Emphasis on the word should because since the ability exists, it's not impossible, just. Generally speaking, this means that the ability must in some way go against the internal logic of the story and what should or should not be possible.

The last but most important rule is that the ability must clearly be unnatural or deviant in some way.Maybe he'll destroy something he doesn't want to destroy by accident? Maybe his powers will have unexpected side-effects on whoever or whatever he uses them on? Maybe his powers will change and become different as time goes on? After all, the user's powers are eldritch and alien in nature, so not only are they hard to understand, but also, nobody's really sure how they work, including the user, which will obviously make it hard for him to use them correctly. The powers may or may not be hard to control (at first, at least).Another good example would be to make a literal deal with a demon so that he can give you powers at the cost of your soul. For example, a dark sacrificial ritual must be performed to summon a god that may grant said powers. The powers may or may not require specific criteria to be fulfilled in order to be gained.For example, the user could develop a dark side if the source of his powers is malevolent in nature (like Black Magic, for example). Side effects may range from small to gigantic. It usually varies and depends on how the user gains his powers, the user himself or the very nature of the powers themselves. The powers themselves may or may not produce strange side effects on the user.While it may not be the process of gaining the power (as some characters are born with their power), the implications and circumstances surrounding the origins of the ability are almost always anything but nice. The way the character gains the power is usually disturbing, horrible, or unpleasant.Both have the same result, but one is rarer and functions in a different way.

An example would be if the ability to phase through matter by slipping their molecules through an object as a common ability versus someone who can phase partially out of sync with reality to move through obstacles. It is usually a power that is either not possessed by more than one person, rare, or functions in a fashion that separates it from other standard yet similar abilities.

The ability or power must be unique and/or abnormal.

If the power is used by one of the good guys, the power is shown to be bad or harmful in some way, be it to themselves, others, or the universe in general.

The power in question is used by the bad guys.

Now what makes abilities Lovecraftian can vary greatly but for an ability to be Lovecraftian, it usually falls under a few general rules: Despite how fantastic some of these abilities may be, there is usually an underlying science or logic and at the least it seems normal or standard in the story's setting.Īnd then there are Lovecraftian superpowers. Energy blasts, Psychic Powers, steel skin, control over different forms of matter and varieties of Functional Magic are all relatively common.

Usually, when you gain some special ability, it will manifest in some fairly conventional forms. Where Stock Superpowers make reality cry and sometimes meet Body Horror.

The unholy showtimes near me