One of the most potent tools a spellcaster can wield is the command of summoned creatures. When reaching for knowledge and forces from other planes, a spellcaster must have control over the strengths and weaknesses of their targets, or face doom far worse than any that might be visited upon them in the Material Plane.
A spellcaster wishing to bind such creatures who cannot play to the desires of his summoned captive will surely lose control, and may find himself torn from his reality as a plaything of the multiverse’s cruelest tormentors.
The existing powers to summon or bind outsiders can be found in the Pathfinder for Savage Worlds and Advanced Player's Guide books. However, the rules and information provided in this section are for when characters don't have access to these powers or need something more long term.
The first step in calling extraplanar assistance is to determine the method of bringing the outsider to the Material Plane. This is usually accomplished with the summon monster, summon nature's ally, summon planar ally, or planar binding power.
However, sometimes characters need help from a specific outsider, more time with an outsider, or simply do not have access to these powers. In this case, the characters may need to uncover information from scrolls or through adventures that lets them summon outsiders without these powers.
Characters with the Cleric, Oracle, or Miracles Arcane Background find the job of summoning and binding outsiders much easier than other summoners. When a character calls upon her deity to send a like-minded creature, that outsider is in the service of the god, and its desires usually align with the character’s goals, or at least run in parallel with them.
The character must bargain with the deity’s servant for a payment agreed upon before the outsider will perform the task: gold, magic items, gifts, sacrifices, or promises by the cleric to achieve certain goals particular to the conjured ally.
The greater the task, the greater the payment required, with a minimum of 100 gp worth of goods or services, sometimes extending into the thousands—and sometimes the ally simply refuses the cleric’s binding if the job is too dangerous or beneath its dignity.
The arcane method for binding outsiders is more difficult. First, a binder must create a trap, a magic circle focused inward. Typically the circle is outlined in a substance that is anathema to the outsider he wishes to summon. He must protect this circle against any sort of disruption, for even the smallest variation in its energies opens the circle and allows the escape of the creature he has summoned.
When an arcane caster speaks the words of the ritual or planar binding spell, the outsider can resist via an opposed Spirit check. With failure, the magic circle draws it inexorably into the trap. Some outsiders lash out at their failed binders. Because of this, many binders take additional precautions.
Smart arcane binders often make deals with the creatures they call. They bargain and shower the outsider with gifts in exchange for its services. While it is always good for an arcane spellcaster to make these deals from a position of strength, it is much better to get the outsider to come to mutually agreed-upon terms for the service, rather than forcing it to commit actions against its nature or desires.
There is one method of outsider coercion that helps guarantee that a binder can bargain from a position of relative security. Many spellcasters believe that a true name is inscribed on the essence of every creature, a secret word that describes it so perfectly and utterly that to speak the name is to define the being. For mortals, this name is buried in the soul, hidden away from prying and dangerous eyes.
Outsiders’ true names take the form of sigils carved upon their very essence. In Hell, these sigils change as the devil changes in stature, and some that may once have held power over certain devils have become outdated. It is said that some outsiders have assumed names and that they use the aliases to lure foolish mortals into using them for summoning them; the outsider pretends to be under the control of the binder, but merely bides its time before it strikes.
To discover a single outsider’s true name, a spellcaster must spend at least a month in a library or on a quest of discovery to uncover occult mysteries and riddles hidden in the pages of books, scrolls, and glyphs written millennia ago, buried in ancient temples, or found among the ravings of madmen’s spellbooks.
For most outer-planar outsiders, knowledge of the creature’s true name is a powerful weapon. In summoning, if the name is spoken correctly, and if its name is inscribed in the protective magic circle, the outsider takes a -2 penalty on all checks to escape or breach that circle.
For elementals (including geniekind), such true names are not binding as they are for fiends and other outsiders. However, if the caster speaks the true name of the elemental, the elemental will most likely be intrigued enough to listen.
