Two people dominate a monster; who gets to drive?

[dcollins]

Here in 3.0, it's in PHB ch. 10, "Combining Magical Effects: Multiple Mental Control Effects", on p. 154.

If a creature is under the mental control of two or more creatures, it tends to obey each to the best of its ability... If the controlled creature receives conflicting orders simultaneously, the competing controllers must make opposed Charisma checks to determine which one the creature obeys.

As an aside, here's one of the creative-spell-use hacks that my group has come up with that I'm most proud of. Problem: my tumble/Spring Attack fighter with a hellaciously low Wisdom and awful Will save (and a habitual drunkard), charmed or dominated at the drop of a hat. Solution: our high-Charisma Sorcerer prepares charm person specifically to counter-charm my fighter, and likely win the Charisma dustup, in response.

Edit: Dang, extended side comment made Hyp beat me.

 

[Piratecat]

Yes! Thank you, hyp & dcollins; that was exactly what I was hoping someone could track down.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Yes! Thank you, hyp & dcollins; that was exactly what I was hoping someone could track down.

And it is in the SRD... just not where I expected.

-Hyp.

 

[jgsugden]

Well, there you go. [It is in the Magic Overview Section, btw]

Multiple Mental Control Effects: Sometimes magical effects that establish mental control render each other irrelevant, such as a spell that removes the subjects ability to act. Mental controls that don’t remove the recipient’s ability to act usually do not interfere with each other. If a creature is under the mental control of two or more creatures, it tends to obey each to the best of its ability, and to the extent of the control each effect allows. If the controlled creature receives conflicting orders simultaneously, the competing controllers must make opposed Charisma checks to determine which one the creature obeys.

The funny thing is, nothing in D&D is truly simultaneous. In fact, giving a new direction to a dominated creature is a move action (not a free action like talking), so it must be done on your turn. So, no domination effect will be truly simultaneous ... though a DM would be well within his rights to say that instructions given within a round of each other are 'simulataneous'.

 

[Ruvion]

Well...what if the conflicting orders is something that takes more than a round to complete? Such as a malefic wizard magically ordering the ogre to break open the dam (say it takes 3 rounds to do) while the resident sorcerer taking control of the brute to stop his destructive actions?!

Well, there you go. [It is in the Magic Overview Section, btw]



The funny thing is, nothing in D&D is truly simultaneous. In fact, giving a new direction to a dominated creature is a move action (not a free action like talking), so it must be done on your turn. So, no domination effect will be truly simultaneous ... though a DM would be well within his rights to say that instructions given within a round of each other are 'simulataneous'.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Well...what if the conflicting orders is something that takes more than a round to complete? Such as a malefic wizard magically ordering the ogre to break open the dam (say it takes 3 rounds to do) while the resident sorcerer taking control of the brute to stop his destructive actions?!

"If the controlled creature receives conflicting orders simultaneously..."

It depends how strict you are on the language, but technically, even if it takes three rounds to break the dam, he only received the order during the malefic wizard's action in the first round.

-Hyp.

 

[Darklone]

Simple example:

1st dominators initiative: Order: kill other dominator.
2nd dominators initiative: kill first dominator.
Monsters initiative... monster waits for opposed Cha check.

Right?

 

[Kodam]

Hi!

The Cha-Check should be resolved at the monsters turn I'd say.

Kodam

 

[the Jester]

Hi!

The Cha-Check should be resolved at the monsters turn I'd say.

Kodam

I agree. After all, the commands have already been given.

Though the monster, in this case, would prolly use any area affects it had to catch them both...

 

[Piratecat]

It worked really well. The monster wavered back and forth to one side, then the other. Fun!