Alternate Realm Boon

 2R6hxtBLXlA Protagonists in Isekai fiction frequently receive some manner of special advantage over the inhabitants of the world in which they find themselves. Often it is key to their intended role during their sojourn in that world. It could be (but certainly isn't limited to) one of the following:


 * A specialized skill or class in a world that operates by RPG rules
 * The unexpected ability to use the setting's Functional Magic. When such characters are not simply more powerful than the locals, they will frequently have more than a rudimentary grasp of the scientific method, math, and physics, and can combine them all into some manner of Post-Modern Magik or Magitek that surpasses (or bypasses) what the setting's greatest practitioners are capable of.
 * A legendary weapon or artifact limited to and/or destined for use by The Chosen One.
 * Rebirth or reincarnation into some stronger form -- often a "monster" or other non-human creature -- upon (or shortly after) arrival.
 * One subvariety has only the traveler's soul or mind sent on to the new world, where it is given an entirely new body complete with special powers or abilities.
 * A flat-out super power like Super Strength or Invisibility.
 * Being assigned to or assisted by a supernatural entity that works under RPG rules and which can dispense boons at the command of the character, including, but not limited to, any of the above. Note that this option often comes with the limitation that if the character falls short of the system's expectations it will "terminate the experience of the customer".

How this happens varies wildly by setting -- it may be anything from an "entry requirement" automatically imposed upon visitors to the setting by its natural laws or environmental conditions to a deliberate alteration or augmentation by a deity who likes to mess with travelers coming upon its personal demesne. Regardless, it is likely to be permanent barring extraordinary circumstances, and it is virtually certain to make its recipient(s) stand out in the eyes of the local inhabitants.

While this trope is more common in Eastern works than Western ones (and is frequently seen as an Eastern trope), it is far from rare in the West, as the examples below will demonstrate.

