Mind Control Guide

==Charm==
Some say it's the most basic form of magical compulsion, some that it's the weakest. However, used properly charm effects have subtlety and efficiency other types cannot approach.
Instead of suppressing or controlling the conscious mind, a charm spell affects the emotional side of the subject, making the caster appear as a good friend and someone to be trusted. This is where the weakness of this effect lies: although the caster can manipulate his newest, bestest friend into doing many things, there could be still things the subject won't do, even for their best friend. Think betraying their ideals or harming their loved ones. Attempts to influence the subject into committing such atrocities can break the enchantment!
The strength of charming lies within the potential for long-lasting manipulation. Since it's a very subtle effect, the subject usually isn't even aware he's under a compulsion unless he starts doing some very strange things, like blurting out state secrets. All they feel is a strange attraction and kinship with the caster - something a smart magic-user will utilise to make a lasting, positive impression even long after the charm has worn off.
==Suggestion==
Suggestions are a type of compulsion best used when the caster needs something done fast and has no desire or time for subtlety. A successful suggestion blanks the mind of the subject and inserts a single word or command into the newly freed thoughtspace. The subject then will immediately act according to implanted command.
Suggestions work best with short, easy command that do not engage the higher brain functions of the subject. Examples are "lay down", "sleep", "stop" or "drop your weapon". Very skilled enchanters can influence all who can hear them in this way. A scant few managed to make subjects respond to the command "die" (causes organ failure).
==Glamour==
Glamour is a rare and unusual form of magical compulsion. It shares some traits with charms and suggestions, but has enough unique traits to warrant a separate entry.
The glamour's most unusual trait is that it doesn't affect a target, but instead the caster. Specifically, it imbues the caster with an aura of charisma, grace and sheer awesome. In the eyes of the weak-willed, a glamour-imbued caster is a superior being and a friend to die for. Their actions are noble, their words are wise and must be agreed with. Their approval fills one with happiness, their scorn with guilt and a desire to make up for the committed mistake. Those who would disagree with the caster or, heavens forbid, attack them, are at best poor misguided fools.
Glamour is difficult magic and none except maybe queen Azshara has ever mastered it. In its lesser forms, the caster is able to focus only on one or few targets at once, leaving others unshackled. When outside of the caster's sphere of influence, glamour fades on its own, leaving the influenced with a feeling of waking up from a dream with a distinct "What just happened?!" feeling. Those with strong wills (who did not resist direct influence) could wake up instantly, exceptionally weak-willed individuals could remain in thrall for a long time.
==Domination==
Domination is an advanced form of mind control and it is what most people think of when they hear this term. The caster forces the subject's will to submit to his own, gaining the subject's complete obedience for the spell's duration. The caster does not even need to concentrate.
A domination spell establishes a telepathic link between the caster and subject. The caster controls the subject mentally, they don't even need to see the subject to exercise control. A dominated subject will follow commands to the exclusion of all else. Unless ordered to act normally, this gives them a zombielike demeanour.
==Body puppets==
Puppeteering is a crude and ghastly form of exerting control over another. The caster does not attempt to take over the subject's mind - they simply lock the hapless target's body in a vise-like telekinetic grip and control the victim's every movement. During the spell's duration the subject is fully awake and conscious; many dark-hearted casters revel in forcing friends fight friends while letting their puppets speak and beg for release or a quick kill. Another twisted method of using this line of spells is to raise dead bodies to make fake undead.
The caster must concentrate to maintain such control, but skilled users can have several puppet charms going on at once without diminished effectiveness.
==Possession==
Possession is a devious and dangerous form of mind control. The caster forces their will upon the subject and literally replaces them by the driving wheel, so to say. They see through the victim's eyes, speak with the victim's voice and control their body as if it was their own. Unless the subject's allies notice changes in behaviour, it's almost impossible to detect. Getting rid of an unwanted guest is difficult: it requires a full exorcism instead of just a dispel spell.
Possession has some drawbacks, the biggest of which being that the caster's spirit literally leaves their body while it is in effect. The body is comatose and defenceless, anything or anyone can just enter and take it as their own. If the caster's body dies while the soul is away, the soul is stuck in the host until it moves on to the afterlife or the body is somehow restored.
Another danger is psychic feedback: the caster has access to all of the victim's skills and memories. This is advantageous at first, but over time it threatens to overwhelm the caster and fuse them with the victim's subconscious. Should the victim's body die while possessed, the caster will end up mentally scarred for life, sometimes even dead.
==Geas==
Some hail the geas as the most complete form of mind control ever devised. After a lengthy ritual (anywhere from 10 minutes to several hours) during which the victim must be restrained and immobile, the caster issues a single command. The command can be as elaborate and open-ended as the caster desires, as long as it does not involve the victim committing deliberate suicide.
The victim must agree to fulfil the command - or die instantly. If the victim agrees to the caster's demands but then does not fulfil them, the victim's body begins to wither until they turn to dust. If the victim returns to their given task, the withering progress is halted.
An open-ended command forces the victim to work on their task for a year and a day (possible variation, depending on the caster's power and the difficulty of the task). Upon the completion of a specific task, the victim is free and their withered body is restored.
Category:Guides