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?
  

[hcobb]

If you increase the power of Control Person by any amount at all then Telepathy (but not Long-Distance Telepathy) becomes useless.

Also see the "Fighter Card Instructions" that raise mook IQs to 10.

[Shostak]

Even if that were the case, which it isn't, the usefulness of Telepathy is not the subject of this thread.

[hcobb]

The reason to use Telepathy instead of Control Person (at a higher IQ and mana cost, and more prep to apply) is to make it harder for the subject to resist. If it becomes just as hard to resist Control Person then there's little point in using Telepathy instead.

[timm meyers]

You should describe the IQ contest you propose.

I like your reasoning. Would a comparison of IQs from caster to target be an easy modifier? ex. wizard IQ-13 attempts vs. IQ-9 target = 4pt difference so the target rolls that many dice to resist? Makes anyone within 3 IQ or less of the caster pretty resistant.
or
The difference is added to the defense roll. The example = 3d6+4 vs target IQ to resist. That gets pretty extreme faster though. But hey, you pay allot of mana + upkeep and gave up the slot for other direct damage spells like fireball so why not make it easier to succeed? Nobody gets to "resist" fireball.....

[Shostak]

Originally Posted by hcobb

The reason to use Telepathy instead of Control Person (at a higher IQ and mana cost, and more prep to apply) is to make it harder for the subject to resist. If it becomes just as hard to resist Control Person then there's little point in using Telepathy instead.

Control Person, even with the tweaks I've given it, remains something that only works against humanoids and which controls motor function. While one could use it to compel someone to speak or write information, it cannot simply pluck it from their mind with nary a sound. Moreover, if the target of Control person does not speak the language of the caster, compelling them to talk won't do the wizard much good.

[JimmyPlenty]

How about a save starting at 5/IQ and going down by a die depending on the severity of the ask.

[hcobb]

The 1 fatigue cost of a resisted Control Person is another perk in its favor.
You don't have to touch them and you can compel them to look in the direction of the treasure. (If you compel them to walk into the nearest trap of which they are aware they'll get a second save of course.)
If you've got mana to burn then have them draw you a map and point at your current location and trace the safest path.
The higher IQs of starting Legacy PC heroes makes Control Person less of a threat to them and more of an interrogation tool the PCs can use. If you can haggle your heroes into starting with Aid then the party can cast Confusion on their captive followed by Control Person.

[Shostak]

Originally Posted by hcobb

You don't have to touch them and you can compel them to look in the direction of the treasure.

This would trigger a second resistance roll.

[phiwum]

Originally Posted by Shostak

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.

I might adopt that. That's pretty good.