Thomas Seitz wrote:
As a 14th level arcanist, who also has access now to greater teleport and a group that knows how to get Absalom, I just was wondering, would there be a scroll of Gate that I would be able to buy...or should I just wait until we hit level 17 so I can summon it just for giggles and crap.
I mean against our enemies, not necessarily against the party...
Up to your GM. For standard Pathfinder, the chance of a 9th level scroll being available is pretty small. In locations that are Large Towns or larger, there are 1d4 to 3d4 Major Magic Items available for sale. For a given item there's a 10% chance that it's a scroll. Major Item scrolls are 4th-9th level, and the chance of a given Major scroll being 9th level is 5%. I haven't reviewed the rules to see how the spell type (divine or arcane) and actual spell are determined, but if it's a dice roll, there are a sizable number of 9th level wizard spells to choose from.
If the GM is using random rolls to determine if a Gate scroll is available, I wouldn't even bother to ask.
Now assuming you did get hold of the scroll, don't forget: "A creature with more HD than your caster level can't be controlled." Even if the GM generously allows the CL of the scroll to be the determining factor rather than your Arcanist's level, you probably still can't control a 20HD Balor.
So let's assume your party has gone to Absalom and have placed yourself where a Balor could do the most harm to your enemies. You Gate the demon in, and because you're smart, you've arranged to teleport out before he can act. The demon's first impulse is going to be finding and punishing the fool who dared inconvenience him. Assume for the moment you can't be followed. The Balor will realize this quickly. He'll also figure out where he is. I expect his reaction will be 1) making a quick mental note to have his underlings get to work on identifying and locating you in order to make the rest of your life miserable and brief, and 2) make a real mess of whatever area he's in, either by a Fire Storm or summoning a lower level demon to do the job, then 3) leave.