Anime and Manga

 * Enforced and downplayed in Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest, where a group of students and their homeroom teacher are transported to another world where they get jobs and magic. Hajime, the bullied main protagonist, gets stuck with the rare job of Synergist, a non-combat one with the skill, Transmute, that allows him to alter materials into whatever shape he desires. He can't perform magic like his classmate that causes Hajime to become the underdog of the group even compared to his teacher, whose job is a Farmer.
 * The Rising of the Shield Hero has four people from different worlds summoned to the city of Melomarc in a fantasy world filled with monsters and other races besides humans. The four are summoned with one of the Four Legendary Weapons. The Four Legendary Weapons are a sword, a spear, a bow, and a shield. The weapons grant their users different abilities while also having different forms unlocked through conditions and what materials the weapons can absorb. The main character, Naofumi, carries the Legendary Shield that increases his defense while giving him defensive skills. The problem is how it doesn't give much in offense compared to the other heroes. Naofumi would need to rely on a party for offense in battle compared to the other three heroes.
 * Re: Monster has the main character, Tomokui Kanata, reincarnated into a goblin named Rou. He keeps his memories, and his Esper ability called Absorption. This ability allows him to eat anything from a living creature to inorganic material no matter how hard or toxic. The strength of the skills gained depends on the condition of the physical matter eaten.
 * Wise Man's Grandson's main character was a salaryman who gets hit by a truck and gets reincarnated into a fantasy world as Shin Wolford. Shin was found as an orphaned newborn who survived a Demon Beast's attack and was adopted by the Wise Man, Merlin. After growing up in 8 years, he can recall vague memories of his life in modern-day Japan. He is taught to control his magic power and use magic without chants from Merlin. He also learned about Enhancement Magic from the Guru, Melinda. Shin also combines wizardry with the knowledge of modern-day science to explosive effect figuratively and literally. There is also his application of Enhancement Magic with the Japanese language for powerful effects along with new forms of magic due to the use of Kanji giving more options when writing compared to the world's alphabet.
 * The protagonist of Knight’s and Magic, Ernesti Kurata, was a genius programmer and mecha otaku while alive on Earth. He is reincarnated as a young boy into a world where magic and mecha powered by magic called Silhouette Knights exist. He realizes that magic is like computer programming. Ernersti applies this attribute to use high-level magic at an early age by reprogramming his own internal Magic Circuit with subroutines. The boy also brings innovation to Silhouette Knights and other magical inventions like a gun-like wand for firing spells in rapid succession.
 * Parodied in Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!, where a shut-in NEET, Kazuma Sato, dies from shock after mistaking a tractor for a truck while trying to save a girl. He is offered by the goddess, Aqua, the opportunity to reincarnate into a world which is RPG-like while under siege by the Demon Lord. Along with reincarnating, he is then offered a "cheat" to use in the new world. Kazuma then chooses Aqua, who has spent the whole time mocking him, as his bonus. Another goddess recognizes it as official; then, the two are teleported to this new world. Aqua doesn't give him much help as a party member like her drinking problem while Kazuma lacks in stats except in Intelligence and Luck, which means he doesn't meet the prerequisites for classes, especially higher ones. Aqua, on the other hand, chooses the archpriest class but picks party tricks over healing and supportive magic.
 * Konjiki no Word Master has five teenagers summoned to another world, but only four of them are titled as the heroes who are transported to save the kingdom. Each hero has their unique magic and powers that show their titles as Heroes. The fifth is the main character, Hiiro Okamura, who is titled Innocent Bystander but he can use the unique magic of Word Magic. This form of magic gives him the power to draw Kanji and apply the meaning of the word as an effect on anything he can write.
 * World Strongest Rearguard: Labyrinth Country and Dungeon Seekers have a man named Arihito Atobe is reborn as a Seeker in the world called Labyrinth Country. After getting his Seeker's License, he chooses the Rearguard job that allows him to act as support for his party by guarding against damage for party members, increase their attack, and recover from injury automatically.
 * Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody has Suzuki Ichiro, a 30-year-old programmer that died from exhaustion and ended up reincarnated into another world in a younger body. After calling a game window in front of him, he realizes that he was given the name 'Satou' along with the three use power, "Meteor Shower". Satou then gets attacked by an army of lizardmen, then uses up all of his Meteor Showers against the battalion and levels him up to 310.
 * So I'm a Spider, So What? has an entire classroom mysteriously die from a magical phenomenon but then are reincarnated, including the main girl, into another world. She is reborn as a nameless spider monster, along with her past life memories. There is also how people who reincarnate into the world gets the skill, n%I=W.