Not all outsiders have true names. It is unclear whether aeons have true names. There are those sages who believe each aeon has two true names, and only by finding out both names can a creature gain some control over the aeon, but such matters are purely conjecture.
All outsiders love that which makes them strong. They seek to promote those qualities that offer them the greatest power, and covet their own survival. As beings—some might even call them concepts—of thought, will, and power, outsiders reward those who help them make their core concepts immortal. In short:
Aeons are dedicated to their often obscure and contradictory goals.
Angels love beauty and things that destroy evil.
Archons love pure souls and order.
Daemons love death and oblivion.
Demons love suffering.
Devils love souls of any sort.
Elementals love power.
Inevitables and axiomites hate chaos and are focused on their goals.
The reward outsiders offer may be actual aid, grudging service, or even just agreeing not to devour the binder’s soul. Regardless, it is always in the binder’s best interest to make the summoning as painless as possible for the target, or else to overawe the summoned creature with the threat of utter destruction or millennia of pain. Attempting to treat outsiders as equals and the pact as a mere negotiating tool almost always ends in disaster. More specifics for each type of outsider are described below.
Offering appropriate gifts to the summoned creature can provide the caster a +1 bonus on any Persuasion checks to keep it on the Material Plane. Indeed, if the gift is sweet enough, the outsider may choose not to break the strictures of the summoning, even if it has the opportunity to do so. All gifts, whether or not they are good enough to please the outsider, disappear at the spell’s conclusion. Only the worst sorts of gifts are rejected; such a rejection indicates that the summoned creature feels gravely insulted.
All outsiders have vulnerabilities, and those who deal with them must know what these vulnerabilities are. Some binders even use weapons composed of anathematic substances to create or draw their magic circles, or may even grind such valuable weapons up to create the powder to make the circles.
For every 5,000 gp of an anathematic substance used, the caster gains a +1 bonus on opposed checks to bargain with the outsider. This destroys the substance.
Cold Iron: Effective against daemons, demons, and fey, cold iron has been drawn from deep beneath forbidding mountains and forged with the least heat possible.
Bane: Often referred to as a holy weapon, weapons with the Bane enchantment can allow the wielder to bypass even the strongest enemies' natural armor.
Mithral: Most outsiders react to mithral in the same way that they do to actual silver.
Silver: Long revered for its purity and ability to harm lycanthropes and devils, silver is also used to trap certain kinds of good outsiders.
The following sections give a general overview of the major outsider classifications, examples for each category, their interests, their vulnerabilities, and what substances they dislike.
Alien, unemotional, and distant, aeons are difficult to deal with because of their strange form of communication, known as envisaging, in which they employ mental imagery and sounds instead of the symbolism of speech or writing to communicate their goals. Furthermore, aeons are often unyielding in their dichotomies, and are not swayed by argument or emotion toward any end. A spellcaster who binds an aeon had better hope his goals are in concert with those of the strange outsider, because that is the only way an aeon will offer its aid.
All aeons are immune to cold, poison, and have resistance to electricity and fire.
Akhana: Concerned with the duality of death and life, akhanas hunt for imbalances and rectify them with strange, seemingly random, efficiency. They do not justify their decisions or goals, which many summoners find intensely frustrating.
Bythos: Guardians of time and planar travel, bythos search for those who abuse time travel. They make deals with binders who have similar goals, and care nothing for the motivations of binders who do not share their concerns.
Paracletus: The most common aeons to interact with mortal spellcasters, paracletus actively search out spellcasters with strong emotions and logical capabilities. Some paracletus become familiars, experimenting upon their bonded casters with their emotion aura.
Pleroma: Many binders believe pleromas are too powerful to call and bind, and even if such a task is possible, trying to deal with such creatures of creation and destruction may be impossible. Of all the aeons, pleromas employ logic and methods that are least describable.
Theletos: These guardians of freedom and fate often aid spellcasters in the pursuit of the former and the implementation of the latter, but like all aeons, their views on these subjects typically seem contradictory, and they are difficult to fully control or understand.
