Idea for a psionic domination ritual/power/etc

[maximumbrax]

Hey I was hoping to get some feedback on an idea for a power, perhaps paragon path, that I was thinking about creating. To separate it from combat powers (and not take away one of the few combat powers you get in 4e anyway) I thought I might make a ritual that must be performed in order to gain access to the power for the day. Anyway, it's very homebrew, and the level reqs, etc are not figured out, but I'd love some feedback.

The paragon path is the Confessor, who is all about psychic domination and telepathy.

Ritual: Confessor's Dominion
Casting time: 1 hour
Duration: Instant
LVL:
Cost:

Effect: You gain the Confession daily power.

Confession
You lay your hand upon another and silent force explodes from your enemy as you shatter his will.
Daily
Reliable (Special)
Melee Touch * Psionic *Domination
Intelligence vs Will
Hit: You lose one healing surge and this power is used for the day. The enemy is helpless in your grasp and his resistance to your inquisition vanishes. The target must honestly answer a number of questions equal to your charisma modifier. He cannot lie, and will try to answer the best he can, but cannot answer questions to which he does not know the answer. He tells the truth as he knows it, so if he is deceived, his answers will reflect the deceit. Each answer takes a standard action and during the rounds where this power is active you cannot take other actions. You remain in a psionic grapple with the target until the power runs out or you choose to end it.
Aftereffect: The target is stunned (save ends). You are dazed until the end of your next turn.
Miss: You lose a healing surge, but do not expend this power. You and the target are dazed (save ends).
Once you use this power, you cannot use it again until you have performed the ritual.

 

[weem]

I always try and find something it's similar to.

I looked around a bit and the "Ajure" ritual had some elements that would be similar in yours I think. I don't want to just post the whole thing, so I will grab the specific pieces I was looking at...

The ritual is about ordering an immortal entity to serve you. Yours is about getting questions answered, but there are similarities in the process involved I think.

You command an immortal creature whose level does not exceed yours. The subject of this ritual must be able to see and hear you and must remain within 5 squares of you for the entire time necessary to perform the ritual.

That might be something to consider adding to your wording (minus the "immortal" perhaps)? and of course, you are looking for this to be standard action so the "time necessary" will be different.

Because most creatures do not willingly submit to this ritual, you must usually make the creature helpless or restrain the creature by means of a Magic Circle ritual. Unless it is prevented from doing so, the creature can leave at any time.

So, this ritual addresses how you keep the creature there - yours might mention something as well so it's clear. Yours says "The enemy is helpless in your grasp and his resistance to your inquisition vanishes." But it would be good to know mechanically what that means. The reason being (for me) is this... can he walk away? If the answer is no, then you are keeping him there somehow, so what's stopping you from making him... follow you... walk off a cliff, etc.

Finally, you must be able to communicate with the creature, or the ritual automatically fails.

Yours doesn't have anything like this - may need it?

To determine the extent of your authority over the subject, you engage in a special skill challenge during the time it takes to perform the ritual. The DCs for the checks in this challenge are equal to the subject’s level + 10. <snip>...</snip> Once you have amassed 3 failures or achieved 10 successes, the skill challenge ends. Consult the following table and apply the effect associated with the number of successes you achieved.

Now, you are only asking to... ask some questions and have them answered, whereas this ritual is about controlling the being. So, this (skill challenge) may be more than you need to consider - but it might be something to consider (see "overall" below)

Number of Successes Effect
<snip>...</sip>
2 or 3 You have immediate authority over the creature. You can command the creature to perform one task that takes no more than 5 minutes.
<snip>...</sip>

So, if yours was using this skill challenge table, this line (or, 2-3 successes) would be about all you would need (5 minutes).



Overall

- Ajure is a 16th level ritual [Yours we don't know yet]
- Ajure would require restraining the victim for 1 hour during ritual time [yours would instantly attack the victim's WILL and its not clear what keeps the victim there]
- Ajure requires a skill challenge to even control the creature for 5 minutes [yours requires it to honestly answer questions, which in some cases could be far more dangerous to it than commanding it to do a 5 minute task]

I dig the idea for sure - getting answers is awesome - but right now it seems a bit strong. I'm not great with balance aspects of the game, which is why I try and compare new stuff to currently "legal" stuff... i just don't read the rules often (I know what I need to know etc).

Hopefully some others here can give more ideas/advice on making this workable!

Welcome to ENW btw