Dalucaray's Guide to the Outsiders of Planar Binding

[DaLucaray]

Dalucaray's Guide to the Outsiders of Planar Binding

So after some searching I couldn't find a comprehensive guide to what creatures you actually want to summon, which is pretty surprising. I figured hey, if I'm going to sort through every outsider available to me (and I will) I might as well write it down and save it for posterity! So here it is, my first guide.

As I write this I've finished everything accessable with Lesser Planar Ally from bestiaries 1-5- I figured I'd finish that before sharing. I'm not super confident about my ratings, so feel free to contest anything. I'm especially unsure on how to value natural multiattack vs. a weapon with a full-round attack.

Anyway, enjoy!

[avr]

You might find DMDM's guides interesting, see here. I'll look at your version later.

[Dasrak]

You should probably have it organized by HD. 6 or less, 7-12, and 13-18, corresponding to which level of spell you're using.

Also I'm not sure if you're touching the softcover bestiaries, but let me just mention the Mnemor; at will DC 16 memory wipe has so much potential.

[DaLucaray]

DMDM's guide was helpful and probably a more convenient resource for quick and easy stuff. What's important for me is that I haven't been really checking for mechanical issues with calling- I plan to add that to the guide.

Dasrak I plan to make it comprehensive, but at the moment I'm going through the (now legacy) paizo bestiary index first, because it's convenient and will give me a good measuring stick for everything else.

I feel I may have been underestimating spell DCs though...

[avr]

Lantern archons are better than you think at fighting; a couple of ranged touch attacks doing untyped energy damage means the damage stacks up surprisingly fast if the enemy does nothing about them, and flight often means that the one to do something about them is the main enemy. Their greater teleport is worthless for carrying cargo since they have no means of lifting anything, but with passwords to ensure that the message isn't faked they could be useful messengers. Also there's an explicit cost for their willing services - a 100 gp donation to a good organisation that you genuinely believe in. Or a week's work donated likewise, but you'd probably rather go with the pocket change.

Earth elementals which you get for more than rounds/level (or even minutes/level) can be decent scouts due to their earth glide. Aether elementals with their natural invisibility and flight have another means, but there's a lot of competition for that trick among outsiders.

From B6 the nonevarut inevitable is pretty good at fighting. It doesn't have all bases covered but +12/+7 attack and a free parry at +12 is OK mook-killing. Regen means you get them back for the next fight if your deal is worded correctly.

More later.

[pad300]

Minor earth elementals of various sorts make awesome scouts - you can have a layout map of the entire dungeon complex, with most of the creatures (those touching the ground detected).

You've missed the point with Mercane's. They are magic item brokers with access to planar metropoli. They buy and sell magic items that you can't normally get in say Sandpoint/Riddleport/Magnimar. Not to mention, calling 1 and comissioning it to buy you a scroll of ressurection, you'll call him again in 3 days, can solve your dead cleric problem...

For combat, Foo creature Tigers aren't bad.

[Asmodeus' Advocate]

Well written and entertaining! Kudos.

[BENSLAYER]

Having a read through now, thanks for this. Could you add a reminder in the 'Half-Templates and Class Levels' section? Aasimar/Tieflings, (plus Janni and such) are Material Plane based as Outsider (Native) Creatures - therefore they cannot be bound on the Material Plane as the Planar Binding line of Spells only Call Outsiders from another plane. If you or they are on a different plane, (e.g., [4/5/6/7] Plane Shift), they are open season though, (which is why my Aasimar Witch keeps her profile low, considering the 'specific individual' name option).

[DaLucaray]

Thanks, AA and BENSLAYER! I’ll add the addendum when I get back home and have my laptop.

avr, I’m starting with Bestiaries 1-5, but B6 is next on the list and then I’ll sift the splatbooks (Cayden help me). I’ll probably organize by HD after I get everything done.

Thanks for the advice and support so far, I’m pretty excited about this project!