All angels have numerous immunities, allowing them to travel across many planes of the multiverse without fear of damage. Interestingly, they can still take damage from poison, but they are strong enough to withstand most ill effects and punish those who would inflict such treacherous pain on them. Any mortals who wish to deal with angels should be armed with humility and knowledge.
Angels are immune to acid and cold. They also have resistance to electricity and fire.
Astral Deva: Astral devas are the messengers of the gods of good—or, if one were to be cynical, the gossips of the heavens. The appropriate gift for an astral deva is knowledge of a place it cannot reach: a rival temple, the location of evil cultists, or some other evil that has a direct bearing on the Material Plane.
Planetar: As the leaders of celestial armies, planetars seek knowledge and information regarding the plans of their infernal foes. Providing valuable data regarding the movement of evil forces, the locations of caches of evil weapons, or the locations of portals to the netherworld gives the binder a bonus when dealing with planetars.
As creatures of law and good, archons seek order, justice, and the protection of the weak against the depredations of the strong. They believe in transformation from within, whether through wholesale, systematic change of governance or personal epiphany.
All archons are immune to electricity and petrification attacks. The magic circle used to summon them is made of powdered silver.
Hound: Disciplined soldiers and vigilant sentinels, hound archons are valiant defenders of all that is good and holy. They value movement and swift yet thoughtful action, and delight in crushing evil; therefore, the best sacrifices when summoning a hound archon are magical shields imbued with holy power, ensorcelled rings or boots that grant swift or unfettered movement, or weaponry of great power.
Lantern: The least of the archons, lantern archons are friendly, and their greatest ambition is to see the cause of good advanced. To gain their favor, one should engage in a week’s worth of charity or make a sincere offering worth 100 gp to a good cause in the name of Heaven.
Trumpet: Mighty warriors and messengers, trumpet archons are the leaders of Heaven’s strike forces and the heralds of gods. To gain their favor, one must prove worthy of their presence; rather than making offerings of things, trumpet archons ask for sacrifices of service and time. Those who renege on their bonds see their fortunes begin to vanish, and take a -1 penalty on Persuasion rolls when dealings with good extraplanar creatures until they set matters right.
All daemons have a common goal: bringing death, destruction, and pain to mortals. They eat souls, and stop at nothing to sate their hunger for them. Daemons are not to be trifled with. The greater lords of the daemons—the deacons and the Four Horsemen themselves— are almost never summoned.
Whether this is because they force others to arrive in their place, or because they have somehow anchored themselves to the plane of Abaddon, none can say with certainty.
Daemons are immune to acid, disease, and poison, and all are vulnerable to silver weapons. They have resistance to cold, electricity, and fire.
Astradaemon: Powerful but relatively dim hunters of souls, astradaemons can only be bribed into service by two things — a feast of souls and the promise to spread death.
Cacodaemon: Savage and hungry, most cacodaemons cannot suppress their savage natures long enough to make deals. At best, the binder can trick a cacodaemon toward actions in concert with her purposes.
Ceustodaemon: The most common daemons summoned to the Material Plane, ceustodaemons are relatively easy to deal with, though none know if this is because of some deliberate action by more powerful daemons. They are often called guardian daemons, as they are frequently bound to that task.
Derghodaemon: No one summons a derghodaemon unless they are stupid, desperate for the services of a savage killer, or both. Less intelligent than cacodaemons and twice as vicious, derghodaemons do not deal with any creature, and relentlessly attempt to escape their binding, usually with brute force.
Hydrodaemon: On their home plane, these vile creatures swim the River Styx; on the Material Plane, they are often called to serve as guardians in swamps and sanctuaries of unscrupulous spellcasters. More pliable than most of their fiendish kin, hydrodaemons take treasure and the promise of souls as gifts for their services.
Leukodaemon: Leukodaemons are the deacons of the Horseman of Pestilence, and on the rare occasions that they are summoned, they make any deal a binder wants, as long as it somehow results in the spreading of disease and devastation.
