Dominate Person.

[PiousHeretic]

Would it be too much to ask if Dominate Person were changed to a turn/level (instead of a round/level), to make it more useful? Right now, the duration of the spell is laughable, which makes it only good as a RP tool. In PvM, you pretty much have to wait until Dominate Monster to be actually useful, or use Hold Person or Confusion instead.

Thoughts?

[Telkar]

Good idea...I was rather disappointed with the spell as it is. That'd mean a lvl 10 would control something for 10 minutes. Even half that time would make much difference in one battle.

[Minstrel]

Depends what you're intending to use it for. Consider how devastating it would be to a player party if your Fighter was hit with Dominate Person and started attacking your wizard.

It's no use if you want to take control of an enemy, buff it up and have it kill everything, but for causing chaos within the ranks of an enemy it's very useful if it works.

A fight with five ogres becomes a fight against four enemies, all the enemies turning to suddenly beat up their ally who has gone mad, letting your rogues sneak attack them, your Fighter get some flanking blows in without fear of harm, and so on.

I'd think it'd be fine how it is. I mean if the enemies turn to their maddened ally, chances are they'll kill him before the battle ends, anyway.

Turn/level seems a bit too much.

Heck, combine it with Haste and I bet it's awesome. Super-speed allied folks, anyone?


Really consider how long most fights last. It's rarely more than fifteen rounds. I see it more as a one-battle thing, whilst turn/level would mean you can dominate one big bad, buff it up, and have it for twenty minutes, enough to clear an entire dungeon. Might be nice, but it seems a bit much.

[Bad_Bud]

Ogres count as people?

[Telkar]

Nay, that would be dominate monster, which btw for a lvl 9 spell should really 'really' last longer than it does.

[DM Tarokka]

Ogres count as people?

For me yes. I'm not racist!

[MidnightMask]

Considering that similiar spells, like Control Undead, have a duration like hour/caster level, this spell does seem underpowered in it's mechanical use, especially when you take into consideration how few critters are counted as 'people' by the game. I'd be very much in favor of upping the duration.

[Arcus]

Having played enchanters elsewhere with the base duration, the dominate spells are pretty hilariously strong, as is basically anything that gives you an ally from an enemy. (Or power over a PC, which is stronger.)

[Telkar]

I don't think it's possible to dominate PCs in the same way you can NPCs, that is you can't drag them around with you but they become dazed sort of and can just walk. Plus that PfA is incredibly easy to come by, negating any domination.

Edit: I 'think' you can drink potions and such while dominated, so maybe you can play the firepipes while so? O_-

[tzaeru]

Edit: I 'think' you can drink potions and such while dominated, so maybe you can play the firepipes while so? O_-

I don't think players should really do this. Dominate Person gives limited power over their bodies: No one under the influence will act suicidal or give out sensitive information, but I'm pretty sure they couldn't drink potions at their own will unless permitted to.

Round/level sounds ok to me, though. Turns/level, eh, a bit much.

[Telkar]

How about 2 rounds / lvl?

For a lvl 10, that'd be 2 minutes.

lvl 20, 4 minutes.

That's good for 1 - 3 battles maybe.

Don't see why control undead should be any different in duration. If we'd even follow the PnP stuff, then it should be even shorter. 

[PiousHeretic]

Yeah, if a monster hits a PC or even a PC hits another PC with Dominate Person, what happens mechanically is the player just walks around dazed for a bit. It's in PvM where the spell is meant to shine, but it doesn't, mostly because of the super-short duration.

I've seen it increased on other servers, so I know it isn't hard-coded and can be changed.

Dominate Monster should have its duration increased, too, because I mean, it's a 9th level spell, and meant to be the pinnacle of what enchanters are capable of.

I know there are few places that Dominate Person can be used as a way to grind (the Invidians in the Balinoks, and the Dementliuese thugs, for instance), but the majority of creatures that PCs face are undead and lycanthropes, which have immunities out the wazoo anyway.

[Arcus]

I don't see either Dominate on the changed spell list, and dominate monster is 3 turns+1 per caster level. A turn is one minute. At the absolute minimum level someone can take dominate monster it lasts for 20 minutes. One cast lasts for 23 minutes at level 20.

Unless I missed something and the duration Was lowered, this is longer than: Any summon spell, undead or otherwise, any stat buff, true seeing, any weapon buff, magic vestement, magic fang, etc etc etc.

It's also Super Effective. No, you can't metamagic it, but thank goodness for that, since you can just recast it anyway and as long as this server uses a time-limited rest system you've got unlimited casts anyway.

Let me tell you, back Elsewhere I literally played enchanters for like 3/4s of my characters because the dominate spells+confusion were just that good. Cast dominate, turn invisible, run around killing things.

Heck, I play a character with animal empathy right now and let me tell you, that is easy mode.