[Douglas Muir 406]

DaLucaray wrote:

DMDM's guide was helpful and probably a more convenient resource for quick and easy stuff. What's important for me is that I haven't been really checking for mechanical issues with calling- I plan to add that to the guide.

Happy to be of use. If you can mention me in passing, it would be appreciated.

WRT mechanical issues, I also wrote a guide on that -- DMDM's Guide to Planar Binding. Also, you might find some of my other stuff (like the miniguide to the Gate spell) useful. Here's the index to all the Guides I've written; most of them deal with calling and binding outsiders in one way or another.

cheers,

Doug M.

[Douglas Muir 406]

If you go through the individual Guides on the three Planar Binding spells, you'll find a lot of monster discussions there and in the ensuing threads. Meanwhile, some particular points:

-- The Silvanshee is not a combat creature, you're right. But look at it again. It's a Tiny creature that has Fly at 90' and +19 Stealth and darkvision and +10 Perception. This thing is your little flying spy, yes? And it can talk to animals at will, so it can zoom around the city chatting up stray dogs or whatever to collect information. Know direction at will means it never gets lost. And it looks more or less like a normal cat. (Personally I'd allow a Knowledge [planes] check to ID it, but not a lot of people throw ranks at that.)

Furthermore, it's very difficult to catch. Grab it and grapple it? +8 Str. Throw a net over it? Gaseous form. Surrounded by enemies? Poof, dimension door.

Now, to be strictly fair, the zebub / accuser devil is a somewhat better spy: it can go invisible, and has that recording power. But the silvanshee is a benevolent creature that isn't inherently treacherous (unless you're evil); it can blend as a normal cat; it won't bring the local Inquisition down on your head; and it's not creepy AF. So I think it's worth a second look.

-- Elementals: the thing about elementals is that they all have low Int, mediocre Wis, crap Will saves, and low Cha. That means they're very easy to call and bind, they're easy to use other enchantments on, and they're easy to manipulate and fool. An elemental is just overall easier to manage -- and a lot easier to betray and kill, if that's your thing -- than one of the more complex and intelligent outsiders like a devil or an angel. Yes, they're simple creatures. Sometimes simple is what you want.

-- Hound Archon vs. Bearded Devil: the Hound is competitive but I think this goes to the Barbazu. The Hound gets everything you mention, plus the excellent archon-specific Aura of Menace. This is a 20' radius debuff that lasts for a day, or until the target hits the archon. So load the Hound up with AC-boosting buffs, and have him run around the battlefield inflicting -2 all over the place! Oh, and also Beast Shape means you can walk around town with the Hound pretending to be your beagle or something. So, the Hound is very good, no question.

But meanwhile the Bearded Devil has more hp, slightly better SR and saves, does much more damage, and has a coin-flip chance of summoning another barbazu. It can also Teleport, which is just huge -- it allows surprise strikes from a distance and gives unparalleled tactical flexibility. Squishy enemy spellcaster cowering behind a meat shield? Teleport. Enemy across a chasm, on a ledge above you, behind a wall? Teleport. Party rogue needs a flank buddy? You got it -- Teleport. And that's just tactical application, without getting into stuff like "Gosh, I wonder what's behind that door?" (Honestly, the midlevel game isn't really designed for at-will teleportation, and it can get a little OP.) Then the devil's Bleed damage also allows it to hit a couple of times, teleport a little bit away, and then watch the target lose hp for a few rounds while it fumbles to make that untrained DC 15 Heal check. Adding a reach weapon into the mix is just gravy -- a free AoO to start the bleed train rolling. Remember, Teleport means you can place the devil so that the AoO is pretty much mandatory. So all in all, while I like the Hound Archon a lot, and it may sometimes be better situationally, the devil looks like the better choice overall.

Anyway, pray carry on -- watching with interest!

Doug M.

