Alrighty, this is another issue that came up in our last session, and again it was rather confusing. You see, we ended up summonging a Succubus and decided to use her 'Profane Gift' ability. Now, profane gift reads as follows...
Once per day as a full-round action, a succubus may grant a profane gift to a willing humanoid creature by touching it for 1 full round. The target gains a +2 profane bonus to an ability score of his choice. A single creature may have no more than one profane gift from a succubus at a time. As long as the profane gift persists, the succubus can communicate telepathically with the target across any distance (and may use her suggestion spell-like ability through it). A profane gift is removed by dispel evil or dispel chaos. The succubus can remove it as well as a free action (causing 2d6 Charisma drain to the victim, no save).
Now, my question is, when does this 'gift' end? I mean, I know the methods in which its is removed, but from what I can tell, so long as the succubus does not dismiss the gift, and the gift is not dispelled, it seems that the gift lasts indefinitely.
So who's to say that the party simply can't summon a harem of succubi (kinky, i know), and basically get a permanent status boost to one of our ability scores (one boost for each character) since we all basically control the succubi due to summon monster spell?
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First Note: The succubi can remove the gift at any time. All it will take is the succubi removing the gift a few time out of boredom or mood swings and you may decide relying on such a chaotic creature for a supposedly permanent stat boost isn't such a good idea.
Second Note: The succubus can use her suggestion effect through the link. That is a massive breach of defenses. Nothing like falling to the suggestion to try to sleep with the queen, or kill the guy who pissed you off in a bar fight, etc etc. Plenty of ways to rack up "evil points" without wanting to.
Third Note: The succubus can communicate telepathically with you, at all times, across any distance. Since other communication effects specifically state when the can't cross planar boundaries, this effect can. Enjoy having the world's best phone sex girl permanently in your ear, except she wants murder, mayhem, and madness rather than 5.99 a minute, and she will call you whenever she feels like it.
Fourth Note: You are willingly accepting a profane gift, a significant boost of power that is equal parts chaos and evil, so strong that simple dispel magic has no effect on it. If that doesn't scream "Universe! I am signing up for Team Chaotic Evil!" then I don't know what does.
Summary: Your party can totally summon a harem of profane gifting succubi. If they want to taint themselves with powerful evil, be vulnerable to random and sudden out of character behavior, have a constant mental link to a creature that wants to pervert and destroy everything they hold dear, and all of the benefits could be whisked away at a critical moment. No sane Good character who understood it would do it, and most Neutral ones wouldn't either, since it pretty much equals a head start to damnation and a lot of encouraging shoves along the way. Evil characters.... well, nothing to loose there.
Finally, there's the statement under the Conjuration Paragraph of the Magic section in the Core Book comes into play. "Creatures you conjure usually—but not always—obey your commands."
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The Black Bard, great list of the problems, there is only a minor correction:
the OP group is summoning the succcubi, probably with Monster summoning VI, not conjuring her, so there is not risk of her not obeying the order, as long as the spell last, and this will probably come into play:
When the spell that summoned a creature ends and the creature disappears, all the spells it has cast expire. A summoned creature cannot use any innate summoning abilities it may have.
The profane gift isn't a spell, but the RAI is that you don't get permanent benefits from summoning a creature.
Hope you never gonna fight a cha draining shadow after doing that.
On the other hand using suggestion to bring you into a situation where you need to use diplomacy to get out an then chancel the gift would be enough succubus fun.
I don't see a problem with the group doing this.
A succubus brought to the material world would want to use her profane gift on as many mortals as possible before returning to the Abyss.
But remember that as soon as the summon spell ends, the succubus is free to do exactly what she wants with the profane gift. If she doesn't feel you're honoring her gift, she will remove it. Although likely after she has used her telepathic link and suggestion to force an ungodly amount of evil behaviour out of the person.
I would say that the gift - if accepted - is permanent, BUT only so long as the succubus in question wished it to be. In 99% of the cases when the Summoning spell ended I would assume that she would withdraw it, being miffed at having been forced to offer it in the first place, meaning that the bonus ends when the spell ends... but the other 1% of the time I would role-play out her keeping the gift in place and using the ancillary effects to her own advantage. Could be a great RP opportunity and even an adventure hook... would definitely be a lesson to the summoner in question about knowing what he was getting into.
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Remember, nothing says the succubus has to be alive for you to benefit from the bonus. Just call instead of summon and pay the succubus to grant you the gift and perform some second task. Make a plan in advance to have your allies casually surround the succubus, and kill it in a surprise round. Boom, no chance of losing the bonus. If that fails, rinse and repeat with a new succubus.
Summoning: A summoning spell instantly brings a creature or object to a place you designate. When the spell ends or is dispelled, a summoned creature is instantly sent back to where it came from, but a summoned object is not sent back unless the spell description specifically indicates this. A summoned creature also goes away if it is killed or if its hit points drop to 0 or lower, but it is not really dead. It takes 24 hours for the creature to reform, during which time it can't be summoned again.
All that will accomplish is to annoy the succubus.
The succubus with a permanent link through which to manipulate you, and a grudge to be paid.
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He is speaking of a Called creature, like with Planar ally or Planar binding.
A called creature can be permanently killed and the effect of its spells and powers persist even after it has departed, a summoned creature can't be killed and the effects of its non instantaneous duration spells and powers disappear with it.
A safer, but more expensive way to do this:
Offer the succubus a deal: Profane gifts on <list of people>, payment is this item. The item is the trigger for a Trap the Soul spell. She's trapped, no save.
After casting it take the gem to some celestial, explain there is a demon trapped within and it would be best if they remained trapped. Even if someone in the Abyss figures out she's trapped and wants to rescue her they can't.
Unless they hire group of four heroes of dubious alignment to rescue such a damsel from her distress :)
Sounds like fun plot for an advanture.
A safer, but more expensive way to do this:
Offer the succubus a deal: Profane gifts on <list of people>, payment is this item. The item is the trigger for a Trap the Soul spell. She's trapped, no save.
After casting it take the gem to some celestial, explain there is a demon trapped within and it would be best if they remained trapped. Even if someone in the Abyss figures out she's trapped and wants to rescue her they can't.
I just had the same idea and figured I should look into it which brought me to this thread. I was thinking if the creature is summoned then you can command it to accept the trap the soul spell without needing to make a trigger object. Just cast and its trapped. Throw into the bottom of your bag of holding and forget about her.
Wouldn't it be group of succubi?
Would the use of this ability be a great attack against an oracle, sorcerer, or summoner? Have the succubus give them the gift, then remove it?
Would the use of this ability be a great attack against an oracle, sorcerer, or summoner? Have the succubus give them the gift, then remove it?
Sure, if you can figure out how to make them "willing".
It's Profane Gift, not Profane Attack.
But more important than any other question on this thread:
Who's grappling this succubus?