History BlessedWithSuck / TabletopGames

** Vampires have great power, but they're also locked in an eternal war with their SuperpoweredEvilSide, which they almost all lose eventually. This along with the blood-drinking and the sun burning you to ash. Oh, and boredom. [[WhoWantsToLiveForever Lots and lots of boredom.]]. And the loneliness that comes with being driven to kill weaker and equally powerful vampires and avoiding stronger ones who are driven to kill you.

** Mummies are, to all intents and purposes, immortal. They don't actually get to ''enjoy'' it for very long, though; they're usually awoken for a purpose, and when that purpose is completed, they return to their sleep. In addition, when they rise from the tomb, they're at the very peak of their power, but their power steadily ebbs away over time, until it finally runs out, sending them back into slumber. [[spoiler: They can be free of this perpetual cycle... if they're willing to accept the loss of most of their power in the process.]]
** And the demons? Having Fallen, they now have individuality and freedom... but the God-Machine wants them either dead, or brought back, for its own inscrutable ends, and it has a ''very'' long reach. Unfortunately, demons need to stick close to G-M facilities in order to replenish their supernatural energies. Say what you will about being a changeling, but at least you don't have to stay near your former master's domain to maintain your supernatural powers.

** And then there are [[TabletopGame/BeastThePrimordial Beasts]], who basically have a powerful mythological monster as a soul, granting them all the power related to said creature, as well as an extended lifespan and a personal dimension in the Primordial Dream known as a Lair. However, said monster hungers for fear and suffering, meaning you have to keep hurting, abusing and scaring people in some way to keep it fed. Try letting it starve, and it will take matters into its own hands by assaulting people in their dreams, causing nightmares everywhere around you. On the other hand, if you feed it ''too'' much, the monster will fall asleep inside the Lair and you will lose all these neat powers, leaving you as a normal human until you manage to wake it up. And just to make it worse, there are super-powered psychopaths out to find and kill you.

** Chaos gifts in general are like this. They can grant you great power, but [[TheCorruption mutate your form]] with each upgrade. The careers of Chaos followers ultimately end at one of two destinations: as a [[AGodAmI Daemon Prince]] that transcends mortality, or as a gibbering [[AndIMustScream Chaos Spawn]], whose body and mind has been warped beyond recognition.
** And if you think the fate of a psyker is bad, try being a blank. Blanks are people who have no warp presence whatsoever, meaning that Warp-energy cannot affect them, rendering them immune to psyker powers and daemonic possession. It also means that they are effectively soulless. This, in turn, means that ordinary humans are repulsed to the point of hostility by them, meaning they can't hold a job, can't have sex, unless they are willing and pay someone to dope themselves out of their skull and do it, can't have a family because no-one can stand to be around them, and if they walk into the same room as a psyker, the psyker will immediately double over in pain... Oh, and if one is caught by the Necrons, they immediately rebuild the blank in question into a biomechanical super-soldier. Being burned at the stake by your family suddenly doesn't seem so bad. Oh, and if the Imperium finds out about you, they'll put you in the Inquisition, and you can spend the rest of your (probably brief) life escorting Inquisitors on the most dangerous missions, where you can almost certainly count on encountering demons, witches, and other nightmarish monstrosities. [[Literature/CiaphasCain Unless your name is Jurgen, in which case you get to be the assistant to one of the most legendary heroes of the Imperium, with all the potential perks that would involve.]]

** The Tau have almost no warp presence, much like Blanks, but also do not creep people the hell out. It also means they do not fall prey to Chaos (at least not as easily as other races) because they flat out can't hear the whispers of the gods. The downside is that they have absolutely no concept of the warp at all and are unable to utilize warp-based technologies, such as Warp Jump on starships. They can get close and "skim" on the rim of the Warp, but this means that they're basically playing hopscotch across the galaxy while everyone else are in racecars.
** The Astronomican allows for plotting of the warp, which allows for safer routes for imperial forces that minimizes daemon attacks and can adhere to some semblance of a schedule. It's why the Imperium can still function despite the galaxy-wide empire. However, it's also ''reeeeeeeally'' bright in the warp, which is implied to be the reason the Tyranids (a highly psychic-sensitive race) are invading the galaxy.

