greg kaye
Explorer
Anything else you'd add to the mix? How would characters, or built-into-world chancers, best make this work?
To start with, let's make sure we've got our casters together and in the mood for concentration. Once at least one party member has got the mark alone and unsupported, and that would be the time for you all to take, well, their disadvantage.
So if it's available, this would work best if there's a way to get the mark to consume something containing dust of deliciousness so as to secure that wisdom save disadvantage.
1st level Bane (for its minus 1d4 on saving throws) could follow an early serving of a delicious treat. However, if none of the dust is available or if you just want to increase the chance of the Dominate spell landing, another caster could try Bestow Curse.
If the Bane (and perhaps the 3rd level Bestow Curse) doesn't land, try again, and again presuming sufficient caster level and slot availability.
Then your ninth+ level caster goes in with 5th level Dominate Person and, if this lands, you'll have a few rounds of commanded action (one of which could contain an instruction like "eat this delicious treat!"
If your caster is tenth+level then s/he will have two fifth-level slots and, all being well and dropping concentration of the domination, could attempt a 5th level Modify Memory themselves.
However, if there's a second 9th+ level Bard, Wizard or, (famously) Trickery Domain Cleric, then you've got a safe option for the Modify Memory and, if you've all got to 10th level, between you, you'd have at least one chance at the Dominate spell followed by perhaps three chances at the Modify Memory.
But, prior to use of a Dominate spell, how could you get the mark to consume that delicious item, or just orchestrate a situation where the mark might be alone?
Well, that bard with that expertise in deception might have ideas, which might well work best when not immediately accompanied by that gnarly, charisma-dumped wizard who typically tags along.
So, how do you then get the rest of the group to join? As with all content here, your ideas and thoughts would be welcome.
The safest fit I could think of was for the party to include a genie warlock. Then, once the situation was ripe, the party could all jump out together from the genie vessel as carried by the character in the bard role. (The difficulty here though is that warlocks don't have any of the spells mentioned awarded by their class, just things like invisibility. Perhaps the warlock had taken Fey Touched for Bane, Misty Step and the charisma buff or Magic Initiate, Bard at the 8th level ASI. But, in this case, why choose Bane? Did they plan for this sting at least a level early, could there be another reason for the spell choice, or would the Warlock mainly function to facilitate movement?)
Another option would be to get that Trickery Domain Cleric to cast Pass Without Trace and get another character to upcast invisibility, perhaps to 4th level, to enable three characters to move unseen.
Another option, if you've managed with the dust of deliciousness, is to make a single use of 4th level Dimension Door to port 2 characters in from upto 500 ft away, otherwise, a couple of Dimension Doors could bring 4 characters in.
Any other viable options?
Possibilities then for getting out could include one of the casters (perhaps a warlock with a readied action) making an upcast of invisibility to, say, 5th level to enable four characters to disappear from sight which could just leave that cheery initial character to distract and chat with the target.
By this time the target will certainly remember consuming some form of delicious treat (which would explain that lingering taste) and all this would just leave the bard to arrange to return, perhaps as soon as after they've all got some rest. Yes, but perhaps they'll meet in a different and more opportune location, and definitely with more of those lovely treats.
It's a combo with potential world-building consequences and with the moral, never opt for a private performance from a bard or accept consumables from that charismatic "friend". You don't, even, won't know know what might happen.
So how could this be modified and/or added to; in what situations could it best be applied and what are the chances of party success?
To start with, let's make sure we've got our casters together and in the mood for concentration. Once at least one party member has got the mark alone and unsupported, and that would be the time for you all to take, well, their disadvantage.
So if it's available, this would work best if there's a way to get the mark to consume something containing dust of deliciousness so as to secure that wisdom save disadvantage.
1st level Bane (for its minus 1d4 on saving throws) could follow an early serving of a delicious treat. However, if none of the dust is available or if you just want to increase the chance of the Dominate spell landing, another caster could try Bestow Curse.
If the Bane (and perhaps the 3rd level Bestow Curse) doesn't land, try again, and again presuming sufficient caster level and slot availability.
Then your ninth+ level caster goes in with 5th level Dominate Person and, if this lands, you'll have a few rounds of commanded action (one of which could contain an instruction like "eat this delicious treat!"
If your caster is tenth+level then s/he will have two fifth-level slots and, all being well and dropping concentration of the domination, could attempt a 5th level Modify Memory themselves.
However, if there's a second 9th+ level Bard, Wizard or, (famously) Trickery Domain Cleric, then you've got a safe option for the Modify Memory and, if you've all got to 10th level, between you, you'd have at least one chance at the Dominate spell followed by perhaps three chances at the Modify Memory.
But, prior to use of a Dominate spell, how could you get the mark to consume that delicious item, or just orchestrate a situation where the mark might be alone?
Well, that bard with that expertise in deception might have ideas, which might well work best when not immediately accompanied by that gnarly, charisma-dumped wizard who typically tags along.
So, how do you then get the rest of the group to join? As with all content here, your ideas and thoughts would be welcome.
The safest fit I could think of was for the party to include a genie warlock. Then, once the situation was ripe, the party could all jump out together from the genie vessel as carried by the character in the bard role. (The difficulty here though is that warlocks don't have any of the spells mentioned awarded by their class, just things like invisibility. Perhaps the warlock had taken Fey Touched for Bane, Misty Step and the charisma buff or Magic Initiate, Bard at the 8th level ASI. But, in this case, why choose Bane? Did they plan for this sting at least a level early, could there be another reason for the spell choice, or would the Warlock mainly function to facilitate movement?)
Another option would be to get that Trickery Domain Cleric to cast Pass Without Trace and get another character to upcast invisibility, perhaps to 4th level, to enable three characters to move unseen.
Another option, if you've managed with the dust of deliciousness, is to make a single use of 4th level Dimension Door to port 2 characters in from upto 500 ft away, otherwise, a couple of Dimension Doors could bring 4 characters in.
Any other viable options?
Possibilities then for getting out could include one of the casters (perhaps a warlock with a readied action) making an upcast of invisibility to, say, 5th level to enable four characters to disappear from sight which could just leave that cheery initial character to distract and chat with the target.
By this time the target will certainly remember consuming some form of delicious treat (which would explain that lingering taste) and all this would just leave the bard to arrange to return, perhaps as soon as after they've all got some rest. Yes, but perhaps they'll meet in a different and more opportune location, and definitely with more of those lovely treats.
It's a combo with potential world-building consequences and with the moral, never opt for a private performance from a bard or accept consumables from that charismatic "friend". You don't, even, won't know know what might happen.
So how could this be modified and/or added to; in what situations could it best be applied and what are the chances of party success?
