Mindbender tips

[Kelek72]

I have always wanted to run a Mindbender Prc or send one against the Pc's. I may have the opportunity to do so soon but I remember reading somewhere that it was considered "broken".
I don't want to be a RBDM but I want a cool NPC -both mysterious and with strengths and flaws that are playable in the game. The idea I had was as a high level lackey of a major bad guy but with possible thoughts that She is the main bad guy instead of the other way around.

So...any problems with the Prc I should watch out for? Any tips on how to make it a cool class to use? Stories of how it has been used are of course welcome!

 

[Eldritch_Lord]

I have always wanted to run a Mindbender Prc or send one against the Pc's. I may have the opportunity to do so soon but I remember reading somewhere that it was considered "broken".

It's broken-underpowered, not broken-overpowered. You get a level of casting and telepathy at level 1...and then lose 4 levels of casting to get benefits that you could easily achieve with those 4 levels of casting. There's really no reason to take the levels beyond 1st unless you are intentionally weakening the NPC, as even a basic enchanter wizard comes out ahead.

 

[Kelek72]

It's broken-underpowered, not broken-overpowered. You get a level of casting and telepathy at level 1...and then lose 4 levels of casting to get benefits that you could easily achieve with those 4 levels of casting. There's really no reason to take the levels beyond 1st unless you are intentionally weakening the NPC, as even a basic enchanter wizard comes out ahead.

Really? I always thought the permanent obedient minion aspect was pretty powerful...

 

[Jack Simth]

It's broken-underpowered, not broken-overpowered. You get a level of casting and telepathy at level 1...and then lose 4 levels of casting to get benefits that you could easily achieve with those 4 levels of casting. There's really no reason to take the levels beyond 1st unless you are intentionally weakening the NPC, as even a basic enchanter wizard comes out ahead.

Really? I always thought the permanent obedient minion aspect was pretty powerful...

You can only have one at a time, and with the spell slots you lose to get that, you could very easily simply cast Dominate Person (and later, Dominate Monster) every day on multiple targets, with no particular problems. As the spell lasts days/level, and your minion not knowing the difference between a buff spell and a domination spell, for most practical purposes, you have more permanent minions without the additional levels in Mindbender.

 

[akbearfoot]

I agree with Jack....It's a really terribad PrC.

Great if you want to water down a casting NPC so the PCs can walk all over him though.

As a general rule, any PrC that costs more than 3 casting levels is an awful choice for a caster. Because 9th level spells are a HUGE sacrifice to give up for some paltry special effects.

 

[Kelek72]

Well...the mindbender doesn't seem to what I was hoping.

What prestige classes are best for an enchanter?

 

[Nifft]

NPCs don't need PrCs or other rules to gain minions. Being a BBEG grants free minions as appropriate to the story and as appropriate to encounter balance.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Kelek72]

NPCs don't need PrCs or other rules to gain minions. Being a BBEG grants free minions as appropriate to the story and as appropriate to encounter balance.

Cheers, -- N

Yeah, I know - but I want to have the enchanter's minions be better because they are a)...you know...enchanted! or b) because they are not normally minions but are forced to be by the enchanter.

Those may sound the same but I guess a benefit of a prestige class is what I'm talking about regarding point a.

 

[Ahnehnois]

Well...the mindbender doesn't seem to what I was hoping.

What prestige classes are best for an enchanter?

There is a 'Master Specialist' prestige class in Complete Mage that I think is very good (full caster progression) and very easy to qualify for. Beyond that, standard mage classes (Loremaster, Archmage, etc.)

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

I really like the Thrallherd prestige class. It was basically built for the BBEG who has tons of expendable minions -- like Xykon from OotS. It's a psionic class though, not arcane.

Note, it's not the same as leadership: the thralls and believers don't willingly choose to join you, and there's no penalty on your leadership score for losing them.