Game-breaking Spells

[reanjr]

The teleport thread got me thinking about this. What are the game-breaking spells (and why)? Not spells that are overpowered, per se, just those that are often times adventure-unraveling or become ridiculous in certain situations. Go for magic items as well. I'm looking for those that break the story.

For non-obvious ones, give an example.

Spells:
Teleport
Greater Teleport
Teleportation Circle
Resurrection
Reincarnate
Regenerate (why is that wealthy, grizzled adventurer missing an arm?)

Items:
Bag of Holding

 

[Plane Sailing]

I can't believe that you haven't included find the path from the outset

(not that this breaks the game, just some kind of games)

 

[Thanee]

Discern Location can also be pretty bad.
Scry as well.

True Resurrect is one of the worst, IMHO, since it completely negates death (altho, at least it has a higher cost now in 3.5).

Bye
Thanee

 

[Thanee]

Take a look at my "Let's ban Teleport!" thread in the General Discussions Forum also.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Al'Kelhar]

OK, a few which would have dramatic effects on society at large, rendering it absolutely nothing like the pseudo-medieval fantasy society portrayed in most D&D games:

Every Conjuration (Healing) spell. Death, debilitation, and all forms of physical and mental disabilities, whether caused by accident of birth, injury, poison, disease or more fantastical effects no longer exist.

Every Divination spell. No-one has any secrets anymore.

Every Conjuration (Teleportation) spell (with possible exception of dimension door). If you can move matter - from information, to mail, to trade goods, to war machines, to people - instantaneously, anywhere, you've solved humanity's endless quest for universal domination.

Enchantment spells have funny effects on criminal justice, if not many other aspects of day-to-day existence. All criminals are geased not to commit crimes. Is "I was dominated" a complete defence? What about "I was charmed"?

Plant growth solves world hunger, but until you're crops are in, you've always got handy create food & water, heroes feast etc.

Does the availability of this magic make D&D unplayable? No, of course not. Just don't think too hard about what would be the real world effects of this magic.

Cheers, Al'Kelhar

 

[Felix]

There is only one broken thing in DnD, the one thing that leads to all the other brokeness, unbalancitude, munchkininnity, and powergamorical aspects of this game we play.

Players are broken.

They have too much power. They are allowed to thwart the carefully laid designs of the DM, often with no remorse, and certainly without punishment. They use the most seemingly innocuous spells creatively with no concern for how that might affect the DM's world, and give no thought to the fact that the DM has laid off using those spells against the PCs. They won't die when you want them cowed, only to die at the hands of the scrawniest minion in the BBEG's service. They are the only elements in a game world that do not bow to the slightest whim of the DM, and for this failure to conform should be excised.

If DMs really want to balance the game, I suggest that instead of throwing out spells like Gate, Teleport, Scry, and True Ressurection, DMs should throw out the players; DMs everywhere will then be able to do what they really want to do: sit by themselves in their game rooms, with their unmolested Plot, and play with themselves.

 

[Darklone]

Noone mentioned Divination and that other crap?

 

[dcollins]

Deleted.

 

[Liquidsabre]

Don't forget the various detect alignment spells! Doh, the cleric cast detect evil on the staunch noble, he's EVIL! Scratch one mysterious villain...

 

[Thanee]

@Felix: While this is certainly right to some degree, it's not the actualy problem in most cases.

Even without considering, what the PCs can do, some spells just completely alter the way a campaign world will function, and sometimes, this simply doesn't sit right.

Bye
Thanee