Conjuration • Calling and Negotiating with Outsiders

Planar Ally, Lesser

Planar Ally — original illustration 1. Select the artwork to enlarge.

An envoy arrives from beyond the world, but it is not a servant bound to obey. The caller petitions an otherworldly power to send a lesser ally, then bargains for a precise service. Offerings open the way; the visitor chooses whether the terms are acceptable. Pathfinder and D&D 3.5e use their published fourth-level calling mechanics, while the two fifth-edition tabs provide optional lesser adaptations distinct from official sixth-level Planar Ally.

Lesser Planar Ally at a Glance

5.5e / 2024	Optional conversion: 4th-level Conjuration, Cleric or campaign Witch; a willing CR 2-or-lower Celestial, Elemental or Fiend, 10 minutes, negotiated service
5e / 2014	Optional conversion: 4th-level conjuration, Cleric or campaign Witch; CR 2-or-lower ally, 10-minute casting time, payment and consent required
Pathfinder 1e	Official Cleric 4: one called Outsider of up to 6 HD; 500 gp offerings plus separately negotiated payment; 10-minute casting time
D&D 3.5e	Official Cleric 4: one called Elemental or Outsider of up to 6 HD; 100 XP casting cost plus payment; 10-minute casting time
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Important: the official 2024 and 2014 Planar Ally spells are 6th-level Conjuration, not lesser 4th-level spells. The modern tabs below contain clearly labelled, complete optional 4th-level adaptations; their creature limits and payment suggestions must never be presented as published 5e rules. The two older panels retain their official 6-Hit-Die calling mechanics.

Spell Rules

5.5e / 20245e / 2014Pathfinder 1eD&D 3.5e

Lesser Planar Ally — 5.5e / 2024

Optional 2024 rules conversion — not an official spell. This original fourth-level version is available only if the Games Master authorises it. The actual 2024 Planar Ally is a separate 6th-level spell for Clerics.

Level / School	4th-level Conjuration
Suggested Classes	Cleric; optional Witch by campaign permission
Casting Time	10 minutes (not a Ritual)
Range	60 feet
Components	V, S, M (an offering worth 100 gp, consumed)
Duration	Instantaneous; the agreed service lasts up to one hour
Effect	One willing Celestial, Elemental or Fiend chosen by the Games Master, Challenge Rating 2 or lower
Saving Throw	None
Damage	None
Agreement	Bargained service only; the creature is not compelled

Calling, not commanding. Name a known otherworldly patron or power that might send a servant. The Games Master chooses one willing Celestial, Elemental or Fiend of Challenge Rating 2 or lower from that power’s allies; you may request a particular creature by name, but the patron is not obliged to send it. The creature appears in an unoccupied space within 60 feet and is genuinely present on the world. It is not under your control or automatically Friendly.

One negotiated task. You must be able to communicate with the visitor. Bargaining takes at least one round; it can act on an agreed service no earlier than the next round. It can refuse a demand, set conditions or request a nonmonetary payment. The service may last for no more than one hour, even if completed earlier. When the service ends or a bargain cannot be reached, the visitor returns to its home plane. This spell does not confer mind control, a permanent companion or a new monster stat block.

Payments — this optional conversion only. The 100 gp offering is consumed during casting whether or not a bargain succeeds. For one nonhazardous task lasting up to 10 minutes, suggested additional payment is 50 gp; for up to one hour, 250 gp. The service payment can take the form of treasure, a donation or a clearly defined quest. The Games Master may halve the service fee for an especially suitable request, double it for a dangerous task, or have the ally reject a suicidal demand. These costs are not the official 2024/2014 Planar Ally prices and do not derive from Pathfinder’s gp-per-Hit-Die schedule.

Failure and protections. A patron may decline to answer or send an unhelpful envoy, at the Games Master’s discretion; the casting offering is still spent. The called creature is not a disposable summoned spirit: it can be attacked and injured, and death has whatever consequences its stat block and the campaign’s plane rules specify. Magic that prevents planar arrival or travel may block the effect. This instantaneous casting does not require Concentration after the creature appears.

