisperer story a supernatural rather than powered story. The very word powered relates to super powers, and conveys power; Bang, Smack, Pow, kinda stuff.

I've still seen people who want to play a dreamwalker as a member of a super team. And look, that's fine. I have 0 issue doing almost anything, but the OC isn't mine. They want to nurf it. Resisting (literally) any and all attempts to make this character's skill set relevant and useful in a general sense. They wanted to only be able to dream walk someone if they were within 20 feet. No ability to induce sleep on their own, and what's worse? It was established that we had a psychic on deck... So we didn't ever have to try to put someone to sleep so this kid could dream walk and try to extract information, which by their own admission, would be hard and might not work.

My point is, you may not pull that stuff in group projects, but many, many people do. They find it cute and eccentric, but it's selfish and detrimental.

 

[Crenando]

Sometimes it's better to focus on the personality, background and most importantly, story arc/purpose/motive/actual place within the plot itself. Creative, cute powers only get you so far. Similarly to cybernetic limbs/eyes, special pets or neat tech, it doesn't make a character good, interesting, or useful/logical within a story.

People who come up with 'creative powers' in my experience just want to feel smart.
I don't think it has anything to do with being cute or quirky, because the people who do this tend to shoot down ideas for not being exactly like their vision of what a genre should be, which tends to be the opposite of that.
They were mostly around when the super serious dark superhero RPs were in full swing, but since we're in this phase where everything is informed by different media, I don't see them as often anymore.

 

[CecilDMMasters]

I do basically story making RPs that are 1 x 1. So whether a power is hated is a matter of how the other person uses it.

Does it destroy any chance for a story arc? Like they are so powerful that they insta fix everything or insta know everything without actual story?
Does it run rough shod over everything and all characters? I keep seeing mind reading and power copy mentioned. Is the character going to suddenly know everything about my character with no kind of actual story building among characters? Auto know who's the main villain in a detective story?
Are they going to get pissy if their is a way around them or not have a stop of their own? Are you going to be angry if my character's powers allow them to shield against mind reading? Is the character over the top death power unblockable and the character not have enough worry himself to be careful using it.

 

[M.J. Saulnier]

I do basically story making RPs that are 1 x 1. So whether a power is hated is a matter of how the other person uses it.

Does it destroy any chance for a story arc? Like they are so powerful that they insta fix everything or insta know everything without actual story?
Does it run rough shod over everything and all characters? I keep seeing mind reading and power copy mentioned. Is the character going to suddenly know everything about my character with no kind of actual story building among characters? Auto know who's the main villain in a detective story?
Are they going to get pissy if their is a way around them or not have a stop of their own? Are you going to be angry if my character's powers allow them to shield against mind reading? Is the character over the top death power unblockable and the character not have enough worry himself to be careful using it.

Well the particular situation I'm using mind control* in is supernatural vs powered, and it doesn't give him any ability to invade your thoughts or memories. Those under his control are boarder-line catatonic until directly manipulated by him. It's a pretty powerful ability and it's one hell of a leveraging tool, but that's what makes him a great villain in this story. It's not a particularly good power or dynamic for a group RP, but this project is not a group thing.


The mind control I like is a bit of a trade-off in actual powered RPs. A villain who can, with a raise of his hand, assume control of your mind, and therefor body. I can feel you are a bit nervous, angry. There's blood lust in your bones on this night. But I don't know your plans, don't know what you're thinking, can't access any of your memories. Furthermore, whilst I'm controlling you, I can't control my own body, so I'm vulnerable.

And if you happen to be a psychic, or have some form of powers that established you have psychic barriers, no one should get upset. If you're body snatched, and suddenly have a long, winded story about how in addition to super strength, the sketchy Russian spinach you ate also gave you a psychic barrier preventing psionic attacks, that's a bitch move.

 

[LazyDaze]

Favorite-Luck based powers, but because that can go to hell in an RP/game setting if you're directly manipulating luck itself, I also like powers that have a risk reward system that can hurt/or reward its user. Could be abilities that have random target, or random selection of abilities. Abilites that can hurt you as well as your enemy. I always find those abilities pretty cool, or interesting.

Least Favorite-Mind Control/Mental manipulation, in general, even outside of a RP setting I always hate when someone can manipulate someone's mind. Altering their experiences, personality, and memories just sucks. You can see why I would hate this in an RP setting.

 

[Yuravanitl]

I LOVE illusionists in any and all of their forms, there is just something so alluring to me about confusing your enemies and being sneaky with it. Usually, characters that use illusions or any sort of mirage-based deception tend to have a smile on their face too. with those ^^ eyes while having an incredibly somber and dark personality on the inside.

Least favorite hmmm... I would say 'speed' based powers are kind of overused. It seems like nowadays everyone and their mom have some sort of dash attack.

 

[CecilDMMasters]

Well the particular situation I'm using mind control* in is supernatural vs powered, and it doesn't give him any ability to invade your thoughts or memories. Those under his control are boarder-line catatonic until directly manipulated by him. It's a pretty powerful ability and it's one hell of a leveraging tool, but that's what makes him a great villain in this story. It's not a particularly good power or dynamic for a group RP, but this project is not a group thing.


The mind control I like is a bit of a trade-off in actual powered RPs. A villain who can, with a raise of his hand, assume control of your mind, and therefor body. I can feel you are a bit nervous, angry. There's blood lust in your bones on this night. But I don't know your plans, don't know what you're thinking, can't access any of your memories. Furthermore, whilst I'm controlling you, I can't control my own body, so I'm vulnerable.

