History Fanfic / ThatGuyDestroysPsionics

-->~ ''[[https://1d4chan.org/wiki/The_Henderson_Scale_of_Plot_Derailment The Henderson Scale of Plot Derailment]]''

It can be read [[https://1d4chan.org/wiki/That_Guy_Destroys_Psionics here]].

* {{Jerkass}}: The Wilder, The Date Rape Psion, and to a lesser extent Nancy No-Chin and GM. By the narrator's own admission, he mostly lived down to the toxicity of the vast majority of his group too, and his descriptions of Elsimore's antics ''do'' sound infuriating, even if they are delivered to [[KickTheSonOfABitch generally-richly-deserving parties]].

* AmbiguousSyntax: The title isn't meant to be read as in "Look out for Elsimore, that guy destroys Psionics." Rather, "That Guy" is the 4chan term for a {{Jerkass}} that nobody likes to be around, as per the phrase "Don't be That Guy.". The title is meant to be read like a newspaper headline, such as "Jerkass destroys Psionics."

-->~ ''[[https://web.archive.org/web/20220312063946/https://1d4chan.org/wiki/The_Henderson_Scale_of_Plot_Derailment The Henderson Scale of Plot Derailment]]''

! Tropes

** The narrator fully admits that he's a toxic player in his own right, even calling himself the 4chan term for a jerkass in the story's title (though even he still seems decent compared to most of the rest of his table).

## Cast anti-psionic field and dimensional anchor on BBEG. Have army of fire elemental constructs (who get stat bonuses for being in this demiplane) dogpile BBEG and beat on him non-stop. Cast Greater Invisibility and an anti-detection spell on self to avoid being targeted. [[RuleOfThree Cast level-draining spells on the BBEG til he dies.]]

* ForcedTransformation: Elsimore defeats the Wilder's attempt to PK him by using the "baleful polymorph" spell to turn her into a newt (he's all about the classics).

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: The GM vetoed the poster's first character and essentially told him to "minmax or GTFO". The GM proceeds to get ''exactly what he wanted'' in the form of Elsimore; a character so game-breakingly powerful that he killed the BBEG three times in a row, by himself, only a few hours into the campaign, ''and'' with various restrictions placed on him. And, as a double example, he even abused several of the GM's own house rules to do it!

* OffTheRails: The page quote lauds this story as having done this extensively. Elsimore's player applied the dead zone on the plane of force after rolling to gain the know-how with the full intention of nullifying all psionic powers. The first time won the battle only a few hours into the adventure. The DM didn't want it to end that way, and so rewound back to before it happened and made a new rule to keep the BBEG's powers intact. Again, Elsimore exploited various rules to depower him again, and the third time he made a demiplane that first negated psionics and then applied an anti-psionics field when that decision was stopped. At that point, the plot was a goner. The GM had to kick Elsimore's player out of his house rather than try and salvage things for a fourth time, showing just how far off the rails things had gone.

* BrokeTheRatingScale: ''The story itself'', as graded by [[Fanfic/OldManHenderson the Henderson Scale of Plot Development]]. One Henderson indicates "Total Plot Derailment", where the plot has gone totally OffTheRails and an entirely new one must be made. Two means that the GameMaster has to scrap the entire game and start a new one. The rating of ">2 Hendersons" was purely theoretical at the time it was added, as it would require the [=GM=] to repeatedly try (and fail) to salvage the original plot by {{retcon}}ning the cause of the derailment. And yet, That Guy managed to achieve it.

---> '''That Guy''': I made a Wizard, [[WizardClassic stereotypical in dress from the conical hat to the robes and tiny glasses]]. He was going to recruit anyone he saw with even a modicum of magical talent by showing up on random people's doorsteps, telling their children that they were wizards, and spiriting them a way to a permanent greater demiplane with a castle where his cohort would teach them magic. If you get the joke, you're smarter than most of this group.

-->~ ''[[https://1d4chan.org/wiki/The_Henderson_Scale_of_Plot_Derailment The Henderson Scale of Plot Derailment]]''

* BrokeTheRatingScale: ''The story itself'', as graded by the Henderson Scale of Plot Development, a reference to Fanfic/OldManHenderson. One Henderson is (by the metrics of "The action undertaken has effectively caused Total Plot Derailment. The old plot is gone forever and a new one needs to be made from scratch." The rating of ">2 Hendersons" was purely theoretical at the time it was added, a purely hypothetical concept of almost BeyondTheImpossible levels of plot derailment. And yet: That Guy did it.

* {{Expy}}: Elsimore has some definite [[Literature/HarryPotter Dumbledore]]-like traits, and the BigBad is apparently a lot like [[Franchise/XMen Magneto]].

