Invisibility - a superpower or a curse?

I always thought the transparent retina problem invalidated the mechanics of an invisibility spell in D&D, and so I didn't allow their use. I made a variant where it was cast on the opponent and the opponent would then no longer be able to see you for the duration of the spell. I got a cue for this idea from a hypnosis show I watched.

Yes the no-combat-when-invisible rule needs an explanation more than mere 'game balance'. A multi-directional pixel cloak would either need an infinite number of cameras and pixel angles, or, more likely, a way to select the the viewer whose viewpoint will be used to calculate the background.

What a fantastic train of thought with loads of cool ideas throughout the video. I have roughly 23 years of roleplaying history in a bunch of systems. There's all sorts of forms of invisibility options that I've seen through the years. But, I don't recall ever hearing some of the cool thoughts that you had on the topic. Like, invisible agent assassin training programs. What a wicked idea. I love it. It's awful, but a brilliant evil program for a villainous organization to use. Or a once good organization to fall into the trap of trying to control the world through their invisible agents. Many possibilities. There's some kinds of wood and wild elfs that actually benefit from stealth/invisibility from fog and other forms of visibility penalty. One thing is that invisibility in D&D is broken by attacking someone. But, I'm not sure how or why that is enforced. Is the god of magic watching everyone that is using invisibility? Is the god of magic punishing anyone that tries to attack, thus breaking the code of conduct for using invisibility? I imagine such a god would need assistants to watch, a whole department of lesser gods to watch use of invisibility magic to make sure that the spellcasters don't break the rules. Heat protection via invisibility. That's an interesting thought. There's some systems where you can customize powers to combine different abilities together, where you'd be able to craft an invisibility power or spell that provides protection from heat and different forms of invisibility like what you mentioned in the video. AD&D 2e had a set of books called Spell Compendiums. There were four Wizard's spell volumes and three Priest's spell volumes, loaded with tons of spells of all sorts. In the Volume 1 of the Wizard's Spell Compendium that has a secret elf spell called Camouflage, which hides a a target in wilderness settings, changes coloring and shadowing of the invisible person to protect against infravision and ultravision. But, the concealed individual must move slowly (10 feet per round). There's Etherealness, which requires magic sight to see an ethereal person. Etherealness is connected to the Ethereal plane, which would be another dimension as you mentioned with the One Ring. Seeing the physical world is sort of like how Frodo sees the world while invisible. There's counter spells like glitterdust that reveals invisible creatures. Another one that were used by the dark elfs of Faerun, the drow, called faerie fire, which negates invisibility by illuminating the outlines of anything within a given area (10 square feet per caster level). The pixel camouflage could take advantage of the technology from multidirectional screens where you see different images based on where you are looking at the screen. I'm not sure how many directions would be available for such a screen with current technology, something that needs more R&D? Mirror countermeasures is an interesting notion, based on the aforementioned vampirism difficulties. I would wonder if permanent invisibility would come with interest in a reverse potion or procedure to be able to make it turn off. Another material expense, possibly more exotic materials than what the invisibility procedure cost, or double of the exotic materials to do the invisibility procedure and the reverse invisibility procedure. That's another interesting notion: to trust or to not trust the state of invisibility. All players act like everyone has a great understanding of the passage of time, for time limited forms of invisibility. Runequest's Invisibility. Being out of mind is another interesting sort of invisibility. I like it too. I don't think I've ever had the opportunity to play Runequest. I thought I did, but I was thinking of something. I forget. Rune-something or Hero-something. Not Runequest or Heroquest. Makes sense why I didn't remember the form of invisibility that Runequest has, which I find quite fun. Interesting thought to have different forms or schools for spells that have their own traits or qualities. Gandalfan or Malfoyan brands of invisibility was a great thought. Hahaha. Invisible items. Nice. I loved the invisible keys. Haha. Another great drawback idea too. "Oh no someone has stolen my invisible sword! I think...?" Haha. :D What about making someone invisible right as they were about to cross traffic during a foot chase? Setting up a "someone else's problem" generator against a political opponent to make everyone suddenly completely interested in something or someone else during that key moment during a critical debate that will determine the outcome of an election. Many devious ways to use the different sorts of invisibility. As always, I love your video! Long time fan, seldom commenter. :)

great video as always. i believe I literally watched everyone of your video. some of them twice. some of them like 5 times

Fantastic, I don't do roll playing games but if you were the game master I'd give it a go. Interesting the Predator clip got copy righted but not the newer Lord of the Rings clip.