Dominate

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.

Puppets 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.

The basics of all spell casting follow one set of guidelines. Some items types will add some additional rules specific to those item types.

For a character to cast a spell they must: know the spell, have enough power points available to cast the spell, and have a free hand. If all of these criteria are met they may proceed to casting the spell.

Cast a spell costs its level in power points to cast. Power points are a skill characters can learn, and some items can provide extra power points as well.

Characters can never spend more than 20 magic power points in a single game day. Attempting to do so causes the character to gain an unpreventable Torso Wound condition as the magical energies tear the character apart. This will also cause the spell casting to fail. Abilities that grant characters power points that break cap do not count against this limit.

Some abilities and rules allow characters to pay fewer power points to cast a spell. This cannot bring the spell's cost to 0 power points unless the source explicitly says that it does. Abilities that reduce power point costs do not stack unless they explicitly say they do.

If you've met the requirements, you are now ready to cast the spell. To cast a spell you must speak an incantation. Spells have no fixed incantations. Each character is free to come up with their own schema for how they want to represent the magic they can perform. Incants do not need to be spoken word. They can be sung, chanted, or role-played in other ways.

There are still some requirements for a proper incantation. Incantations must be spoken loudly and clearly enough that players standing 10 feet away will know that a spell has been cast. An incantation also requires a minimum of 8 words, which must include the name of the spell being performed. You may not bluff one spell and then cast a different one (such as by putting multiple spell names into the incantation). The incantation must clearly convey EXACTLY what you are casting. You may not make the incantation gibberish, or attempt to work it into a conversation. It must be both clear that you are casting and what you are casting.