Summon Monster... check it out

[AirElemental]

Caliban --

All the rest of your diatribe doesnt matter;
the part that matters is that you admit I was right
and you were wrong.
Now, nowhere in teleport does it say the archon has to grab
the objects it intends to teleport. simply touch.

Now as for archons not helping evil casters, Thats fine and dandy. but do they have a choice when summoned? thats the question isnt it? If you can compel a demon then you can compel an archon. sounds reasonable.

It doesnt matter how much you dont like what can be done,
its within the scope of teleport.. heck its even spelled out in the
text of the spell! thats the part I like.

 

[Crothian]

Touching an unwilling opponent takes an attack, a melee touch attack. Since it's not part of the spell (like shocking grasp for instance) you would need a standard action for each.

Now, as for redying the teleport for when he got hit, then you would need to make a concentration check. Stoneskin would help with tis, but do you really need to waste a summon monster and a stone skin just to disarm the opponet? Try a grease spell on his weapon, much easier.

 

[James McMurray]

Grease won't place the weapon 5,204 miles away. Of course, assuming this works, I'm still thinking about it myself. Although, so far the only reasoning I've found for it not working is that I don't want my NPCs using it on my PCs, or vice versa.

 

[Crothian]

Grease won't place the weapon 5,204 miles away. Of course, assuming this works, I'm still thinking about it myself. Although, so far the only reasoning I've found for it not working is that I don't want my NPCs using it on my PCs, or vice versa.

2 feet or 50,000 miles the effect is the same: no weapon. Sure, he could easily bend over and pick the weapon up, but you at least waste one of his actions and the grease spell will be there for a roundf a level. Each round he has to save to hold on.

I'm just saying that there is probably a much easier way of doing this.

 

[Nareau]

A couple more things to consider...

Lemme precede this with a disclaimer. I like this tactic. It's a darn clever use of a mid-level spell. But there are problems I see with it.

First off, what kind of sword are you looking to get from this expedition? If you're hoping to snag that tasty +3 frostbrand...oops! Your Archon died as soon as it was hit (its whopping 4 hit points don't do much for it). The best you can realistically hope for is getting a masterwork weapon this way (as it won't be able to get past the +1/20 DR).
Now, maybe you're thinking that the Archon can snag that fancy +5 Platemail. So, all he needs to do is ready an action to cast the spell and make a touch attack (or maybe cast it while grappling). But oh no! Lantern Archons don't have any melee attacks!

There are ways around these problems (as you've stated: Aid, Stoneskin, etc.) But, you have to be able to communicate your instructions to it. As a DM, I'd ask the player to state these instructions exactly. And (assuming this is an evil wizard forcing a Lantern Archon into it), I'd find a loophole.
1st try:
PC: Ok, Archon, go attack the guy pictured in this illusion, but-
Archon: OK. <BLIP>
PC: D'oh!

2nd try:
PC: Ok, Archon, stay here until I say to go. Now, I want you to teleport next to the guy depicted in this illusion. But, I want you to go in and not attack him. Just sit around until he starts attacking you. Be ready to zip back here, and try to get his sword. OK, GO!
Archon: OK. <BLIP> "Hey man, don't attack me! I'm supposed to steal your sword. Just sit tight and I'll disappear in just a second."
PC: D'oh!

3rd try:
PC: OK you smartass Archon, listen. Stay here until I say Go. Now, I want you to teleport next to the guy in the illusion. Don't attack him. Don't talk to him. Allow yourself to be hit by his sword. Be ready for it, and teleport away with it when he hits you. Come back here, deliver the weapon to me, don't attack me, and then leave. Without trying to bring harm to me or my friends, or my equipment, or my horse. Don't do anything else. OK, GO!
Archon: <BLIP> "Dang, time's up! I'm goin' home!"

There are circumstances where this would be a fantastic tactic. I don't see stealing weapons or armor (or any attended equipment) as being a good use of it. However, stealing money from a vault would be good. Or snagging your friend who's being held prisoner by the evil cultists. Or going to the fridge to get you another beer, and then turning the volume on your TV up. But there are just a bunch of problems with stealing attended gear.

 

[Nareau]

A couple more things to consider...

[Edit: Hey, my first double-post! how...exciting.]

 

[AirElemental]

well..

the creature has a physical form, ergo it can touch whatever it wants. it simply pushes the outer edge of its sphere up against
what it wants to teleport.

Sean Reynolds basicly said this tactic is valid, however, he also said he would change the lantern archon so it cant carry as much
in order to limit the effectiveness of this tactic

Ok then for all you naysayers out there, how about casting haste on your archon! and... improved invis!
ok so here's the way it works:
Round 1: (Hasted, invis archon) Partial charge at Archtor (to touch his armor). He is invis, archtor doesnt threaten him, so no AOO. As his regular action, he casts teleport without error, snatching the leather armor right off archtor's back. Archtor does get a will save (DC 17).
Round 2: Your archon teleports back, still invisible. But the guys gotten smart, and has drawn a sword to defend himself.. now even if he does get to swipe at your archon, there's still a 50% miss chance. and then your archon yanks his sword away (Partial touch, standard teleport without error.)

 

[Nasma]

Does the weapon get the wielder's save, its own save, or both?

 

[Dark Dragon]

Does the weapon get the wielder's save, its own save, or both?

If the wielder hold's it, use the wielder's save. If it's unattended, use the object's save (2+ half the caster's level who created it...hmm, ok, I may be wrong here, no DMG at work).

An other use for these archons is just to visit an area the summoner has just a picture from (or visited once), or fetching some thing the caster has forgotten in his HQ, and come back with the desired information. A good combination would be to use a "Scrying", summon an archon and show him the destination.

BTW, why not using hound archons (ok, the caster must be in a higher level, but...) to grab a weapon / staff / armor...? They can hold their ground for a while and have hands to make physical attacks.

 

[Caliban]

Re: Caliban --

All the rest of your diatribe doesnt matter;
the part that matters is that you admit I was right
and you were wrong.

No, I was right. You are being a munchkin. And now your being a jerk. This is exactly why I don't post as often as I used to.