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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Joshua Randall" data-source="post: 9531642" data-attributes="member: 7737">One of the fundamental tenets of 3e, that was dropped hard in 4e, and (I think?) somewhat in 5e -- is that the rules elements simulate reality. (In the GNS simulationist sense.)So, you're trying to build a 3e monster the simulationist way. Which requires assembling rules elements in a logical fashion that would represent reality. (Well, game reality.)As opposed to the 4e monster building way which was, think of what you want the monster to do; then it just does that. (And you apply some math to attacks / damage / etc. but you're not required to simulate game-reality.)Back to you though.You need to care about the differences between (Su) vs. (Sp) vs. (Ex) abilities... I honestly only remembered that was a thing right now, today, when you mentioned it. But I remember it was important because some are innate to the creature, others are not, some can be blocked by anti-magic, some can be counter-spelled.... I dunno. I think you want the Gloomfetch to be more like the alien from Alien/s, where it physically attaches (and physically inserts something into your brain?); rather than the Vampire's "look into my eyes" mental domination.Still! You could use the Dominate effect but rework it to be, umm... (Ex)? instead of (Su)? I am not sure if that is strictly legal by the 3e rules, though.As for how long it lasts. If the Gloomfetches have an entire civilization built around using humanoid labor, it seems like 1 hour per HD is way way too short. Otherwise they would spend half their waking hours re-applying the dominate effect. Plus they'd have to schedule their sleep time so the thrall doesn't break out during the X hours the Gloomfetch is asleep.Even 1 day per HD is pretty short for "build your entire civilization on this". Every week or so you'd need to re-dominate, and sometimes it would fail, there'd be constant thralls escaping or rebelling....Now interestingly the 3e Aboleth has a different wording of its dominate power:So there's no specific duration; it lasts until remove curse or a Will save. But the Will save DC is only 16. Which even a o-level peasant with 8 WIS is going to succeed on 5% of the time when he rolls a 20. Adventuring types would be routinely throwing off the dominate after a day (by design! so the PCs aren't forever in thrall to an aboleth). But anyway with the aboleth-controlled peasant army, it would also be constantly rebelling and escaping, etc. I never realized this before.BY THE SIMULATIONIST RULES.But by the 3e FLUFF? Aboleths and mind flayers and vampires are permanently and unbreakably in control of their thralls... until the plot demands otherwise. Or the PCs show up and kill them.So... do whatever you want?I hate to end with a throw up my hands answer, but that seems to be what the 3e designers did. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Also, it's not like the D&D IRS is going to show up to audit your statblock. If it's good enough for you at the table, it's good enough. (Plus your players will presumably never see it, so the only one you need to satisfy is yourself.)</blockquote>

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