Planar Ally Spells

[Eccles]

One of my PCs just hit 13th. He can, abruptly, summon a Planetar to help him achieve "one task". (We're still playing 3.0 before someone brings up a technical point about Hit Dice).

Whilst the contractual negotiations hold no real fears for me, this spell could pretty swiftly negate the entire campaign, as the Planetar (of Mystra, goddess of Magic) has a real reason to help them cleanse the Weave, which is what they're trying to do.

Is it entirely fair to allow a 13th level caster to summon a 17th level caster which could in turn gate in a couple of Solars?

What sort of 'favour' would you ask for (as the Planetar) in return for this kind of "Just pop off and complete the campaign for me" request?

It sounds to me like an "In return, you must agree to have the eyes burned permanently from your head, and spend your days in contemplation of the ineffable" sort of return favour, but am I being too reactionary or harsh?

 

[Thanee]

Remember, that the cleric does not request the kind of creature that is send to help. However, I would find it rather weird, if the god would send in a lowly creature not suited for the task.

Anyways, in terms of favors, you might want to look into the 3.5 SRD, they have added rules for that kind of stuff. A Planetar's help should not be cheap!

Maybe you would do it in terms of the cleric offers something and the creature is decided upon based on the offer.

Bye
Thanee

 

[mikebr99]

Whilst the contractual negotiations hold no real fears for me, this spell could pretty swiftly negate the entire campaign, as the Planetar (of Mystra, goddess of Magic) has a real reason to help them cleanse the Weave, which is what they're trying to do.

Well... the Planetar also has a really good relationship with his superiors (ie. the DM), who, would have a really good idea of the PCs capabilities, and should be able to judge whether they (the PCs) should be able to handle the mission on their own (which is the case, right?), without the Planetar's help. And if this really is taking the easy way out... make them pay through the nose... The Planetar ALSO has some very important missions (beyond mortals' comprehension) to complete, and taking him away from those to complete something you should be able to do without him, is going to cost you... Maybe HE has a frivilis side project that is near & dear... Bob the Balor said some nasty things during the Outsider's Local general meeting.


Mike

 

[AuraSeer]

Is it entirely fair to allow a 13th level caster to summon a 17th level caster which could in turn gate in a couple of Solars?

I generally don't allow planar allies to use their own calling abilities, except in emergencies. I figure that if the Planetar calls in another ally, he's going to owe that ally a favor in turn, and he'll want the PCs to compensate him. (Even though gate lets you command service without reward, the Planetar has to go back home eventually, and he wouldn't want to be on the bad side of his superiors.)

What sort of 'favour' would you ask for (as the Planetar) in return for this kind of "Just pop off and complete the campaign for me" request?

It should be something on the order of the same difficulty. If calling the Planetar saves them two years of work, they should be willing to put in those two years solving some other problem that the Planetar is concerned about.