Greater Planar Ally Options

[iwatt]

I was coming up with options for the Planar ally spells when I came up with what exactly could be summoned. This is what I came up with. Any ideas?


For LG,NG,CG aligned clerics you've got the angels and other celestials.

For CE use demons

For LE use devils.

For NE use ? (undead? either demons or devils?)

For LN use Inevitables (very cool by the way)

For CN use ? (Slaadi? Advanced Chaos Beasts? Anarchic Barbarians?)

For N use ? (elementals? ... seems kinda of lame)

 

[Zappo]

For NE it's Yugoloths. They've been converted somewhere, I can't remember if it's the MotP or the BovD. For N, Planescape lore would suggest Rilmani, though in that setting they don't actually get summoned much.

 

[Staffan]

For NE it's Yugoloths. They've been converted somewhere, I can't remember if it's the MotP or the BovD. For N, Planescape lore would suggest Rilmani, though in that setting they don't actually get summoned much.

Yugoloth are kind of spread out through various books: Manual of the Planes, Book of Vile Darkness, and I believe there are some in MM2, MM3, and Fiend Folio as well.

 

[iwatt]

any ideas for CN?

The player that started me thinking on this has a CN cleric of Tempus (FR) so I want to pre-emptively (sp?) strike .

Never checked out Yugoloths. I tend to zone out monsters that aren't in th MM. If I was to keep it to the 3 core books I guess I'd use the incorporeal undead and the Nightshades for NE.

I'll still check other books though, just in case...

 

[interwyrm]

I was coming up with options for the Planar ally spells when I came up with what exactly could be summoned. This is what I came up with. Any ideas?


For LG,NG,CG aligned clerics you've got the angels and other celestials.

For CE use demons

For LE use devils.

For NE use ? (undead? either demons or devils?)

For LN use Inevitables (very cool by the way)

For CN use ? (Slaadi? Advanced Chaos Beasts? Anarchic Barbarians?)

For N use ? (elementals? ... seems kinda of lame)

LN is formians (arcadia) modrons (regulus) and bladelings (acheron)

Anybody should be able to call elementals.

Be careful with the good'uns some are specifically lawful or chaotic. I think the aasimon are lawful and the eladrin are chaotic, and the guardinals neutral? I don't have a reference with me.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

There is a bit more flexibility in the rules than what you seem to be using here. I would say that, as long as the spell is not uncastable (lawful clerics can't cast [chaotic] spells, etc) and the creature is suitable to the task, each deity would have more than one option.

So, for instance:

LG: Archons (LG), Angels (any G), Guardinals (NG), elementals or inevitables (LN)
NG: Archons (LG), Angels (any G), Guardinals (NG), elementals , Eladrin (CG)
CG: Angels (Any G), Guardinals (NG), elementals , Eladrin (CG), Slaadi (CN)

LN: Angels (LG only), Archons (LG), Inevitables (LN), Formians (LN), Devils (LE), elementals

LE: Inevitables, formians, devils, elementals, yugoloths

Etc.

I also would say that the allies should be given in accord with the deity and the task to be assigned. So, for instance, in Greyhawk, a LG cleric of Heironeous who cast Greater Planar Ally to get an ally to help track down an oathbreaker might well get an inevitable. That's their job, after all. If he wanted a guardian for a group of refugees, he might get a Guardinal. If he just wanted someone to move a pile of dirt from one side to another or to build a castle, he might get elementals. If we were discussing a LN cleric of Bralm (godess of insects, order, and industry), the cleric might get a devil if he was summoning something to punish his enemies, and formians for ordinary work.

In the Forgotten Realms, a CN cleric of Shevarash (CN god of vengeance and hating the drow), might get a Vrock or an Eladrin depending upon the task. Shevarash will use any instrument for his purposes (exterminating the drow) regardless of their moral compass.

On the other hand, a core rules St. Cuthbert (as distinguished from the Greyhawk St. Cuthbert who is LG), despite being LN would probably not ever be served by devils.

 

[Shemeska]

Never checked out Yugoloths. I tend to zone out monsters that aren't in th MM. If I was to keep it to the 3 core books I guess I'd use the incorporeal undead and the Nightshades for NE.

I'll still check other books though, just in case...

'loths are the native race of NE, and apparently were only left out of the MM for space reasons, otherwise they'd be 'core' as well, though I find the distinction entirely arbitrary. They're evil in physical form, and very fun critters to use.

*'lothy grin* Trust me.

MMII: Arcanaloths, Marraenoloths, Yagnoloths

FF: Piscaloths, Skerroloths

MotP/MMIII : Canoloths, Mezzoloths, Nycaloths, Ultroloths

 

[Vecna]

For N use ? (elementals? ... seems kinda of lame)

Rilmani of course...

 

[cmanos]

OK I'll bite...whats an Inevitable? what book?

 

[Li Shenron]

Rules-wise I agree with Elder-Basilisk.

Roleplay-wise I prefer more focus on the cleric's faith and on the single monster rather than its type.

For example, a CN cleric of Olidammara cannot call a Lawful outsider. But it doesn't seem that his faith is focused on spreading chaos on the world, so I don't picture him calling slaadi all the time, but rather calling whatever non-lawful could be useful (sounds fine for the god of rogues).

Instead, a N cleric of Obad-Hai could call any outsider, but probably focuses on those with some affinity to nature, such as elementals or guardinals, and may probably never call a demon or devil even is she can.