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<blockquote data-quote="Mercule" data-source="post: 5156511" data-attributes="member: 5100">I'm going to hold off on my own opinion, mainly because I'm pretty torn, but also because I really want input on the issue.Last session, I threw an Aurum Concordant (among other things) at the PCs.&nbsp; It was a tough fight, with PCs going up and down, but the PCs won without anyone buying the farm.For those who haven't seen one in play, the Aurum Concordant (from Eberron) has a minor, at-will power that attacks Will and dominates the target for a round.&nbsp; It can only be used once every round but, as a minor action, is pretty much a no-brainer.&nbsp; The net result is that the fighter was pretty much a puppet for either the Concordant or the PC warlord the whole fight.&nbsp; I hadn't reviewed the Concordant's powers in-depth, prior to the combat, so I hadn't even had time to consider what I thought of the power before it became painfully obvious that it was a doozy.Predictably, this didn't really thrill the group.&nbsp; One player, in particular, was pretty upset by both the dominate ability and the at-will/minor bit.&nbsp; His question was &quot;How does a PC get that?&quot;&nbsp; The answer, of course, is that a PC will never get it that good and there are only a half-dozen PC powers, all paragon or epic, that even allow PCs to dominate NPCs.So, the big question is:&nbsp; Is this fair?&nbsp; Stuff like that happened all the time in 1e, but that doesn't make it right.&nbsp; Should NPCs of PC races be permitted to have powers the PCs can't even come close to matching?Question #2 is:&nbsp; With the big deal that was made about the &quot;economy of actions&quot; in 4e, is dominate -- especially as an at-will -- appropriate to the game?&nbsp; One player was all but sidelined for the encounter because of a single power.Question #3 is:&nbsp; Is it reasonable for the NPC to know what at-wills the PC has available, just because of the domination?&nbsp; Since the NPC can make the PC use at-wills, it stands to reason the NPC should be able to see the menu.&nbsp; The inverse is also true: should the rare PC with domination be able to learn the monsters' at-wills that way?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mercule, post: 5156511, member: 5100"] I'm going to hold off on my own opinion, mainly because I'm pretty torn, but also because I really want input on the issue. Last session, I threw an Aurum Concordant (among other things) at the PCs. It was a tough fight, with PCs going up and down, but the PCs won without anyone buying the farm. For those who haven't seen one in play, the Aurum Concordant (from Eberron) has a minor, at-will power that attacks Will and dominates the target for a round. It can only be used once every round but, as a minor action, is pretty much a no-brainer. The net result is that the fighter was pretty much a puppet for either the Concordant or the PC warlord the whole fight. I hadn't reviewed the Concordant's powers in-depth, prior to the combat, so I hadn't even had time to consider what I thought of the power before it became painfully obvious that it was a doozy. Predictably, this didn't really thrill the group. One player, in particular, was pretty upset by both the dominate ability and the at-will/minor bit. His question was "How does a PC get that?" The answer, of course, is that a PC will never get it that good and there are only a half-dozen PC powers, all paragon or epic, that even allow PCs to dominate NPCs. So, the big question is: Is this fair? Stuff like that happened all the time in 1e, but that doesn't make it right. Should NPCs of PC races be permitted to have powers the PCs can't even come close to matching? Question #2 is: With the big deal that was made about the "economy of actions" in 4e, is dominate -- especially as an at-will -- appropriate to the game? One player was all but sidelined for the encounter because of a single power. Question #3 is: Is it reasonable for the NPC to know what at-wills the PC has available, just because of the domination? Since the NPC can make the PC use at-wills, it stands to reason the NPC should be able to see the menu. The inverse is also true: should the rare PC with domination be able to learn the monsters' at-wills that way? [/QUOTE]

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