Meladaemon: As deacons of the Horseman of Famine, meladaemons are rarely summoned by mortal spellcasters, and typically only agree to actions aligned with their own agendas or those of their lord.
Olethrodaemon: The mammoth olethrodaemons often make deals with mortals wishing to evoke devastation on rival lands, sometimes even asking only half the normal offering for the privilege. Even those olethrodaemons serving one of the Four Horsemen as paragons can be summoned, though it is often assumed that such a feat is done only at their master’s whim.
Piscodaemon: Lovers of misery, especially that of the strong and powerful, piscodaemons eagerly make deals with mortals who wish to use them as soldiers against the powers of good—especially armies composed of or led by paladins.
Purrodaemon: Steadfast servants of the Horseman of War, purrodaemons may be the easiest deacon daemons to summon. It seems their master often gives them leave to spread war on the Material Plane, but their service to any binder is often brief and violent, for both daemon and spellcaster.
Thanadaemon: As deacons of the Horseman of Death, thanadaemons are hardly ever summoned by mortal spellcasters, and when they are, the event portends a nearapocalyptic end of mortal life.
The great weakness of demons is a Bane (demon) weapon. Such weapons are one of the few types of weapons that all demons fear equally. When dealing with demons, it is best to remember that they abide by no contract other than power, and displaying power—or at least hints of it—is key to keeping them under control. Their magic circle is made of powdered cold iron.
All demons are immune to electricity and poison effects. Many have other resistances based on their forms and chaotic natures.
Balor: Balors do not come when summoned, and actively resist calls. Only the offer of a bound good outsider, or a helpless paladin or cleric, dims their rage at being snatched from their home. Even thus placated, they will surely seek revenge unless the mortal they face demonstrates a greater power.
Dretch: As the slave labor of the infinite Abyss, the lot of the dretch would be pitiable if the creature weren’t so contemptible. The best sacrifice for a dretch is the promise that it can spend at least a third of its time in servitude resting.
Glabrezu: These treacherous demons peddle in secrets that destroy, and to bring them to the Material Plane as interested negotiators, the caster must know secrets that can destroy influential families, bring down nations, or otherwise befoul the bedrock of society.
Hezrou: Expensive poisons and powerful potions worth at least 500 gp can pique the interest of these toadlike demons.
Kalavakus: These horned demons almost always barter for slaves in return for their services.
Marilith: Either powerful magic weapons (+2 enchantment or greater) or the promise of the command of armies of cults can lure a marilith; any offer less than this earns the caster a -4 penalty on any Persuasion checks.
Omox: These slimy demons enjoy the destruction of beautiful things. For their services, they often take “gifts” that involve the destruction of beautiful things — in particular an attractive young man or woman as sacrifice.
Quasit: Even more pathetic than the dretch, the quasit seeks only the assurance that it can return to the Abyss when its task is complete.
Shadow Demon: The shadow demon asks merely for the shell of a beautiful person to wear for the duration of its servitude. It does not care whether that shell is pure or impure.
Shemhazian: These powerful demons serve mortal spellcasters for only one price— when their service is done, they get to kill and devour the binder. This makes attempts to control them very rare. Sometimes they demand the life of the binder’s family or friends as well.
Succubus: The primary joy of the succubus is in destroying innocence and love; offering a child, virgin, or a beloved family member of the caster suffices to gain the interest of the succubus.
Vrock: The vrock loves to despoil and befoul things of great beauty. Artwork worth at least 250 gp or a living, intelligent creature to destroy are equally desirable sacrifices. As their dance of ruin attack is more powerful the more vrocks are involved, they are often conjured and bribed in groups.
Vrolikai: These transformed nabasus hate being summoned to the Material Plane, believing their time there is over and they are meant for greater things. When summoned, they typically ask for twice the normal amount in gifts. These demands are often accompanied by outrageous, sometimes impossible demands. They can eventually be reasoned with, but only when binders demonstrate power over them.
