So it looks like as a party my group is going to be making a contract with a devil.
So, some background. I'm playing a barbarian that has taken both a self-imposed "paladin" code as well as a "vow of poverty." The rest of the party isn't too keen on the idea of making a deal but see it as a necessary evil, while I originally took a hardline stance against it until in-character drama between me and the party healer (who is most vocal about accepting) came to blows... my character was of course shocked and dismayed to see his friend go over to the darkness and it hit the tipping point when in the middle of essentially a 3-way battle between us, some demons, and the devils who were trying to negotiate with us, he healed the devils. The devils I was trying to kill to put an end to this "deal" nonsense.
As I'm playing a fellow who believes in the redemptive path, I pulled back from fighting him to the death at such point, but things are tense between us. Realistically I think I could take the entire party in a fair fight due to having 21 DR, god saves, 26 fire resist (only primary caster beyond the healer is a fire based blaster sorcerer), and me being the most optimized character in the party even while naked besides a magic weapon, but as I don't want the devils to win by sowing discord among the righteous, I am resigned to do this deal but only if evil is punished in it.
So the general outline so far is that the devils will teleport us into the sanctum of a rival group of devils we are hunting for a particular artifact and we will slay them. We take the loot and they leave us alone. If we refuse then we get to clear Myth Drannor block by block, street by street, until we find them and it is a big place. Realistically cleansing the shit out of a den of vile evil is not a big deal to my guy, plus he walks with Pelor so he is convinced he could do it, but yeah, schedules to keep.
So I'm thinking of a few possibilities I could argue for and then I figured we would wheel and deal and come to an arrangement. Here's what I had in mind:
1. All the devils in the group we are making a deal with and any of their associates must leave and have no contact with the Material Plane for 100 years upon our success. As they keep teleporting out like b@+~$es (and neither of our two full casters felt the need to take Dimensional Anchor) they just keep getting to twirl their evil mustaches and run instead of dying like good enemies, but as they are summoned it's a slap on the wrist anyway. I figured this would be a slightly more permanent solution.
2. So at one point we briefly fought the "leader" of their group and kicked his ass so he fled. Cornugon Devil by the way. Thinking of trying to call him out and get him to agree to a physical, no retreat, actually be on this plane so only nothingness awaits him upon death, confrontation. 1v1. I think I could take him and I might be able to convince him by insinuating a big strong devil like him being scared of a little old servant of Pelor is pathetic. Of course there would be a stipulation concerning me being at full health and resources when this fight occurred.
What would you ask for in this situation that fits the "using evil to punish evil" line of reasoning?
Purely as a rule note, summoned creatures cannot use teleport/dimension door/etc magics, whether as spells or spell-like abilities. If your GM is aware and ruling otherwise, then fine.
Otherwise, I suggest you discuss this issue out of character with the other players and the GM. To avoid too much party conflict, I'd go along with the majority view of the players.
If it's not essential to the plot, and to stay in character, I'd be 'kill the evil devils. No deals!'
@Dark Lord Fluffy
I have a good sense motive and decent diplomacy so hopefully it will work out, but thank you for the warning. Regarding services, we're going to be going to the bargaining table so I'm expecting to get talked down a bit; regarding the duel I was hoping on playing their hubris. What self-respecting devil could stand to let a mere mortal challenge and insult him to his face without repercussions? I was also looking for quick fix options as the idea of extended contact with them is something my character would definitely frown upon, but at the same time forcing them to do supervised community service at my behest could be very satisfying. Thanks for the suggestion.
@Gilarius
Thank you for pointing that out; I'm not too familiar with the summon rules as they so rarely come up in any game I've played. I think the DM is playing them pretty fast and loose though.
Essentially the DM asked us to come up with what we would want to bargain for before the next session, so I imagine we will discuss it as a party then. It seems like there's definitely going to be room for some side deals for any character that would like to make one, but the duel is perhaps the only one I would consider making. It does seem that making this deal if being heavily pushed by the DM and the others are interested in accepting so I will as well lest I need to murder them all. I am planning on holding firm on the "get the hell of my plane, fiend" clause though, so the others will just have to work around that.
Purely as a rule note, summoned creatures cannot use teleport/dimension door/etc magics, whether as spells or spell-like abilities.
Citation needed.
Summoned creatures cannot use innate summoning powers, but that's the only limit I'm aware of.
Core rulebook under the Summon Monster spell description:
A summoned monster cannot summon or otherwise conjure another creature, nor can it use any teleportation or planar travel abilities. Creatures cannot be summoned into an environment that cannot support them. Creatures summoned using this spell cannot use spells or spell-like abilities that duplicate spells with expensive material components (such as wish).
And be aware that called creatures aren't the same as summoned. For example, Planar Ally calls creatures that have all of their abilities.
I found a bit more: Under the "Magic" chapter of the CRB under "Conjuration":
Calling: A calling spell transports a creature from another plane to the plane you are on. The spell grants the creature the one-time ability to return to its plane of origin, although the spell may limit the circumstances under which this is possible. Creatures who are called actually die when they are killed; they do not disappear and reform, as do those brought by a summoning spell (see below). The duration of a calling spell is instantaneous, which means that the called creature can't be dispelled.
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.
