Magic Powers Get

So let's say you receive some magical powers that aren't completely overpowered. Like... you're not going to be able to bend the fabric of reality itself or create universes or whatever. Just something standard... fire, ice, teleporting, etc. magic. First, which "not overpowered" magic ability would you want? Or maybe, have you thought of any not-overpowered powers that are interesting? Second, what pushes the boundaries of what we think of as "not overpowered" magic? I always thought the ability to manipulate light would be really cool. You could warp light to confuse or even blind enemies, and with enough of it, you can create laser beams. Imagine focusing all the photons coming from any given light source into an infinitesimally small beam. If you got good enough, you could technically make yourself invisible too. Edit: This all sparked from http://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/71310/star-matter-gate-blast-radius

I'd want the ability to manipulate time for any number of objects. I could use that to finish things I find boring quickly, or notice things people wouldn't normally notice.

1. I would want the ability to set the ubuntu desktop clock time with my mind. 2. ^

I'd want the ability to manipulate time for any number of objects. I could use that to finish things I find boring quickly, or notice things people wouldn't normally notice.

Don't you think that control over time is a bit overpowered though? Particularly the ability to move backwards through time. Maybe if all you had power over was time dilation fields (like locally around you or an object), that wouldn't be super overpowered. As long as there's a cap, like "I can make time up to 20 times slower around me" or something. It would be cool to write a story about that; especially if the power had logical limitations like "The bigger the field, the less I can slow down time" or something.

It feels kinda weird to try to define the boundary for this because then you have to think about the absolute limits and whether or not your magic actually requires skill and AAAAAAAAAAAAAA... Anything violent has an obvious defined point for me: craters and people dying in one hit. Everything else is just wondering how far you can take it without extremely specific definition. Let's say you can "teleport." That's cool, but what? Yourself, other people, objects, brain cells, atoms... souls? Where does it go? that all sounds stupid no next paragraph One I've wanted for a few months was just "to be forgotten and effectively invisible at will." If I don't want to deal with something at the moment, I can be removed from anyone's sight and memory (and for the record, that applies to anything I'm wearing or carrying in a concealed manner) and when I've had enough of that, I can lapse back in as if almost nothing happened. There's probably some nuanced issue there but EEEEEEEEEEEEEEH. I feel like everyone and their mother wants time control on some level but that definitely falls into the overpowered category. Completely stop it, you have total control of the world. If you can move it forwards or backwards for some reason, you're a living god. If you can control the speed, that's still pretty good. And if you have multiple?... god still. I've thought about having it but it doesn't fit here. Part of me wants mind reading and control, though it seems really tame and like something I'd only use selectively. It's helpful but I'm not going to get into why...

The ability to pass time on command. No backwards, because I believe that's not physically possible. Simply forwards. My physical form would function on autopilot. I don't know how it would handle interactions with people, though. Unless maybe it stopped the jump to allow you to talk to the person in non-robot mode. Mmm I suddenly don't want this as it reminds me of speed running in video games. I don't want to rush to the grave :p

One I've wanted for a few months was just "to be forgotten and effectively invisible at will." If I don't want to deal with something at the moment, I can be removed from anyone's sight and memory (and for the record, that applies to anything I'm wearing or carrying in a concealed manner) and when I've had enough of that, I can lapse back in as if almost nothing happened. There's probably some nuanced issue there but EEEEEEEEEEEEEEH.

That's a rather sad ability but put in a way I haven't heard before. Most of the time people just want invisibility, but the ability to make people forget you were even there as well? That's basically the ability to be extremely alone :'( But it'd make for a super cool story! Like you move from place to place trying to build a new life for yourself, but bad things keep happening that you just can't stand, so you make everybody forget you were there and move on to a new place. Ooo and it can have one of those edgy sci-fi endings where in the end, he believes that it's not worth existing anymore so he overloads his ability to completely erase himself from existence.

Teleportation would be pretty nice There'd have to be some limit on distance/speed/something to make it not overpowered though I thought of a more interesting limitation. You aren't able to teleport to or from a location where people can see you. Also, there would be some distance restrictions, which would normally be around 10,000 miles or something if you really concentrate, but if you're injured or tired or something it could be a lot shorter.

Teleportation would be pretty nice There'd have to be some limit on distance/speed/something to make it not overpowered though

Yeah, like that post on world builders I mentioned lol.

