Mind Control

[AdamSmasher]

Is there any way for a level 6 character to have relatively permanent control over another without the use of Thrallherd or the Leadership feat?

[DreganHiregard]

By level 6? You're usually going to be looking at magic items. Things like scrolls of dominate person or a more expensive but permanent item would be something like a Rod/amulet/whatever of dominate person 1/day. It should cost about 16,200 gold according to the wondrous item formula, but the DM might want to change it around. It would have a Caster level of 5, which means one casting lasts 5 days, and a spell DC of 17.

The real trick is getting them under your control once. Once someone is dominated you've pretty much got them. Keep in mind you can choose to voluntarily fail a saving throw, so once they've failed once you can just command them to not resist the items effects when you use it again the next day. In theory actually you could have up to 4 people controlled and only refresh it on the last possible day, but you run into more risks of someone breaking free if they're sent on a mission that takes them away from you on that final day.

Other than that, summoning and necromancy are your best bets for some decent backup. At higher levels you could craft a construct, but it'd be tricky to get that online at level 6. Hope this helps!

[TheCrowing1432]

While not being explicitly "Mind Control" Bards and Beguilers get a lot of tools for manipulating people to their own ends.

Charm Person/Suggestion etc.


IIRC They both eventually do get the dominate spells.

[Silva Stormrage]

Enchanter Wizards get a Cohort as leadership with an ACF. Its not hard to imagine it is a permanent mind control type of thing and you could simply refluff it as such.

[Auron3991]

The real trick is getting them under your control once. Once someone is dominated you've pretty much got them. Keep in mind you can choose to voluntarily fail a saving throw, so once they've failed once you can just command them to not resist the items effects when you use it again the next day.

Wouldn't that just make it harder because it forces an automatic save with a +2 bonus due to being a command that goes against their natural inclinations? You might get away with using a charm person spell that way and convincing them it's a beneficial spell because they become inclined to trust you, but a dominated person is still aware, values it's self-determination, and probably hates your guts at that point.

[Crake]

By level 6? You're usually going to be looking at magic items. Things like scrolls of dominate person or a more expensive but permanent item would be something like a Rod/amulet/whatever of dominate person 1/day. It should cost about 16,200 gold according to the wondrous item formula, but the DM might want to change it around. It would have a Caster level of 5, which means one casting lasts 5 days, and a spell DC of 17.

CL of scrolls or wondrous items must, at the very minimum, be high enough to meet the minimum CL of the spell in question. For dominate person, that's 9th level. If you can get a bard to make it, 10th level, but only a 4th level spell.

So if you make a 1/10 days item of dominate person, it'd cost 10*4*2000/50 for a mere 1600. That said, you'd probably want some leeway, have a 24 hour window to re-cast it, so maybe make it 1/9 days, so /45 at the end there, for about 1778gp

[AdamSmasher]

These are great suggestions, and I appreciate them.