Summoning a Power of Hell

The Gates of Hell (Dice Freaks) Grimoire of Cosmic Entities Volume One By Eli Atkinson, William Church and Serge W. Desir, Jr.

Original Concept by Serge W. Desir, Jr.

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Of all the Powers of Hell, the Duke is the most frequently summoned to the Prime Material. Although ranking lower than an Arch-Devil and Lord-Regent, a Duke is far less likely to destroy obviously weak conjurers because a Duke is always looking for an opportunity to increase its access to mortal souls and reaps a great deal more from mortal interaction than the higher ranking devils.

There are a fair number of mortals who seek to treat with a Duke of Hell, knowing full well what they risk in such a venture because of the potential of great reward. Indeed, there are even those who will summon a Duke with the intent of destroying the creature (incidentally and unsurprisingly, it is among this number that the best summoning techniques have been developed). Yet, in all cases, the presence of a Duke of Hell will at the very least impact the life of the conjurer if not an entire area once any form of summons is completed.

Generally, summons require a significant length of time to complete, which is why a Duke rarely finds itself in a situation in which it is interrupted when brought into the Prime. It is also important to note that a Duke typically only offer boons after it has been summoned to the mortal coil. First, the Duke knows how difficult it is for mortals to breach planar boundaries in the process; it is also aware of the degree of sacrifice necessary for a successful calling. Both of these factors indicate how serious (and foolish) the mortal is about establishing a contract. Second, a Duke knows full well that once a summons takes place, a certain radius within the summons will suffer a spiritual wound for a relatively long period of time, increasing the chance of the Duke’s (or the Duke’s servants) return to the Prime. These two factors prove to the Duke that a contact is a very likely end result of a summons, thus making the excursion to the mortal coil a worthwhile investment of time (and risk) for the Duke.

There are three primary ways to bring a Duke of Hell into the world:

• Incantation of the Pit: This powerful incantation allows the uninitiated to summon a Duke of Hell to the Prime, but entails the greatest amount of risk for the conjurer and the world at large.
• Circle of the Nine Pits: The most traditional means to summon a Duke of Hell, the circle of summoning generally protects the conjurer(s) and reveals to the Duke that a potentially lucrative deal is around the corner. However, the cost for this summons is steep and almost guarantees that the conjurer’s soul is seeped in evil before its casting.
• Circle of Locking the Nine Gates: The most powerful of the summoning methods, the circle of locking is used by those seeking to either bind a Duke of Hell to service or those seeking to destroy or permanently banish a Duke of Hell. This method runs the greatest risk for both the conjurer(s) and the Duke, but guarantees the greatest rewards for the conjurer(s) at least for a time.

It is worth repeating that not a single one of these means is fool or tamper-proof and that none of them completely eliminate the adverse impact of a Power’s presence in the Prime . Those concerned about the effect of a Power’s presence in the Prime may make use of summoning sanctuary (see above) or similar protections, in addition to the usual precautions.

Circle of the Nine Pits

Conjuration (Summoning) [Evil, Lawful]
Spellcraft DC: 99
Components: V, S, M, Sacrifice, XP
Casting Time: 9 hours
Range: 75 feet
Duration: 9 minutes (D)
Saving throw: Will Negates (see text)
Spell Resistance: Yes (see text)

To Develop: 891,000 gp, 18 days, 35,640 XP. Seed: summon (DC 14), ward (DC 14). Factor: Summon a CR 29 creature (+54), summon unique creature (+60), increase duration 350% (+14), allow CR of Duke to be summoned to be increased by +1 for each additional 200 XP spent during casting (ad hoc +2), dismissible by caster (+2), two magic circles against evil (ad hoc +14 DC). Mitigating Factors: unique component (ad hoc – 9), burn 3,600 XP during casting (-40), increase casting time to 9 hours (-20), 3d6 backlash Sanity (or 2d3 Will) to the primary caster (-3 DC), crushed silver for magic circles 4,500 each (ad hoc -3 DC).

A powerful example of Forbidden Magic, circle of the Nine Pits is only cast by the wealthiest, most powerful, and most desperate (or foolish) mortals. This powerful epic ritual allows the casters to summon a Duke of Hell in order to discuss potential contracts, ask questions of it, and even establish some kind of treaty or agreement with relatively small chance of the Duke breaching the wards of protection.

