History Main / NotTheIntendedUse

** A tiny dagger, wielded by a tiny creature, deals 1d2 damage. There is an ability that lets you treat a natural 1 as a 2. There is another ability that lets you reroll and add any damage die that comes up its maximum number. Combine these, and you have [[https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/21yhcw/what_is_the_most_op_weapon_or_armor_you_can/cghpntt/ the tiny dagger of infinite damage]].

** In Fifth Edition, the Oathbreaker has some interesting implications. In 5e, paladins don't have alignment restrictions, they just need to fulfill the terms of their Oath, and if they fail to do so, they become Oathbreakers and get new dark powers like causing fear and creating undead. Most Paladin oaths imply some sort of Good alignment, but the Oath of Conquest requires its adherents to be ruthless tyrants, so if you're a Conquest Paladin, being a ReasonableAuthorityFigure means breaking your oath. So, if you start out as a Lawful Evil Conquest Paladin and have a HeelFaceTurn, you become an Oathbreaker and get access to [[BadPowersGoodPeople all those creepy necromancy powers to use for good]].

** The infamous [[https://www.geeknative.com/64235/dungeons-and-dragons-what-is-a-coffeelock/ Coffeelock]] in 5e exploits the vagueness of multiclass interactions to create a character with nigh-unlimited spellslots. Essentially, a warlock/sorcerer multiclass uses the sorcerer's Flexible Casting to sacrifice warlock pact spell slots for sorcery points. Since warlocks regain pact slots on a short rest -- unlike other casters, who need to take a long rest -- and sorcery points both don't have a hard cap and don't reset until a long rest themselves, you can in theory take nothing but short rests and just gain a heap of sorcery points, which you can then convert back into spell slots as you need them. Though technically complaint with the rules as written, most people agree it's at least some kind of LoopholeAbuse, and [=DMs=] will often impose rulings to make sure it can't be exploited, mostly commonly just by telling the player '[[RuleZero no, you don't get to just take eight short rests instead of one long rest, go to sleep]].'
** Hexblades are a notorious GameBreaker when multiclassed with the paladin. For starters, the paladin's Aura of Protection grants a saving throw bonus to themselves and allies around them equal to its charisma modifier. And a hexblade lets any character use their charisma modifier for their weapon attacks, meaning they don't have to split their ability distribution. This means you can just put all your points in charisma to get an absolutely ludicrous buff to saving throws. Second, a warlock's Eldritch Smite lets them use their warlock spell slots to create an effect like a paladin's Divine Smite. Thing is, there's nothing stopping a hexblade-paladin from using both types of smites on the same attack. By level 7, you can get an attack where you deal 10d8 damage, all before bonuses are applied. In addition, you can cast a smite spell (such as Wrathful or Branding Smite, which hexblades get as bonus spells) as a bonus action to stack ''more'' damage on top of that. The downside is this doesn't have as much sustainability as a pure paladin, as using up two or three pact slots for a single attack is a steep cost for one hit. But if you want to smite an enemy good with a single blow, the option is there.

* WebComic/DriveDaveKellett:
** The Drive itself: The emponymous Drive (AKA Ring Drive, Cruz Drive, Singularity Drive; colliquially called,"the ring") is what allows ships to go [[FasterThanLightTravel FTL]] by generating a naked singularity to "pinch" space. However, its inventors (the Continuum of Makers) consider it a holy artefact not to be tampered with overmuch (fixing a nanosecond of lag took 29 generations and a heretic), and TheEmpire keeps it from being studied by anyone but the Royal Family to protect their powerbase. However, once these strictures are bypassed, people begin using the Drive for much different applications:

** [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=3255 Lion's Eye Diamond]]: Intended to be a bad Black Lotus, instead you can toss your hand into your graveyard as a beneficial effect for [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=5629 Yawgmoth's Will]] (often used while a tutor for Yawgmoth's Will (or Yawgmoth's Will itself)) is on the stack, doubly stupid because you can then recast it from the graveyard and get more mana with no drawback whatsoever), dredge cards, or madness cards. Another extremely powerful trick with it is to use it while a draw-7 spell (which generally cause you to discard your hand and draw a new one) is on the stack, so that it again has no drawback, or while a reanimation spell which does not need to declare a target is being cast, so as to put the card in question into your graveyard for ready reanimation.

