Using Planar Binding to summon petioners

Would it be possible to use Planar Binding to call a petioner? If so, what would be needed to call a specific petioner?

By raw? nope, they aren't outsiders.

By raw? nope, they aren't outsiders.

But they are.

If that were possible... why would the Hags and Deamons put so much effort in snatching them?

If that were possible... why would the Hags and Deamons put so much effort in snatching them?

If raising the dead were possible, why would rich people die of anything but old age?

(I'm assuming you're talking about petitioners, if not, oh well.)

Petitioners are extraplanar outsiders. Planar binding can target any outsider. As far as the rules go, any planar binding spell can be used to summon a petitioner with an appropriate amount of hit dice. Page 110 of Ultimate Magic says, "In theory, any outsider can be called and a binder can attempt to press that creature into service." In terms of calling a specific petitioner, you need their "proper name," which I'm pretty sure is something between their common name and their true name.

The rules seem to allow it in a generic setting.

But in a specific setting the gods whose realms these souls have been sent to might forbid it. It would be odd if any evil spellcaster could just snatch the souls of the greatest Paladins out of Heaven as CR1 Outsiders and then annihilate them at a whim.
Calling a Petitioner could also result in a hostile Ghost or other incorporeal undead instead, since souls function differently on the Material Plane.

And even if it is possible, the Petitioner might have no memories of its life. The Petitioner descriptions says it loses all skill ranks and feats which does suggest something of a memory-wipe. Certainly you wouldn't expect an animalistic Larvae-Petitioner from the Abyss to retain many memories.

So, I think its really at the DMs discretion, based on the campaign setting and its cosmology.

VRMH wrote:

If that were possible... why would the Hags and Deamons put so much effort in snatching them?

If raising the dead were possible, why would rich people die of anything but old age?

'cause You're no longer rich when you're dead - your next of kin are. ;)

Kidding aside, I think Avoron is right: it could be done per the RAW. Personally, I think you'd soon get a visit from a Psychopomp explaining the finer details of soul-ownership to you though...

If a GM thought that binding specific petitioners would not be appropriate, the best rule-based reasoning for that is probably from elsewhere in Ultimate Magic, in the True Name section: "For mortals, this name is buried in the soul, hidden away from prying and dangerous eyes." Since petitioners are mortal souls, but have given up their identity from life, there might be no available "proper name" to use for binding them. So it would then be possible to bind petitioners, but you couldn't pick (or find out, really) which one you got. And yes, a petitioner would only have "fragments of its memories from life."