Alternate words and uses for command

[Quoz]

I've been considering the uses of the command spell on my Conquest Paladin, particularly as a way to break uneven matchups.

Stock options:

Approach. The target moves toward you by the shortest and most direct route, ending its turn if it moves within 5 feet of you.

Drop. The target drops whatever it is holding and then ends its turn.

Flee. The target spends its turn moving away from you by the fastest available means.

Grovel. The target falls prone and then ends its turn.

Halt. The target doesn't move and takes no actions. A flying creature stays aloft, provided that it is able to do so. If it must move to stay aloft, it flies the minimum distance needed to remain in the air.

New ones I've thought of:

Panic: the target becomes frightened of you until the end of your next turn. (Generally less useful than listed above, but may help with aura of conquest)

Forget: The target loses concentration on any spell it is currently maintaining. It takes no hostile action this turn.

Cuff/Restrain/Surrender: in combination with giving them a pair of manacles, they handcuff themselves.

Doff: (Not suitable for all tables) the target begins the process of removing its armor. This can be droping a shield, removing a ring, pendant, or other worn item, or partially unbundling armor which will have effects determined by the GM.

Drink: either while handing them a potion/poison or in a non combat social setting.

[thrdeye]

Drink: either while handing them a potion/poison or in a non combat social setting.

You can't command the target to do something directly harmful to itself.

[Brutalitops]

You can't command the target to do something directly harmful to itself.



yes but as long as they do not know that the potion is poison then they should drink it although they would probably get to make an insight check as well as a wisdom save for that to work.

[Contrast]

Forget: The target loses concentration on any spell it is currently maintaining. It takes no hostile action this turn.

This falls in 'ask you DM' territory as I could totally see a DM ruling 'you see them blink, a look of confusion on their face as them find themselves in combat and snap off a panicked firebolt in your direction' with no other mechanical impact. My immediate inclination would be to have the target forget what they did last round which has potential uses but not generically useful in combat probably.


Cuff/Restrain/Surrender: in combination with giving them a pair of manacles, they handcuff themselves.

If anything the first two feel like they would be perfectly entitled to attempt to cuff/restrain you. The third doesn't feel any different than grovel - I don't think there's a one word command which will make someone cuff themselves.


Doff: (Not suitable for all tables) the target begins the process of removing its armor. This can be droping a shield, removing a ring, pendant, or other worn item, or partially unbundling armor which will have effects determined by the GM.

If the party was ambushed 1 round after someone said they were starting to take their armour off I would not have this have any mechanical impact so don't think this would work on armour personally. Making them drop a shield is a good option though.


Generally I worry that most of these are just mechanically worse than grovel which burns their action and gives you advantage to hit them in melee. Command does have out of combat uses though of course so always good to think about.

[Chronos]

I've seen a number of characters for whom, if you ordered them to "doff", would only have gotten as far as a few ribbons and some suggestive dance moves.

[Allimath]

betray is a good one


also cry for ultimate BM

[R.Shackleford]

For the charismatic clerics or a bard...

Flirt: Do this while winking at the target. Target spends their next turn attempting to flirt with you.

The flirting would fail as you know it isn't real.

Really great for social scenes or to split a group. Also would be great for a Subtle Spell.

[Ventruenox]

My Divine Soul has a character goal of selling a fake religion. Subtle Command has proved useful with:

Convert! I've with an amazing Persuasion to boot, Had a Priestess renounce her own faith to join mine.

Donate! 'Cuz televangelist tropes.

Ones I'm waiting for the right narrative opportunity to use:

Twerk! To cause uppity NPCs to lose face.

Vogue! To have enemy commanders act Fab-u-lous in front of their men.

Monologue! Get the DM to spill parts of his evil plan.

Beatbox. Let's delay those Verbal component spells from (non-Bard) enemy casters.

Defecate! At least 10% of D&D needs to contain juvenile humor. My table has embarrassed the DM's preteen daughter on at least 5 occasions.

Defenestrate! After the DM describes how beautiful and intricate the stained glass window is.