The creation of the circle requires the same general physical requirements as the incantation of the Pit (at night and on unhallowed ground). However, it takes a great deal longer to prepare and successfully cast… not to mention it is extremely expensive. Once the arrangements are made, the caster and supporters begin the spell nine hours before midnight, offering supplications to the Powers of Hell, including appropriate sacrifices. Thereafter, the casters can see Hell in their minds’ eye, giving them a final opportunity to abandon their task. If the casters continue, the two magic circles of protection from evil are empowered, one within the other. Finally, the Duke of Hell appears in a spectacle of its want within the two magic circles of protection. The appearance of a Duke of Hell is a terrible, psychic experience that scars the soul of those that witness the arrival; the primary caster immediately suffers 3d6 points of Sanity damage in addition to whatever Sanity damage the Duke deals.

The Duke is present for up to 9 minutes during which time it may interact with the casters, although it has the right to return to Hell at any time prior. The Duke is under no compulsion to be honest or polite with the casters; however, the Duke is unable to take any hostile action unless the Duke is attacked or a caster (or something else) breaches either magic circle of protection from evil. The Duke can attempt to breach the ward itself, although it would take a grave insult for the Duke to bother trying; a Duke receives a Will save DC 99 in order to breach one of the two wards one time during the duration of the summons (note that in the event that the caster attempts hostilities upon the Duke’s person, the save DC requirement to breach the ward is removed, and the Duke instead makes a caster level check to determine whether he can ignore the wards by means of Spell Resistance). Upon the end of the time frame, the Duke will depart with the appropriate spectacle.

This spell allows the summons of the weakest known Duke of Hell, Titivulus. For more powerful Peers, the caster can burn additional XP in order to meet the CR requirement; additionally, in the case of summoning an Arch-Devil, 18,000 gp in silver is required. For a Lord of the Nine, 27,000 gp in silver is required. It is important to note that a Lord so summoned is not bound by the paltry defenses of this spell and, although unable to remain in the Prime for longer than nine minutes, can reach through the ward and do with the caster as he desires.

XP Cost: 3,600 XP

The Circle of Locking the Nine Gates (epic ritual)

Conjuration (Summoning)
Spellcraft DC: 136 or more
Components: V, S, M, XP, Ritual
Casting Time: see below
Range: 75 feet
Effect: One summoned Duke of Hell
Duration: 27 rounds
Saving Throw: Will negates (see text)
Spell Resistance: No

To Develop: 1,215,000 gp; 25 days; 48,600 XP. Seed: destroy (DC 29), summon (DC 14), summon (DC 14), ward (DC 14). Factors: summon a unique creature (DC +60), summon a CR 29 creature (+54 DC), one magic circle against evil (ad hoc +10 DC), maximized damage for destroy seed (ad hoc +10 DC), prevent regeneration from divine damage (ad hoc +2), allow no save against damage from destroy seed (ad hoc +10), allow CR of Duke to be summoned to be increased by +1 for each additional 200 XP spent during casting (ad hoc +2), alter effect of second summon seed to banish (ad hoc +2), banish unique creature (ad hoc +60), enforce banishment for 9d100 years (ad hoc +30). Mitigating factors: Eight additional casters contributing 5 th level spell slots (-72 DC), 3d6 backlash Sanity (or 1d4 Wisdom damage) (-4 DC) to the primary caster, burn 9,900 XP (in equal shares from all participants) (-81 DC).

One of the greatest spells designed by mortals, The circle of locking the Nine Gates allows the mighty or the misguided to accomplish a feat few dare dream of: the ability to permanently defeat a Duke of Hell. In locking the Nine Gates, casters may either banish a Duke of Hell from the mortal coil for generations (if not permanently) or may permanently destroy a Duke of Hell, forever freeing the Cosmos of its malevolence. Mighty locking the Nine Gates may be, it still requires tremendous sacrifice on the part of those brave or foolish enough to call on its power.

Unlike the incantation of the pit and the circle of the Nine Pits, locking the Nine Gates does not require any particular time for casting and has no monetary value associated with it. In spite of this, most casters tend to call on its power during the dawn, believing that as the light of a new day emerges, the powers of darkness are at their weakest. And many, through misinformation, also use the very same material components associated with the circle of the Nine Pits. In any case, time of day and material components matter not in successfully casting the locking. All that is required are stout souls willing to risk more than their lives in the face of eternal tyranny. Still, there are some factors (discussed below) that may have a beneficial impact on the effects of this spell once the Duke of Hell is brought into the mortal coil.

The circle of the locking the Nine Gates is best cast in an area that can easily be stained with blood. The blood of all participants is used to create the single magic circle against evil – facing inwards – to keep the Duke of Hell in place. As a result, this Forbidden Magic is usually cast on stone foundations.
Then, in an invocation to any force opposed to the Powers of Hell, the caster(s) asks for a blessing from on high. As the spell progresses, the blood that creates the magic circle takes on a golden or silver sheen. With the final invocation by the caster(s), the Duke of Hell is suddenly dragged from Hell and forced into the center of the magic circle against evil. Once the Duke appears, it immediately realizes that it is at grave risk for its very life. The Duke finds that it can-not return to the Pit and that it cannot summon or call allies for the duration of the spell. What happens next depends on the caster(s) intent.

