Domination

Domination

	Mental
	5
	Domination
	yes
Infobox data from game version 2.0.206.63

Domination

You garrote an adjacent creature's mind and control its actions while your own body lies dormant.

Success roll: mutation rank or Ego mod (whichever is higher) + character level + 1d8 VS. Defender MA + character level
Range: 1
Duration: (level based) rounds
Cooldown: 75 rounds

Domination is a mental mutation that allows the player to take control of another creature's body.

Domination grants the "Dominate Creature" ability, which, when used on a creature within one tile of the player, causes the player to assume complete control of them. While dominating a creature, the player can perform essentially any action they could normally do within their own body, such as manipulating the creature's inventory, utilizing any abilities they might have, spending points within their character sheet, etc. Additionally, the creature's normal faction reputation will still apply while it is being dominated.

Dominating a creature will leave the player's original body completely inert; it will not move or act on its own, and will remain that way until domination is broken.

Control of a creature can be relinquished either willingly by using the "End Domination" ability while dominating a target, or due to domination being broken forcibly. This can happen if the player's original body takes damage or if the creature being dominated dies. Once the connection is broken, the player will assume control of their original body once again.

Successfully dominating a neutral creature and then ending domination will not cause them to become hostile; however, a failed attempt to dominate them will, along with any allies who witnessed the attempt. Additionally, creatures with a mental shield, such as oozes, plants, and robots, are immune (though robots can be dominated via a ganglionic teleprojector).

Formulas

The following formula is used to determine duration based on mutation level.

Duration	100 + 100 × Level

Advancement Table

Mutation Level	Duration
1	200 rounds
2	300 rounds
3	400 rounds
4	500 rounds
5	600 rounds
6	700 rounds
7	800 rounds
8	900 rounds
9	1000 rounds
10	1100 rounds

Mutation Level	Duration
11	1200 rounds
12	1300 rounds
13	1400 rounds
14	1500 rounds
15	1600 rounds
16	1700 rounds
17	1800 rounds
18	1900 rounds
19	2000 rounds
20	2100 rounds

Mutation Level	Duration
21	2200 rounds
22	2300 rounds
23	2400 rounds
24	2500 rounds
25	2600 rounds
26	2700 rounds
27	2800 rounds
28	2900 rounds
29	3000 rounds
30	3100 rounds

Ability Cooldown

Domination's cooldown (CD) in rounds depends on the user's willpower (WI) attribute:

WI	CD	WI	CD	WI	CD	WI	CD
9	102	15	79	21	57	27	34
10	98	16	75	22	53	28	30
11	94	17	72	23	49	29	27
12	90	18	68	24	45	30	23
13	87	19	64	25	42	31	19
14	83	20	60	26	38	32	15

Permanent Domination

There are two ways for a player with Domination or a ganglionic teleprojector to permanently dominate another creature.

• The player dominates the destination body, and original body is killed in a single blow, before the "Your domination is broken!" message triggers.
• The player dominates the destination body, and THAT body dominates a tertiary body. If the player-destination domination runs out before the destination-tertiary domination does, the player will be permanently trapped in the destination body when the destination-tertiary domination ends.

Regardless of method, the player will receive the message "Your mind is stranded here." and will be permanently trapped in the destination body: the Dominated effect ends, and the player no longer has the ability to End Domination.

Strategy

This section is opinion-based. Your mileage may vary.

• Certain legendary creatures, particularly legendary merchants, have unnaturally high stats for their level. Swapping with them can provide a powerful chassis that the player can then level up.
• Swapping with pre-saved clones of the player can be used to revert negative changes like the drain from stat saps, or used to reroll changes from brain brine.
• Psychic assassins always possess more ego than the player and a plethora of mental mutations. Certain extradimensional assassins could be appealing hosts due to their high physical attributes alongside mental mutations.
• Swapping with Crowsong is the only way to permanently gain Metamorphosis if prerelease content is not enabled. This is the only way to gain access to the bodies of non-mechanical creatures with mental shielding such as sludges.
• Many creatures have traits which are normally inaccessible by the player: see Category:Innate_mutations. A few particularly relevant traits:
  • astral tabbies are permanently phased. This can be combined with omniphase weaponry to allow the player to attack while fully immune to conventional weaponry.
  • Cherubim possess innate projectile shielding alongside powerful sultan-dependent abilities.
  • decarbonizers and lithofex have abilities capable of instantly killing most creatures.

Advantages and Disadvantages

This section is opinion-based. Your mileage may vary.

Advantages

• Dominated creatures can be used to explore and fight without endangering the player
• Allows the player to defeat powerful enemies by dominating them and placing them in deadly situations
• Can be utilized in certain circumstances to "body-swap" to a more desirable creature type
• Can be used to retrieve items and equipment from creatures without killing or otherwise harming them, by unequipping and dropping them

Disadvantages

• Very high cost at character generation
• Dominating a creature leaves your original body defenseless
• The player's level and Ego modifier/mutation level must be quite high to dominate higher level/high MA enemies
• Failed Domination attempts will anger neutral creatures and their allies

Creatures with Domination

No creatures have this mutation by default.