Planar Ally (M. Cook)

Location: DMG, pg. 166, footnoteOriginal: "The XP chart doesn't support awards for encounters eight or more Challenge Ratings above the party's level. If the party is taking on challenges that far above their level, something strange is going on, and the DM needs to think carefully about the awards rather than just taking them off of a table."New: As per Monte Cook, "I've been thinking for a while now that the HD limits on the planar ally spells are all too high. What the spells seem to overlook is that planar creature's HD is not a good way to measure power. As a house rule, I'd advise something more like:

• Lesser Planar Ally: Up to 6 HD (that's a barbazu or a hound archon, for example)
• Planar Ally: Up to 8 HD (that's an avoral, or a vrock, but not a pit fiend or a planetar)
• Greater Planar Ally: Up to 16 HD (that's all the high-end fiends, but not a solar)

Or, better yet, perhaps CR should be used to judge rather than HD? Something like nothing higher than the CR of the minimum level a caster would need to be to cast the spell." (as posted on Eric Noah's site on 05.01.01Source: DND-L ArchiveBy: Brannon HollingsworthImported from a previous version of Planewalker.com