* In WhiteWolf's TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness, the trade-offs are just as bad

* In Magazine/WhiteWolf's ''other'' main RPG, ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}},'' the entire world is blessed with suck. While [[FantasyKitchenSink every imaginable wondrous phenomenon is a possibility]] there, the presence of so many strong, unwavering wills with different opinions is destined to break out in a devastating conflict. The pre-release concept had this conflict resolved in the creation of the [[TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness original World of Darkness]], and that's one of the ''best possible outcomes.''

* In WhiteWolf's ''other'' main RPG, ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}},'' the entire world is blessed with suck. While [[FantasyKitchenSink every imaginable wondrous phenomenon is a possibility]] there, the presence of so many strong, unwavering wills with different opinions is destined to break out in a devastating conflict. The pre-release concept had this conflict resolved in the creation of the [[OldWorldOfDarkness original World of Darkness]], and that's one of the ''best possible outcomes.''

* In WhiteWolf's OldWorldOfDarkness, the trade-offs are just as bad
** In ''{{Vampire The Masquerade}}'', the various vampire clans often have nice perks but serious drawbacks

** [[TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful Princesses]] are gifted with holy magic literally running on ThePowerOfLove, which they must use to smite evil and [[HopeBringer bring light and hope back to the world]]. Problem is, they must do so in the ''[[CrapsackWorld World of Darkness]]'', where evil has pretty much already won. Their main opponent is [[TheCorruption the All-Consuming Darkness, a mindless cosmic force made of everything evil festering in all the places it has tainted to corrupt people, gradually warping them in mindless monsters]]; its minions include a multitude of vicious, dangerous opponents with {{Lovecraftian Superpower}}s who will gladly attack your loved ones if that can help them win. Princesses themselves have to lead an exhausting double-life that leaves no room for a normal life, and they are empathic to such a level that evil and corruption literally causes them pain and suffering. Oh, and if they cross the DespairEventHorizon, they lose their powers and will eventually turn into [[FallenHero Dethroned]], a warped, monstrous parody of their former selves which [[HorrifyingTheHorror even the forces of Darkness run away from]].

* In the world of ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'', this is used on a number of levels. Firstly, due to problems in the cloning vats everyone in Alpha Complex is a mutant, with powers ranging from super-strength and the like, to the truly sucky like having a perpetually runny nose. However, because the crazed computer that runs the complex refuses to accept that its methods cause mutations, being a mutant means you're assumed to be a spy and are subject to immediate termination from the computer or (more likely) your teammates (who, as mentioned are also mutants), if ever someone notices that you are using your power. Machine Empathy is a particularly suck to be blessed with, as the computer immediately notices it, and execution is immediate. Finally, for every mission in the game, you are assigned equipment to use including futuristic weapons such as tangler guns and plasma rifles, but also crappy things such as Heisenberg uncertainty projectors, personal force shields working on a fusion reactor kept stable by a hand crank, robots with obnoxious personalities, and small useless boxes with [[BillionsOfButtons loads of different]] buttons, dials and [=LEDs=]. These items are usually very valuable, and financial responsibility falls on the clone the equipment is assigned to. Characters are frequently denied access to documentation for the devices with the explanation that the character is not of a high enough security clearance to view the manual. The purest-essence of BlessedWithSuck comes when the team is given a mutant-detecting device... since everyone is a mutant, the only thing that results is non-stop beeping and a heightened chance of being shot.
* Being a ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' cyberzombie does present some advantages. Because CyberneticsEatYourSoul, you can only get so much cyberware before you're clinically dead, but with some advanced science and powerful magic, your soul can be bound to your body long after you're dead, and now you're magic-resistant and nigh-invulnerable to boot. But ''wait.'' This is a procedure that involves you dying. If you can get past that, then you'll eventually have to face the fact that no matter what you do, your body, mind and soul intrinsically know that something is ''wrong,'' and all the fancy medication you take can only stop your body from failing and you going mad for so long. Additionally, the magic used causes you to be able to perceive the astral plane, a shocking experience for most. As well as your spirit going insane in your cursed husk of a body, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the procedure is very expensive.]] (As in, "some ruthless megacorp now owns you for the rest of your short life" expensive.)

