Mike Ventrella
Duke
A question was raised concerning MWEs and Commands and it was felt that we should respond and clarify. The issue concerns the roleplaying requirements of MWEs concerning commands.
Preliminarily, it should be noted that this is less of a rules issue and more of a plot issue. There is no rule that prohibits MWEs from using Dominates or other such things. This is not like biata being unable to cast celestial spells; it is more like barbarians disliking celestial magic.
The new Rule Book clarifies this a bit. Here is what it will say under the MWE section:
"Mystic Wood elves are very strong believers in freedom and as such are strongly opposed to slavery and anything that removes free will. They hate any sort of control magics, such as Charm, Dominate, Love, and Enslavement, and any sort of monster controlling ability such as Vampire Charm. They will always attempt to break any such charms they find on others. They do not believe these things are inherently evil (like most people consider necromancy to be); it is their use against intelligent beings that they object to.
It is inconceivable that any Mystic Wood elf would ever knowingly take advantage of another person against their will, although there are many spirited debates among them as to whether it is fine to do so against obvious enemies and monsters."
In other words, a MWE is not as concerned with the method used, but more with the result. It is not the Dominate elixir that is the problem -- it is how it is used and who it is used on. It is likely, for instance, that a MWE would have no objection to a Dominate being used on a goblin or other monster (or even a slaver!). This, of course, is up to the individual MWE to decide.
And this is in no way related to the Command effects group. There's no reason a MWE should object to a Sleep spell, for instance. Some of them might even take Sleep elixirs when they go to bed in order to rest through the night. Just because something is in the Command group doesn't mean it's objectionable to a MWE.
Would a MWE object to someone voluntarily taking, for instance, a Love 9? Probably not -- after all, the "victim" is taking it of their own free will, and that's the bottom line. Maybe the Love 9 is being used to spice up a marriage, with an agreement by both parties (so that no one is being fooled or taken advantage of).
The bottom line is this: MWEs hate slavery and anything that removes one's free will by any means. The means by themselves are not evil; it's the use of these means on unwilling intelligent beings that is objected to.
Preliminarily, it should be noted that this is less of a rules issue and more of a plot issue. There is no rule that prohibits MWEs from using Dominates or other such things. This is not like biata being unable to cast celestial spells; it is more like barbarians disliking celestial magic.
The new Rule Book clarifies this a bit. Here is what it will say under the MWE section:
"Mystic Wood elves are very strong believers in freedom and as such are strongly opposed to slavery and anything that removes free will. They hate any sort of control magics, such as Charm, Dominate, Love, and Enslavement, and any sort of monster controlling ability such as Vampire Charm. They will always attempt to break any such charms they find on others. They do not believe these things are inherently evil (like most people consider necromancy to be); it is their use against intelligent beings that they object to.
It is inconceivable that any Mystic Wood elf would ever knowingly take advantage of another person against their will, although there are many spirited debates among them as to whether it is fine to do so against obvious enemies and monsters."
In other words, a MWE is not as concerned with the method used, but more with the result. It is not the Dominate elixir that is the problem -- it is how it is used and who it is used on. It is likely, for instance, that a MWE would have no objection to a Dominate being used on a goblin or other monster (or even a slaver!). This, of course, is up to the individual MWE to decide.
And this is in no way related to the Command effects group. There's no reason a MWE should object to a Sleep spell, for instance. Some of them might even take Sleep elixirs when they go to bed in order to rest through the night. Just because something is in the Command group doesn't mean it's objectionable to a MWE.
Would a MWE object to someone voluntarily taking, for instance, a Love 9? Probably not -- after all, the "victim" is taking it of their own free will, and that's the bottom line. Maybe the Love 9 is being used to spice up a marriage, with an agreement by both parties (so that no one is being fooled or taken advantage of).
The bottom line is this: MWEs hate slavery and anything that removes one's free will by any means. The means by themselves are not evil; it's the use of these means on unwilling intelligent beings that is objected to.