Dominate person question

[jokeaccount]

Last session we tried to BS each other and now a question has arisen. We have found a heretic book saying that gods and deities do not exist and our lawful good cleric cannot accept this and has demanded its destruction. However as a sly rogue with no deities and starting to tend to the evil alignment decided to not let him have his way. For some reason I was the keeper of the book and at a moment when I was alone formulated a plan to avoid anyone from getting his hands on it. My goal was to render ineffective any suggestion type and mind reading spell by making someone else hiding the book and not telling me about it. I thus summoned a dog (with a wand) and it hid the book, in a random spot in the snow on high altitude frostgiant mountain with -50 degrees and snowstorms. I only kept a small piece of it, thinking (as a rogue i do not have arcane knowledge) that there could be a spell, that using that page would find the book.

The question now is: What happens if our party wizard uses dominate person on me with the command "Find and give me the book"?

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Last session we tried to BS each other and now a question has arisen. We have found a heretic book saying that gods and deities do not exist and our lawful good cleric cannot accept this and has demanded its destruction. However as a sly rogue with no deities and starting to tend to the evil alignment decided to not let him have his way. For some reason I was the keeper of the book and at a moment when I was alone formulated a plan to avoid anyone from getting his hands on it. My goal was to render ineffective any suggestion type and mind reading spell by making someone else hiding the book and not telling me about it. I thus summoned a dog (with a wand) and it hid the book, in a random spot in the snow on high altitude frostgiant mountain with -50 degrees and snowstorms. I only kept a small piece of it, thinking (as a rogue i do not have arcane knowledge) that there could be a spell, that using that page would find the book.

The question now is: What happens if our party wizard uses dominate person on me with the command "Find and give me the book"?

You don't actually know exactly where it is. So, you wouldn't be able to find it.

A Locate Object spell cast by that wizard would be much more effective. It's a level 2 spell and Dominate Person is a level 5. A number of other dinvination spells would be also practical. But you and I don't need to tell him that.

There is an Assassin/Bard spell called Modify Memory. See that gets used on yourself.

 

[Sekhmet]

If you do not know where the book is, you cannot find and give the book to the wizard, as that is outside of your abilities.
As the DM, I would have you surrender your page of the book. My interpretation of "once you have given a dominated creature a command, it continues to attempt to carry out that command to the exclusion of all other activities" suggests that if you find a piece of the object you're seeking, you'll give it to the person ordering you to find the whole thing, as it is clearly a part of the thing.

Now, if you told the dog "Hide this book at a high altitude, in the snow, on a Frost Giant's mountain, in -50f during a snowstorm", you'd probably start your search there, but unless the Wizard demanded to know "all information regarding the book" or "where you believe the book to be", I wouldn't force you to give up that information.

An aside - by mentioning Locate City, Rumbletiger reminded me of the Locate City Bomb, and that made me happy. I cannot give him EXP at this time, however.

 

[jokeaccount]

Now there is a catch. I knew there was a possibility of the page being taken from me so it is booby trapped and will get burnt if opened. Even if the DM asked me to surrender the page would the character be required to take the extra step and disable the trap or he just doesn't think about it?

 

[Sekhmet]

If his command is to "safely get the book", then yes. If the command is to "give me the book", then I wouldn't think so.
You know you have the page, there is no need for you to trigger the trap/inform him of the trap before you give it to him. You're just required to mindless give him the book, if you know where it is.

 

[anest1s]

First of all you could argue that dominating your friend is an evil act. It is an attack after all. You could persuade someone to join your side.

After that you probably win initiative and sneak attack the wizard.

Then I don't know, a TPK with some luck? lol

 

[Greenfield]

If I was the DM I'd have your character out their searching that whole hillside, taking 20 for each section if possible. That would literally be your character's best good-faith effort.

Note that the Wiz' didn't order you to tell him what you'd done with it, nor even ask such a question casually. He didn't ask you to help him find it, or tell him how to find it. If he'd done that then you would probably surrender that scrap you saved and suggest that he use it for the focus for Locate Object.

But if he orders you to find it, and you don't know anything more than "It had to be within a certain distance of where I was standing", then your best, good faith effort would be to search the area, knowing that it was buried or hidden by dog. (i.e. you wouldn't bother looking high in a tree, since dogs don't climb trees.)

 

[Sekhmet]

Quite exactly what Greenfield has said.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

If I was the DM I'd have your character out their searching that whole hillside, taking 20 for each section if possible. That would literally be your character's best good-faith effort.

Note that the Wiz' didn't order you to tell him what you'd done with it, nor even ask such a question casually. He didn't ask you to help him find it, or tell him how to find it. If he'd done that then you would probably surrender that scrap you saved and suggest that he use it for the focus for Locate Object.

But if he orders you to find it, and you don't know anything more than "It had to be within a certain distance of where I was standing", then your best, good faith effort would be to search the area, knowing that it was buried or hidden by dog. (i.e. you wouldn't bother looking high in a tree, since dogs don't climb trees.)

Seconding (Thirding?) Greenfield, this is how it'd play out.
And, even as a Rogue, you're not likely to find it very quickly.

Unless the wizard allows you to have dressed warmly & brought the appropriate gear for -50 degrees and possible Frost Giant attcks, you're engaging in a life-threatening act. You either will have that +2 saving throw to resist and roll to resist often, or you'll not do it at all.

 

[kitcik]

I couldn't XP anyone in this thread except the OP< so I did...