Guidance on NPC using Dominate Person on PC

[Undrhil]

I was recently DMing a mod in which one of the NPCs is a 9th level caster with Dominate Person as a 5th level spell. During the course of the final combat, this NPC successfully cast Dominate Person on a PC who is a Monk. The NPC then commanded him to attack another PC and to not hold back.

So, my question is: in this situation, can I force the Monk to use Ki points for Stunning Strike (which he has been using throughout the module)? If it was a Wizard that was dominated, can I force that Wizard to cast a spell using a spell slot?

 

[StinkyEttin]

The rules don't preclude it.

As a DM, I wouldn't burn a player's limited-use resources--especially those that have lingering effects. How much of a dick move would it be for a DM to force a dominated character to cast wish for something arbitrary and stupid only to have the character fail the 33% test and never be able to cast wish again.

That's just me, though.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

I was recently in a game where a PC was Charmed by a vampire and told to kill the last player that harmed her. He didn't pull any punches and that was fine because it's part of what makes a vampire so powerful.

 

[Undrhil]

Yeah, I would be miffed by that too, but I can imagine PCs using it in the exact same fashion to use up a bad guys resources while also doing harm to the rest of the bad guys.

Also, if I were to use Wish and the 33% clause hit, I would rule that the dominating party is the one who lost access to future castings of Wish, not the PC.

Mainly, this question is because I commanded the Monk to go all out, not hold back and he does one attack against the other party member and says "OK, done." I was like "Uh, no ... you're a Monk with Extra Attack and Flurry of Blows and you've been trying to Stunning Strike this person since you got into the room, so you would do all of that to the party member who I have indicated is your enemy now."

Now I know in Fourth Edition LFR, it was a rule that a creature that was dominated couldn't be made to use any "once per encounter or daily" powers, but those are no longer really a thing in 5e.

 

[KahlessNestor]

I would think the NPC would have to know the wizard could even cast wish and have it prepared. How would he or she even know that?

I think your call on the monk was right, though. Player was trying to cheese out of it, and NPC would know since the monk had been spamming it.

Sent from my SM-G900P using EN World mobile app

 

[NeverLucky]

With Dominate effects, and controlling charm effects (like succubus, but not vampire which doesn't establish control), you can absolutely force players to fight to the best of their abilities as they would normally fight. You shouldn't permanently penalize players by forcing them to cast Wish with effort or forcing them to waste scrolls or magic items (e.g. spending last charge of wand), but you can definitely have them use spells and abilities as they would against any other enemy.

That said, getting dominated is one of the least fun things that can happen in D&D, and also one of the easiest ways to TPK a party (since it represents such a huge swing when you lose a PC and gain an enemy), so I don't stress it too much when players fight sub-optimally while dominated. In game, you can chalk it up to the inner spirit of the character fighting the domination as best they can.

 

[jasper]

I agree with neverlucky. If the pc has been going all out during the combat before being dominated, they better continue to go all out on their former party members. I have seen it happen both as dm and player. And it chaps my dice when SUDDENLY jasper decides to wimps out on his attacks. See you have save throw see. See you failed your saving throw see. See you trying to game the game see.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Yeah, I was playing in an AL game and two of the PCs got dominated during the final battle. We barely survived and the only reason my bard survived was due to some fast-thinking and an illusion cantrip.And then there was the time I was running a game, and the sorcerer got dominated…the guy with fireball. That was mean on my part, but to be fair, no one died, and some of the PCs kinda deserved it…

That said, getting dominated is one of the least fun things that can happen in D&D, and also one of the easiest ways to TPK a party (since it represents such a huge swing when you lose a PC and gain an enemy), so I don't stress it too much when players fight sub-optimally while dominated. In game, you can chalk it up to the inner spirit of the character fighting the domination as best they can.

 

[Pauper]

On one hand, I'd advise caution with any DM using Dominate Person against PCs, because anything an NPC does to a PC using this spell effectively becomes a precedent that the PCs will use when they gain access to the spell and successfully use it against an NPC. Don't try anything you wouldn't be OK allowing the PCs to do, if you want to maintain a reputation for fairness.

On the other hand, the spell does explicitly state, "You can use your action to take total and precise control of the target. Until the end of your next turn, the creature takes only the actions you choose, and doesn't do anything that you don't allow it to do." So from this perspective, it's totally allowable to have an NPC force a PC to use a limited resource, so long as the NPC is expending its action to trigger this ability of the spell. (As to the point, 'how would the NPC know that the PC has a resource?', the spell allows for a telepathic link, and "Tell me all the magical resources you are carrying" is a simple enough command, probably not one that would even consume the dominated creature's action in satisfying it.)

--
Pauper