Planar Ally
- Level: 6
- School: Conjuration
- Class: Cleric
- Casting Time: 10 minutes
- Range: 60 feet
- Components: V, S
- Duration: Instantaneous
You beseech an otherworldly entity for aid. The being must be known to you: a god, a demon prince, or some other being of cosmic power. That entity sends a Celestial, an Elemental, or a Fiend loyal to it to aid you, making the creature appear in an unoccupied space within range. If you know a specific creature's name, you can speak that name when you cast this spell to request that creature, though you might get a different creature anyway (GM's choice).
When the creature appears, it is under no compulsion to behave a particular way. You can ask it to perform a service in exchange for payment, but it isn't obliged to do so. The requested task could range from simple (fly us across the chasm, or help us fight a battle) to complex (spy on our enemies, or protect us during our foray into the dungeon). You must be able to communicate with the creature to bargain for its services.
Payment can take a variety of forms. A Celestial might require a sizable donation of gold or magic items to an allied temple, while a Fiend might demand a living sacrifice or a gift of treasure. Some creatures might exchange their service for a quest undertaken by you.
A task that can be measured in minutes requires a payment worth 100 GP per minute. A task measured in hours requires 1,000 GP per hour. And a task measured in days (up to 10 days) requires 10,000 GP per day. The GM can adjust these payments based on the circumstances under which you cast the spell. If the task is aligned with the creature's ethos, the payment might be halved or even waived. Nonhazardous tasks typically require only half the suggested payment, while especially dangerous tasks might require a greater gift. Creatures rarely accept tasks that seem suicidal.
After the creature completes the task, or when the agreed-upon duration of service expires, the creature returns to its home plane after reporting back to you if possible. If you are unable to agree on a price for the creature's service, the creature immediately returns to its home plane.
Tactical Usage
High-Level Problem Solving. Planar Ally provides access to powerful extraplanar beings capable of handling challenges beyond party capabilities, offering solutions to major threats, complex problems, or situations requiring supernatural intervention.
Flexible Service Arrangements. The negotiation-based system allows creative problem-solving approaches where payment terms can be adjusted based on task alignment with creature ethos, creating opportunities for reduced costs through clever diplomacy.
Extended Duration Support. Services measurable in days (up to 10) provide sustained assistance for major undertakings, siege warfare, dungeon expeditions, or other extended operations requiring powerful allied support.
Spell Combinations
Communication Enhancement. Tongues or Comprehend Languages ensures effective negotiation with summoned beings, while Zone of Truth might help establish trust during complex service negotiations.
Information Gathering. Divination spells like Scrying or Locate Creature can help identify specific named creatures worth summoning, improving chances of getting desired beings with known capabilities.
Protective Measures. Magic Circle or similar binding effects can provide security during negotiations, though hostile approaches might anger summoned beings and complicate service arrangements.
Material Component Details
Component-Free Summoning. Planar Ally requires no material components for the summoning itself, though payment negotiations often involve substantial material costs ranging from hundreds to tens of thousands of gold pieces.
Payment Flexibility. Costs can take various forms including gold, magic items, temple donations, living sacrifices, treasure gifts, or quest undertakings, allowing creative resource management based on party capabilities.
Service Economics. Standard rates of 100 GP per minute, 1,000 GP per hour, or 10,000 GP per day provide baseline expectations, though Creator discretion allows adjustment based on circumstances and task difficulty.
Creator Notes
Major Campaign Tool. Planar Ally represents significant narrative and mechanical weight, potentially providing solutions to major plot obstacles while requiring substantial resource investment and careful relationship management.
Negotiation Roleplay. The spell creates excellent opportunities for diplomatic encounters, moral dilemmas, and character development through interactions with powerful extraplanar beings with their own agendas.
Power Balance Considerations. While expensive, summoned allies can dramatically shift encounter balance, requiring careful integration with campaign difficulty and story progression to maintain appropriate challenge levels.
Environmental Interactions
Planar Accessibility. The spell functions across planes but requires knowledge of and ability to contact specific entities, making planar location and cosmic relationships important factors in successful summoning.
Manifestation Requirements. Summoned beings appear in physical form within the material plane, subject to environmental conditions and requiring space appropriate to their size and nature.
Duration Independence. Once summoned and contracted, beings operate independently of magical interference, antimagic fields, or other effects that might disrupt spellcasting or magical creatures.
Common Rulings & Clarifications
Entity Knowledge Requirement. Successful casting requires familiarity with specific cosmic entities - gods, demon princes, or other beings of significant power who can dispatch appropriate servants.
Service Negotiation. Summoned creatures are under no compulsion to serve and must be convinced through diplomacy, appropriate payment, or task alignment with their personal or cosmic interests.
Creator Discretion. The spell specifically notes that requested specific creatures might be replaced with alternatives at Creator discretion, preventing guaranteed access to particular beings.
Payment Timing. Service arrangements typically require payment negotiation before task commencement, though some beings might accept deferred payment or alternative compensation structures.
Alternative Applications
Divine Intervention. Religious characters can petition their deities for assistance with holy missions, temple construction, relic recovery, or other spiritually significant undertakings that align with divine interests.
Planar Diplomacy. Establishing communication and relationships with extraplanar powers for information gathering, alliance building, or conflict resolution between cosmic forces.
Research Assistance. Summoning knowledgeable beings for consultation on ancient lore, planar mechanics, cosmic events, or other specialized knowledge beyond mortal understanding.
Related Spells
Summoning Progression. Conjure Celestial and similar spells provide lower-level alternatives with less powerful but more affordable extraplanar assistance for immediate tactical needs.
Binding Magic. Planar Binding offers different approaches to securing extraplanar service through magical compulsion rather than negotiated agreement, with different risk and benefit profiles.
Communication Spells. Sending and Contact Other Plane provide alternative methods for reaching cosmic entities, though without the manifestation and service benefits of direct summoning.
Scaling Analysis
Non-Scaling Mechanics. Planar Ally provides consistent summoning capabilities regardless of spell slot level, maintaining effectiveness through the inherent power of summoned beings rather than slot investment.
Economic Scaling. Payment requirements scale with task complexity and duration, making this spell increasingly accessible to wealthy high-level parties while remaining prohibitive for resource-limited groups.
Campaign Integration. Utility scales with campaign scope and cosmic significance - epic adventures benefit greatly from planar assistance, while local problems might not justify the expense or entity interest.
Narrative Flavor
Cosmic Manifestation. Summoned beings should reflect their planar origins and cosmic allegiances, arriving with appropriate grandeur, otherworldly presence, and power that befits their station and origin plane.
Personality Expression. Each summoned creature has individual personality, goals, and opinions that influence negotiation dynamics and service delivery, creating opportunities for memorable character interactions.
Cultural Representation. Different entity types - celestials, elementals, fiends - should demonstrate their cosmic nature through speech patterns, value systems, and behavioral expectations that reflect their planar heritage.