[thrdeye]

yes but as long as they do not know that the potion is poison then they should drink it although they would probably get to make an insight check as well as a wisdom save for that to work.

"The spell has no effect if the target is undead, if it doesn't understand your language, or if your command is directly harmful to it." The wording is very clear, and it's not even a matter of the target knowing the action is harmful thus not being bound to the spell's effect; there simply is no effect for the target to act on. All you've done is thrust a suspicious looking liquid into the target's hands, said "Drink" and wasted a spell slot. A DM may allow your interpretation but it's certainly not RAW and, given the obvious nature of your proposed exception and the ease with which it could have been written into the rule ("...if the target knows your command is directly harmful to it."), probably not RAI either.

[IsaacsAlterEgo]

"Cannibalize" got me a lot of mileage in one campaign.

Also, if Command cannot cause you to take an action that would hurt you, even if both the caster and the victim are unaware of the possible harm, doesn't that mean you could potentially use Command as a method to check for poison, traps and dangerous magical items by commanding people to check them for you, and if they refuse to do it, you know its harmful?

[thrdeye]

Also, if Command cannot cause you to take an action that would hurt you, even if both the caster and the victim are unaware of the possible harm, doesn't that mean you could potentially use Command as a method to check for poison, traps and dangerous magical items by commanding people to check them for you, and if they refuse to do it, you know its harmful?

There is, of course, no reason the target can't follow the command of their own accord. Using a spell in such an unintended manner can be banned entirely or have unintended consequences, depending on the DM. For instance, should you happen upon some poison and your guinea pig turn out to be a trusting yet vengeful high level wizard, there could be issues.

[solidork]

We've used "Speak!" or "Answer!" in conjunction with Zone of Truth to get information from reticent prisoners.

[JoeJ]

"Cannibalize" got me a lot of mileage in one campaign.

Also, if Command cannot cause you to take an action that would hurt you, even if both the caster and the victim are unaware of the possible harm, doesn't that mean you could potentially use Command as a method to check for poison, traps and dangerous magical items by commanding people to check them for you, and if they refuse to do it, you know its harmful?

I don't see why that wouldn't work. It only lets you check one thing, however, so it might not be the best use of a spell slot.

[MaxWilson]

Generally I worry that most of these are just mechanically worse than grovel which burns their action and gives you advantage to hit them in melee. Command does have out of combat uses though of course so always good to think about.

Grovel frankly seems worse to me than approach/flee (as appropriate), which can be used to trigger opportunity attacks. A failed save against "flee!" can make an enemy potentially waste two rounds (one Dashing away, one Dashing back) and take opportunity attacks (great if there are lots of summoned minions in the fight) for no concentration cost. Not a terrible use of a low-level spell slot.

[No brains]

A few I came up with

Land: Makes an enemy flyer land and end their turn. Comparable with approach, but maybe you don't want the roc right next to you. May also make a swimming enemy come ashore, but I don't know the nautical term for that.

Hush: Make an enemy waste their turn without saying anything or making loud noises. Good against sentries who might raise alarms.

Attack: Make an enemy attack the nearest target they would want to attack. Maybe only rarely useful, but an option in line with the power of the spell. They may not realize the consequences of attacking out of turn.

Confess/ Soliloquy/ Blab/ Monologue/ Exposit: Get an enemy to spend its turn speaking its intentions aloud. Useful when bad guys have backstabbing motivations.

I also want to look into other languages to see if there are any ideas that can be succinctly summed up in a single word. Common/ English might not have a single word for an idea, but German/ Dwarvish might. The best example I can think of now is that Scottish gives us Tartle: "To hesitate in remembering someone". Might be useful to keep a guard from recognizing who you are.

You could potentially combo the spell with Tongues/ telepathy to convey ideas that seem like they could fit a single word, but don't quite have a lingual background for it. Speaking the name of any spell or ability in the imperative could make an enemy waste an option before using it at the right time.

[TheCleverGuy]

Forget: The target loses concentration on any spell it is currently maintaining. It takes no hostile action this turn.


We've used "Speak!" or "Answer!" in conjunction with Zone of Truth to get information from reticent prisoners.

