Dominate: Can you compel free actions?

[Infiniti2000]

Originally Posted by keterys

Fair enough. So - in the example I gave where a hazard required a free action to avoid immobilization, it would be literally impossible for a dominated creature to escape without outside interference, because they could either take a free action or a move, but not both?

Yes, and it makes sense that way. Let's face it, though, dominate is a really mean ability in an RPG because it's contrary to the fundamental reason for playing an RPG. A role-playing game is a game where you make the decisions that control the actions of your character (PHB pg. 8) and, guess what, here's a case where you can just go sit down in the corner and roll saves until you're able to rejoin us. Thus, any rules on increasing the power of a dominate ability must be considered very carefully.

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Now, assuming that the dominated person gets no free actions, can the dominator swap its action to take a free action instead? So, instead of hacking its friend with his sword, can the BBEG force it to tell it who send the PCs to kill it?

I know you can swap a standard for a move and a move for a minor, but there doesn't seem to be anything in the rules to allow the swapping of actions for a free action, probably because outside of dominated, one doesn't need to...

So, it would be DM's fiat, I take it?

[Infiniti2000]

Originally Posted by Dr_Ruminahui

So, instead of hacking its friend with his sword, can the BBEG force it to tell it who send the PCs to kill it?

I answered this above. The BBEG chooses the action. He tells the PC what to say. If he's asking the PC to say something, then the PC doesn't need to comply. If he's forcing the PC to say something, then what specifically is he forcing him to say? As an analogy, if he makes the PC walk somewhere, does he have to specify the final destination or not?