How do you play a controller? [3.5]

[blackmage]

I'm trying to wrap my head around the 'controller' caster playstyle, and I'm failing. I get that its a support role, so you're not nuking the crap out of people, but its also not a healer/buffer/debuffer, its something else. Is it movement/action denial, so just a different kind of debuffer?

So I'll ask a two-part question. Part one, what's an example of a good battlefield control spell, and part two, how would I use it during an encounter? Assume whatever class/party makeup will best illustrate your point.

If I need to be more specific in my question, let me know. Thanks!

[Jack Zander]

Web is a good battlefield control spell. It snares up a group of enemies and allows your party members to fight the encounter in two manageable parts. With freedom of movement you could even send one person into the webbed area and go to town while all of the webbed creatures are fairly helpless (especially if they have reach).

Other examples of spells that split up the battlefield would be solid fog, and any wall spells. Grease is good for corridors and for granting your rogue sneak attack.

In a pinch, disintegration can also be used to alter the battlefield (by destroying a ledge or bridge).

[Forged Fury]

I'm trying to wrap my head around the 'controller' caster playstyle, and I'm failing. I get that its a support role, so you're not nuking the crap out of people, but its also not a healer/buffer/debuffer, its something else. Is it movement/action denial, so just a different kind of debuffer?

So I'll ask a two-part question. Part one, what's an example of a good battlefield control spell, and part two, how would I use it during an encounter? Assume whatever class/party makeup will best illustrate your point.

If I need to be more specific in my question, let me know. Thanks!

Battlefield Controllers usually focus on wall, cloud, and persistent area effect spells that make it difficult for the enemy to engage the party and split enemy groups to make it easier for the party to vanquish them piecemeal. Some classic spells include Wall spells, Cloud or Fog spells, Entangle, and Black Tentacles. Battlefield control has a lot to do with causing enemies to squander actions doing something else other than attacking you.

Example: Battle with a group of bandits that includes archers in the back. Drop a Solid Fog spell on the archers. They can't see you and can't move very quickly. Once the party mops up the non-ranged combatants, they can move into range, have the caster dispel the spell (that spell should totally be dismissable), and charge in to the bewildered group of archers.

P.S. I specify Battlefield as some people refer to enchanters that focus on charm/dominate as Controllers as well.

[ericgrau]

It may help to think of it as crowd control. Anything you can do to lessen the impact of multiple opponents. IMO the classic battlefield control spell is wall of X. You block off half your opponents so they can't fight. Suddenly the difficult CR 8 encounter is now 2 run of the mill CR 6 encounters. Your allies mop up from there. It is an extremely effective casting style, btw.

Area debuffs are also good crowd control spells, because if half the opponents fail their saves they may be nearly removed from the fight just as a wall would do.

Other spell examples include: solid fog, web, glitterdust and reverse gravity.

In some sense most spells a wizard has manipulate the flow of battle one way or another, but the above are more commonly associated with the term.

[blackmage]

CROWD CONTROL! That makes so much more sense now. My old WoW self understands this.

[BeholderSlayer]

I like to think of it as Sun Tzu would, "Divide and Conquer." The great thing is that many battlefield control spells also serve as debuffs (Glitterdust, Solid Fog, etc).

[Jack Zander]

CROWD CONTROL! That makes so much more sense now. My old WoW self understands this.

Yeah, that's a really good way of looking at it.

[ericgrau]

Solid Fog is not dismissable

Aww that led to such fun times. Solid fog was my favorite but my allies would hate the cleanup afterwards. We had to deal with it after at least 3 combats. Then one day I cast resilient sphere on an enemy and after some strategy the party decided it was time for me to dismiss the resilient sphere. That led to this little exchange:
DM: Wait, then why don't you just dismiss your solid fogs too?
Me & PC2 simultaneously: Because it's not dismissable!
DM: ... Oh.