If the caster seeks to banish the Duke from future summons, he begins to call on the power of his god, patron celestial, creed, or (in extremely rare cases) demonic master, to cast the devil back into the Pit where it can be chained for a millennium. Every three rounds for the next 27 rounds, the Duke of Hell is allowed a Will saving throw to overcome the effect; if the Duke attempts to breach the ward (as described in circle of the Nine Pits), he is automatically banished (as described below) with no saving throw (the Duke is aware of this, and so can make its own informed choice). If the Duke of Hell ever fails three consecutive saves, he is banished to Hell for the next 9d100 years (neither the Duke nor the summoner know how long the banishment will last, although a well prepared Legend Lore spell can reveal clues to the truth). Nothing, not even a greater cosmic entity nor a god, can allow the Duke access to the mortal coil during the first 90 years of its imprisonment. The Will save the Duke is forced to make may be further modified by conditions included in the table below (unless otherwise noted, the conditions stack).

If the caster hopes to destroy the Duke of Hell, a slightly different effect occurs once the Duke appears. The Duke’s entry into to the mortal coil is a painful one as not only is the Duke forced to the Prime, but so too is a portion of Hell. The simultaneous placement of these two realities causes grave damage to the Duke; the Duke immediately suffers 120 points of divine damage, with no saving throw. The Duke does not regenerate this damage during the duration of the spell (although he may use other means to heal). At this point, the caster(s) must enter the magic circle against evil in order to battle with the Duke. Should the Duke attempt to breach the wards surrounding him as described in circle of the Nine Pits, he automatically suffers 120 points of damage per attempt. Most Dukes commit to battling those insolent enough to summon it in this fashion, calling on all its might and knowledge to lay low its attackers.

Whether the intent is to banish or to destroy the Duke, the duration of the spell is always 27 rounds. If after that time has elapsed the Duke is neither banished nor destroyed, the spell ceases to function and the Duke is free. It may summon or call reinforcements, may return to Hell, or may wander the mortal coil for up to nine days. Most Dukes, unless gravely wounded, are guaranteed to exact immediate revenge against at least one of its tormentors before retreating to slowly ruin the lives of
other living adversaries.

The circle of locking the Nine Gates can be adjusted to summon more powerful Dukes, Arch-Devils, or even a Lord of the Nine by sacrificing additional XP at the time of casting to meet the CR requirement. Only the primary caster is able to sacrifice this additional XP amount. While a Lord of the Nine can be banished and (theoretically) destroyed by this the use of the circle of locking the Nine Gates, any successful binding achieved upon a Lord lasts no more than 9 days. Woe to any foolish enough to attempt this on a Lord-Regent of Hell.

Some casters that attempt the locking do so not to banish or destroy a Courtier, but rather to “bind” a Courtier to a particular service. Although possibly a foolhardy approach, to garner service by threatening such a powerful creature with long-term banishment or destruction, there are cases of this approach working out successfully for the caster. The Courtier can be bargained with during the
27 rounds, and may decide to carry out some request for the caster; however, this will generally incur the wrath of Hell. The Courtier, once having given its word, will generally perform whatever service it has agreed to, but will also attempt to utilize loopholes to avoid or alter the terms of service.

Note: Table below gives details of factors which may improve the chances of this spell being successful. These factors have not been included in the development of the spell, but are rather blessings of the gods or cosmic entities related to these factors at the time of casting this magick.

XP Cost: 9,900 XP.

Save DC Modifiers for Locking the Nine Gates (banish)
Primary Caster Condition	Spell’s Save DC Modifier
Access to the Dark Speech feat	+3 DC
Access to the Words of Creation feat	+4 DC
Cast on hallowed ground	+7 DC
Primary caster is a good-aligned cleric	+2 DC
Primary caster is Chaotic Good	+5 DC
Primary caster is a Servant of Heaven (Lawful Good)	+5 DC
Primary caster is the Thrall of a Demon	+3 DC

Incantation of the Pit (cooperative incantation)

Conjuration (Calling)
Effective Level: 9 th
Skill Check: Diplomacy DC 27, 1 success; Knowledge (arcane) DC 27, 3 successes; Knowledge (the planes) DC 27, 3 successes; Knowledge (religion) DC 27, 2 successes.
Failure: Attack
Components: V, S, M, XP, SC, B
Casting Time: 9 minutes
Range: Touch
Target: You
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

Through foul rites, steadfast adherence to obscure cosmic laws, and supplication to the powers of darkness, incantation of the pit allows the caster to open a seething rift between the Realities Beyond to call on one of Dukes of Hell. Despite its relative ease in casting, incantation of the pit is far less likely than its Forbidden Magic counterpart to conclude successfully for the caster.