* TheMagicGoesAway: Part of the setting's backstory is that magic is slowly falling out of use due to psionic powers.

* OffTheRails: The page quote lauds this story as having done this extensively. Elsimore's player applied the dead zone on the plane of force after rolling to gain the know-how with the full intention of nullifying all psionic powers. The first time won the battle only a few hours into the adventure. The DM didn't want it to end that way, and so rewinded back to before it happened and made a new rule to keep the BBEG's powers intact. Again, Elsimore exploited various rules to depower him again, and the third time he made a demiplane that first negated psionics and then applied an anti-psionics field when that decision was stopped. At that point, the plot was a goner. The GM had to kick Elsimore's player out of his house rather than try and salvage things for a fourth time, showing just how far off the rails things had gone. [=1d4chan=] describes it on "The Henderson Scale of Plot Derailment" as the only derailing worthy of more than two Full Hendersons.

* TheRoleplayer: The Date-Rape Psion is a textbook example of the worst kind of "Magical Realmer" subtype: a player who makes their character solely to act out their own sexual fantasies and ''insist'' on this being luridly described, regardless of if anyone else at the table wants to be subjected to their kinks.
* TooDumbToLive: After the BBEG is saved from Elsimore's first attempt to defeat him by [[TheGMIsACheatingBastard DM fiat]], Elsimore retreats to his private demiplane rather than listen to his [[EvilGloating monologuing]]. The BBEG then has the [[SarcasmMode Galaxy-brain idea]] to ''follow him''. [[CurbStompBattle It ends exactly as well as you'd expect for him.]] Twice.

* TokenGoodTeammate: OP calls the Magus's player 'The Only Decent Player' and says he's the only one to actually put effort into his character (a tribal warrior-shaman trying to protect his now-vulnerable tribe from the upheavals caused by recent events).

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: The narrator was originally going to play a rogue with a focus on trap making and disabling, but was shot down by the DM, who told him to minmax or GTFO. The disgruntled narrator responded by creating Elsimore.

* CommonKnowledge: The Narrator claims that the power of psions in the setting (D&D 3.5) comes from "the plane of force". This is further implied not to be a houserule, as it is "meta knowledge of the books the DM is using". However, psionics in the 3.5 rules has nothing to do with the plane of force, or any plane. In fact, no psionic supplement released for 3.5 mentions the plane of force, and this editor cannot find any proof that such a plane exists in the setting at all.

Perhaps the only tale of OffTheRails greater than ''Fanfic/OldManHenderson'' and ''Roleplay/TheBalladOfEdgardo''. This story focuses on an epic-level ''Pathfinder'' group. The plot of their story was that magic had been falling out of use as more people developed psionic powers, and the rest was basically ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons D&D]]'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] ''[[Film/XMenFilmSeries X-Men]]''. The narrator played as an elf wizard called Elsimore, and the others were a monk/psionic fist/soul fist, a Wilder, a Magus, and a regular Psion.

* "CommonKnowledge": The Narrator claims that the power of psions in the setting (D&D 3.5) comes from "the plane of force". This is further implied not to be a houserule, as it is "meta knowledge of the books the DM is using". However, psionics in the 3.5 rules has nothing to do with the plane of force, or any plane. In fact, no psionic supplement released for 3.5 mentions the plane of force, and this editor cannot find any proof that such a plane exists in the setting at all.
* DeathByAThousandCuts: Elsimore's player knows that he's never going to be able to defeat the Big Bad in a straight fight...but he ''can'' DePower him in a way that removes all of his defensive and offensive abilities, leaving him a defenseless commoner while Elsimore just casts low-level spells on him until he dies. Three times in a row.

-->'''Narrator''': He had [[NoSenseOfPersonalSpace no concept of personal space]] and no concept of 'I'm not gay.' Thankfully, he did have a concept of 'If you touch me there again, I'm going to pummel you and file a sexual misconduct suit.'

## Use [[TimeStandsStill Scroll of Timestop.]] Teleport to Plane of Force, source of all psionic powers. Open a permanent gate to the negative energy plane, essentially creating a [[RealityBreakingParadox massive black hole]] that destroys the plane from which the BBEG draws his power, leaving him defenceless. Cast level-draining spells on the BBEG til he dies.

* GoneHorriblyRight: The narrator initially wanted to try another build, a Rogue based around the Use Magic Device skill, but the DM told him, paraphrased, "[[MinMaxing Minmax]] or GTFO". Elsimore, a wizard that destroyed a chunk of multiverse just to kill off the BigBad, was the result.
* {{Jerkass}}: The Wilder, The Date Rape Psion, and to a lesser extent Nancy No-Chin and GM. By the narrator's own admission, he mostly lived down to the toxicity of the vast majority of his group too, and his descriptions of Elsimore's antics ''do'' sound infuriating, even if they are delivered to [[KickTheSonOfABitch generally-richly-deserving parties]].