 * Deconstructed in Re: Zero, where the protagonist, Subaru Natsuki, has the ability he calls Return By Death after being transported to a fantasy world. He can return to a previous point in time after dying. Different limitations prevent him from telling anyone about this power. Other than that, he is an average human with no other supernatural abilities.
 * That Time I Got Reincarnated as A Slime has Satoru Minami reincarnate after getting killed by defending his subordinate from getting stabbed. Due to how he died a virgin, he gained the Unique Skill of Great Sage along with Predator and other skills such as immunity from pain, and resistance from electricity along with heat. Satoru is just one example of people called Otherworlders that are people who come from another world through different means.
 * Strays are Otherworlders that come to the world by coincidence. Reincarnated are people who have died and reincarnated into the other world like the main character. Summoned are those who are transported to the world by a magic ritual. Otherworlders tend to have at least one Unique Skill based on their mental state, and those with weaker minds would gain none.
 * The main character of In Another World with My Smartphone, Touya Mochizuki, is accidentally killed by God and reincarnated into another world. He is granted a body with superhuman abilities and affinities to all seven magical elements. He also gifted a smartphone by God that can be charged with magic power and can access the internet from Earth.
 * Overlord has the protagonist, Suzuki Satoru, being transported to the New World while still logged on the final seconds of the MMO, Yggdrasil. The man is now his Yggdrasil max leveled Overlord character, Momonga, along with the guild headquarters and all the loyal NPC subordinates. The New World acts similarly to the game. There is also his PC being at level 100 with high-class equipment and a plethora of spells before being teleported.
 * Isekai Cheat Magician has the two protagonists, Taichi and Rin, who are summoned to the new world and gain magical powers. Taichi is gifted with a massive amount of magic power, which can be used to gain superhuman physical abilities. Rin also has a reservoir of magic power while also showing affinities for earth, wind, fire, and water magic. She does show a lower capability than Taichi but uses her knowledge of physics to enhance her magic.
 * Reincarnated as a Sword has a 30-year old salaryman who was killed by a driver who was texting while driving. The man is reincarnated into a living sword in an RPG fantasy world. He can gain new skills and improved stats by slicing the magic crystals of monsters. These skills can be used by anyone who wields him along with the stats he carries over to his wielder. One unique feature from other weapons is his Mana Conductivity ranked at A, which means that his weapon sharpness and power can be increased by 200% when he is coated with mana.
 * Fushigi Yūgi: Every girl who is summoned into the world inside the book The Universe of the Four Gods is given three wishes -- but they are required to be Selfless Wishes.
 * Played with in Saga of Tanya the Evil: an HR manager dies by being pushed into a train by a former employee. He then encounters a god-like being he dubs as Being X. After a conversation on faith in deities that goes south due to the protagonist's staunch atheism. Being X reincarnates him into another world currently going through a war. He is reborn as a girl named Tanya in an imperialistic country that resembles World War I Germany. It is surrounded by hostile neighbors along with magic involved with warfare. After taking a magical aptitude test, she then becomes a candidate for the Empire's Imperial Armed Forces. Tanya is also the only one who can use an unstable magic core and the only one that can use it without exploding as a 'blessing' from Being X.
 * In The New Gate, Shin managed to defeat the final boss of a VRMMO, The New Gate, a game that trapped people where if they die in the game; they die in real life. Before he could log out, he is forcefully sent through a gate and finds himself in an actual fantasy world similar to the game. Shin then learns the titles he gained after beating the game that gives him various overpowered bonuses.
 * The Ends from Drifters are historical figures from various points in Earth history that are brought to the fantasy world. They are people who suffered trauma from events in their lives and have become mentally warped. They each have unique supernatural abilities related to their history on Earth. Averted for the Drifters, who are normal humans but share the trait of acting on their ideals and goals.
 * Tagami Yuseki, from World Customize Creator, is summoned to another world by the Evil God and granted a Divine Art. Divine Arts are superpowers a person can be blessed with from a god. His Divine Art allows him to customize any objects' attributes where he can even grant powers to them.
 * The Familiar of Zero has the male protagonist, Saito, being summoned, into another world as a familiar for a female mage, Louise. He gains the magical ability to use any weapon with great skill, from a simple broadsword to a fighter aircraft.
 * Played with in Magic Knight Rayearth where the three of the girls are summoned to Cephiro. They have their magic unlocked and are granted them magical armor, but that was done almost as soon as they arrived by a powerful mage.
 * Tensei Shitara Dragon no Tamago Datta - Saikyou Igai Mezasa Nee has the main protagonist reincarnated as a barely unhatched dragon egg with exclusive skills. One skill is "Walking Egg" that gives more experience points from any monster he kills.
