Help with Planar Binding Spells
- Thread starter Exquisite Dead Guy
- Start date
Plane Sailing
Astral Admin - Mwahahaha!
I don't know anything about the malconvoker, so I don't know whether there is anything specific to them about 'service and reward'.
Divine casters use the planar ally range, which all require payment for service
Arcane casters use the planar binding range which are more risky but allow compulsion into service, with rewards being offered to increase the chance of compulsion working.
Some things that I'd like a summoner to be able to do would be things like
a) if preparing for a big fight, and there is plenty of time, Summon a creature to help for the duration of the fight.
b) summon a teleporting outsider to get it to deliver a message or small item to a particular place or location (or to perform a spying/gather information mission for you)
c) summon an outsider that has certain desired spell like abilities and get it to cast them on my behalf (e.g. summoning a celestial that can 'raise dead' or cast other useful clerical spells that an arcane caster can't normally obtain).
d) more difficult, but demand a service which is something like "stay with me until you complete one battle on my behalf". I don't know what would be the best way of phrasing it, your DM might give you hints or might require you to try different versions until you get what you want(!). The aim would be to have an ally available to help you in one fight, and you specify which fight it is, but the ally won't be around for more than 1 day/level.
Cheers
Divine casters use the planar ally range, which all require payment for service
Arcane casters use the planar binding range which are more risky but allow compulsion into service, with rewards being offered to increase the chance of compulsion working.
Some things that I'd like a summoner to be able to do would be things like
a) if preparing for a big fight, and there is plenty of time, Summon a creature to help for the duration of the fight.
b) summon a teleporting outsider to get it to deliver a message or small item to a particular place or location (or to perform a spying/gather information mission for you)
c) summon an outsider that has certain desired spell like abilities and get it to cast them on my behalf (e.g. summoning a celestial that can 'raise dead' or cast other useful clerical spells that an arcane caster can't normally obtain).
d) more difficult, but demand a service which is something like "stay with me until you complete one battle on my behalf". I don't know what would be the best way of phrasing it, your DM might give you hints or might require you to try different versions until you get what you want(!). The aim would be to have an ally available to help you in one fight, and you specify which fight it is, but the ally won't be around for more than 1 day/level.
Cheers
Plane Sailing
Astral Admin - Mwahahaha!
A big and very risky one would be to summon Efreet or Glabrezu and ask them for a wish...
Presumably balancing the evil that you could do with it, and the possibility of being tempted onto a slippery slope by the evil creature, with their natural inclination to pervert the intent of wishes.
Not for the faint-hearted!
Presumably balancing the evil that you could do with it, and the possibility of being tempted onto a slippery slope by the evil creature, with their natural inclination to pervert the intent of wishes.
Not for the faint-hearted!
robberbaron
First Post
Having gone away and read the rules I now realise I was confusing Planar Ally for Planar Binding. Oops. 
I shall now have another think.
I shall now have another think.
robberbaron
First Post
As DM for PS's summoner, I'd like to comment upon his ideas.
Good use for the spell if you have time to prepare.
Another good use. The outsider gets away quickly and is less likely to harbour simmering resentment, unless it feels the task too far beneath it, of course.![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
Ooh, yeah.
Bit more tricky, indeed. I think this would invoke the 'open-ended service = free escape attempt' rule, unless the summoner had a specific battle in mind.
Give it a go. I'd love to see what happened. Shish kebab anyone?
Plane Sailing said:
Good use for the spell if you have time to prepare.
Plane Sailing said:
Another good use. The outsider gets away quickly and is less likely to harbour simmering resentment, unless it feels the task too far beneath it, of course.
Plane Sailing said:
Ooh, yeah.
Plane Sailing said:
Bit more tricky, indeed. I think this would invoke the 'open-ended service = free escape attempt' rule, unless the summoner had a specific battle in mind.