[Douglas Muir 406]

-- Whoops, I completely forgot that the Hound Archon has Teleport too! *And* it can spam Aid, which means that everyone in the party will walk around all day with +1 to hit and a few extra hp. Okay, that puts it neck and neck with the Barbazu. I still think the devil's greater DPR and its 50% summon chance give it the edge, but it's almost a wash. It may end up being situational. Which are you more comfortable walking around with -- a couple of glaive-wielding red devils with writhing worm-beards, or a couple of beagles?

-- So the catrina. A catrina kills its victim if the victim fails just one save: the initial DC 17 Dominate. Now, normally, Dominate requires a second save is you try to compel the victim to do something "against its nature or self-destructive". But if you look closely at the catrina's Compel Condemned ability, it specifically carves out an exception for that! So, once you've failed that initial Will save, you're probably dead; making the Fort saves against its kiss damage just keeps you alive a little while longer. You're dominated, so you'll keep kissing until you either die from the damage, or fail three Fort saves and die anyway.

Therefore, the catrina is actually an outstanding midlevel assassin. Here's how it works: you throw Eagle's Splendor on it, which boosts its Cha-based save DC to 19. Then it goes invisible (at-will). Then it Teleports to the target, and starts stalking until the target is alone. It's a good stalker; +12 Stealth before invisibility is applied, and in a pinch it can cast Major Image for a distraction while maintaining invisibility. Once the target is alone, boom, DC 19 Will save -- and note that there's no per-day limit on Compel Condemned! The catrina can keep spamming DC 19 Dominates every turn forever. And, again, the catrina can use Major Image to distract the target, cut off escapes, etc. I think it's reasonable to assume the catrina will get at least two shots at the target... and once the target is Dominated, they're probably dead within a a few rounds. It's not absolutely certain (target makes the first save, calls for help, someone rushes in a couple of rounds later) but the odds are pretty good.

Finally, even if you don't want to kill anyone, having an invisible teleporter who can spam Speak With Dead and throw Major Image 3x/day is far from useless; the catrina makes a respectable spy and information gatherer and an excellent distraction.

Doug M.

[Douglas Muir 406]

Oh, and: the catrina has pretty good UMD, so you can give it magic items to help it with its mission. And it also has Speak With Dead at will. So if it accomplishes its mission without interference, not only does it kill the target, but the catrina can ask it a few questions before teleporting back home to report.

Finally, note that an illusion-casting skeleton with invisibility and teleportation is on the short list of things you want watching your lair while you're out of town for a few days. "Please just stand here invisibly. If a single person tries to enter, observe them until they touch something and then use an illusion to chase them away. If the thief persists, kill it and then teleport to me to report. If more than one comes, report to me first."

(All these things tie into a plot seed I've had in mind for a long time: a midlevel wizard, 9th or 10th, has made himself the secret master of a small city through very careful and thoughtful abuse of Planar Binding. There are so many outsiders, with so many different powers, that this is pretty plausible IMO. Then something goes wrong, and the PCs get involved. But there are so many different weird monsters, It may take them a while to connect the dots...)

Doug M.

[Asmodeus' Advocate]

You've given me a handful of ideas for my own campaign, thanks!

[Cevah]

I know little of Planar Binding, but I did pick up some tips.

1) If you grab a Caller's Feather [2,000 gp], you can call 2 HD more worth of creatures, or expend it can call 2 HD higher max for the spell. This lets you get creatures not normally available by the spell.

2) Check out Augment Calling [feat], for 2 HD more of a given subtype, as well as a reduction of service cost on Planar Ally or bump in Cha check for Planar Binding.

3) The Lyrakien's CHA rating makes a great UMD item user. Think wands and staves. At +5, they only need a 15 to UMD something. Much better than a lot of other creatures. If your GM will allow you to customize their skills, you can make it +11 (needing only a 9 to activate). Also, azatas have truespeach. Combined with their Bluff and Diplomacy, they make great translators and diplomats.

4) Wysps have a very nice combat role: buffer. Their Resonance (Ex) ability gives a +2 Comp attack and damage rolls to nearby creatures with the same elemental type. It also affects DCs and other stuff. So if you bind a few elementals, tossing a wysp into the mix can bump their DPS significantly.

