Can you Power Attack, Sneak Attack, etc. with Control Body (the psi power)?

[Segev]

Control body (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/controlBody.htm) lets you take telekinetic control of another's body. Explicitly, you can make their body attack, using your BAB and Int mod to determine attack and damage. Essentially, you're making the attack, using his body.

It doesn't specify either way, so I'm curious how everyone here would rule: Can you apply your own attack-enhancing capabilities to such attacks? Can you sneak attack with their body? Death attack? Apply Lurk Augments to the attack? Benefit from a true strike, if you manage to get the timing to work out? Use Power Attack? Cleave? Great Cleave?

"It doesn't say you can't" isn't a great argument for something, but here, it does specify that you're making his body attack, and it is pretty clear it's all you behind the wheel, so would it not make sense that your various attack-enhancing feats, skills, class features, etc. would translate? (I'm not suggesting a magic fang cast on you would transfer to the controlled creature, just things which you can use to enhance any attack you make, as opposed to specific attacks with specific weapons.)

[Madara]

Control body doesn’t require mental contact with the subject, since you are actually forcing limb movements independent of the target’s mind. You can force the subject to stand up, sit down, walk, turn around, and so on, but operating the vocal cords is too difficult.

Without looking into the hundreds of sources for a strong RAW answer, I'd say this line suggests precision can't be achieved, thus I would rule out Sneak Attack and Death Attack.

In terms of ruling, things like Power Attack are linked to a character training their only body and reflexes so I would suspect that unfamiliarity with the foe's form would stop use of such things.


No clue yet about Strict RAW- I suppose investigation into the exact wording of those abilities and comparison of this power to similar spells would be necessary.

[Kaleph]

Control body (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/controlBody.htm) lets you take telekinetic control of another's body. Explicitly, you can make their body attack, using your BAB and Int mod to determine attack and damage. Essentially, you're making the attack, using his body.

It doesn't specify either way, so I'm curious how everyone here would rule: Can you apply your own attack-enhancing capabilities to such attacks? Can you sneak attack with their body? Death attack? Apply Lurk Augments to the attack? Benefit from a true strike, if you manage to get the timing to work out? Use Power Attack? Cleave? Great Cleave?

"It doesn't say you can't" isn't a great argument for something, but here, it does specify that you're making his body attack, and it is pretty clear it's all you behind the wheel, so would it not make sense that your various attack-enhancing feats, skills, class features, etc. would translate? (I'm not suggesting a magic fang cast on you would transfer to the controlled creature, just things which you can use to enhance any attack you make, as opposed to specific attacks with specific weapons.)

That would be an interesting way to improve the power and I wouldn't be in principle against it, but I'd at least consider the following two Points:

According to the spell description, the control you take of the body is rudimentary;
The attack enhancers apply actually to YOU, but it's still your victim dealing the attacks (and that's explicit: the BODY attacks with YOUR modifier)


So I can at least see some reason why a DM would Prevent it from Happening.

[Telonius]

You cannot force the subject to manifest powers, cast spells, or use any special ability that is not a function of just its body movements.

Between this and the fact that the attack and damage bonuses have nothing to do with Strength, it suggests to me that Power Attack is not going to function. Same way with sneak attack and any other kind of precision damage. The description seems more like you're making a meat puppet move around. It doesn't seem to me that you'd be able to make the sort of precise motions that precision damage would require.

[Psyren]

I would say Power Attack yes, Sneak Attack no. Power Attack is a function of just movement (swinging harder.) Sneak Attack meanwhile requires not just movement, but precision as well (because it requires "picking out a vital spot") and that takes a degree of cognition that you can't impart via this power.