And the corrollary, "Silence!" Causes the target to be unable to speak for 1 round--can't cast spells with verbal components.

[Rixitichil]

"RIOT", "BETRAY",
"DISPELL" might work on the right caster who has you under a crowd control spell.

[R.Shackleford]

Grovel frankly seems worse to me than approach/flee (as appropriate), which can be used to trigger opportunity attacks. A failed save against "flee!" can make an enemy potentially waste two rounds (one Dashing away, one Dashing back) and take opportunity attacks (great if there are lots of summoned minions in the fight) for no concentration cost. Not a terrible use of a low-level spell slot.

The spell has no effect if the target is Undead, if it doesn't understand your language, or if your command is directly harmful to it.

Flee: The target spends its turn moving away from you by the fastest available means.

Flee has three main options for the target (at least for me). Spending a turn getting away from the caster means they have all their actions and movements intact.

The target Dashes if they feel safe (from OA)
The target Disengages if they don't feel safe (from OA).
The target provokes opportunity attacks (if they were mistaken about being safe from OA).

However, a DM may say that since an OA is possible without a disengage that it's a directly harmful effect and that the spell ends.

However, do note that many DMs may rule that forcing a creature to use their actions with a spell violates the terms of an OA, so you may not get that OA from command's flee even if they don't disengage. Just how some people rule it on the spot, so talk to your DM before hand to figure out how that would work.

Grovel is GREAT to keep a target close to a specific point. Especially if you have slow moving allies/minions or you're setting up for your ally to drop a fireball.

[Son of A Lich!]

Subjugate them!

Subju... Wha...?

Take their belongings!

[DarkKnightJin]

I've seen a strange use: "Apologize!" And the target started to apologize profusely.
While it might not be the most powerful option, it might help in swaying some judgment from the party if an NPC starts saying sorry to a high-ranking official, inadvertently taking the blame for something the party did.

[Hruken]

Had a fellow player use the command "roll" on an ogre howdah we were fighting. Didn't end up killing the passengers (DM had them jump out) but it broke the howdah and took away their cover.

[Man_Over_Game]

The spell has no effect if the target is Undead, if it doesn't understand your language, or if your command is directly harmful to it.

Flee: The target spends its turn moving away from you by the fastest available means.

Flee has three main options for the target (at least for me). Spending a turn getting away from the caster means they have all their actions and movements intact.

The target Dashes if they feel safe (from OA)
The target Disengages if they don't feel safe (from OA).
The target provokes opportunity attacks (if they were mistaken about being safe from OA).

However, a DM may say that since an OA is possible without a disengage that it's a directly harmful effect and that the spell ends.

However, do note that many DMs may rule that forcing a creature to use their actions with a spell violates the terms of an OA, so you may not get that OA from command's flee even if they don't disengage. Just how some people rule it on the spot, so talk to your DM before hand to figure out how that would work.


I'd say that's a bit of a stretch. Dissonant Whispers also makes the creature flee, without going into anything that would directly harm it, but provokes OA's. OA's, I feel, are not something that creatures are inherently aware of. Rather, they're a mechanical tool to keep creatures locked into melee combat, and justified narratively as losing caution when moving around.

If someone was told to "get somewhere safe", and that meant running past a monster to reach sanctuary, they'd probably consider that a calculated risk to get safe. A creature turning around, to flee in the opposite direction, is pretty hard to justify as being something that's "directly harmful to it".

I think a more accurate way of doing it is that:

The target moves away from all hostiles.
If possible, the creature Disengages.
Then, if possible, the creature Dashes.
Neither Dashing or Disengaging is required for the creature to flee.

[PastorofMuppets]

Instead of Doff you could just say Undress, depending on the GM they’d at least be distracted for a turn or two trying to take off any clothes/armor since it usually involves lots of ties or buckles.

I’d try commands like Handstand and soo how agile the target is.

Perhaps Defend could work in some situations and it’s up to the target/dm How physically or verbally they defend the player.

Pointing at one of the many filthy areas involved in adventures ordering the target to Clean could buy a good bit of time as well.