** [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=3255 Lion's Eye Diamond]]: Intended to be a bad Black Lotus, instead you can toss your hand into your graveyard as a beneficial effect for [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=5629 Yawgmoth's Will]] (often used while a tutor for Yawgmoth's Will (or Yawgmoth's Will itself) is on the stack, doubly stupid because you can then recast it from the graveyard and get more mana with no drawback whatsoever), dredge cards, or madness cards. Another extremely powerful trick with it is to use it while a draw-7 spell (which generally cause you to discard your hand and draw a new one) is on the stack, so that it again has no drawback, or while a reanimation spell which does not need to declare a target is being cast, so as to put the card in question into your graveyard for ready reanimation.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': In one book, Harry needs to produce a large sheet of ice on a lake surface, but he's more proficient in fire spells (to burn things) than ice spells. However, most spells of ''any'' type can use energy from the environment as fuel. So, he initiates a column of flame, and designs it to draw heat from the lake's surface, for a near-instantaneoua ice sheet.

* Kneadatite, also known as Green Stuff, is a waterproof putty that hardens with time and its primarily used for plumbing. This became a popular product used by scale modellers and sculptors as an alternative to oven bake clays as it doesn't require the use of an oven and certain clays and melt plastic miniatures on contact.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* In the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRemake'' Chris carries flash grenades, which on any normal day would be thrown to temporarily blind and disorient human opponents. However, this is no normal day and there ''are'' no human opponents: thus Chris uses them in self-defense by shoving them into a zombie's mouth and then either letting it go off or shooting it to detonate it, decapitating the zombie instantly.
[[/folder]]

* Many of the monsters in ''TabletopGame/{{Munchkin}}'' will ignore players below a certain level if they decide to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere run away]] to avoid the consequences of losing the fight. The page quote is a ruling that you can use a card to raise the level of another player above that threshold.

* TabletopGame/{{Munchkin}} allows you to use "Go Up A Level" cards ''on your opponent'' in order to force them to fight/run away from a monster that would ignore them if they were just one level lower. The creators of the game were asked if the cards could be used that way--while that hadn't been the intent, the creators responded it was such a Munchkinly thing to do, they just couldn't say no.

* WebComic/DriveDaveKellett: The emponymous Drive (AKA Ring Drive, Cruz Drive, Singularity Drive; colliquially called,"the ring") is what allows ships to go [[FasterThanLightTravel FTL]] by generating a naked singularity to "pinch" space. However, its inventors (the Continuum of Makers) consider it a holy artefact not to be tampered with, and TheEmpire keeps it from being studied by anyone but the Royal Family to protect their powerbase. However, once these strictures are bypassed, people begin using them for much different applications:
** The Ring can be used as a PlanetDestroyer by pinching the space occupied by planets. The bigger the ring, the bigger the pinch, and the bigger the chunk squeezed off the world.
** The Veetans use it as a CloakingDevice that works by putting things JustOneSecondOutOfSync.
** The Fillipods use its gravity manipulation effects to repair their homeworld by synchronizing 203 rings, and ge-e-e-ntly slotting the tectonic plate jimmied off of it back in.
** The empire combined a ring and a directional radio antennae into [[SubspaceAnsible an ansible]], used exclusively by their StateSec.

** The Veetans use it as a CloakingDevice that works by putting things JustOneSecondOutOfSynch.
** The Fillipods use its gravity manipulation effects to repair their homeworld.
** The empire combined a ring and a directional radio antennae into [[SubspaceAndible an ansible]], used exclusively by their StateSec.

* ''Literature/TheScholomance'': Given how Galadriel Higgins gets any spell appropriate for a Terrifying EvilSorceress imbedded indelbly in her brain at a glance, atop the [[WizardingSchool Scholomance's]] preference for [[JackassGenie throwing such spells at her non-stop]], [[BadPowersGoodPeople she]] is obliged to do this a great deal.

* ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince'': Fred and George invent a hat with a built-in Shield Charm that lets the wearer NoSell most spells, the idea being to wear it and laugh at your friend's attempts to jinx you. Instead, it becomes one of their best-selling items as the Ministry, desperate for any kind of protection (having received a brutal awakening as to the return of Voldemort), has ordered half a thousand for its staff (it turns out very few people can do a Shield Charm by themselves).