Enchantment - Victim Remembers?

[DMFTodd]

Does the victom of an Enchantment spell remember what was done? Do they find it odd?

I Charm Person the BBEG's guard to let me in the castle. When the spell wears off does the guard think "Holy crap! Why'd I do that?" and go ring the alarm? If not, does he remember he let me in? Does he still think of me as a friend? If a fellow guard said "anybody come in today?", how's he react?

Is Dominate Person any different? If I'm Dominated and am ordered to go strangle puppy dogs, what happens when the spell wears off? Am I abhored that I did it? Do I think that it somehow made sense at the time? Does it not even occur to me to wonder about it unless someone brings it up?

 

[James McMurray]

Enchantments don't remove the memory of what was done. Thus the gaurd would probably run off nd ring the alarm. he puppy-killer would probably still be ashamed and upset at what he did, but he knows he didn't want to do it, so he's likely to go looking for the dominator if he knows who they were.

 

[shilsen]

What James McMurray said. In the default D&D campaign world, where just about everyone knows about the existence of magic, it should be especially likely that someone who found himself acting very strangely would consider that as a potential possibility. In the case of dominate spells it would be completely clear to the target what happened since one actually receives commands mentally and then follows them.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Charm spells paint things in different colours: charm person, for example, lets you think the caster is your very best friend, and you see his words and deeds in the best light. After the spell wears off, you might think about it again, go "WTH??" and ring the alarm. Or, you might not think about it much until confronted with again.
So the guard would let you in, and after the effect wears off, he might not even remember it (as there were others who came in). But if he was asked to list the persons who passed him, he might suddenly realize that he did let a stranger pass, and that he thought it a good idea at a time, though he doesn't remember why.

Compulsion spells, on the other hand, wrest control of your actions from you. Imagine you taking a back seat in your own head while the caster drives. You can try to resist doing something that is against your convictions (killing puppies), but if you fail that saving throw, you'll do it, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. You'll be very much aware that it wasn't actually you who did it - your body simply didn't obey your commands.

 

[James McMurray]

How could you gforget about letting a complete stranger that was your best friend through a door that unauthorized people aren't allowed to pass?

 

[Kae'Yoss]

How could you gforget about letting a complete stranger that was your best friend through a door that unauthorized people aren't allowed to pass?

He did tell me not to think too much about it, didn't he?

 

[Hardhead]

Incidently, KaeYoss's description is more or less what's in the DMG (I believe the entry is in the index under "charms and compulsions."

The way we play it, if you Charmed someone, and got them to do something pretty reasonable, they don't realize they were charmed. If you got them to do something they would not normally have ever done, they realize it pretty imediately after the charm wears off. Charming them from behind their back, so they don't see you waving your arms and chanting, helps.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Incidently, KaeYoss's description is more or less what's in the DMG

Yes, I think that was where I nicked the metaphor of the backseat from.

 

[Ottergame]

Page 177, "Succeeding on a Saving Throw". "A creature that successfully saves against a spell that was no obvious physical effects feels a hostile force or a tingle, but cannot deduce the exact nature of the attack. For example, if you secretly cast Charm Person on a creature and its saving throw succeeds, it knows knows someone used magic against it, but it can't tell what you were trying to do. Likewise, if a creature's saving throw successds against a targeted spell, such as charm person, you sense the spell has failed. You do not sense when creatures succees on saves against effect and area spells."

Now why would someone who -fails- that saving throw be aware of what happened when a person who succeedes does -not-? I say that when the spell wears off, the target has no idea that anything amiss happened unless it is somehow pointed out to him that he did something odd.

 

[Artoomis]

...Now why would someone who -fails- that saving throw be aware of what happened when a person who succeedes does -not-? I say that when the spell wears off, the target has no idea that anything amiss happened unless it is somehow pointed out to him that he did something odd.

On the other hand, you do not lose your memory of what happened. You may not know WHY you acted as you did, but you do remember that you really liked that guy a few minutes ago, but don't so much any more.