Example. A seventh-level Cleric calls a CR 2-or-lower messenger and bargains for ten minutes of scouting. The spell consumes 100 gp in offerings. A standard nonhazardous ten-minute task suggests 50 gp more in service payment, for 150 gp total; the visitor must still agree. No edition’s official sixth-level Planar Ally mechanics have been substituted for this homebrew variant.

Lesser Planar Ally — 5e / 2014

Optional 2014 rules conversion — not an official spell. This original fourth-level version is available only if the Games Master authorises it. The actual 2014 Planar Ally is a separate 6th-level spell for Clerics.

Level / School	4th-level conjuration
Suggested Classes	Cleric; optional Witch by campaign permission
Casting Time	10 minutes (not a Ritual)
Range	60 feet
Components	V, S, M (an offering worth 100 gp, consumed)
Duration	Instantaneous; the agreed service lasts up to one hour
Effect	One willing Celestial, Elemental or Fiend chosen by the Games Master, Challenge Rating 2 or lower
Saving Throw	None
Damage	None
Agreement	Bargained service only; the creature is not compelled

Planar Ally, Lesser — Pathfinder 1e

Cleric spell level 4. Edition source.

School	conjuration (calling) [see text]
Level	cleric 4
Casting Time	10 minutes
Components	V, S, M (offerings worth 500 gp plus payment, see text), DF
Range	close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect	one called outsider of 6 HD or less
Duration	instantaneous
Saving Throw	none
Spell Resistance	no

By casting this spell, you request your deity to send you an outsider (of 6 HD or less) of the deity’s choice. If you serve no particular deity, the spell is a general plea answered by a creature sharing your philosophical alignment. If you know an individual creature’s name, you may request that individual by speaking the name during the spell (though you might get a different creature anyway).

You may ask the creature to perform one task in exchange for a payment from you. Tasks might range from the simple to the complex. You must be able to communicate with the creature called in order to bargain for its services.

The creature called requires a payment for its services. This payment can take a variety of forms, from donating gold or magic items to an allied temple, to a gift given directly to the creature, to some other action on your part that matches the creature’s alignment and goals. Regardless, this payment must be made before the creature agrees to perform any services. The bargaining takes at least 1 round, so any actions by the creature begin in the round after it arrives.

A task taking up to 1 minute per caster level requires a payment of 100 gp per HD of the creature called. For a task taking up to 1 hour per caster level, the creature requires a payment of 500 gp per HD. A long-term task, one requiring up to 1 day per caster level, requires a payment of 1,000 gp per HD.

A nonhazardous task requires only half the indicated payment, while an especially hazardous task might require a greater gift. Few if any creatures will accept a task that seems suicidal (remember, a called creature actually dies when it is killed, unlike a summoned creature). However, if the task is strongly aligned with the creature’s ethos, it may halve or even waive the payment.

At the end of its task, or when the duration bargained for expires, the creature returns to its home plane (after reporting back to you, if appropriate and possible).

Note: When you use a calling spell that calls an air, chaotic, earth, evil, fire, good, lawful, or water creature, it is a spell of that type.

Planar Ally, Lesser — D&D 3.5e

Cleric spell level 4. Edition source.

School	Conjuration (Calling) [see text]
Level	Clr 4
Components	V, S, DF, XP
Casting Time	10 minutes
Range	Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect	One called elemental or outsider of 6 HD or less
Duration	Instantaneous
Saving Throw	None
Spell Resistance	No

By casting this spell, you request your deity to send you an elemental or outsider (of 6 HD or less) of the deity’s choice. If you serve no particular deity, the spell is a general plea answered by a creature sharing your philosophical alignment. If you know an individual creature’s name, you may request that individual by speaking the name during the spell (though you might get a different creature anyway).

A task taking up to 1 minute per caster level requires a payment of 100 gp per HD of the creature called. For a task taking up to 1 hour per caster level, the creature requires a payment of 500 gp per HD. A long-term task, one requiring up to one day per caster level, requires a payment of 1,000 gp per HD.

At the end of its task, or when the duration bargained for expires, the creature returns to its home plane (after reporting back to you, if appropriate and possible).

