Dominate Calls

Dominate Calls
Combat Call
Call:	Dominate
Call Type:	Offensive Effects
Description:	Dominate allows someone to take temporary control of a victim's actions, but not their mind.
Common Sources:	The Dominate spell
Associated Condition(s):	Dominated
Condition
Condition Name:	Dominated
Effect:	Someone else can now control your actions.
Duration:	10 Minutes
Common Sources:	The Dominate spell, The Primal Form spell, the Dreadlord spell
Common Cures:	Waiting, Smelling Salts

The 'Dominate!' call is used to take control of your enemies bodies, making them your puppets.

Description

The Dominate call represents controlling another being like a puppet. Even when the control is exerted mentally such as with the Compulsion spell Dominate, the Dominated condition only allows for controlling someone physically. You can't alter their mind, only their behavior. The controller can't read the victims mind, force them to think a certain way, or otherwise influence their thoughts.

'Dominate!' is primarily used to control an enemy to fight their friends or to otherwise remove a foe from combat until something else can be done with them. It can also be used outside of combat to force someone to perform a task of some kind.

Great role-players often relish the chance to be Dominated to attack their friends, the fun kind of chaos tends to follow.

The reason it is so important to explain that 'Dominate!' doesn't control someone's mind is that it can't be used to force someone to reveal secret information or to tell the truth. If you 'Dominate!' someone and command them to speak, they will do so. However, they will say whatever they want. The only way you can force them to say something specific is to tell them exactly what to say... and then they will say exactly what you told them to say, word for word. The person who is Dominated can only do what the controller knows to make them do. If you command someone to 'take me to your hidden base', but you don't know where that is, the command won't work. Think of it as if the person influencing the victim is driving that persons body and making decisions for them, they can't decide to do something they don't know how to do.

Calls

The 'Dominate!' call never inflicts damage. By itself it always counts as a Compulsion spell and may not be blocked by a shield. Characters hit by an attack with the 'Dominate!' call get the Dominated condition.

When the 'Dominate!' call is paired with a creature type such as 'Dominate Undead!' it still counts as a spell, but no longer counts as a Compulsion spell. It still may not be blocked by a shield. The call only impacts creatures of the type listed.

The 'Poison Dominate!' call never inflicts damage. It can be blocked by an unbroken shield. Characters hit by the attack get the Poisoned condition and the Dominated condition. The 'Poison Dominate!' call is not a spell. The 'Acid Dominate!' call never inflicts damage. It can be blocked by an unbroken shield. Characters hit by the attack get the Acid Residue condition and the Dominated condition. The 'Acid Dominate!' call is not a spell.

The Dominated Condition

A character who has been Dominated (referred to as the puppet here) is under the control of the source of the 'Dominate!' (referred to as the controller here) for 10 minutes. In the unusual event that someone is Dominated and there is no obvious source for it, the controller is whoever the first person the puppet sees. Some traps will cause the Dominated condition. In this case there is no controller, simply a single command that the trap will describe.

If two different people both affect the same puppet with the Dominated condition at the same time, the first one applied is left dormant and the last one applied has effect. In the unusual, but possible, situation that the first Dominated condition has had it's duration extended to longer than 10 minutes, it will take effect again after the second Dominated condition wears off.

When a character first becomes Dominated they should continue doing what they were doing until given a first order. A character who is Dominated can always hear anything the controller says, even if the controller is a Spirit which they could not normally communicate with. Commands can be issued in any language and they will be understood regardless of what languages the puppet understands.

The controller can always give five basic orders to a puppet. Those commands are 'Attack', 'Defend', 'Move', 'Stop', and 'Loot Yourself'. Controllers may also issue custom commands, but they may have more difficulty doing so.

• Attack: The attack order allows the controller to declare a target and compels the puppet to attack at once. A puppet will attack the target without question or concern for its own preservation and will use every available ability to carry out the attack. It is possible to word the attack order in a fashion that will compel the puppet to attack multiple targets. For example the controller could order the puppet to 'Attack all humans!'.
• Defend: A defend order allows the controller to declare a target, such as a person, place, or thing, and compels the controlled creature to defend it. In this case the puppet will attack anything that comes near the charge, and the puppet may never move more than five feet from the object it was ordered to defend. Like an attack order, it is possible to word a defend order in a fashion that will compel the puppet to defend multiple targets or a large area. For example, the controller could order the puppet to, 'Defend all living things in the town!'.
• Move: A move order simply compels the puppet to move to a location or in a direction of the controller's choice for the duration of the effect. The puppet will move at any speed the controller specifies as long as it is physically able to and will only walk/run/float/swim/etc when under orders to move. The controller can order the puppet to follow them or walk in front of them. A puppet will not perform even the simplest of actions such as the opening of a door or dropping of weapons, but will move into a situation that might cause it harm or injury, such as ordering a puppet to walk into an open pit.
• Stop: The stop order compels the puppet to halt a particular action, as expressed by the controller. Some examples include: 'Stop talking!', 'Stop moving!', 'Stop killing my friends!', and so on.
• Loot Yourself: The puppet should place any lootable valuable or magic items not contained in an invisible item (such as a blue bag) into a convenient pile on the ground. Items in an invisible item aren't accessible to the controller so they are not taken out.
• Custom Orders: Other orders can be given but they must be simple tasks. The puppet can only follow the most basic orders successfully. Anything too complex will generally lead to chaos as they take the order exceedingly literally, and attempts to clarify will only create more confusion because long commands are just as problematic.
  • When orders other than the five basic orders are issued, the person being commanded should exercise reasonable judgement on how to comply.
  • If the spontaneous order is something the player is uncomfortable doing they are not required to carry out that command. This should not be seen as an excuse to avoid doing something you don't want to do in-character, but rather is specifically related to doing things you don't want to do out-of-character. Take the Dead condition when this happens.
  • Tell the Truth:Is too complex of a command for a puppet. The puppet will tell the truth... about EVERYTHING and ANYTHING, colored by what the controller already knows if possible. 'Tell the truth about Inquisitor Reynolds' won't work either, you'll get responses about what kind of clothing they wear, how tall they are, and other useless facts.

Living creatures who are Dominated are allowed to deal themselves an unpreventable killing blow at any time to represent their final act of defiance to their controller, or to avoid taking an action they cannot morally accept, such as murdering someone. This gives the puppet the Dead Condition. NPCs should generally avoid doing this except under unusual circumstances, a player character has almost certainly spent considerable power to use 'Dominate!', let them do something with it. Player characters who have been Dominated can use their own discretion, but generally it's a lot more fun to go with it.

A Dominated character doesn't know or behave in-character that they are being controlled and must role-play to the best of their ability following orders as if the order were their own idea. After the Dominated condition ends the character is aware of their actions and that they were Dominated.

Categories: Gameplay Rules | Calls | Offensive Effect Calls | Spell Calls | Compulsion Calls | Dominate Calls | Conditions