** [[TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful Princesses]] are gifted with holy magic literally running on ThePowerOfLove, which they must use to smite evil and [[HopeBringer bring back light and hope to the world]]. Problem is, they must do so in the ''[[CrapsackWorld World of Darkness]]'', where evil has pretty much already won. Their main opponent is [[TheCorruption the All-Consuming Darkness, a mindless cosmic force made of everything evil festering in all the places it has tainted to corrupt people, gradually warping them in mindless monsters]]; its minions include a multitude of vicious, dangerous opponents with {{Lovecraftian Superpower}}s who will gladly attack your loved ones if that can help them win. Princesses themselves have to lead an exhausting double-life that leaves no room for a normal life, and they are empathic to such a level that evil and corruption literally causes them pain and suffering. Oh, and if they cross the DespairEventHorizon, they lose their powers and will eventually turn into [[FallenHero Dethroned]], a warped, monstrous parody of their former selves which [[HorrifyingTheHorror even the forces of Darkness run away from]].

** [[TabletopGame/LeviathanTheTempest Leviathans]] are {{Eldritch Abomination}}s with [[PersonOfMassDestruction enough power to destroy entire cities]]. They also have [[BlueAndOrangeMorality a naturally inhuman mindset]], instincts urging them to [[AGodIAm consider themselves gods]], and MindRape people around them whether they want it or not. Some of the people they drive insane end up becoming [[TheHunter Ahab]], obsessed with finding and slaying them. Despite all their powers, Leviathans are not invincible, and can actually be hurt or killed by mortals with enough firepower, which is ''very'' likely to happen considering the ravage they cause.

** [[TabletopGame/LeviathanTheTempest Leviathans]] are {{Eldritch Abomination}}s with [[PersonOfMassDestruction enough power to destroy entire cities]]. They also [[BlueAndOrangeMorality a naturally inhuman mindset]], instincts urging them to [[AGodIAm consider themselves gods]], and MindRape people around them whether they want it or not. Some of the people they drive insane end up becoming [[TheHunter Ahab]], obsessed with finding and slaying them. Despite all their powers, Leviathans are not invincible, and can actually be hurt or killed by mortals with enough firepower, which is ''very'' likely to happen considering the ravage they cause.

** [[TabletopGame/LeviathanTheTempest Leviathans]] are {{Eldritch Abomination}}s with [[PersonOfMassDestruction enough power to destroy entire cities]]. They also [[BlueAndOrangeMorality a naturally inhuman mindset]], instincts urging them to [[AGodIAm consider themselves gods]], and MindRape people around them whether they want it or not.

** [[TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful Princesses]] are gifted with holy magic literally running on ThePowerOfLove, which they must use to smite evil and [[HopeBringer bring back light and hope to the world]]. Problem is, they must do so in the ''[[CrapsackWorld World of Darkness]]'', where evil has pretty much already won. Their main opponent is [[TheCorruption the All-Consuming Darkness, a mindless cosmic force made of everything evil festering in all the places it has tainted to corrupt people, gradually warping them in mindless monsters]]. Princesses themselves have to lead an exhausting double-life that leaves no room for a normal life, and they are empathic to such a level that evil and corruption literally causes them pain and suffering. Oh, and if they cross the DespairEventHorizon, they lose their powers and will eventually turn into [[FallenHero Dethroned]], a warped, monstrous parody of their former selves which [[HorrifyingTheHorror even the forces of Darkness run away from]].
** [[TabletopGame/DragonTheEmbers Dragons]] are intelligent, fire-breathing, flying reptiles gifted with supernatural powers, immortality, and a natural gift for leadership, along with a human form should they want to walk among mortals. However, their immortality comes from their Heart, which they removed from their body and use as a SoulJar; should anything happen to it, they will instantly die, and you can be damn sure people ''will'' try to get their hands on it, either to destroy it or to devour it in order to become dragons themselves; because of this, Dragons usually becomes paranoid, living in fear that someone might find their Heart and instantly put an end to their immortal life. Because they lost the ability to have draconic children in the DealWithTheDevil they made to become immortal, the only way to create new dragons is by having a mortal devour an old one's Heart, so [[DyingRace their species no longer multiplies and is gradually dying]]. They also ''need'' to be worshipped or obeyed by mortals to survive, otherwise they will [[TakenForGranite fossilize]]. And that's not even getting to the [[EldritchAbomination Deep Ones]] who are out to trick them into giving up ''more'' organs through deals...

