Suggestion : Kill your ally.

[Fieari]

The way I work it.

Suggestion doesn't let you command anyone to do anything. Suggestion allows you to temporarily but yet fundamentally alter someone's beliefs. The examples given are pretty clear about that. You can alter someone's belief that the pool of acid is actually water, and you can furthermore alter someone's belief such that they want to go for a swim. You can't simply suggest "go jump in the pool of acid". That's a command. Instead, you're laying a foundation that alters the way the target views the world.

Yes, this is an incredibly powerful spell. But note that dominate allows you to give direct commands. You can dominate someone into jumping into the pool of acid, and know that's what they're doing. A lot more you can do with dominate.

But still. Suggestion is incredibly insideous. I've based a couple of major NPC players around the Suggestion and Mass Suggestion spells. The players always seem amazed at what you can do with suggestions.

 

[Henry]

My usual version is to Mass suggest to two or MORE opponents that "your friends are plotting and scheming behind your back to kill you in your sleep; you'd better finish them off before it's too late." That way, there won't be any appeal to friendships, etc.

As a Psion Telepath, this was damned easy.

 

[Bad Paper]

Jumping off a cliff is quite obviously harmful.

I was running a game where the BBEG (on top of a tower) suggested to the PC on top of another building something like, "You can fly. Jump over here!" She jumped off the building. Was I being bad? It seemed reasonable at the time.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

Not as such. You have to preface the instruction with something like "Your allies have been replaced with dopplegangers who are trying to kill you." Or something.

Theorectically that could work, but it is really two separate Suggestions in my book. Furthermore the last part may appear to be overtly untrue (in the middle of most combats) so a bonus to the save may be in appropriate.

By my interpretations, Suggestion is extremely powerful out of combat but not very easy to use in combat. I do not see a problem with that.

The most reliable Suggestion is "now is a good time to flee as fast as possible" because it is likely to be true enough.

 

[Sejs]

I was running a game where the BBEG (on top of a tower) suggested to the PC on top of another building something like, "You can fly. Jump over here!" She jumped off the building. Was I being bad? It seemed reasonable at the time.

You probably wouldn't even have to go so far as to say that they can fly - "That jump's not that far. You could make that, easy". Leap. Splat.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Jumping off a cliff is quite obviously harmful.

Although maybe less harmful than combat in D&D.

 

[Fieari]

Theorectically that could work, but it is really two separate Suggestions in my book.

The text of suggestion says that it is "limited to a sentence or two". So only one casting is needed.

 

[wayne62682]

And this is why I utterly despise this spell... every time it's ever been used IME it was words to the effect of They are your enemies, kill them! ("They" meaning the other PCs). IMO the spell does just what it's name says.. SUGGESTS something to you; you don't HAVE to act on it, merely consider it a viable option. After all, the definition of Suggest is "To offer for consideration or action". If/When you do act on it, you can be talked out of it (e.g. "Krusk, snap out of it, I'm your friend Jozan, remember?!"). It's not like Charm or Dominate where you become half mindless, it just implants some thought into your head as a good idea (e.g. "I suggest that you drink a lot of water." You aren't being FORCED to drink water, I'm just telling you that it would be a good idea.)

With the acid example, I think adding that as an example was a mistake and allowed for interpretations like I've experienced, that the spell can be carefully worded to cause someone harm without needing to tell them "Stab yourself with your sword"... I would rule that sure the person will drink the acid, and snap out of the spell as soon as it starts to burn them (because that is "harmful" then). Note also that if they KNOW that "water" is really acid it wouldn't work anyways; Suggestion doesn't make you stupid.

 

[Nail]

Unfortunately for your interpretation, wayne2682, the example is viable rules text.

Moreover, the spell Suggestion is a [compulsion] spell. To wit:

Compulsion: A compulsion spell forces the subject to act in some manner or changes the way her mind works.

.....so, nice try, but Suggestion does, in fact, force the target to follow the suggestion.

 

[Victim]

It's Charm that only influences the target.