 * Parodied in Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!: the main character, Misato Kurihara, was a girl prodigy who was isolated due to her talent. After saving a girl from a truck, she gets killed by the heavy vehicle. Misato then meets with a deity who gives her a chance to reincarnate into a fantasy world with any power she desires. Misato then asks to have average abilities. She is reincarnated as a noble girl named Meine, but she is 6,800 times physically and magically more than the average human due to the god taken in the average of all living creatures in the fantasy world.
 * How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord has Takuma Sakamoto, the top player in the MMO, Cross Reverie. He is transported into another world and turned into his in-game character Diablo. He was summoned by a magic spell from the two girls. Takuma was supposed to be their slave, but the slavery part gets reflected onto them due to his ring that reflects magic. Diablo's level is at 150, along with magic from different elements, and even has high-level equipment.
 * Misumi Makoto, from Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu, is summoned to another world by Tsukiyomi, the Moon Kami, because his parents came from another planet and had a contract they signed to live on Earth. He is granted powers by the Moon Kami, which Makoto calls Realm. The goddess of this other world gives him the ability to understand the language. The lighter gravity of the different world makes him faster and more robust than the inhabitants.
 * In the manhwa, Dorothy of Oz, Mara Shin came to Oz when she was a child and came home with a glove with a Z in an O emblemed on it. After a few years, she returns to Oz as a teen with her dog, Toto. The glove is actually the magic staff, Thyrsos, which is the same weapon used by the Wizard of Oz. She also gains magic boots from the Witch of the East that transforms her outfit to resemble a witch and gives her magic powers. In this form, Mara uses Thyrsos as a conduit for magic, but the problem comes from how she doesn't know how to use magic as it always misses the target. There is also her ability to see and traverse the Yellow Brick Road, where she could even walk on the road through physical objects. Due to this ability, she is dubbed by citizens of Oz as ,'Dorothy', who is a legend in the magic land.
 * Monster no Goshujin-sama has an entire class somehow transported to another world with their own 'cheat abilities'. The main protagonist, Takahiro, didn't seem to have one until an encounter with a slime revealed that his ability is taming monsters.
 * The Chinese comic, Soul Land, has the protagonist, Tang San, was an assassin trained under the Tang Sect. He commits suicide after learning about the sect's secret knowledge and knowing he committed a crime. He is then reincarnated into a world called Soul Land. On the day of the Spirit Awakening Ceremony, he learns that he not only carries two Spirits when a person would have one. The first Spirit comes in the form of a blade of grass. The other Spirit is the Clear Sky Hammer, which is one of the legendary Tool Spirits. It turns out that he is a Spirit Master capable of cultivating soul power, which can be used to make a Spirit stronger.
 * All the three students and their teacher who are transported to the land of El-Hazard in El-Hazard: The Magnificent World gain a unique ability. The teacher, Mr. Fujisawa, gains Super Strength in proportion to how little alcohol and nicotine he has ingested. Jinnai can communicate with the Bugrom. Nanami effortlessly pierces the illusion powers of the Phantom Tribe. Makoto can activate the Lost Technology of ancient El-Hazard with a touch.
 * Isekai de Saikyou no Tsue ni Tensei shita Ore ga Iyagaru Shoujo wo Muriyari Mahou Shoujo ni P suru!: Niimi Neiji is reincarnated into a magic staff and granted the skill of 'Omnipotence'. The problem is he doesn't know how to use it due to not being taught how to use it correctly. Neiji can still use 'Omnipotence' to some success despite lacking the proper knowledge while being used as a weapon.
 * Gacha wo Mawashite Nakama wo Fuyasu Saikyou no Bishoujo Gundan wo Tsukuriagero has Heihachi Okura transported to a fantasy world but with his smartphone and the app, Girls Corp. The app can summon items, food, and even girls to join his party. Girls Corp also has a gacha to get more girls and equipment as long as he has enough magic crystals by hunting monsters.
 * Enforced and Played With in The Death Mage Who Doesn't Want a Fourth Time where the unlucky main character, Hiroto Amamiya, dies along with his class after their ship capsizes. Everyone in his class is gifted a new life in another world, an extraordinary power, and luck from the god, Rodcorte, except for Hiroto. This misfortune happened due to the god mistaking another young man named Hiroto Amemiya. The deity realizes his mistake when its too late, which leaves Amamiya high and dry. Rodcorte then reincarnates Hiroto with his magic core empty, which gives him higher magic power but can't use other magic except for Death magic but still has bad luck.
 * Iori Yagami is given the boon of reading his enemies' command inputs when he's sent to the fantasy world in King of Fantasy, effectively making him an SNK Boss.
 * Kiba has the main character, Zed, who lived in the city of Calm, where advanced technology is common in its urban sprawl. He finds a portal to the magical land of Templer while being attacked by a Tuskan warrior along with being on the run from the police. There he learns that he has one of 6 Key Spirits, Amir Gaoul, which is said to be the strongest out of the six Spirits. Amir Gaoul has different weapons at his disposal along with the power over the wind.

