Improbable Accessory Effect: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

So you're writing an [[RPG]]. You've already made the [[With This Herring|Balsa Wood Armor]], the [[Boring but Practical|Steel Armor]], the [[Elemental Crafting|Gold Armor]], and the [[Unobtanium]] Armor. You've made any number of things to hit enemies over the head with, from the [[With This Herring|Pointy Stick]] to the [[BFS]] to the [[Joke Weapon|Frozen]] [[Improbable Weapon User|Tuna]]. Your adventurers are fully clothed and armed to the teeth. So...what are you going to fill the rest of those equipment slots with?

{{examples}}

 

** Well, maybe it's curved and has a ball attached to it...

** [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] with the Accelerator: ''false teeth'' that vastly increase movement range. The item description reads: "Why teeth?"<ref>It's a ''[[Cyborg 009]]'' reference. The main character's Accelerator, which speeds up his reaction time to insane levels, was hidden in his back left molar, and was activated by a switch on it. It should be noted you get the item from Kurtis, who is himself a homage of Cyborg 002, from the same series.</ref>

*** It's possibly a reference to the Japanese [[wikipedia:Maneki Neko|Maneki Neko]], cat statues that bring good fortune. They are often put outside shops and other businesses to attract customers, and in that way also money.

** Gets a funny shout out in ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics a 2]]'' where it's description is "A hood of made from fine white thread. You could make these without the ears, but nobody with any sense would wear them". Not to mention the Sage job. The first Sage you meet berates you for making fun of his hood.

** Don't forget mushrooms that make you grow giant and flowers that let you shoot fireballs. In fact, we should probably just put 'the Mario series' on the list and be done with it.

*** [[It Makes Sense in Context|Though to be fair]], the leaf is a reference to the Tanuki, the mushrooms are of the vein found in Alice in Wonderland, and the flower is a pun on the Japanese word for fireworks.<ref>The word is "hanabi", and it literally means "Flower Fire". Turn it around, and you get "Fire Flower". Neat, huh?</ref>

* Stickers in ''[[Super Smash Bros Brawl]]''. And the [[Bunny Hood]].

** Designer clothes; [[Cool Shades]]; headphones; potted plants; false teeth; giant, plastic, arm-mounted toys; et.c.

** It also contains the line, "With boots I could walk on water."

* The ''Tiger Woods'' games have accessories that improve your stats when equipped. It makes sense for golf clubs and balls, but most of them are something like the Shirt of +2 Putting.

** Similarly ''Alfa Romeo Racing Italiano'' tagged on RPG elements to racing with given helmets increasing your car's speed, or making you harder to spook.

** Notably, the later games have items that are actually ''harmful'' to the user, causing damage, causing status effects, and lowering stats. These are generally useful for either forcing the opponent to switch items with the holder, or for triggering an ability that only works while under a status effect or when damaged.

* ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]'', being a parody of computer RPGs, embraces this trope with all of its being. Some things make perfect sense, like the ordinary metal pail you can use as a helmet to absorb damage. Some things make a certain degree of sense, like the duct tape sword that increases your odds of looting items when you defeat monsters. Some things only make sense due to convoluted pop culture associations, like the arrrgyle socks (they have extra R's because they're dropped by pirates) which boost your mysticality as an offhand reference to The Pattern from [[The Chronicles of Amber]]. However, there are also [http://kol.coldfront.net/thekolwiki/index.php/Tiny_Plastic_Enchantments tiny plastic figurines] you can carry, which inexplicably do anything from doubling your spell damage to raising the odds of monsters dropping candy.

** It's gotten much, much crazier with each update. Here's a short list: jars of piss that make people take more damage, jars of milk (or ''something'' white) that recover health for damaging people covered in it, steaks that let you move faster and punch harder but disallows using your gun and makes you take more damage as well, a club with a nail through it that lets you capture points faster, a kunai and katana that restore health with a kill, a fan that makes one person you hit with it at a time take more damage, a syringe launcher that lets you run faster as you charge you Medigun, and a rake that increase health restores from health packs but slows down recovery rate from mediguns and dispensers to 1/4.

** The Black Box: a rocket launcher that heals you whenever you whenever you shoot someone with it. At least the Blutsauger involves needles and blood.

* The [[Sailor Moon]] RPG, Another Story, has the Sailor Senshi equip jewelery to increase their stats rather then any actual equipment. Earrings, Tiaras, and even a wrist watch. The best ones for each senshi use their particular thematic gemstone and for some reason, doesn't work on anyone else if they equip it. They are bought in regular stores run by muggles, (Though the character specific ones have to be found) so they can't even be magical.

* These things are everywhere in [[Phantasy Star Online]]. Weapons can be anything from a frying pan or wok to a game magazine. Bunny ears, cat ears, and wedding dresses show up as types of armor. And, if you play your cards right, you can turn your MAG into most (if not all) of Sega's game consoles.

* ''[[Suikoden]] III'' has sets of armor and accessories that are divided up into things that particular characters can use based on their relative size/class; characters that can wear lightweight things generally can't wear heavyweight things, and so on. In particular there is the "Girl" class of items which generally can only be worn by women, which includes jewelry pieces-- but the first Squishy Wizard you can get in your party can equip Girl-class accessories despite being a man. The strategy guide advises buying him a pearl necklace (and taking him out to dinner).

* ''[[Secret of Evermore]]''. Every accessory in the entire game. Chocobo Egg gives you and your dog more HP? A ring gives you a run button? Some... jewelry-type things... increase your dodge ability? Okay!