Plane Sailing said:
Give it a go. I'd love to see what happened. Shish kebab anyone?
moritheil
First Post
Plane Sailing said:
Any reason you don't just go with "Guard me for X days" where X is your caster level? Granted, the conjuree won't do much offensively in that time, but I tend to use that spell for cannon fodder anyhow . . . "Follow me and attack my enemies for X days" should also work.
As long as you have high cha and stick to masses of low-HD creatures, it shouldn't matter that they get a chance to break out.
Plane Sailing
Astral Admin - Mwahahaha!
moritheil said:
Mostly because asking for help in one fight when I really need it seems less cheesy than 'stick around and help me lots and lots', if you know what I mean.
Plus, doesn't it give an example of an outsider wilfully misunderstanding just such a command and carrying the wizard off to a prison or something?
moritheil
First Post
Plane Sailing said:Mostly because asking for help in one fight when I really need it seems less cheesy than 'stick around and help me lots and lots', if you know what I mean.
Plus, doesn't it give an example of an outsider wilfully misunderstanding just such a command and carrying the wizard off to a prison or something?
That's why I don't recommend this trick with outsiders!
lukelightning
First Post
What a coincidence! I'm planning a planar binding in my campaign (my mage is calling a hound archon to serve as a bodyguardl; hound archons are great 'cuz they are reasonably tough but have a CHA of 12 so are easy to push around).
I made sure to check with my DM to make sure he's letting it work as it should; some DMs treat it as they do wish, i.e. a way to screw with PCs, which is flat out wrong. After all, you are casting a high level spell, along with magic circle and probably dimensional anchor. It should be at least as useful as any other high level spell, given that it requires a fair amount of resources and time. The DM shouldn't treat every outsider like it's some sort of legal genious with the ability to slip out of contracts.
Notice that you can't get a penalty in your bargaining, only a bonus. In my case of calling a hound archon, I explained that I should get a bonus since we are fighting against an evil cult of fallen angels; I don't know what bonus my DM gave for this, but if I were DMing this I'd actually give it the maximum (+6), since this sounds like something the archon would do on its own anyways.
Creatures I think are good to bind, because of usefullness yet low charisma scores (this is only for lesser planar binding... my guy is only a 10th level caster):
Hound Archons, especially if you're routing out some evildoers as I mentioned above. Plus they can turn into dogs, so you can bring 'em around town without much notice.
Bearded Devil, great if you are just killing things and taking their stuff. Why would an devil object to killing?
Howlers: Big, tough, and DUMB.
Nightmares. Cha of 12. And if it dies in your service you can just animate it as a skeleton and have a flying skeletal horse (since skeletons retain any magical flight)
Elementals, as others have mentioned. But right now my mage can only call medium elementals, and they're kind of wimpy.
I made sure to check with my DM to make sure he's letting it work as it should; some DMs treat it as they do wish, i.e. a way to screw with PCs, which is flat out wrong. After all, you are casting a high level spell, along with magic circle and probably dimensional anchor. It should be at least as useful as any other high level spell, given that it requires a fair amount of resources and time. The DM shouldn't treat every outsider like it's some sort of legal genious with the ability to slip out of contracts.
Notice that you can't get a penalty in your bargaining, only a bonus. In my case of calling a hound archon, I explained that I should get a bonus since we are fighting against an evil cult of fallen angels; I don't know what bonus my DM gave for this, but if I were DMing this I'd actually give it the maximum (+6), since this sounds like something the archon would do on its own anyways.
Creatures I think are good to bind, because of usefullness yet low charisma scores (this is only for lesser planar binding... my guy is only a 10th level caster):
Hound Archons, especially if you're routing out some evildoers as I mentioned above. Plus they can turn into dogs, so you can bring 'em around town without much notice.
Bearded Devil, great if you are just killing things and taking their stuff. Why would an devil object to killing?
Howlers: Big, tough, and DUMB.
Nightmares. Cha of 12. And if it dies in your service you can just animate it as a skeleton and have a flying skeletal horse (since skeletons retain any magical flight)
Elementals, as others have mentioned. But right now my mage can only call medium elementals, and they're kind of wimpy.
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