Film

 * In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy Gale lands in Oz when the house that she crashed on the Wicked Witch of the East and her Ruby Slippers appears on Dorothy's feet. The pair of shoes can't be taken unless by death, and cannot be touched except by the owner lest they get shocked. Later in the movie, Glinda reveals the slippers can be used to take the wearer anywhere by clicking the heels three times while wishing to where they want to go.

Literature

 * In John Carter of Mars, the titular character travels to Mars by having his soul teleport through space and gains a new body on Mars. Due to the lower gravity, he gains superhuman agility and strength.
 * Everworld where the teens can bring modern technology and knowledge to Everworld. These items give them advantages such as trading a recipe for gunpowder or using conventional weaponry. There is also another attribute that the teenagers have is that they don't go crazy, unlike most others who go to Everworld.
 * In The Scum Villain Self-saving System, the protagonist Shen Yuan died while cursing the web novel he was reading, Immortal Demon Way, because of its plot-hole filled narrative and terrible ending. He is then transmigrated into Shen Quinquiu, the antagonist of the aforementioned web novel, and aquired all of the latter's cultivation powers. He also has access to the titular system, where he can earn and use points to improve the plot of the story.
 * In the Chinese web novel Release That Witch! and its web manhua adaptation, the protagonist is a civil engineer that dies after overworking himself. He is transmigrated into the body of Roland, a prince in a medieval fantasy world. Said world has women called "witches", who are prosecuted for their magical powers. Due to his past knowledge, Roland uses it to bring innovation and upgrade the available technology by incorporating witches into his plans.
 * In the Chinese Romance web novel, Transmigrator Meets Reincarnator, the heroine is transmigrated into the world of a novel set in an ancient dynasty and finds herself married to a man from a powerful family that was wronged by the character she is now inhabiting. In her previous life, she was an entrepreneur and an amateur chef, and finds herself in a world that uses dated cooking methods and ingredients She uses her cooking and entrepreneurial skills to win people over with her delicious (modern) dishes, and then to create a profitable business with her culinary prowess, which helps her financially when she is temporarily abandoned by her new husband. She is also knowledgable about the plot of the novel, which helps her avoid negative events and characters... but she transmigrated before reading the last third of the novel, which leaves her with blind spots that she must navigate around.
 * In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy Gale is sent to Oz thanks to a tornado and farmhouse falling on the Wicked Wick of the East. She is given the Sliver Shoes as a gift by the Munchkins. Later, Glinda reveals that the shoes can take the user anywhere when the heels are clicked three times. They are also implied to have other powers than magical transportation. She also briefly gains ownership of a magic cap that commands the Flying Monkeys.
 * Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon has the main character is reincarnated into a living vending machine in a fantasy world, which he needs assistance being moved. He can give out items as long as he is inserted with money. There is also how he can use the profit from any products sold for upgrades from a broader selection to functions not included in ordinary vending machines.
 * In The Sleeping Dragon, the first book of Joel Rosenberg's The Guardians of the Flame series, the story has a group of gamers playing a Dungeons & Dragons-like game and is sent into the world of the game's setting. They become their characters' classes and also have access to their skills by a game master who was more than he seemed.

Video Games

 * In Fantastic Boyfriends: Legends of Midearth, a young man is summoned to another world through a phone app. He then learns that he is the legendary hero that is the only one that can wield the sword that is the only weapon that can defeat the Demon Lord.
 * Tokyo Afternoon Summoners takes place in an alternate Tokyo where people from 23 different worlds are summoned due to an app and are called Transients. Each Transient has a Role and is summoned with a Sacred Artifact that gives a Rule to their respective wielder. A Rule is a power that correlates to the Role of a Transient. An example would be a person assigned the Role of Fighter, and their Rule is Infinity.
 * From Persona 3 onwards, most of the cast have powers that only work in the alternative realms of the Dark Hour/Midnight Channel/Metaverse. Those worlds can bleed into our own, but typically those powers only work when one is fully within the alternate realms, not our reality. There are exceptions, but those tend to be people who have the rare ability to manifest at will in both realms, which the playable cast usually cannot do.
 * In Magi-Nation, Tony falls through a gorge into another world called the Moonlands. The Moonlands are 12 different regions where a specific ecosystem where organisms called Dream Creatures live who has adapted to their respective Moonland. There are also people known as Magi connected to their Moonland. Magi can summon Dream Creatures from their respective region along with certain spells. When he first lands in this new world, he is attacked by a wild Dream Creature. The crystal he found earlier begins to glow near him and a horned bear-like creature appears from it that destroys the monster. Tony is then found by Orwin, who is a Keeper, a Magi who is tasked with protecting Dream Creatures along with their respective Moonland. The Keeper takes him to a town and trains him as a Magi due to his skill of summoning a Dream Creature through unrefined Animite. The summoning of a Dream Creature through pure Animite is said to be impossible, which makes Orwin believe Tony to be the prophesied reincarnation of the Great Magus Kyros. There is also how Tony can use any spell and summon any Dream Creature, unlike other Magi who can summon specific region Dream Creatures and spells.

