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Crowd Control: Fascinate, Enchantment and Conjuration |
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When monsters become too overwhelming for the party, it's time to call in a Bard (or a Sorcerer, Cleric, Wizard...a caster) to do some Crowd Control (CC) magic. Sometimes it's easy to take CC for granted because it's in our nature to use brute force to take down monsters and enemies. For the more patient bunch, CC buys enough time for the party to rethink plans and strategies. Most of all, it makes things a little less chaotic and more manageable.
Casters have quite a number of Enchantment and Conjuration spells they can use depending on the monster type. Some spells are useless on certain monster types, but sometimes, in the middle of an intense battle, some casters find themselves using enchantment spells on monsters that are known to be immune to the spell that has been cast. This really happens even in mid- to high- level quests.
For the benefit of Bards and casters who will be tasked to do Crowd Control, here are some of the things you need to remember to make sure that your CC works for the entire party. This is not to say that non-Bards and non-Casters don't need to know any of these. In fact, the key to an effective and flawless CC is knowing what CC is all about and how it works.
BARDS AND FASCINATE
A Bard is usually the "go to" guy when mobs start to attack forcefully thus becoming unmanageable. It's the class that's arguably the best in using Crowd Control tactics. And the one thing that makes a Bard different from Wizard, Sorcerer and Cleric, is in the use of "Fascinate" skills.
For Bards, the use of Fascinate renders mobs (creatures) immobile hence unable to attack the party. The song that Bard plays will have this effect on monsters but note that the effect only happens towards the end of the song and not immediately (as wrongly assumed by some players). The fascinated mobs remain in that state until they are attacked. So, party members should refrain from hitting the fascinated creatures, otherwise the party would have to contend with mobs hitting back and hitting back hard. But if a Bard uses Otto's dance, you shouldn't worry about accidentally hitting the creatures as they would remain fascinated no matter what you do with them. When they start their foot shuffling and tapping, they are helpless.
Using Fascinate does not use up spell points, which can only be a good thing for a Bard. When creatures are fascinated, the group doesn't need to cast spells, hence saving up on spell points as well. There's also less need to heal up members as there are no hostile mobs attacking.
Downside is that Fascinate doesn't work on:
Vermin (spiders, scorpions)
Oozes (all types - purple, gray, etc.)
Undead (skeletons, wraiths, ghouls, ghasts, wights, specters)
Constructs (warforged, golems, and the tough mechanical dogs)
Bosses
Note however that as your Bard progresses in the game, he can get an Enhancement to effectively fascinate constructs and undead (Music of Makers and Music of the Dead). They are optional, but it will be a big help when you do take the enhancements as a lot of dungeons are infested with the mentioned creatures.
While it is a viable option to use Fascinate, a Bard has to accept the reality of only having a few songs he can use between rests. That is, your Bard's Fascinate can be limited. You can take enhancements to increase the number of songs. For example, you can take Extra Song VI and you can perform 10 additional songs before resting. But in case you don't have these enhancements, you can always rely on Otto's.
Otto's Resistable Dance - Level 1 spell that causes creatures to start dancing, rendering them helpless.
Otto's Sphere of Dancing - Level 4 spell that compels enemies to dance when they enter a magical sphere.
CROWD CONTROL: ENCHANTMENT AND CONJURATION SPELLS
Bards spell options are quite limited, and if the group deems fascinate as an unnecessary tactic on a particular quest, they turn to Wizards, Clerics or Sorcerers to do Crowd Control using Enchantment or Conjuration Spells. While some would prefer Enchantment over Conjuration (or Conjuration over Enchantment), it's important to remember that certain monsters are immune to spells. So, whether Enchantment is better than Conjuration is really not the issue when it comes to Crowd Control tactics. The important thing to know is when to use the spells at which monsters at the precise time.
Enchantment Spells
The reason why some players favor Conjuration over Enchantment spells is that the Enchantment spells' effectiveness relies on getting past a creature's saves and spell resistance level. Also, the caster should also have taken the Spell Penetration feat to make things work effectively. But that's not to say that Enchantme