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CE Cleric of Moradin

   
Re-reading the rules, it doesn't actually dominate you, despite the use of the term "dominance." It just means that you aren't in control of the weapon's powers and abilities. Of course, if one of those abilities is Dominate Person as a spell-like...

Here's what the weapon can do if it has dominance and is upset with you:
  • Force its possessor into combat.
  • Refuse to strike opponents.
  • Strike at its wielder or her associates.
  • Force its possessor to surrender to an opponent.
  • Cause itself to drop from the character’s grasp.

Intelligent weapons will typically make demands of the wielder first, and then use these measures if that doesn't work. However, they are intelligent items, and they can go a more subtle route if they want.

But as Cthulhu says, even if the weapon does somehow take control of you and make you perform an evil act (or performs an evil act while in your hands), you won't actually change alignment, since you didn't willingly violate your god's ethos. You may still need an atonement spell, but as I said earlier, it shouldn't be too difficult to receive one.

Its important to remember that those are just examples of things a intelligent weapon can force you to do, not just the only things. While a weapon may choose to let the character control his actions when the weapon actually has dominance there is little a character can do if it exerts its own wishes. For one day the weapon is in charge and really its semantics to suggest its not exactly a dominate effect.

But generally, for the sake of peace at the game table, I would permit a player to control his character as long as his decisions are acceptable to the controlling weapon.

Quote:
But generally, for the sake of peace at the game table, I would permit a player to control his character as long as his decisions are acceptable to the controlling weapon.
I think this is my Dm's idea. Then he'll kick in whenever he thinks appropriate for the weapon's behaviour.

I gotta say, the DM likely has his own ideas about this, apparently, but it sounds like (unless it thinks you'll give it the option to get closer to other clerics due to your own status as one) it should do it's best to have you pass it off to a more appropriate host as soon as possible... it doesn't seem like someone focused more in faith-based abilities (spellcasting and healing and so forth) that the mace can't make use of anyway, even if it dominates you, who already is weakened by two levels due to alignment conflict, would be the optimal host. I would think it would want to seek out a weak-willed strength-and-physical-combat based person to wield it, or someone who at least has goals and thoughts more in alignment with it's own goals that could more easily be manipulated into doing the weapon's deeds.

That's just my 2 copper, though. :P

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cthulhu View Post
Its important to remember that those are just examples of things a intelligent weapon can force you to do, not just the only things. While a weapon may choose to let the character control his actions when the weapon actually has dominance there is little a character can do if it exerts its own wishes. For one day the weapon is in charge and really its semantics to suggest its not exactly a dominate effect.
You can play it that way, but there's nothing in the intelligent weapon description that supports that. All dominance decides is who controls the use of the weapon's non-dedicated powers. If a weapon has dominance, it "resists the character’s desires and demands concessions..." If it were a true dominate effect, it wouldn't need to demand concessions. The examples listed were the things it does in "extreme" circumstances (if the player refuses to do what the weapon wants while the weapon has dominance).

I'm not sure if the DM has plans for the future about the weapon and I'm positive that any of my party members wouldn't want to touch the item if my character got rid of it. The story behind Shargoth is very shallow as it is, so it really depends on what he's aiming at.

I see already how I should handle it. He'll still be the same character he has been until now. For the majority of the day. :P

Logically has nothing to do with it. The description of intelligent items says that they start demanding concessions after they've achieved dominance. After that line, it says that in extreme circumstances, it can force the owner to do things like attack themselves, surrender, and so forth.

I'm not saying that the things it can force its user to do aren't a big deal. But there is nothing in there to suggest it can do anything more than that, and it's still a lot less than what dominate person can do. When dominated, a creature can do nothing other than what the caster demands (aside from basic tasks to stay alive; i.e. breathing). A magic item with dominance can force the owner to do a relatively narrow set of things (almost all of them combat related).

Yes, losing dominance to the item sucks. But it still sucks a lot less than actual domination. For one thing, there's nothing keeping the character from saying, "It's not me! It's the mace!" and getting his friends to help him let go of the damned thing. The only thing that dominance has over a domination effect is that it doesn't offer a saving throw just because something's against a character's nature (though they will if it's a critical situation; i.e. a major threat to the character).

EDIT: And yes, a DM can have it work however they like for their game. I'm just saying this is what the rules say.




 

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