Note: When you use a calling spell that calls an air, chaotic, earth, evil, fire, good, lawful, or water creature, it is a spell of that type.

XP Cost: 100 XP.

Edition Status

5.5e / 2024	Optional 4th-level conversion: complete calling and payment mechanics appear in the 2024 tab; the published Planar Ally remains a separate 6th-level Cleric spell.
5e / 2014	Optional 4th-level conversion: complete 2014-formatted mechanics appear in that tab; there is no official spell by this exact lesser name.
Pathfinder 1e	Official Cleric 4 spell with its 6-Hit-Die Outsider limit, 500 gp offerings and a service-payment schedule.
D&D 3.5e	Official Cleric 4 spell allowing an Elemental or Outsider of up to 6 Hit Dice, with a 100 XP casting cost and negotiated service payment.

What Changed?

5.5e / 2024: the optional 4th-level spell calls a willing Celestial, Elemental or Fiend of Challenge Rating 2 or lower. Casting consumes a 100 gp offering; an agreed task lasts at most one hour. The published Planar Ally is a separate 6th-level spell with different payment and service rules.
5e / 2014: the optional version uses 2014 action and spell terminology, still without domination or automatic service. It is not the published 2014 6th-level Planar Ally.
Pathfinder 1e: the deity or allied patron sends one Outsider of up to 6 Hit Dice. Casting costs 500 gp in offerings, plus a payment negotiated by task duration and the creature’s Hit Dice.
D&D 3.5e: the spell can call either an Elemental or an Outsider of up to 6 Hit Dice, expends 100 XP in casting and then negotiates payment; there is no 500 gp Pathfinder material offering.
All editions: this is calling, not mind control. The ally retains its will, and payment or a mutually accepted task is required before service.

Using Lesser Planar Ally in Play

The spell is most useful when the service matters more than the called creature’s combat strength: finding a planar guide, securing the testimony of an outsider, arranging passage through a dangerous region, or bargaining for one specialised task. A called being is a negotiator and potential ally, not a puppet.

What Do You Ask the Ally to Do?

Decide what the characters need before calling. A messenger can carry a warning across hostile territory; a creature familiar with planar roads can identify a route; a guard may protect a ritual circle for a short time. State the task’s objective, deadline, dangers and proposed payment before bargaining.

The Games Master determines which being answers the call and whether it can provide the requested service. An offer that conflicts with the creature’s nature, obligations or survival may be refused even when the caster has wealth enough to pay.

Second original Planar Ally fantasy illustration showing a planar calling scene — Planar Ally — original illustration 2. Select to enlarge.

The Price of a Promise

Third original Planar Ally fantasy illustration accompanying a bargain with an otherworldly visitor — Planar Ally — original illustration 3. Select to enlarge.

Offerings and service payments are different expenses. Pathfinder uses a 500 gp offering as a spell component and separate payment tied to the outsider’s Hit Dice and task duration. D&D 3.5e instead charges 100 XP for the casting and then negotiates service payment. The optional 2024 and 2014 variants have their own clearly designated lower-level costs in the appropriate tabs.

Make the agreement clear: who serves, what they will do, how long they will remain, what payment they receive, and what conditions let either side end the bargain. If an agreement fails, the caller still expends the cost of casting. Do not turn an instantaneous calling effect into a Concentration summon that follows every command.

Counterplay and Rulings

Visible clue. A newly called being appears near a ritual petitioner, without behaving like an automatically obedient combat summon. Payment, introductions and bargaining should occur before work begins.

Detection. Knowledge of planar creatures, their languages and their loyalties can help identify what was sent and whether it could actually accomplish the offered task. In the legacy rules the visitor is chosen by the petitioned deity or by a power sharing the caller’s alignment, not dictated by a shopping list of stat blocks.

Interruption. Prevent the ten-minute casting from finishing, or use appropriate Counterspell rules where available. Wards that bar planar travel may obstruct the arrival. After an instantaneous calling has resolved, Dispel Magic does not automatically dismiss a fully independent creature.

Contract. The ally is not dominated and can reject suicidal, hazardous or ill-defined demands. Resolve its speech, requests and compensation before beginning its service. A creature with no common means of communication cannot successfully negotiate the bargain without translation.