And order to Dance or Sing would likely mess with an enemy spellcaster ability to do somatic or verbal components of their spells. I’d imagine an uphill battle if you tried to make something like Jazz-Hands an acceptable command though.

[bc56]

Instead of Doff you could just say Undress, depending on the GM they’d at least be distracted for a turn or two trying to take off any clothes/armor since it usually involves lots of ties or buckles.


Command only works for one turn, which is why it needs creative uses.
Sleep might be a good one, although probably not much different than grovel
Dance would be funny
And I'd love to see what would happen if you did command: explode (assuming that if possible, they do a non harmful interpretation to themself)

[JoeJ]

Some of the best uses of Command are in social situations rather than combat:

Sing
Dance
Twerk
Strip
Scream
Attack
F*rt
Cheer
Confess

[Vogie]

Throw: It's like Disarm, but they get it away from them.
Backstab: Also, Betray would work.
Riverdance: It's more powerful than "Dance" but alas, "Cha Cha real smooth" isn't a one-word.
Homebound: It's a slightly less random Flee
Deport: It's a Homebound, but the target wants to bring a friend.
Help: it's an action. Also could be "distract"

[JoeJ]

Riverdance: It's more powerful than "Dance" but alas, "Cha Cha real smooth" isn't a one-word.

Along those lines, you can add Hopak, Samba, Haka, and Hula.

[R.Shackleford]

I'd say that's a bit of a stretch. Dissonant Whispers also makes the creature flee, without going into anything that would directly harm it, but provokes OA's. OA's, I feel, are not something that creatures are inherently aware of. Rather, they're a mechanical tool to keep creatures locked into melee combat, and justified narratively as losing caution when moving around.

If someone was told to "get somewhere safe", and that meant running past a monster to reach sanctuary, they'd probably consider that a calculated risk to get safe. A creature turning around, to flee in the opposite direction, is pretty hard to justify as being something that's "directly harmful to it".

I think a more accurate way of doing it is that:

The target moves away from all hostiles.
If possible, the creature Disengages.
Then, if possible, the creature Dashes.
Neither Dashing or Disengaging is required for the creature to flee.

"Go somewhere safe" isn't within the parameters of the spell. Flee (or approach) is within the parameters of the spell. You already are changing what the spell is allowed to do.

Forcing someone to perform a "calculated risk" that will be directly harmful is still attempting them to do something directly harmful. It would be like having them run into a trapped area (say spike growth), the spell would fail.

The only way it wouldn't fail is if they could use their disengage.

The target uses their turn to flee, the fastest way to get the furthest is to not die. Sure a dash will potentially get them the furthest distance (60' > 30') if there was no enemies around... But with enemies around the way to get the furthest from the caster is to use disengage as 30' > dead. Just like if there was only even ground or if there was difficult terrain, the target would use their turn to get as far away as possible.

There is no way for Command to cause an attack of opportunity unless you're trying to purposely get around the "directly harmful" part of the spell.

Is an OA directly harmful to a creature? Yes.

[Porcupinata]

*Twinned Suggestion*

You, and you, KISS!

[Agent-KI7KO]

My Glamour Bard is taking notes.

The only nonstandard one I've ever used is "****", which i thought would have made a fleeing bugbear stop, so it can poop.

Imagine my surprise when the DM described the bugbear leaving a trail of **** into the maze as it ran.

[R.Shackleford]

*Twinned Suggestion*

You, and you, KISS!

Enemy A: Plays air guitar

Enemy B: Sticks tongue out and wiggles it suggestively

[Foxhound438]

"release" if an enemy has a hostage of some kind
"pay" would be appropriate if you're going out to collect someone's debt
"unlock" or "open" if they can from the other side of a gate, or maybe if there's a suspected arcane lock on something
"congregate" might make an enemy go stand next to another, rather than just running off into the distance with flee. Maybe useful to get more enemies into an AOE of some sort

"dig" might not be uniquely useful for the most part, but you can decisively proclaim that they were the ugly one of the three while whistling The Ecstasy of Gold for a round