The incantation of the Pit requires that the casters (of which there can be up to nine) create two magic circles of protection against evil with silver dust on subterranean, unhallowed ground within an hour before midnight. They must leave at least nine feet of space between the two magic circles. Then, by chanting infernal rites within the centre magic circle, the casters must beseech the appearance of a given Duke of Hell, announcing all the appropriate titles and associations of the Duke in order to draw its attention. The casters must name the proper magicks with which the Duke identifies, the Realities with which the Duke is associated, and finally the ideals the Duke upholds.

When the incantation is complete, utter darkness encompasses a 90-foot radius extending from the centre magic circle of protection against evil for one minute after which the Duke or the Duke’s lackey appears within the space between the two magic circles (therefore, it is important that the casters can see in magical darkness or can dispel it as per the Duke’s spell-like ability caster level). The Duke’s appearance may or may not be accompanied by appropriate spectacle depending on the nature of the Duke; regardless, the appearance of a Duke of Hell is a terrible psychic experience that scars the soul of those that witness the arrival. Once the Duke appears, it can remain on the Prime Material for up to 9 minutes, although it has the right to return to Hell at any time prior. The Duke is under no compulsion to be honest or polite with the casters; however, the Duke is unable to take any hostile action unless the Duke is attacked or a caster (or something else) breaches either magic circle of protection. At the end of the time frame, the Duke will depart with the appropriate spectacle and the magical darkness will end. All participants will immediately contract devil chills and the caster is exhausted.

Failure: Even if the casters speak each of these rites with perfection, there is only a 90% chance that the actual Duke will answer the summons and appear in person between the two magic circles of protection against evil. Each failed skill check reduces the chance for success by 10%. If there are two consecutive missed skill checks, not only is the incantation ruined, a fiendish servant (see sidebar to determine the power of the servant) of the Duke appears, and one or both (randomly selected by the DM) of the magic circles of protection against evil are broken, allowing whatever comes through the incantation of the Pit to attack PCs or flee into the unsuspecting surroundings.

Material Component: 5,000 gp in silver dust to create the magic circles of protection from evil and a totem and/or materials of interest or significance to the Duke worth at least 500 gp (see the description of each individual Duke for details on appropriate material components).

The Price of Failure

The incantation of the pit is not without its dangers. In the event that the incantation goes awry, a fiendish servant appears to attack the casters, or generally cause havoc on the Prime. Because the fiend is called to the Prime, rather than summoned, it remains until it wishes to leave, or until it is banished. As a general rule, the more powerful the Duke summoned, the more dangerous the fiend that is sent in his stead if the incantation is performed incorrectly. The table below gives the base creature (or creatures) sent in the stead of a Duke upon the failure of the incantation of the pit, along with appropriate scalings of power for Dukes more powerful than usual (the scaling column dictates what the CR increase of the called creature should be in relation to the relative ‘overpower’ of the Duke summoned). Thus, when using the incantation of the pit to summon Abigor, a CR 35 Duke of Hell from Avernus, his challenge rating is ‘overpowered’ for his layer by 4 points, and so the barbazu called should increase in terms of its challenge rating by 2 points (+1/2 per point of overpower, or ½ x 4 = +2). This increase can be done in whatever fashion seems most appropriate to the DM (e.g. increase the barbazu’s HD by 4 in the example given, or call a second barbazu).

Duke’s Layer of Origin	Duke’s Assumed CR	Creature Called	Scaling
Avernus	31	barbazu (advanced to 12 HD)	+1/2 CR
Dis	32	erinyes (advanced to 12 HD)	+1/2 CR
Minauros	33	Kyton (advanced to 14 HD)	+1/2 CR
Phlegethon (Phlegethos)	34	Fallen Astral Deva	+3/4 CR
Stygia	35	Barregon	+3/4 CR
Malbolge	36	Cornugon	+3/4 CR
Malodomini	37	Fallen Planetar	+1 CR
Cania	38	Gelugon	+1 CR
Nessus	39	Pit Fiend	+1 CR

XP Component: 900 XP (thus, nine casters would each sacrifice 100 XP).

Backlash: The primary caster is exhausted. All participants suffer 2d6 points of Sanity damage upon the Duke’s arrival (if you are not using Sanity, then the participants suffer 1d3 points of Wisdom damage). Upon the Duke’s departure, all participants contract devil chills. The participants are not entitled to saving throws to avoid these effects.

Extra Casters: Up to nine. If there is only one caster, the skill check DCs increase to 29.