Payment. Pathfinder: 500 gp offerings plus the HD-based agreed fee. D&D 3.5e: 100 XP casting cost plus negotiated fee. Optional modern conversions: the specifically labelled 100 gp offering and separate service proposal. Do not import any one edition’s numbers into another.

When service ends. The called creature returns to its home plane after the task or agreed period, if possible; it is not a permanent party member. A completed calling is not equivalent to concentrating on an ordinary summoning spell.

Worked Examples: The Price of Aid

Pathfinder 1e — an 8th-level Cleric

An 8th-level Cleric calls a 6-Hit-Die Outsider for a task that lasts no longer than 8 minutes (one minute per caster level). The spell requires 500 gp in offerings as its material component. The normal service payment is 100 gp × 6 HD = 600 gp, making the combined cost 1,100 gp. A nonhazardous task ordinarily reduces the negotiated service payment to 300 gp, but not the 500 gp component, making a combined 800 gp. A task that can take up to 8 hours instead has the base service payment of 500 gp × 6 HD = 3,000 gp in addition to offerings.

D&D 3.5e — an 8th-level Cleric

The caster requests a 6-Hit-Die Elemental or Outsider and pays the spell’s 100 XP casting cost. For a task of at most 8 minutes, the regular service payment is 600 gp (100 gp × 6 HD). A longer 8-hour service costs 3,000 gp before hazard or ethos adjustments. Unlike Pathfinder, the 3.5e spell does not require the Pathfinder 500 gp offering; the 100 XP cost is separate from any service fee.

2024 and 2014 — optional lesser conversion

A 7th-level Cleric requests a small planar messenger, which the Games Master chooses from suitable CR 2-or-lower Celestials, Elementals or Fiends. The caller expends 100 gp of offerings while casting. The messenger agrees to a ten-minute nonhazardous errand for the suggested extra 50 gp, making 150 gp total. If it refuses, the offering is still spent and no work is done. This formula is a homebrew design for the lesser spell; it is not the official sixth-level Planar Ally price table.

Mythical Context

In Book One of Homer’s Iliad, Achilles calls upon his mother Thetis, who then petitions Zeus on his behalf. The appeal depends on a relationship and the granting of a favour, not on the son commanding a greater power. Lesser Planar Ally draws upon a similar pattern: an intermediary is asked for help, and the nature of the requested service matters.

Hermes, too, travels between the divine and mortal worlds as messenger and guide. Stories of divine envoys make a natural mythic parallel for a visiting otherworldly ally without suggesting that a game spell’s numerical limits appear in ancient texts.

Thetis and the appeal to Zeus — ancient Greek sources · Hermes, messenger and guide

Historical Context

In the ancient Greek world, petitioners travelled to sanctuaries to seek advice and favour from the gods. Delphi became especially renowned for the oracle of Apollo, where ritual offerings and consultation formed part of an enduring civic and religious institution. Such records give historical context for reciprocal petitions and costly gifts; they are not evidence that a real planar creature was summoned or compelled to serve.

UNESCO World Heritage — Archaeological Site of Delphi

Related Magic

← Witch Spell Lists

Rules Sources and Licensing

2024 reference: Planar Ally (2024), a published 6th-level Conjuration spell for Clerics; its rules derive from SRD 5.2.1, available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. 2014 reference: Planar Ally (2014), likewise 6th level, with separately established rules in SRD 5.1. The fourth-level lesser mechanics above are original optional adaptations; their CR cap, spell offerings and negotiated fee suggestions are not official 5e rules.

Pathfinder 1e: Planar Ally, Lesser — Core Rulebook, including a 500 gp offering, a called Outsider of up to 6 HD and the payment-by-task schedule. D&D 3.5e: Planar Ally, Lesser — SRD, including a 100 XP cost and an Elemental or Outsider of up to 6 HD. These legacy spell mechanics are Open Game Content under the Open Game License v1.0a. The complete licence and inherited Section 15 notices are retained below. Artwork, optional modern conversions, original campaign prose, and added play examples are not claimed as third-party Open Game Content.

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