Counterspin said:
Yes, because in 3e they let you have dominate at will just like a vampire! All you had to do was study hard! NPCs have always had powers that PCs could never get. No change except in who is handing out the powers the PCs will never have.
Well, that's still lame if the NPC in question is PC-esque and actually got it by studying hard himself, especially if the PCs can easily be superior to that NPC and still cannot have that ability. 2nd edition's Drizzt do'Urden and his unique ability to kill instantly with a slash from both swords, for instance, is aggravating to some players, because it's quite possible for a PC to be a drow ranger of a level greater than Drizzt's, but never for them to attain that ability. Likewise, some guidelines established by PCs can be seen as setting down truths about the world - if human stats range from 3 to 18 at 1st level and then rise from there, a level 6 human with a Charisma of 27 goes against the way the rules say humans are. (Though in 4e, it can be argued that only the Charisma of 27 - not attainable within 30 levels assuming a stat boost every 4th level, even granting a starting stat of 18(*) - goes against these rules: if she's at the appropriate challenge level for a level 6 monster, her being listed as level 6 is fine.)
The other sort of powers are monster powers that ruin the game as soon as they're used outside the context of a five-round encounter, or monster powers that mess up the game if they're on the PCs' side of the table. Dominate at will may be a power like that, or may not, but stuff like Shambling Mounds' infinite Constitution gain from eating lightning has problems when this is put to "full use" by PCs or NPCs. These don't
have to be powers PCs themselves can ever get, and in many cases it only makes sense if they aren't. However, they can still be worked such that they are not game-wrecking once used outside the context of a direct adversary.
Essentially, the Shambling Mound's lightning-eating power is fair in the context of a 5-round encounter. It will either have no effect at all beyond "immune to lightning" if the PCs know this and square off against it party-on-one, or at worst it will start off normal and have a supporter who keeps hitting it with lightning every round to buff it up. However, once taken outside of that context - say, by a Druid PC who's convinced one to follow it using Speak With Plants or a druid villain with one who wants to kill the party and is allowed to use the resources actually at his disposal, you start getting into nonsense like Shambling Mounds who have been hit with lightning attacks constantly for 30 minutes before being sent into battle, because there's no limits written into that ability to account for that.
(*) This is an assumption. Its actual truth or lack thereof doesn't matter - feel free to replace it with any stat value that is not possible for a PC member of that race to have.
