Help with minions for planar binding spells!

[Olive]

I have a player who has just gotten high level enough to cast lesser planar binding. The party has just found the diary of a long deceased wizard (from a modified 'Mallorn Hopsitality' in Dungeon 107), and I want it to include details of 20 unique creatures, mostly suited to the lesser version, but a few for the other two spells.

I'm looking for a mix of creatures from all planes, including the elemental ones, and to perform a range of roles (combat, information, etc). Stat ideas are good, but I can do those. More important are personalities etc.

It's important to note that IMC the spells don't allow the summoning of a generic succubus or whatever, only named creatures. Also, the campaign uses a fairly straight forward, non-planescape-y Great Wheel.

The character is true neutral, with chaotic tendencies, and is happy to consort with pretty much anything, as long as he's getting his way.

If you've got interesting ideas for bargining, that's fantastic, but put them in spoiler tags so the player in question doesn't read them!

Let's see what the minds of ENWorld can produce!

 

[Piratecat]

The party has just found the dairy of a long deceased wizard.

Demon cow!

Seriously, I'm working up some of these for a different project. I'll see what I can come up with.

 

[Zappo]

I'm a big fan of summoning spells. The idea of finding information about specific beings in ancient tomes, and thus expanding your power over such being, is way cool!
However, I'm not a big fan of introducing heaps of monster races, so when I create unique outsiders, I generally pick one of the monsters and add HD and class levels, with the unique skills and feats that go with it. And maybe a template. The result is a unique creature with its own personality. Plus, it gives more depth to the monster race itself.
If you check the adventure linked in my signature, and skim through the stat blocks, you can find lots of advanced/classed demons, some unique and some not.

 

[Olive]

However, I'm not a big fan of introducing heaps of monster races, so when I create unique outsiders, I generally pick one of the monsters and add HD and class levels, with the unique skills and feats that go with it. And maybe a template. The result is a unique creature with its own personality. Plus, it gives more depth to the monster race itself.

This is pretty much what I'm looking for, not new monsters. I've been working on a few myself this afternoon, and the problem is that creating unique outsiders or elementals with only 6HD is that there's not a lot of them with under 6 HD that are that interesting. So I've writen up personalities for some 6hd ones (hound archon, mud slaad), made thought about some templated ones (justused the half-troll bearded devil from FF), and thought up one with class levels (filth imp with expert levels).

My current problem is that they are mostly fiends, which will cause problems with the party's paladin. I want there to be the option of all sorts of things to summon, while keeping the flavour of requiring names.

I'm downloading your adventure link now!

 

[Zappo]

Damn, only 6 HD? I didn't remember they changed that. Now I don't think you will find much in the adventure.

Anyway, checking the MM I notice that lots of low-HD elementals and outsiders are also very stupid... mephits have int 6, lanterns too, the small elementals have 4... that's barely enough to justify class levels. Imps and quasits are smart, though; you could cook up a classed imp or quasit in little time. You could also pick exceptional mephits or lanterns, with a 10 Int (after all, if they weren't exceptional they wouldn't be in the grimoire in the first time). More unusual low-HD, decent-Int critters include Magmin and Triton. All of these have two or three HD, so you can add three or four class levels, more than enough to give a truly unique feeling and make them into a character rather than a monster.

 

[Olive]

Damn, only 6 HD? I didn't remember they changed that. Now I don't think you will find much in the adventure.

Ah well, haven't had time to read it, but I'm sure it will be worth a read anyway...

Anyway, checking the MM I notice that lots of low-HD elementals and outsiders are also very stupid...

Yeah, funny isn't it.

 

[Piratecat]

Probably the best thing to do is to assume a 6HD fiendling... small, feral, covered with scales and corrosive drool, and with bat wings and a mouth full of fangs. Give every one its own bailiwick. For instance, a summoned demon may be Lockyal, demon of rust -- and in his presence metal begins to tarnish. Or Pullgrew, demon of the vulnerable, whose touch sends people into quivering seizures and who appears to subtly torture people who are helpless. The fiends don't have to have a lot of power in their assumed bailiwicks, but if you imagine a fiend that specializes in all of these little unpleasant things, their personalities may quickly become obvious.

 

[Olive]

Probably the best thing to do is to assume a 6HD fiendling... small, feral, covered with scales and corrosive drool, and with bat wings and a mouth full of fangs.

This is a cool idea. I'm not so good at makign monsters from scratch, but a quasit with the feral template and some sort of spell like would be cool...

I'm hoping that just naming the fiends (and mephits etc) goes soemway to making them distinctive, as long as I role play them properly.

Just as an aside, any ideas on why the planar binding HD levels were dropped down?

 

[Nifft]

Use Templates! (well, templates which don't change HD )

Half-Dragon Bearded Devil
Half-Troll Bearded Devil (Fiend Folio)
Half-Troll Barghest (Fiend Folio)
Half-Elemental Bearded Devil (Manual of the Planes)
Half-Fey Succubus (Fiend Folio)

Shadow Nightmare (Manual of the Planes)
Shadow Hell-Hound -- advanced to 6 HD (Manual of the Planes)

Half-Fiend Manticore
Half-Dragon Howler
Half-Elemental Displacer Beast

Weaklings + Class levels (with Int > 6)
Magmin Fighter 4
Quasit Wizard 3
Imp Ranger 3

-- N

 

[Epametheus]

Many of the outsiders were buffed in the transition from 3.0 to 3.5, along with the HD nerfs on the Ally and Binding spells.

The obvious reason for this is you need a Gate Spell to bring in a Solar, Pit Fiend, or Balor now, and a Greater Planar Binding/Ally to get a Cornugon, Marilith, or Planetar.

At a measly 6 HD, you've got succubi, hound archons, nightmares...

It's a little rule-bending, but non-outsiders or elementals with a fiendish or celestial template could be usable. The Half-celestial and half-Fiend templates change a critter's type to Outsider, if you want to stick with that rule. A Half-celestial Unicorn would be an easy enough example of that.