Trick
Auror
Hello all,
So, I've had this idea for a while and I've done research without finding much more than humor. I'm trying to think of a magical power that is seemingly useless but ends up saving the world...
It's a tall order but I've got one idea so far that might work but I want the ending to be "unexpected but inevitable" so the power can't be too useful or completely useless. It literally needs to seem, in a loose, 1st world sense of the word, useless.
Here's a quick synopsis: The MC has two powers, as do many people. Most powered people have a greater and a lesser. That is not to say that many people have great powers, just that there is a strength difference between their own powers. Some powers are looked down upon, some exalted, but most are run of the mill and used in particular jobs. The MC's greater power is Illusion and he is fantastic at it. But, entertaining is a lowly profession. So, he makes his money using his illusions to scam and con mostly but also performs as a street magician, to keep suspicions off of him. His lesser power needs to be the one that is seemingly useless but saves the world. I know that illusion can be very powerful but in this particular case, he will be unable to use that power in the moment the world needs saving and only his lesser power will be available to him. He hates his second power and almost never uses it except to demonstrate how useless it is.
But, in the vital moment, when he's desperate, having grown clever from his use of illusions, he will realize a new use for the power and that will save the world.
I would love suggestions for this power. I have one in mind that has survived the trials of both predictability and factual-uselessness but I will put it and how it will be used in a spoiler to see if anyone gets the same idea. Please respond about the power I have in mind in a spoiler also, at least for the first 10 posts or so. I often find that less influence generates better ideas.
Thanks all!
So, I've had this idea for a while and I've done research without finding much more than humor. I'm trying to think of a magical power that is seemingly useless but ends up saving the world...
It's a tall order but I've got one idea so far that might work but I want the ending to be "unexpected but inevitable" so the power can't be too useful or completely useless. It literally needs to seem, in a loose, 1st world sense of the word, useless.
Here's a quick synopsis: The MC has two powers, as do many people. Most powered people have a greater and a lesser. That is not to say that many people have great powers, just that there is a strength difference between their own powers. Some powers are looked down upon, some exalted, but most are run of the mill and used in particular jobs. The MC's greater power is Illusion and he is fantastic at it. But, entertaining is a lowly profession. So, he makes his money using his illusions to scam and con mostly but also performs as a street magician, to keep suspicions off of him. His lesser power needs to be the one that is seemingly useless but saves the world. I know that illusion can be very powerful but in this particular case, he will be unable to use that power in the moment the world needs saving and only his lesser power will be available to him. He hates his second power and almost never uses it except to demonstrate how useless it is.
But, in the vital moment, when he's desperate, having grown clever from his use of illusions, he will realize a new use for the power and that will save the world.
I would love suggestions for this power. I have one in mind that has survived the trials of both predictability and factual-uselessness but I will put it and how it will be used in a spoiler to see if anyone gets the same idea. Please respond about the power I have in mind in a spoiler also, at least for the first 10 posts or so. I often find that less influence generates better ideas.
Making small things room temperature. 'Small' being defined in the story as "about the size of my fist and smaller."
In the final moment, the MC realizes that room temperature is relative and the room he is in is very cold because it has cooling systems to balance a hot piece of machinery. He turns the Antagonist's heart 'room temperature.'
Thanks all!