How can you spot immune to mind-affecting (or mental control) opponents?


Advice


How many ways are there to identify that someone is immune to mind-affecting (or mental control) before you waste a spell? I'm trying to think of ways to help out enchantment builds to know they should use their backup attack methods when appropriate.

1. Knowledge checks - Can work to identify racially immune monsters, but depends on the GM giving you the info and making your check. Won't help with immunity from a spell or item. We're obviously mostly worried about weird abominations and things not obviously identified as a type that everyone knows is immune (undead/plant/ooze/construct).

2. Greater Arcane Sight/Analyze Dweomer - You can know if your target has a Protection from Evil or similar relevant defense up against possession or mental control. Downside - high level, won't identify racial immunities.

3. Telepathy spell? - Could you send a message as a free action and tell that it didn't receive it? Can mind-affecting immune creatures choose to receive telepathy? Only if they also have telepathy? (E.g. intellect devourer.) Still wouldn't identify someone immune to mental control.

4. Thoughtsense spell - This should work well to identify anything within 60' as mind-affecting immune, because you can see it but not sense it with your Thoughtsense. No SR, no save. Caveat - it might just have a divination blocker up, like Nondetection or Mindblank, and give off a false sense of immunity.

Options 2 and 4 seem to ensure that you'll identify any protected/immune creatures, plus those with divination blockers who might still be vulnerable.

A less reliable option that you can pull off at 11th level is to make regular Arcane Sight permanent and then cast Thoughtsense. You can make spellcraft checks to identify abjuration auras, even if you can't identify specific spell effects. If they don't have an abjuration aura and you can detect them with Thoughtsense they're vulnerable (or have Magic Aura up...). If they have an abjuration aura up and you can detect them with Thoughtsense you know that non-mind control spells will likely still work (e.g. Confusion), but you're taking a risk if you try Dominate or Possession. Still, it's a pretty useful way to triage and prioritize your targets.

Additional thoughts or recommendations?


One of the problems might be undead which are hiding their nature. Deathwatch will pick them up though if the enchanter is actually an oracle or something.


Thoughtsense will (not) pick up the disguised undead, telling you not to target them with mind affecting. It's a nice backup if you can't identify racial immunities because of a bad knowledge roll or disguise.


Thoughtsense is cool, but it's a 4th-5th level spell with a short duration. It's not going to be routine until 10th level+. Also it just isn't on the cleric/oracle list and it's very possible to be an oracle who uses a lot of mind-affecting spells.

Grand Lodge

If you can afford a level of Mesmerist, you should know if your Hypnotic gaze fails. Plus a swift action -2 Will debuff if they can be affected.


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Lack of a pulse might be a hint..

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