Dominate

[SuperFluffyKitty]

Dominate

Some things I'd like peoples opinions on, and if it exists maybe the FAQ.

An order is given in the casting of the spell

Credence for this lies in the idea that on a success "the target is stunned 1 **as it fights off your commands"**, which suggests a command was issues in the casting of the spell.

The knock-on effect for this is that if you critically fail, and say the command was to kill your allies, you'd never get another save because you are never given a "new" order that is against your nature. The first order is in the casting of the spell, and the enemy never needs to issue an order again.

Thoughts?

An order is given with ever action you take, e.g. attack your allies is actually three orders

Credence for this lies in the Controlled condition which spells out that the controller dictates how you act and can make you use any of your actions, including attacks, reactions, or even Delay. Which could be interpreted that that order you three different times for each action.

The knock-on would be that you'd get three saves if something was against your nature, which does not appear to be intended, but could be interpreted that way.

When do you get the save on a Critical fail, before you do an order against your nature, or after?

>**Critical Failure** - As a failure, but the target receives a new save only if you give it a new order that is against its nature, such as killing its allies.

So; As failure [You control the target. It gains the controlled condition], but [modifies how the save works so you get it when the order is given]
or
As failure but but the target receives a new save only at the end of each of its turns only if you give it a new order that is against its nature

The knock-on of the first interpretation being that just for situations where you are doing something against your nature, failing seems more powerful that crit failure, as failure only spells out getting a save at the end of your turn, and never in situations of against your nature, so you'd not get the save before attacking.

[Captain Morgan]

I think you get the save at the end of your turn for both a failure and crit failure. But for a crit failure, it is only at the end of a turn in which you received a new command.

In other words, a failure or crit failure can both guarantee you one round of the target attacking their allies before getting another save. Which makes the conditions feel balancing against each other and against lower level Incapacitation spells.

[rainzax]

Does Dominate remain in effect if the caster is incapicitated or killed?

[Castilliano]

Yes, because nothing says otherwise. And given the potential duration, the caster could sleep, right?

Of course there'd be no new commands, but the last command would hold. If there's no such command, or it's resolved, then the creature could act as normal I'd say. I'm unsure if I'd allow a series of commands, as that could easily lead into abuse. ETA: I mean a series w/o further input from the caster...though I suppose the caster might hand them a list of tasks and encapsulate the as one command to complete them. Hmm.

[Finoan]

It is an Uncommon spell for a couple of reasons.

One is because it has the capability of removing agency from the characters of other players. That is something that has to be handled carefully among the players at the table.

The other reason is because it needs to be left mechanically vague enough that it can be used in multiple ways for different campaign arcs. There is no one right way to run this spell. The needs of the plot should influence the specifics of how the spell works.

[Ravingdork]

Is this why bad
guys often command
their controlled
minions multiple
times in movies?

Kill.
Kill!
Kill!!
KILL THEM ALL!!!

[Trip.H]

Just for a bit more evidence in favor of your position that the casting includes a set of initial commands, it's not just the success line, but you didn't catch the crit fail says:

SuperFluffyKitty wrote:

>**Critical Failure** - As a failure, but the target receives a new save only if you give it a new order that is against its nature, such as killing its allies.

The only way for something to be a "new" order, is if the subject previously received a different order.

As far as that question goes, you've 100% convinced me that the spell casting includes an initial set of commands.