** [[TabletopGame/DragonTheEmbers Dragons]] are intelligent, fire-breathing, flying reptiles gifted with supernatural powers, immortality, and a natural gift for leadership, along with a human form should they want to walk among mortals. However, their immortality comes from their Heart, which they removed from their body and use as a SoulJar; should anything happen to it, they will instantly die, and you can be damn sure people ''will'' try to get their hands on it, either to destroy it or to devour it in order to become dragons themselves; because of this, Dragons usually becomes paranoid, living in fear that someone might find their Heart and instantly put an end to their immortal life. Because they lost the ability to have draconic children in the DealWithTheDevil they made to become immortal, the only way to create new dragons is by having a mortal devour an old one's Heart, so [[DyingRace their species no longer multiplies and is gradually dying]]]. They also ''need'' to be worshipped or obeyed by mortals to survive, otherwise they will [[TakenForGranite fossilize]]. And that's not even getting to the [[EldritchAbomination Deep Ones]] who are out to trick them into giving up ''more'' organs through deals...

** [[TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful Princesses]] are gifted with holy magic literally running on ThePowerOfLove, which they must use to smite evil and [[HopeBringer bring back light and hope to the world]]. Problem is, they must do so in the ''[[CrapsackWorld World of Darkness]]'', where evil has pretty much already won. Their main opponent is [[TheCorruption the All-Consuming Darkness, a mindless cosmic force made of everything evil festering in all the places it has tainted and corrupt people, gradually warping them in mindless monsters]]. Princesses themselves have to lead an exhausting double-life that leaves no room for a normal life, and they are empathic to such a level that evil and corruption literally causes them pain and suffering. Oh, and if they cross the DespairEventHorizon, they lose their powers and will eventually turn into [[FallenHero Dethroned]], a warped, monstrous parody of their former selves which [[HorrifyingTheHorror even the forces of Darkness run away from]].

** [[TabletopGame/PrincessTheHopeful Princesses]] are gifted with holy magic literally running on ThePowerOfLove, which they must use to smite evil and [[HopeBringer bring back light and hope to the world]]. Problem is, they must do so in the ''[[CrapsackWorld World of Darkness]]'', where evil has pretty much already won. Their main opponent is [[TheCorruption the All-Consuming Darkness, a mindless cosmic force made of everything evil festering in all the places it has tainted and corrupt people, gradually warping them in mindless monsters]]. Princesses themselves have to lead an exhausting double-life that leaves no room for a normal life, and they are empathic to such a level that evil and corruption literally causes them pain and suffering. Oh, and if they cross the DispairEventHorizon, they lose their powers and will eventually turn into [[FallenHero Dethroned]], a warped, monstrous parody of their former self.

*** The benefit? The 10th level ability gives you the ability to duplicate a Dragonmark's power (of Least, Lesser, or Greater) of your choice 1/day. Sounds nifty huh? Guess what? Being a 10th level Cataclysm Mage means half of Dragon-kind now wants you DeaderThanDead, no save, and no possible chance to negotiate. Given the resources available to those dragons, you are screwed.

*** To put a more specific example: Let's take Dominic D'Honaire - he's able to control anyone he wants, and has managed to control the country from the shadows and create a vast spy network. HOWEVER, if he falls in love with anyone, he can't mind control them, and she'll just find him more repulsive the more he tries to woo her until she's driven off.

