What spells or abilities can be used with Planar Binding?

[soldersbushwack]

I think there are three key conditions:


Casting Time: 1 hour


bind a celestial, an elemental, a fey, or a fiend


If the creature was summoned or created by another spell, that spell’s duration is extended to match the duration of this spell.

So you can use Planar Binding on any one of these creatures just walking around and even on other people's familiars and stuff. The interaction with Find Familiar and Find Steed is odd but all it basically lets you do is take control of other people's allies for a while (but only if they have the right type and are shaped like a quasit or similar.)

I've scoured the books and I think I've found all the spells that work by raw with Planar Binding. Note that there are some Unearthed Arcana spells I haven't checked.


Conjure Minor Elementals [druid, wizard]
Conjure Woodland Beings [druid, ranger]
Conjure Elemental [druid, wizard]
Planar Ally [cleric]
Conjure Fey [druid, warlock]
Conjure Celestial [cleric]
Simulacrum [wizard]
Gate [cleric, sorcerer, wizard]
Wish [sorcerer, wizard]



Most of these are obvious but interestingly one can use this spell on Planar Ally and Simulacrum. Obviously, one can use Planar Binding on an enemy's minion and turn them against themselves but I think a bard with Magical Secrets could grab Planar Ally and have a lot of fun. However, it seems to me that a Planar Ally can leave immediately if not happy with negotiations (or someone attempts Planar Binding on them) so I think protections like Magic Circle and an immediate Dominate Monster would be required. Having multiple people working together would be best. The Simulacrum is useful for better controlling potential Simulacrum chains.

Also, does anyone know if any supplements have spells that work with these?

[ATHATH]

There's a UA article called "That Old Black Magic" that has some demon-summoning spells. You might have to use some Extend metamagic to keep the summoned demons around long enough for you to bind them, though.

[soldersbushwack]

Also Find Vehicle from Modern Magic seems to work with Planar Binding.

[SharkForce]

true polymorph can create creatures.

could've swore simulacrum was limited to creature types that you can't use planar binding on (and more importantly, checking my PHB confirms that it definitely is... you can make a simulacrum of a beast or humanoid, which means no fey, celestials, fiends, or elementals).

conjure animal summons fey spirits that have the form and statistics of various animals, but they are still fey (so you can bind them as well).

[soldersbushwack]

You're right about Simulacrum and True Polymorph but I deliberately excluded Conjure Animals because they have the forms of beasts and so have the Beast type but that's arguable.

[SharkForce]

You're right about Simulacrum and True Polymorph but I deliberately excluded Conjure Animals because they have the forms of beasts and so have the Beast type but that's arguable.

(conjure animals): "Each beast is also considered fey"

"the familiar has the statistics of the chosen form, though it is a celestial, fey, or fiend (your choice) instead of a beast."

"The steed has the statistics of the chosen form, though it is a celestial, fey, or fiend (your choice) instead of its normal type."

form means nothing. the creatures summoned by conjure animals, find steed, and find familiar are not beasts, whether they are shaped like a beast (or dragon, or undead, or monstrosity, or whatever else it may appear to be) or not. there is some room to argue that the creatures summoned by conjure animals are both beasts and fey (depending on whether you consider the also in the spell description to mean "in addition to its regular type" or "in addition to the previously described effects of the spell". i'll even grant that i would lean slightly towards the former rather than the latter. but there is absolutely no question, not even a hint of doubt, as to whether they are fey.