Psionics.Info

Dominate, Psionic

Telepathy (Compulsion) [mind-affecting]

(unrated)

Level

Telepath 4 [+]

Display

Mental

Mft. Time

1 round

Target

One humanoid

Range

Medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)

Duration

Concentration

Save

Will negates

PR

Yes

Cost

7

Source

Hyper, 98

Published

September 2004

Other Printings

XPH, Hyper

As psionic dominate, except as noted here.

Dominate Person

You can control the actions of any humanoid creature through a telepathic link that you establish with the subject's mind.

If you and the subject have a common language, you can generally force the subject to perform as you desire, within the limits of its abilities. If no common language exists, you can communicate only basic commands, such as “Come here,” “Go there,” “Fight,” and “Stand still.” You know what the subject is experiencing, but you do not receive direct sensory input from it, nor can it communicate with you telepathically.

Once you have given a dominated creature a command, it continues to attempt to carry out that command to the exclusion of all other activities except those necessary for day-to-day survival (such as sleeping, eating, and so forth). Because of this limited range of activity, a Sense Motive check against DC 15 (rather than DC 25) can determine that the subject's behavior is being influenced by an enchantment effect (see the Sense Motive skill description).

Changing your instructions or giving a dominated creature a new command is the equivalent of redirecting a spell, so it is a move action.

By concentrating fully on the spell (a standard action), you can receive full sensory input as interpreted by the mind of the subject, though it still can't communicate with you. You can't actually see through the subject's eyes, so it's not as good as being there yourself, but you still get a good idea of what's going on.

Subjects resist this control, and any subject forced to take actions against its nature receives a new saving throw with a +2 bonus. Obviously self-destructive orders are not carried out. Once control is established, the range at which it can be exercised is unlimited, as long as you and the subject are on the same plane. You need not see the subject to control it.

If you don't spend at least 1 round concentrating on the spell each day, the subject receives a new saving throw to throw off the domination.

Protection from evil or a similar spell can prevent you from exercising control or using the telepathic link while the subject is so warded, but such an effect neither prevents the establishment of domination nor dispels it.

This power is not a new power—it merely adds functionality to psionic dominate as it appears in the Expanded Psionics Handbook. If you know that power, you know the following augmentations.

Augment

You can augment this power in one or more of the following ways.

  1. You can augment this power in one or more of the ways described in the Expanded Psionics Handbook.
  2. If you spend 1 additional power point, this power's duration is one hour rather than Concentration. If you spend 2 additional power points, this power's duration is one day rather than Concentration. If you spend 4 additional power points, this power's duration is one day per manifester level rather than Concentration.
  3. If you expend 8 additional power points, this power's duration is Permanent (D), rather than Concentration (this augmentation is sometimes called the "utter thrall" augmentation). As with any permanent power, this augmentation is subject to dispelling, and protection from evil/good/law/chaos temporarily suppresses the effect.
  4. As described in the base power, for every 2 additional power points you spend to achieve any of these augmentation, and/or those described in the Expanded Psionics Handbook, this power's save DC increases by 1.