Overpowered... You can always try to measure raw energy expenditure or use in the process, but that puts an no-fun cap on growth. Which can still be cool, because it forces techniques to be more clever instead of "ha now it's bigger" But personally, I'd just say if the power, in generic form, can directly affect (kill) more than two human persons at a time, it's dumb overpowered. It's not a good strict definition, but it at least takes your flame powers from "actual bomb" to "check it out guys I've got a whip." Teleportation and stuff would have a mass limit of <less than three humans>. Right, like I said, it doesn't really work. Anyway, I've always really liked some sort of time control to the point that I'd have more time to do things. I think at some point that just becomes "longevity," but that still keeps me at the whim of others' schedules and I get to see everyone I love die which isn't so fun. Flight is also a fairly simple thing that would just be really fun. I've had extended daydreams about flying, but I think eventually it would just get boring. What I would really want is the ability to understand any system just by looking(?) at it. Machines, anatomy, organizations, people's minds... well, I can imagine that being considered "overpowered," but I would totally take it as far as it can be allowed to go. That would be really neat, I think.

make plant matter grow faster. with an unlimited range. and in any way I want 20 times faster at maximum to be exact making tree farming an extremely profitable business for me I think to balance it the cost would be it still uses the same nutrients from the ground it would use anyway to reach that point of growth. if the nutrients aren't present it can't grow

My ideal superpower would be able to take up to 1 cubic meter of matter (in a cube shape) and switch it with the same amount anywhere within 100 meters of me. So I could take a cube out of the building nearby, but since it's only 1 cubic meter, I can't do much but switch it with the person next to me. There's of course a cooldown. So I can only kill up to two people at a time if I'm not using my brain. EDIT: this would not be able to teleport myself, only small children. I could train to be a contortionist, though. EDIT 2: Velocity is sustained.

I don't think overpowered should be measured by "killing potential", as that implies that you're going to be killing people, and why would you need to do that. I like the energy expenditure though; something like "you can't have your power transfer more energy than a small engine" or whatever. But that means you don't get to get creative powers, as measuring the energy required becomes basically hand-waving. How much energy does it take to slow down time in a field? Do we even KNOW if gravity distorts time, and if so, how much energy would it take to produce the gravity required to slow down time? I think it's easier to just go with a gut feeling. Like "yeah you can have control over fire, but you can't burn down a whole city and you can't make it so hot that it melts steel beams". Maybe "how much can this person do with this power", which is similar to the "how many people can you kill" system. If you can slow down time in a local field, what can you do with it? You can appear to move amazingly fast, but it doesn't give you faster reflexes, so you're not invincible. You still have to recognize a threat and activate your ability. Plus if you give it the stipulation that you still age normally while within the field, that could negate the whole "just use it all the time", as you'll appear to age much faster than everyone else.

I would want to have the ability to make time stop, but only for me.

I would want to have the ability to make time stop, but only for me.

erm... would that mean you're going to stop completely for a predetermined amount of time?

make plant matter grow faster.... 20 times faster at maximum to be exact ... I think to balance it the cost would be it still uses the same nutrients from the ground it would use anyway to reach that point of growth.

Look at this plum tree, that I just found. When I say go, it takes somewhere around 12 years to mature. Go! No, that's 7.5 months, not me! Now watch and learn, here's the other side, Your plant mass comes from carbon dioxide! What are you doing!? So are you sitting out there directing the ability for the seven and a half months it still takes? Are you replacing the CO2 mass lost from the air to prevent environmental issues? Either way, like you said, this would literally only have applications in agriculture, and... maybe breaking out of prison.

make plant matter grow faster.... 20 times faster at maximum to be exact ... I think to balance it the cost would be it still uses the same nutrients from the ground it would use anyway to reach that point of growth.

Look at this plum tree, that I just found. When I say go, it takes somewhere around 12 years to mature. Go! No, that's 7.5 months, not me! Now watch and learn, here's the other side, Your plant mass comes from carbon dioxide! What are you doing!? So are you sitting out there directing the ability for the seven and a half months it still takes? Are you replacing the CO2 mass lost from the air to prevent environmental issues? Either way, like you said, this would literally only have applications in agriculture, and... maybe breaking out of prison.

I don't know lumage; if coinz has growth speed control over any plant including fungus, that could be pretty powerful. They could make mold grow super fast and make people extremely ill; for instance, imagine being able to make food go bad 20 times faster. You might be able to make mold grow inside people faster than the body can get rid of it. Or coinz could get rich off of a lawn maintenance service ^_^

i would like to have friends

How about the power to kill a yak from 200 yards away.. with mind bullets