Doctor Despair
2020-06-30, 11:23 AM
Voidmind is an acquired template that, among other things, grants these two abilities...
Immunities (Ex): A voidmind creature has immunity to acid and mind-affecting spells and abilities (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects). It is also immune to ability damage, ability drain, and energy drain.
Mind Flayer Host (Su): Three mind flayers form a bond with any voidmind creature they create. A different mind flayer cannot bond itself to a voidmind creature after creation. The creature's masters are instantly aware if the creature takes any damage, wanders out of range of their control, or is the target of any magic.
Also as a result of this bond, the masters can, as a standard action, see and hear through the eyes and ears of their bonded voidmind creature to a range of five miles. Maintaining this link requires a mind flayer to concentrate, but the mind flayer remains aware of its surroundings and can move normally.
Finally, any one of the three masters can take control of the voidmind creature, at will, as the dominate monster spell (no save). While controlling the voidmind creature in this fashion, a mind flayer can manifest its own innate psionic abilities through the voidmind creature, as though the creature were manifesting the ability itself. Any of the mind flayer's psionic powers used in this fashion can target or affect creatures within range, line of sight, and line of effect of the voidmind creature. So, for example, a mind flayer can use plane shift to send the voidmind creature to another plane, or it could send itself to another plane. Likewise, the mind flayer could use suggestion on a target it sees through the voidmind creature's eyes.
Now, it occured to me that the immunity to mind-affecting spells and abilities seems like it wouldn't work well with the supernatural no-range dominate monster spell, but I figure that it must be a specific-trumps-general instance here (i.e., specifically, the masters can overcome that immunity, whereas generally the creature is immune to those effects). However, does that also apply to the Summer's Caress function of the Unseeley Fey template?
Summer Caress (Su): Surrounded as if by the warm, verdant air of summer, an unseelie fey with summer's caress is protected by a magic circle of nature. This ability functions much like a magic circle against evil, except that it protects against attacks from all creatures of any alignment except for those of the animal, beast, fey, or magical beast creature types. Caster level equal to HD.
Second, the barrier blocks any attempt to possess the warded creature (by a magic jar attack, for example) or to exercise mental control over the creature (including enchantment (charm) effects and enchantment (compulsion) effects that grant the caster ongoing control over the subject, such as dominate person). The protection does not prevent such effects from targeting the protected creature, but it suppresses the effect for the duration of the protection from evil effect.
This effect seems different, as it suppresses mental control rather than granting an immunity to be bypassed, right? As a supernatural ability, would not an Unseeley Fey be able to indefinitely resist that control effect, providing they refreshed it before the 10 minutes/HD duration ran out? That should allow the creature to persue the "kill the masters" mode of becoming free-willed; otherwise, it's up to DM fiat whether you can do that, I'd think.
As a follow-up question: I'm interested in finding a way to apply Voidmind to a character without needing to blow 26,530 gold on a wish, or hit a DC 25 Knowledge (Religeon) check to know about Pazuzu (not to mention Pazuzu isn't a very elegant solution). If the Voidmind master-control ability bypasses normal immunities to mind-affecting effects, does anyone else have any ideas on how the control can be removed?
Immunities (Ex): A voidmind creature has immunity to acid and mind-affecting spells and abilities (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects). It is also immune to ability damage, ability drain, and energy drain.
Mind Flayer Host (Su): Three mind flayers form a bond with any voidmind creature they create. A different mind flayer cannot bond itself to a voidmind creature after creation. The creature's masters are instantly aware if the creature takes any damage, wanders out of range of their control, or is the target of any magic.
Also as a result of this bond, the masters can, as a standard action, see and hear through the eyes and ears of their bonded voidmind creature to a range of five miles. Maintaining this link requires a mind flayer to concentrate, but the mind flayer remains aware of its surroundings and can move normally.
Finally, any one of the three masters can take control of the voidmind creature, at will, as the dominate monster spell (no save). While controlling the voidmind creature in this fashion, a mind flayer can manifest its own innate psionic abilities through the voidmind creature, as though the creature were manifesting the ability itself. Any of the mind flayer's psionic powers used in this fashion can target or affect creatures within range, line of sight, and line of effect of the voidmind creature. So, for example, a mind flayer can use plane shift to send the voidmind creature to another plane, or it could send itself to another plane. Likewise, the mind flayer could use suggestion on a target it sees through the voidmind creature's eyes.
Now, it occured to me that the immunity to mind-affecting spells and abilities seems like it wouldn't work well with the supernatural no-range dominate monster spell, but I figure that it must be a specific-trumps-general instance here (i.e., specifically, the masters can overcome that immunity, whereas generally the creature is immune to those effects). However, does that also apply to the Summer's Caress function of the Unseeley Fey template?
Summer Caress (Su): Surrounded as if by the warm, verdant air of summer, an unseelie fey with summer's caress is protected by a magic circle of nature. This ability functions much like a magic circle against evil, except that it protects against attacks from all creatures of any alignment except for those of the animal, beast, fey, or magical beast creature types. Caster level equal to HD.
Second, the barrier blocks any attempt to possess the warded creature (by a magic jar attack, for example) or to exercise mental control over the creature (including enchantment (charm) effects and enchantment (compulsion) effects that grant the caster ongoing control over the subject, such as dominate person). The protection does not prevent such effects from targeting the protected creature, but it suppresses the effect for the duration of the protection from evil effect.
This effect seems different, as it suppresses mental control rather than granting an immunity to be bypassed, right? As a supernatural ability, would not an Unseeley Fey be able to indefinitely resist that control effect, providing they refreshed it before the 10 minutes/HD duration ran out? That should allow the creature to persue the "kill the masters" mode of becoming free-willed; otherwise, it's up to DM fiat whether you can do that, I'd think.
As a follow-up question: I'm interested in finding a way to apply Voidmind to a character without needing to blow 26,530 gold on a wish, or hit a DC 25 Knowledge (Religeon) check to know about Pazuzu (not to mention Pazuzu isn't a very elegant solution). If the Voidmind master-control ability bypasses normal immunities to mind-affecting effects, does anyone else have any ideas on how the control can be removed?