Talent/Spell of the Weak: Control Person

[Shostak]

This IQ 13 Thrown spell does what it's name suggests: it grants the caster power over a human or humanoid's actions while the spell lasts. At 3 ST with a maintenance cost of 1/turn, this power does not come cheap. Because the spell allows an immediate 3/IQ resistance roll (in stark contrast to Sleep, Freeze, etc., which succeed completely if successfully cast), players who choose Control Person for their characters show a certain penchant for gambling; even an IQ 8 target will resist Control Person a quarter of the time, and any order for the target to endanger their life or the life of a friend, or to do something obviously against their interest (like telling where their valuables are hidden) triggers another resistance roll. A success on a resistance roll breaks the spell, but success on the initial roll makes the casting of the spell fail, so the wizard only loses 1 ST instead of the full cost.

As described in the rules at ITL 136, when the spell expires, the subject will know who controlled them. In my Myriangia campaigns, I ignore this rule and instead just make the character "feel an irresistible urge to do x." [EDIT: Actually, the rule state that the figure will not know.] This is exactly what happened on one memorable occasion when the party's roguish bard fell prey to sorcerous domination and slapped the rumps of the group's camels during a wizardly ambush, sowing confusion and resulting in the party losing their most of their possessions out in the middle of desert wilderness. To refrain from overpowering Control Person, I still allow the caster to be revealed if the target rolls an auto-success on their resistance contest roll.

I recall Control Person being cast with some regularity back in the days of the Wizard microgame, in which IQ 7 and 8 humanoids were common. Once the advanced TFT rules came out and IQs of 12 or more became commonplace, Control Person began to see less use. In light of this, I use a quick IQ contest, rather than a simple resistance roll, with ties going to the defender. This rewards spellcasters with high IQ while still giving victims of the spell a chance to resist.

Conversation Starters

• Given that the IQ dynamics changed since the time of Control Person's origin, is it reasonable to buff it slightly?
• If so, in what way or ways?
• How often is Control Person learned by characters in your games?
• Is Control Person legal in most places in your game world?
• What are some memorable uses of Control Person in your adventures?