/cevah

[Douglas Muir 406]

Augment calling: if you're building a character around Planar Binding, you should absolutely consider this feat. The only reason I say "consider" and not "take" is because it depends on how truculent / sneaky / challenging your DM is when it comes to binding powerful outsiders.

Why? Well, with this feat you can bind outsiders with 8 HD at 9th level, which includes stuff like the succubus, the legion archon, and the invisible stalker. This gets pretty abusable. You're only a CR 8 creature yourself, so if you summon a couple of CR 7 creatures, you're more than doubling your dpr and general power level.

Then at 11th level, you can bind outsiders with up to *14* HD. That includes stuff like that's CR 13 like the ice devil and even CR 14 like the trumpet archon nalfeshnee demon. As an 11th level character, you're only CR 10 yourself. A nalfeshnee is way more powerful than you are. That's not just abusable; it's flat-out OP and unbalancing.

So most DMs are going to look for ways to balance it. Because after all, "you can bind something more powerful than you" is just another way of saying "the thing you bound can straight up kill you in a fair fight -- and absolutely will if it gets the chance." An 11th level wizard isn't going to last long one-on-one against a trumpet archon or whatever. Now, personally, I would try to color inside the lines of RAW -- you called it, you bound it, you can use and abuse it. But once you release it, you'll have a powerful enemy. And if you decide to kill it or something instead, someone on its home plane will eventually notice it's missing and come looking. Basically, sooner or later there'll be a price to pay for this kind of power.

TLDR, this feat makes planar binding potentially SO powerful that it may invite a strong reaction from your DM. Proceed with caution.

Doug M.

[DaLucaray]

I added a section on Native outsiders and gave a little boost to the Lyrakian and Catrina. Thanks to everyone who's been helping so far! I plan to keep the guide focused on picking out Outsiders rather than boosting your skills, but I'll keep Augmented Calling in mind.

I've also got back on going through outsiders, of course.

[Cevah]

I read your note about Wysps:

Guide wrote:

Utility: They give a small boost to your casting of whatever element you pick, making them similar to a Paracletus, and they give a +4 bonus when they Aid Another, which is pretty useful. ...

The Paracletus offers one of these bonuses:

Courage/Fear: The aura acts as bless or bane.
Empathy/Apathy: The aura gives creatures a +2 bonus or a –2 penalty on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks.
Hope/Despair: The aura gives creatures a +2 morale bonus on Will saving throws or a –2 penalty on Will saving throws.

The Wysps give this bonus:
Resonance (Ex): A wysp’s natural resonance strengthens the power of its element. The wysp grants a +2 competence bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls to all creatures within 30 feet with an elemental subtype that matches the wysp’s, and to the DCs of all racial spell-like, supernatural, and extraordinary abilities of such creatures (as usual, this does not include creatures assuming an elemental form).
Kineticists within 30 feet who share the wysp’s element gain a +1 competence bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls. The wysp’s statistics already include these bonuses.

The best the Paracletus offers is bless: a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls and on saving throws against fear effects. [The bane effect, while similar, is only a DC 12, so quite hard to land.] Wysps give a solid +2 comp attack and +2 comp damage, but to a limited set of creatures. If you bind a wysp, you know what creatures they will affect, and you summon such creatures. This is a much larger combat impact.

/cevah

[Douglas Muir 406]

Oh man, good point about the wysp. And note that it goes to ALL creatures with a matching elemental subtype. So a fire wysp could help hellhounds, and so forth. Basically you just go to the d20pfsrd Advanced Monster Search function, click "outsider" and the subtype you're looking for, and you'll get all the monsters who can be boosted effectively +1 CR by this. (Really -- +2 to attack, damage, and SLA DCs is like getting the Advanced template, and that's +1 CR all day long.) Also, while this thread is about Planar Binding, let's note that wysps also synergize with Summon Monster -- it's like getting Augment Summons for monsters with that elemental subtype.