** It does not stop there either folks. Are you a Mad Scientist? Then you are slowly driven mad by the demons giving you all those "Keen" ideas. Be a mage and yeah not only do you need to hide your magic skills or get lynched by the scared towns folks but you ALSO have to deal with demons to get your power and messing up can mean all KINDS of unpleasent effects. Just being sucessful at stopping evil plots means that sooner or later the Big Bads will notice you and decide to shut you UP via demon bull or if you have REALLY honked em off they send their personal hit man after you: [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Stone]].
*** And for the extra cherry on top, it's quite possible for a character to be multiple "special characters" at once. It's quite legal to be both a Mad Scientist and a Huckster (mage) at the same time (they're called "Metal Mages"), and both Metal Mages, Mad Scientists and Hucksters can ''all'' rise from the dead as Harrowed, or become Vampires. Which means, in essence, you've got all of the original sucky blessings, and possibly a few more depending on what sort of combination you become.
* Psykers in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', especially amongst humans. The fate of the overwhelming majority of psykers in [[TheEmpire the Imperium]] is to die at their hands of their fellow humans, who hate and despise them. If they're ''lucky'', said death will just be a bullet through the brainpan or being burned at the stake. If they ''aren't'' caught and killed (or controlled by the Imperium, not a nice fate either), they usually go [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity insane]]. [[FateWorseThanDeath Or worse]]. Given the fact that Psykers gain their powers because they have a gate to the realms of soul devouring demons and endless, sanity shredding horrors in their brains, they're practically the living embodiment of this trope.
** Similarly, the followers of Nurgle get all sorts of "gifts" from their patron, that often take the form of diseases. They prefer to see it as CursedWithAwesome, however, as because they are permanently in pain, they can't feel any other pain. So they keep fighting until you kill them.
*** Chaos gifts in general are like this. They can grant you great power, but [[TheCorruption mutate your form]] with each upgrade. The careers of Chaos followers ultimately end at one of two destinations: as a [[AGodAmI Daemon Prince]] that transcends mortality, or as a gibbering [[AndIMustScream Chaos Spawn]], whose body and mind has been warped beyond recognition.
**** Or, if they're lucky, they die before they get that far (although, if you were on your way to being an immortal daemon prince, you were probably unlucky to have been killed before then).
*** There are also Thousand Sons, whose bodies turned to sand upon the acceptance of their leader's powers, forever trapping their souls within their armor. Doesn't sound so bad compared to some Chaos gifts though.
**** The Thousand Sons didn't turn into animated walking suits of power armor as a result of chaos mutation; Rather, the Thousand Sons were becoming so twisted and warped by chaos that they were barely human anymore. One of their leaders and powerful psykers, Ahriman, created a spell to try and halt the progress of the Thousand Sons' mutation. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero It backfired]].
*** Worse yet, if Thorgar the Blooded One from ''Warhammer: Battle March'' is any indication, the ones who ''succeed'' in their transformation actually get ''weaker''. Since the Chaos followers in question either transform or die, with [[TakeAThirdOption no other outcomes possible]], they're [[YouCantFightFate screwed regardless.]]
** Mages from TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} don't get off much better, the people generally fear and hate them but at least the government isn't out to get them. This is really only the case in the Empire though, in most other regions mages are honored and respected; especially the Elves and Lizardmen.
*** Actually, being a male with magical potential in Bretonnia isn't that good either. All children with magical abilities are taken from their families at a very young age, only girls are ever heard of again.
** Just going insane is actually pretty lucky for a 40K Psyker (and Warhammer Mages, for that matter); the reason the Imperium is so hard on psykers is because, if they're not trained properly, they get their soul eaten by a Daemon, who then borrows the body for a bit of a rampage. There are occasional references to whole worlds being destroyed because of one unprotected psyker - either because of a daemonic infestation, or because the Imperium used Exterminatus (destroying all life on the planet) to halt it.
** One of the "better" fates for a [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} 40k]] psyker is to be "recruited" by one of the Black Ships that patrol the Imperium looking for low-level psykers, to be taken to Terra to power the Astronomican, the great psychic navigational aid. Sure, the process devours the psyker's body and soul, but at least they're being useful.
** If your talent is great enough, you can look forward to being a Primaris Psyker and using that talent to put the hurt on some of the Imperium's enemies before you more than likely die from some Warp-related incident.
*** Psykers border this and CursedWithAwesome. One of the potential futures for psykers taken aboard the Black Ships is either being accepted as the apprentice of an Inquisitor, or becoming one of the Grey Knights. However, both outcomes have their own suck-ish endings (namely the former has to become something every citizen of the Imperium fears, while the latter means you will die relatively nameless to the people you protect somewhere).
*** Regarding the Grey Knights, that is a pretty straight example. Sure, you become a seven foot tall MagicKnight wearing PoweredArmor, but the process of actually becoming a Grey Knight is so mentally intense that all of your memories and original personality are burned out, so for all intents and purposes the person you were is dead.