Devils regard both holy items and silver as deadly substances, and instinctively shy away from contact with such items. Even those for whom silver presents no danger avoid its touch whenever possible. Binders who want to deal with infernal outsiders as putative allies keep these substances at least 60 feet from the summoning circle; however, if they wish to threaten their infernal subjects, they keep them close at hand.
The powdered silver used to create the magic circle is a warning and a trap, but it is not an overt threat—summoned devils recognize it as part of the procedure to call them to the Material Plane. Note that even silver candlesticks or bells can be used as weapons of opportunity, but the best defense, should the wizard choose to display force, is a weapon bonded with alchemical silver.
An even better defense against devils, however, is a Bane weapon. As with demons, a Bane weapon is strong enough to drive through any devil’s natural defenses, and the presence of such an item in the summoning chamber is an affront to more powerful or subtle devils.
Note that all devils are immune to fire and poison; the blasted landscapes of their home plane quickly destroy any who show vulnerabilities to these effects. All devils can withstand acid and cold as well, though to varying degrees, and few of them show any fear of suffering that damage.
Additionally, one can enhance summoning for specific kinds of devils by appealing to those devils’ specific natures.
Barbed Devil: Extraordinarily jealous of their duties and even more so of their time, barbed devils may grudgingly accept offers of rare treasures and gems worth more than 2,000 gp—but only when the task takes less than 24 hours to complete. If the service takes any longer, the binder suffers -2 on Persuasion rolls.
Bearded Devil: The best way to attract the eye of a bearded devil is to offer a restrained victim for its bloody use, so that it might painfully murder its target.
Belier Devil: These massive masterminds are rarely summoned to the Material Plane, but when they are, they often try to finagle their way out of such circumstances as quickly as possible.
Bone Devil: These devils adore secrets and infernal lore, and those who provide hellish tomes or evidence of influential mortal vices are more easily able to bind a bone devil.
Erinyes: As the spirits of corrupted angels, erinyes are bitter and rage against the heavens. To entice an erinyes, offer it a significant holy item for it to despoil, or the cleric of a good-aligned god to ravish and ruin.
Handmaiden Devil: Deals made with handmaiden devils are often extremely hard bargains. They typically ask for the unthinkable, such as the lives of innocent children—the younger the better.
Ice Devil: As the schemers and planners of Hell’s devils, laboring in their personal machinations, gelugons are extraordinarily difficult to summon. However, casters willing to offer an exchange of services—one in which the caster is likely to see the short end of the deal—may earn a bonus. Those who renege on their bargains with gelugons often learn what it means to displease Hell.
Imp: Imps prefer small and bloody sacrifices that show the binder’s desire to do evil — for instance, a heart torn from a living dove.
Lemure: Lemures prefer reminders of their former lives, and so the best offering is food or pornography.
Pit Fiend: Pit fiends, the greatest of all the non-noble devils in Hell, are rarely tempted to answer a summons; when called, most of them come to see the stupidity or the arrogance that brought them to the Material Plane before snatching the wizard away for an eternity of torment. Only the greatest of promises, such as a noble offering the enslavement of an entire empire, a priest offering the destruction of holy relics, or an antipaladin pledging the delivery of a helpless and noteworthy angel for the pit fiend’s pleasure, might induce the pit fiend into service.
True elementals are simple creatures, thriving spirits animating bodies of pure elemental matter. They regard their lives as an eternal struggle to best themselves and each other. Each elemental type is uniquely suited to adapting to conditions on its particular plane, and is arrogant about its powers when surrounded by its element… and uniquely frightened and cowed when shown a greater power or encased in an element not its own. Most elementals do not bargain for favors— they respect only strength. Genies are the more human-like denizens of the elemental planes, both in shape and mentality. They consider themselves physically and culturally superior to true elementals.
