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Control Freak (continued)

Which Control Spells to Use

Against all opponents except dextrous types, vermin, oozes, fire creatures and giants, Web is easily the best spell to control opponents with. It prevents attacks, lasts long enough to be useful against opponents in most cases, and is a reflex save--meaning it works well against most casters and melee types. Web is damaged by fire spells, causing opponents to go free.

Against melee types, Hypnotic Pattern is probably the most effective (after Web). It is a mezz type spell, meaning you need party coordination to use this spell to its greatest effect, but otherwise it can be useful when Web is not an option.

When your party is mainly ranged or dextrous types, Sleet storm, Grease and Ice Storm are useful spells. Party members can snipe opponents in the grease, and kite around the area of the spell, forcing opponents to run into the slippery portion of the spell and to slip around comically. Because of the low reflex DC for these spells, they are somewhat less useful at higher levels.

When fighting opponents who are hard to hit or take a lot to take down, Hold Person, Hold Monster and Otto’s Resistable Dance are very effective. Hold Person and Monster both cause any hits to be critical hits automatically, and all cause severe armor class penalties for the affected enemies, making them easier to hit. Sleep and Deep Slumber are an option, but it is better to test these before using in a difficult combat.. They have a hit dice limit (undetermined by the author), which can make them less useful than other spells.

Against oozes, Solid Fog can be a useful control spell, as it is the only control spell that affects oozes. Vermin are not affected by Solid Fog.

Why Use Control Spells?

Control spells are some of the most efficient types of spells to use in combat, when they are effective. By using a control spell, you can completely or partially neutralize several opponents with a single spell. This is perhaps not as exciting as a Lightning Bolt or Phantasmal Killer spell, but it is much more likely for a mage who can focus on crowd control spells to have spell points until the next rest shrine. And in the end, standing in combat without spell points isn’t very exciting either.

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