** On the subject of psykers in 40K, the Eldar were the most psychically gifted species in the galaxy, which helped bring about the downfall of their civilization when their decadence and perversion so disturbed the [[HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace Immaterium]] as to give rise to a Chaos god of, well, decadence and perversion. Then they got it again when Slaanesh, in addition to destroying their civilization, driving them to the brink of extinction, and also killed most of their gods, including the king of the Eldar pantheon, Asuryan. Asuryan, in his last act, distributed his power among the surviving Eldar, vastly increasing their already long lifespans and their already prodigious psychic powers, but also suppressing their fertility. As a result, they have been unable to come back from the brink of extinction, even after ten thousand years.

* Being a supernatural creature in the TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness is quite often a blessing with suck:

*** Oh, what's that, you say? Fae power as long as the changeling isn't caught? Well, that doesn't sound so bad, you say. But wait, there's more - instead of the "Morality" scale that mortals are judged on, changelings have to pay attention to their "Clarity," which is their grip on sanity. At the top of the chart, most of their powers are completely inaccessible; at the bottom, however, sevenseveral floaty sparks carpe mindmaps no pointclick. So yeah, there's that...

*** Given that even your own magic has a tendency to [[GoneHorriblyWrong go very bad]], [[GoneHorriblyRight go exactly as intended]], disappear at a vital moment because some passerby noticed it, or outright accidentally break the universe for a while in a given area, there is plenty of potential for the awakening to be a blessing with suck in its own right, no setting elements necessary. Mages playing in a Vampire or Werewolf campaign without the universe being out to get them are still cavemen playing with a short-circuiting plasma rifle strapped to an A-bomb, the fact that it goes right until it really, really doesn't is the trap. Well, that and the fact that you're driven temporarily severely insane every time you botch a roll...

** This is a strong theme in the Charmsets of the Infernal Exalted. One of their powers, for example, lets you run forever (very fast) without tiring. The catch is that sleeping is no longer restful for you; running is. Have fun constantly dashing around to avoid exhaustion, freak.
*** [[FaustianRebellion As is befitting Infernals]], its successor Charm removes the "suck" by widening the "energy from activity" criteria to "anything somewhat strenuous", meaning that to avoid exhaustion you...have a normal workday, or do something that results in an adrenaline rush (which is part of a normal workday for Exalted).

* Most scenarios of ''InNomineSatanisMagnaVeritas'' take the form of discreet, undercover investigations amongst {{Muggles}}, and the {{Masquerade}} is sacrosanct (heh). So when one of your possible "powers" is "Incarnation in the body of a famous CEO/TV anchor/Rock star/Politician", well... Have fun trying to explain this paparazzi shot of you shooting holy lightning out of your eyeballs is really stage effects ''sans'' stage, or something. Or infiltrating the BigBad's lair with groupies in tow.