In general, one summons an elemental for brute work and combat, and a genie for magical power or ancient wisdom, and would thus use summon monster and planar binding for those tasks, respectively. However, should a conjurer wish to bind an elemental as he would a genie or fiend, the ritual is one of wrestling with the elemental’s creativity in reaching its home element. Elementals ignore additional damage from Called Shots, ignore 1 point of Wound penalties, don’t breathe or eat, are immune to poison and disease, and can only be healed by magic or natural healing.
Genies seek and value power, though they are more brash and boastful than most. It is said the best way to secure the attentions of a genie is to speak its true name, and to offer it aid in battles against its political enemies—a wise conjurer researches the inner battles of geniekind before summoning a genie, or else is prepared to cow the genie with strong magic.
Air Elemental: When summoning an air elemental, inscribe the magic circle with diamond powder, and release the elemental only once it has acquiesced to the caster’s power. This costs an additional 2,000 gp.
Djinni: Tomes of knowledge or powerful wondrous items tempt djinn.
Earth Elemental: Prepare the summoning chamber with swirling wind- and air-based spells to prevent the elemental from touching the floor. Maintaining this state for five rounds demonstrates the binder’s superiority over the elemental.
Efreeti: These warlike creatures value weapons with enchantment bonuses of at least +2 and scrolls of Seasoned or higher Rank powers. Efreet also appreciate attractive humanoid slaves, which give a +1 bonus on any Persuasion checks for every 10 slaves offered.
Fire Elemental: When summoning a fire elemental, enclose the casting chamber with stone, remove flammable materials from the room, and prepare a magic circle and spells to protect against fire. Keeping large blocks of ice in the room saps the elemental’s power and cows it into submission more quickly.
Ice Elemental: Binders use actual fire, fire spells, protections against cold, and sometimes even fire creatures to keep ice elementals at bay during summoning. An ice elemental often yields to its binder as soon as serious melting occurs.
Invisible Stalker: The tactics used to bind invisible stalkers are similar to those used for binding air elementals. Unlike many elementals, invisible stalkers bargain for their services, which is why they are often summoned by mortal spellcasters.
Janni: The weakest of the genies, the jann are also proud and prone to insult. Gifts of rich fabrics, gems, or jewelry worth 1,000 gp or more soften their outlook.
Marid: Capricious and unpredictable, marids love performance and art—providing them artwork worth 1,000 gp or playing a piece piques their interest.
Sandman: Subtle and craftier than other elementals, these creatures nearly always bargain with their binder, but are arrogant and headstrong. Even after their task is done, they voluntarily remain on the Material Plane to wreak as much havoc as possible.
Shaitan: As the most dense and brash of the genies, shaitans like games of chance and physical skill best of all. The caster should offer services in exchange for a throw of the dice or a wrestling match—and go through with the offer.
Water Elemental: When summoning a water elemental, remove sources of water from the room and prepare a bonfire. A ring of fire around the magic circle exposes the elemental to its hated enemy the instant it appears on the Material Plane, distracting it long enough for the binder to seize control.
Originally created by the axiomites as an unflinching army to fight the chaotic proteans, inevitables used to fight an explicit war against those creatures but now wage an indirect war against them. Most inevitables fight this war by tracking down and rectifying egregious violations of law.
Incorruptible in its mission, when bound by a being who wishes to subvert it, an inevitable often waits the binder out. Inevitables simply refuse to deal with binders who wish to use them against their designed and decreed purpose.
Arbiter: Arbiters are the scouts and spies of the inevitables, and are typically bound to serve as familiars to lawful spellcasters, especially those who fight the taint of protean chaos.
Kolyarut: As the enforcers of bargains, kolyaruts can be bound into service to enforce a bargain. The binder needs to beware, though—if she fails to keep a bargain with a kolyarut, she can quickly become the subject of its punishment. Kolyaruts never bargain with known breakers of such agreements.
Lhaksharut: Concerned with keeping the various planes separate, lhaksharuts often make deals with mortal spellcasters working in concert with those goals. They are always willing to destroy links between planes, but sometimes agree to let a gateway stay open and serve as its protector as long as such a mission serves their primary function in some way. They never work against the separation of the planes.