question said:
In most campaigns the only problem i can see with dominate is if the PC uses it to try and mass dominate people into giving them free stuff,[...]
If that's the most broken use you can think of, you aren't even halfway trying.
How about
dominating the captain of the city guard? Drift into his house in the middle of the night, and catch him alone when he's not prepped for combat. Once he's your slave, you have easy access to his lieutenants as well. Control all the officers, and you control law enforcement in the whole city. Send the guards after your enemies, force them to conceal evidence of your own activities, and maybe have a few specialists collect protection money for you.
If the cops aren't your style, go after the officers of a military division. Standard infantry may not be as individually powerful as adventuring PCs, but they can still clear out dungeons and such, when you buy them in packs of a hundred. Control the right people at exactly the right time, and you might be able to execute a military coup and take control of the country.
Or, to retain your mobility as an adventurer, you might just dominate a few of the strongest warriors you can find. Your party is not the only group of 13th-level characters in the world, so find two or three new meat shields without high Will saves, and "hire" them as your bodyguards. Combat and adventuring are not "against their natures" nor "obviously self-destructive" for a professional warrior, so if you renew the
dominate every few days, you can effectively have four characters for the price of one. (Just be careful of
dispel magic.) [Edit: Artoomis points out, below, that vampiric
dominate is a Supernatural ability and is therefore not subject to dispelling.]
Even if all you really want is to steal money from the rabble, don't go after individual merchants personally. That's stupid and will leave people who know you. Instead,
dominate every street thugs you can find, and make yourself their leader. Send them in packs to loot homes and businesses. Back them up from a safe distance with your powers. Distract the guards by having some other thralls start a riot elsewhere. A few of the fodder are bound to get caught, but a simple
disguise self ensures they won't have any useful information to give up.
I think I've said this before on these boards, but it bears repeating: One person's lack of imagination does not constitute a problem with the rules.