And if you happen to be a psychic, or have some form of powers that established you have psychic barriers, no one should get upset. If you're body snatched, and suddenly have a long, winded story about how in addition to super strength, the sketchy Russian spinach you ate also gave you a psychic barrier preventing psionic attacks, that's a bitch move.

I do agree tossing in things last minute is a jerk move. But as mind control was one of my early annoyances even playing with toys as a kid I actually am quite prone to having premade devises against mind control. (better explained than the Deus Ex Machina I used as a kid to ruin my brother's post power ranger hypnotism obsession).

Having seen it fetishized so bad on DA and then tried to be tossed in RP just made me hate/love it more. I love it in a actual story as many of my super natural characters have had to deal with it. Body possessing spirits, thrall enchantment, evil empathy therapist manipulating patients emotions. But for something used against a main character, no thank you. It usually is not thought out or discussed and ends in me hurting the other persons feelings. Especially as I said I have characters that have dealt with it then they have ways against it. Don't control my characters or suddenly make a long drawn out BS of telling me how I have to play them then wonder why I suddenly am not having fun with this story.



As far as how it works controlling the body but not the mind. I can get behind that and have even toyed with it.

"Okay, we now have the man with the codes we can break in."
"Um, actually I can't make him open the door, it's more like a puppet . . . ."

Also the person having to actually pay attention to the controlled like he is running a puppet can be an interesting hindrance. Or having to implant some kind of host into the body to do it for them. I find the whole simply "You're evil now!" to be overly cliched and Saturday morning cartoon style.

Or just an empath powered person manipulating emotional feelings. Or messing with peoples dreams subconsciously while also wearing them down. Things like this are way more interesting than suddenly "You are now evil!"

And don't get me started on 'love' spells and potions. I made someone cry with my opinion on that one. (I don't care what you say. They are evil)

 

[M.J. Saulnier]

I do agree tossing in things last minute is a jerk move. But as mind control was one of my early annoyances even playing with toys as a kid I actually am quite prone to having premade devises against mind control. (better explained than the Deus Ex Machina I used as a kid to ruin my brother's post power ranger hypnotism obsession).

Having seen it fetishized so bad on DA and then tried to be tossed in RP just made me hate/love it more. I love it in a actual story as many of my super natural characters have had to deal with it. Body possessing spirits, thrall enchantment, evil empathy therapist manipulating patients emotions. But for something used against a main character, no thank you. It usually is not thought out or discussed and ends in me hurting the other persons feelings. Especially as I said I have characters that have dealt with it then they have ways against it. Don't control my characters or suddenly make a long drawn out BS of telling me how I have to play them then wonder why I suddenly am not having fun with this story.



As far as how it works controlling the body but not the mind. I can get behind that and have even toyed with it.

"Okay, we now have the man with the codes we can break in."
"Um, actually I can't make him open the door, it's more like a puppet . . . ."

Also the person having to actually pay attention to the controlled like he is running a puppet can be an interesting hindrance. Or having to implant some kind of host into the body to do it for them. I find the whole simply "You're evil now!" to be overly cliched and Saturday morning cartoon style.

Or just an empath powered person manipulating emotional feelings. Or messing with peoples dreams subconsciously while also wearing them down. Things like this are way more interesting than suddenly "You are now evil!"

And don't get me started on 'love' spells and potions. I made someone cry with my opinion on that one. (I don't care what you say. They are evil)

I used to be like this, too. Any transgression against my character was taken directly to heart. If I didn't get my way I got bored and if I wasn't having fun, I'd ghost out. The more I began to fall in love with story telling, the less I began to care about anything but the story. I put my own characters through personal hell now. I also find I write better characters now, because they don't float around in a protective bubble, only experiencing adversity and strife when I want the audience to get behind them.


The day I stopped hero worshiping my characters and taking RP personally, all of that nit-picky BS surrounding boundaries with my OC washed away forever. And thank god. Now I don't care. Beat me up, shit on my chest. It doesn't matter. It's just a character.

 

[Sara Sidereal]

-pew pew lazers
-turning in to cute animals
-summoning dinosaurs
-support and healing

oh, i kinda forgot the title of the thread, i guess i don't really have any un-favorite powers

 

[Jet]

I used to be like this, too. Any transgression against my character was taken directly to heart. If I didn't get my way I got bored and if I wasn't having fun, I'd ghost out. The more I began to fall in love with story telling, the less I began to care about anything but the story. I put my own characters through personal hell now. I also find I write better characters now, because they don't float around in a protective bubble, only experiencing adversity and strife when I want the audience to get behind them.


The day I stopped hero worshiping my characters and taking RP personally, all of that nit-picky BS surrounding boundaries with my OC washed away forever. And thank god. Now I don't care. Beat me up, shit on my chest. It doesn't matter. It's just a character.

The issue is not IC it's OOC, you are forced to write a certain way when around mind readers and controllers. Let's say you're around a mind reader, well now you need to write character thoughts word by word. That's cancerous.

And getting mind controlled removes your choice as a writer to deviate from someone else's scene vision. You end up narrating a passive ride provided by another writer, unless you brute-force powergame your character from the controller. Very fun!

In the context of RP, mind control and reading is god modding and meta gaming respectively. Most people got over the "take offense" stage long ago. You can despise and roast my character, attempt to destroy them emotionally or murder them — no problem. The issue is OOC as stated before, because people get forced into writing posts of a certain style and/or outcome.

And will you please stop placing yourself on a pedestal? Just because other people don't like their writing experience turned into —

​

Doesn't mean you're a Buddhist monk who's ascended past the ego. And as you listed these powers as your personal favorites, it stands to reason you are the one using them to control everyone else's writing experience.

Mind control/reading operates well in singular stories, not collaborations — same as time travel powers. They are anti-fun for everyone other than the writer, detrimental even.