Web Comics

 * I am the Sorcerer King webtoon has the protagonist, Lee Sunghoon, who awakens to his past memories and magic due to being the reincarnation of The Great Sorcerer, Kurataurus, who is from another world. This event happened when he was attacked by a monster and become one of the Awakened, which connects him to the Akasha system. The Awakened are people who gain a superpower and become connected to the Akasha System, along with being tasked to fight monsters that come from portals.
 * Averted in My Wife is the Demon Queen where Xiang Ye is summoned to another world due to a ring he bought from a street vendor. He was summoned as the husband of the Demon Queen, Isabella Osa. Later on, it is shown that he can't wield Boundary Force, which means he can't use magic or other arts related to Boundary Force.
 * In the webcomic Goddess Creation System, the main character, Xiaxi, was a bullied female otaku who created a goddess-like MMO player character. She commits suicide due to being outed online for being ugly. Xiaxi then awakens in a fantasy world that resembles ancient China with the titular system. The system gives her missions of making powerful men fall in love with her. It can also give her an alternate dimension where she can exercise to lose weight and study subjects while sleeping. Xiaxi can also get beauty products to enhance her appearance by using points she earns from her missions.
 * In the web manhua Cheating Men Must Die, Su Luxia, the main character, is a shrewish woman from a futuristic world. She has the job of being a quick reincarnator where she takes over 'secondary female characters' who have been wronged. While acting as these women, she gets revenge on those who have wrong them while also fulfilling their last wishes. Su Luxia is assisted by a system that comes in the form of a hamster. The hamster can give her different items that can help her fulfill her mission from incriminating photos to magical slimming pills. She is very adept at getting revenge that she had spent millions of hours while also accumulating decades of vacation time. There is also how this time spent has led to many advantages and items that ease her missions in any world.

Western Animation

 * In Dungeons and Dragons, a group of teenagers are gifted with magical equipment and character classes by the Dungeon Master to survive in this fantasy realm. Volger, the Big Bad of the series, wishes to use their equipment to bolster his magic powers.
 * In Magi-Nation, Tony Jones is transported to the Moonlands in hopes of summoning the Final Dreamer. He was summoned with a ring passed down from his grandfather which actually contains the Animite for the Dream Creature, Furok.
 * Averted in Amphibia where three girls of Anne, Sasha, and Marcy being transported into the titular land through a magic music box. They are normal humans that don't gain anything special or bring much that helps in them having advantages.
 * Averted in The Owl House where a teenage girl named Luz finds a portal to a magical dimension called the Demon Realm. Magic is abundant in this realm, but humans lack the sac of magic that Witches have that allows the use of magic.
 * In Captain N: The Game Master, Kevin Keen is summoned from the real world to Videoland by the Ultimate Warp Zone. He is the legendary Game Master known as Captian that serves as a warrior to defend the Videoland's royal family and the realm itself. He uses his knowledge of video games to help protect from any trouble caused in the land. He is summoned with a Power Pad and an NES Zapper. The Power Pad allows him to stop time, do major leaps, and dash at super-speed for short distances. The NES Zapper is a weapon that either shoot lasers or fire Tetris blocks.