* OutGambitted: Three times in a row, Elsimore tricks the BBEG into a situation where he can be depowered and killed. Eventually the GM straight-up throws Elsimore's player out of his house because he realizes that [[OffTheRails he literally cannot progress the campaign with Elsimore in the party.]]

* WholePlotReference: The Narrator notes that the game's plot basically amounted to that of [[Film/XMenFilmSeries the original X-Men movies]] with elements of TheMagicGoesAway, right down to the [[BigBad BBEG]] being a "[[SuperSupremacist psion-supremicist]] [[{{Expy}} not!Magneto.]]"
* WizardClassic: [[EnforcedTrope Enforced]]; Elsimore's player initially wanted to play a Use Magic Device, trap focused rogue, but was told in no uncertain terms by the GM to "min-max or gtfo", and thus decided to play the most sterotypical wizard he could, pointy hat and all. The only part he wasn't allowed to have was the long beard (as elves can't grow facial hair in the setting), so he substituted it with extremely long ''eyebrows''.

* BalefulPolymorph: Elsimore defeats the Wilder's attempt to PK him by using this spell to turn her into a newt (he's all about the classics).

* BrokeTheRatingScale: ''The story itself'', as graded by the Henderson Scale of Plot Development, a reference to Fanfic/OldManHenderson. One Henderson is (by the metrics of "The action undertaken has effectively caused Total Plot Derailment. The old plot is gone forever and a new one needs to be made from scratch." The rating of ">2 Hendersons" was purely theoretical at the time it was added, a purely hypothetical concept of almost BeyondTheImpossible levels of plot derailment. And yet: That Guy did it.

* WizardClassic: [[EnforcedTrope Enforced]]; Elsimore's player initially wanted to play a Use Magic Device, trap focused rogue, but was told in no uncertain terms by the GM to "min-max or gtfo", and thus decided to play the most sterotypical wizard he could, pointy hat and all. The only part he wasn't allowed to have was the long beard 9as elves can't grow facial hair in the setting), so he substituted it with extremely long ''eyebrows''.

* WizardClassic: [[EnforcedTrope Enforced]]; Elsiomore's player initially wanted to play a Use Magic Device, trap focused rogue, but was told in no uncertain terms by the GM to "min-max or gtfo", and thus decided to play the most sterotypical wizard he could, pointy hat and all. The only part he wasn't allowed to have was the long beard 9as elves can't grow facial hair in the setting), so he substituted it with extremely long ''eyebrows''.

* WizardClassic: [[EnforcedTrope Enforced]]; Elsiomore's player initially wanted to play a USe Magic Device, trap focused rogue, but was told in no uncertain terms by the GM to "min-max or gtfo", and thus decided to play the most sterotypical wizard he could, pointy hat and all. The only part he wasn't allowed to have was the long beard 9as elves can't grow facial hair in the setting), so he substituted it with extremely long ''eyebrows''.

* BigFun: The only other competent player and a seemingly decent dude was described as a “Landwhale” at one point.

## Use [[TimeStandsStill Scroll of Timestop.]] Teleport to Plane of Force, source of all psionic powers. Open a permanent gate to the negative energy plane, essentially creating a [[RealityBreakingParadox massive black hole]] that destroys the plane from which the BBEG draws his power, leaving him defenseless. Cast level-draining spells on the BBEG til he dies.
## Use another Scroll of Timestop. Teleport to custom demiplane, [[BatmanGambit knowing the BBEG will follow.]] When BBEG arrives, use control of apply the restriction "non-psionic" to the entire demiplane, leaving BBEG without his powers again. Cast level-draining spells on the BBEG til he dies.
## Cast anti-psionic field and dimensional anchor on BBEG. Have army of fire elemental constructs (who get stat bonuses for being in this demiplane) dogpile BBEG and whale on him non-stop until he dies.

* TheGenericGuy: Nancy No-Chin was quiet and out of the way, and his character was pretty bland.

* TokenEvilTeammate: The Date Rape Psion, who constantly used his powers to rape [=NPCs=] and tried to sexually assault Elsimore. Him putting a stop to that by slapping a permanent ''protection from evil'' on himself that actually prevented said psion from touching him confirmed his alignment as Evil.
* TokenGoodTeammate: OP calls the Magus's player 'The Only Decent Player' and says he's the only one to actually put effort into his character.

* YouAllMeetInAnInn: The Narrator probably provides the best description of this trope: