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This question and the reception of my answer got me thinking about the usefulness of charms spells in combat. Their usefulness is quite different based on the situation and the specific spell.

  • A few charm spells (like Charm Person) give advantage on the saving throw if used in a fight, not even worth trying.
  • If you can use Suggestion on one of the two Ogres attacking, you basically won the encounter, not worth asking.

But if 12 Goblins are attacking, and you successfully get their leader under your influence, what should be the others behavior?
They can clearly see you wave your hands, utter magic words from 9 or 18 meters, possibly closer as the leader usually does not charge in the front. They have their own shamans, so spellcasting is nothing new to them. And their leader is telling them to stop attacking, which is quite out of his character. Their leader seems to be charmed.

How would creatures react, if their leader is obviously charmed? I guess a highly organized and militaristic race like Hobgoblins have protocols in place, but an average race?

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  • Also, you may want to narrow the scope of your 2nd question. – Premier Bromanov Sep 30 '15 at 20:14
  • Obviousness of spell casting is addressed here. Why not tighten the scope of this question and concentrate on behavior of groups vis a vis their leadership being charmed (your item 2)? Make it just one question. – KorvinStarmast Sep 30 '15 at 20:47
  • From the other question, charm person and the dominate spells are the ones that provide the target advantage on a save during combat. Why not spell that out explicitly in your question? There is value in this question, particularly on the DM side. The DM tag would be appropriate to use here. – KorvinStarmast Sep 30 '15 at 20:50
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    The revised question appears to be entirely opinion-based. – SevenSidedDie Sep 30 '15 at 21:47
  • @SevenSidedDie The tool already available is Perception checks to notice something being amiss, once this question is open again ... and the deciding how many goblins see the problem, how many don't, and how long it takes those perceiving it to get their buddies to realize that something ain't right with their leader ... – KorvinStarmast Oct 01 '15 at 13:35
  • @KorvinStarmast But the question isn't whether and which, it's how they would react. – SevenSidedDie Oct 01 '15 at 14:12
  • @SevenSidedDie I don't have a vending machine answer for that, which may be why this question is on hold. My point on the use of the perception check is to establish that some of the goblins would notice, and some wouldn't, and there is a serial action or sequel after that to play out the impact of that difference in Perception, be it passive or a skill check, individually or in groups. All of this is in the hands of the DM, not a tool or subroutine in a game file. This leads me to - Charm in combat is more difficult to adjudicate and apply for both player and DM - hence the question. – KorvinStarmast Oct 01 '15 at 15:12
  • @KorvinStarmast Yep, exactly why it's still closed. This is the GM's version of "how should I play my character." – SevenSidedDie Oct 01 '15 at 15:15

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