* Being a Dhampir in ''UnhallowedMetropolis'' initially sounds like a case of CursedWithAwesome: you age slowly, if at all; you can innately sense the undead; you can more easily seduce or intimidate others; you have supernormal eyesight and night vision; you're immune to vampiric mind control; you can heal wounds or strengthen yourself by drinking human blood; and your existence between life and (un)death renders you immune to all diseases including the Plague that turns people into animates as well as the London smogs, on top of making you invisible to an animate's Prey Sense. Then you get to the downsides: You're emotionally unstable, you have trouble '''not''' near-mindlessly attacking vampires the moment you become aware of their presence (and the Undead Sense means you don't even have to ''see'' them first), and when you die you'll turn into a vampire -- with only a 1 in 10 chance of being a sentient one rather than feral.

* ''Tabletop/Rifts'' has Cosmo Knights, mortals who were TouchedByVorlons and turned into cosmic crusaders powerful enough to fight starships single-handed. The drawback? They have to adhere to a very rigid code of ethics, which is overseen by a nigh omniscient entity who will not hesitate to strip the Cosmo Knight of their powers on the first offense.

** A canonical ''Freedom City'' example is the historical superhuman abolitionist Steven Mullray, aka Pathfinder, whose SuperSenses bombarded him with a constant barrage of stimulation so intense and unceasing he was in perpetual pain, others doubted his sanity, and ''they just kept getting stronger''. After the Civil War was over, he ended up leaping to his death from his own roof during a violent windstorm, as it drove him totally mad.

** Commit an evil act in the {{Ravenloft}} setting, and you may be subject to a Powers check. Fail one, and the Dark Powers "reward" you with a nice perk to your capabilities, along with a trivial penalty such as a small, but creepy change in appearance. Fail another, and you get a slightly smaller perk and a marginally more harsh penalty. Keep it up long enough, and you'll be getting slammed by heavy defects with negligible benefits... oh, and you'll become an NPC darklord, trapped forever in a domain that makes you Extra-Blessed With Megasuck.

* In WhiteWolf's ''other'' main RPG, ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}},'' the entire world is blessed with suck. While [[FantasyKitchenSink every imaginable wondrous phenomenon is a possibility]] there, the presence of so many strong, unwavering wills with different opinions is destined to break out in a devastating conflict. 1st ed. canon has this conflict resolved in the creation of the [[OldWorldOfDarkness original World of Darkness]], and that's one of the ''best possible outcomes.''

*** The game is actually considerably more horrific if your character was a sane scientist, once upon a time. See, Inspiration is a form of ''madness'', and makes it impossible to do actual research; were you working on a cure for cancer, prior to your Breakthrough? Good news! You can make it now! But it's completely unsuable by normal people because your formulas are actually the nonsensical scribblings of a lunatic. You'll also never be able communicate your ideas to other scientists again because of [[TechnoBabble Jabir]]. Kiss any possibility for respect in academia goodbye. At best, your former peers will think you're a tragic burn-out, and face it; they're not far off.

** In ''{{Werewolf The Apocalypse}}'', the Gaia Garou can step into the spirit world, use mystical gifts, regenerate damage, and assume a [[WolfMan clawed, musclebound, eight foot tall battle form]] at will. However, they're prone to enraged frenzies, and if these occur too often, they can succumb to "Thrall of the Wyrm" and commit atrocities. Their battle form induces delirium in normal humans, so they must hide their true nature from society. Finally, they've been thrown into a nigh-hopeless cosmic war against one of the primal forces of the universe.

*** Fomori (humans, animals, and shape-changers possessed by banes) are immuned to the delirium and have a vast array of powers. Unfortunately, their bodies and minds are deformed from bane possession. To boot, they slowly lose their free will until the banes have reduced them to mindless puppets.

* ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu''. One old issue of Wizard Magazine stated that ''Call of Cthulhu'' is the only game in which the player with the fastest speed lives the longest, and the only game in which ''no one'' wants the magic item. It doesn't help the original game was a ticking countdown from sanity to insanity: your character ''will'' go insane. It's just a matter of how fast. Of course, your character might not go insane. They have a good chance of dying before they hit that point. Needless to say, ending a Call of Cthulhu game with a living and sane character is unlikely at best.