Normally, the game has a nice balance wrt calling elementals: their low Int, Wis and Cha and poor Will saves mean that they're super easy to call, bind, manipulate, intimidate, enchant, and generally mess with. But on the other hand, they're kinda crappy otherwise -- few uses beyond melee and destruction, and not actually great in combat. The wysp gives these guys a much-needed power boost.

As a minor but interesting bonus, the wysp's Servitor power lets it spam +4 on skill checks. That's usually NBD but I notice the Azer has the Fire subtype. So, the Azer's "+6 on two skills" becomes "+10 on two skills", which is starting to be worth noticing.

Doug M.

[Douglas Muir 406]

BTW, I notice most of your RPs are red or orange? That's super subjective of course, but I think some creatures should get bumps for being iconic or particularly attractive to certain sorts of players.

Doug M.

[DaLucaray]

Douglas Muir 406 wrote:

BTW, I notice most of your RPs are red or orange? That's super subjective of course, but I think some creatures should get bumps for being iconic or particularly attractive to certain sorts of players.

Doug M.

Yeah I've been thinking about that too. I figure most outsiders are going to be hostile and dangerous to keep around and I really don't know what a green RP would look like.

I don't think I want to include "how classic a monster" to the RP. I'm trying to provide readers with new information and a succint summary of the statblock- if you know elementals or bearded devils are classic minion you don't need me to tell you.

[Cevah]

Your Guide wrote:

RP: (Temperment and ease of control- this is, IMO, the most important part, and one that the DM has a lot of control over. How easy is it to bind and control, according to its description? This is also going to be any other use and how other people will react- generally description stuff. If you parade around a LG city with an angel you enslaved or your pet demon you might get a few looks.)

Additionally, we’re going to be following the traditional Treatmonk color scheme;
Red options are generally bad- usually these are just going to not be powerful or useful enough to be worth it. Not worth the time, money, and danger.
Orange options are alright- consider this a baseline. Enough minor utility will get you here, and being just a good fighter is also a solid orange.
Green options are good- this is something you should at least consider for whatever it is you’re doing.
Blue options are excellent- these are the cream of the crop. Feel like you’re getting away with something. (And let’s be real- you usually are.)

The difficulty of getting and keeping a creature depends on several things:

1) Will Save. You already have this listed.
2) SR: A Magic Circle againse Evil* with a diagram stops this.
3) Dimensional Travel: Dimensional Anchor takes care of this.
4) CHA check. You already have this listed.
You don't need to change the ratings to reflect this aspect of your definition of RP.

I think RP should be concerned with how well the creature makes RP work.
For ratings, I suggest:
Red: If you must keep people from learning you got the creature, it is likely red.
Orange: This creature has a very niche RP use, but otherwise not that desirable.
Green: This creature can be used in a number of situations, and being known to the public doesn't hurt.
Blue: This creature is one that others want to come to you for access.

Powerful creatures can get a better rating since your being known to control such can be seen as you being stronger.

/cevah

*Only works vs. Evil creatures. Can use Good, Lawful, and Chaotic circles for similar creatures. Neutral creatures are tougher.

[Xenocrat]

Cevah wrote:

*Only works vs. Evil creatures. Can use Good, Lawful, and Chaotic circles for similar creatures. Neutral creatures are tougher.

Quite the opposite. Neutral creatures are the easiest of all, and can be bound by any alignment circle.

[Cevah]

Xenocrat wrote:

Cevah wrote:

*Only works vs. Evil creatures. Can use Good, Lawful, and Chaotic circles for similar creatures. Neutral creatures are tougher.

Quite the opposite. Neutral creatures are the easiest of all, and can be bound by any alignment circle.

Oh my! This is news to me. Just reread it. The basic text is:

Protection from Evil: Only affects Evil
Magic Circle Against Evil: Prevents non-Good from exiting

/cevah