What's a "unique being" for purposes of Gate?

[Silveras]

Thanks so much for the thoughts. I think that I'm going to go with the reoccurring viewpoint here: if the creature is a specific being, he isn't obligated to go.

Next question: can he send an underling through the gate instead in his place?

Here's a thought ...
For my campaign world, where I want truenames to play some part in the stories, I added some feats to reflect this. All Outsiders know their own Truenames.

Named : The mortal knows its truename
Nameless: The mortal does not know its truename
Namer: Allows a divine spellcaster to help a mortal discover its truename

and the important one for this discussion:
Name-Debt : An Outsider owes you a name-debt, and must respond in your place if you are summoned or called, or must otherwise perform a service to repay that debt. This feat may be gained more than once, and the benefits stack.

Name-Debts are used, in my campaign, as a "currency" among the Outsiders. The feat is a temporary one, bestowed by one Outsider on another as payment for services, etc., and is removed once used. Valuation is based on what the Encounter Level would be for the combination of creatures of the Challenge Rating. i.e., the Name-debts of 2 CR3 creatures can be traded as equal value to 1 CR5 creature's name-debt.

There's a lot of room for fun in that situation. However, this is something that a Knowledge (the planes) check of relatively low DC (15) would reveal. If you were to add this to the existing situation, I think I'd give all characters with ranks in Knowledge (the planes) a check, and just about any creature with a strong planar background would likely know this.

 

[Kalanyr]

I just don't like the idea of the 18th level sorceror gating in a (templates that don't increase HD to taste say Paragon or if you claim Paragon is unique then I'm sure I can find many others) Pit Fiend advanced to 36 HD (or with 18 Sorceror levels himself) whenever he deems it necessary ? So I just say if it requires me more than 5 minutes to stat the thing up on the fly its unique.

Edited- Removed Snark.

 

[Majere]

The RAW are a little contradictory.
I would go with the following interpretation.

If you want a random individual or a reace/creature they get no save.
Eg. A Balor

If you want a specific individual they get a save and can leave at will.

If the players complain point this out to them.
If you play that a named being is not unique, what is to stop the BBEG planeshiting to the plane of X and gating in the PC's one by one to slaughter them ?
The answer to that is: Nothing.

The RAW interpretation hurts the players more than the NPCs so I would go for my interpretation.

Majere

 

[Piratecat]

Interestingly, a gate spell is evil when used to summon an evil creature, and good when used to summon a good one. That's one way that fiends can't call in PCs on a whim.

 

[Diirk]

Except for that one guy in the party that wanted to be neutral so unholy weapons wouldn't work on him

 

[saucercrab]

Interestingly, a gate spell is evil when used to summon an evil creature, and good when used to summon a good one. That's one way that fiends can't call in PCs on a whim.

Why can't a fiend do that? I thought only clerics & druids couldn't use spells with opposed alignment descriptors.

 

[coyote6]

So, say you have a demon lord -- call him Gazalnoir, known as King Skyfire by the orcs, and the Lord of the Gulf by human scholars. He's a dread being, with great power, who once nearly slew the chief god of the elves before he was driven off by Bahamut; Truly Badass, in other words. However, the GM is lazy, and his stats are those of an advanced balor, with extra HD, a unique weapon, a body sheathed in lightning rather than fire, a couple of extra spell-like abilities, and a different description.

So, does he get to choose whether to answer a gate? He's got a name, and a title ("demon lord"), but he's really just a beefy balor in drag.

Or let's say you can gate him (for instance, he really is just a tough balor that the GM has bothered to think up a name for) -- what name do you have to use? Gazalnoir? Or will King Skyfire or Lord of the Gulf do? What if Gazalnoir is just Abyssal for "Don't Mess With Me, %*#&@#", and not at all the name his parents/creators gave him? D&D doesn't actually use the "true name" concept, so what does it matter which name you use, as long as it's his?

---

IMO, the coolest answer would be: using a creatures true name means it has to respond*; using a non-true name gives the creature a choice to respond or not. But, again, true names aren't really supported by the rules-as-written, AFAIK.

*Deities & demon princes included. But how are you going to know their true names? And even if you do, just uttering that name may destroy you...

 

[green slime]

I'm definitely with Patryn of Elvenshae.

 

[RedShirtNo5]

Interestingly, a gate spell is evil when used to summon an evil creature, and good when used to summon a good one. That's one way that fiends can't call in PCs on a whim.

I always interpreted that language to refer to creatures with the stated subtypes, not alignments.

Good Subtype: A subtype usually applied only to outsiders native to the good-aligned Outer Planes. Most creatures that have this subtype also have good alignments; however, if their alignments change, they still retain the subtype. Any effect that depends on alignment affects a creature with this subtype as if the creature has a good alignment, no matter what its alignment actually is. The creature also suffers effects according to its actual alignment. A creature with the good subtype overcomes damage reduction as if its natural weapons and any weapons it wields were good-aligned (see Damage Reduction, above).

Of course, some prestige classes (and the monk) convert you to an outsider, which might give the character the subtype.

Why can't a fiend do that? I thought only clerics & druids couldn't use spells with opposed alignment descriptors.

Are there outsiders that have gate as a spell-like ability?

-RedShirt

 

[Enkhidu]

What about this: gate always calls the target except if the subject falls into one of these catagories - it is naturally epic (meaning that its CR is over 20 simply by the nature of its being, not via class levels, advancement, etc), it is unique (meaning that there is only one in creation - certain powerful outsiders would likely fit here), or it holds a divine spark (demi-gods and up).

Based on your interest in psionic truenames for your campaign, I might allow speaking the subjects truename to overcome one or more of these.