Coming Back from Banishment

[jayoungr]

In my 5E conversion of Scales of War, the party is currently in Hestavar, the domain of the gods Pelor, Erathis, and Ioun. A devil was pestering the party, and the cleric cast banishment on it. How soon can the devil return? Does it have to be summoned? Does the fact that they're not in the prime material plane make a difference?

 

[iserith]

If it has a way to return, it can do so after the spell ends.

 

[Satyrn]

If it has a way to return, it can do so after the spell ends.

Yeah, that's my answer, too.

 

[pming]

Hiya!

I'd third that motion that it can return...but with an addendum. I generally fall back onto 1e "tone" if something comes up that doesn't quite have enough information for me to make a ruling on that I can live by. So, I'd say:

"The creature can return if it is re-summoned, or if it has a means of egress from it's plane". Or, to put it another way, it can't just "decide to pop back to [wherever]". There has to be an actual permanent gateway linking the two planes.

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[Satyrn]

Hiya!

I'd third that motion that it can return...but with an addendum. I generally fall back onto 1e "tone" if something comes up that doesn't quite have enough information for me to make a ruling on that I can live by. So, I'd say:

"The creature can return if it is re-summoned, or if it has a means of egress from it's plane". Or, to put it another way, it can't just "decide to pop back to [wherever]". There has to be an actual permanent gateway linking the two planes.

^_^

Paul L. Ming

And the OP's players will like this ruling, because it makes it highly unlikely the banished foe will come right back to assault them, but when it happens, they'll think "well, that's what we get for standing near this portal to Hell."

 

[aco175]

It can return at the speed of plot.

 

[Riley37]

Is the devil native to the plane where Banishment was cast?

If it isn't, and if the caster maintains concentration for the full minute, then the PHB text is straightforwards:
"Otherwise the target doesn't return."

If it has Plane Shift or a similar ability, or access to a planar gate, then sure, it can use those methods... if it's sufficiently motivated. Is it on a mission which requires going to Hevastar? I imagine it doesn't go there for the sunny weather, nor to practice its Celestial accent by chatting with angels and devas. Maybe the cleric did it a favor?

 

[jayoungr]

If it has a way to return, it can do so after the spell ends.

Yeah, that's my answer, too.

That's part of my question--what are the usual methods of return?

Is the devil native to the plane where Banishment was cast?

No, but devils do maintain a permanent presence and an embassy in Hestavar.

If it has Plane Shift or a similar ability, or access to a planar gate, then sure, it can use those methods... if it's sufficiently motivated. Is it on a mission which requires going to Hevastar? I imagine it doesn't go there for the sunny weather, nor to practice its Celestial accent by chatting with angels and devas. Maybe the cleric did it a favor?

It's working to undermine the contract that allows devils to be in Hestavar as long as they behave themselves. (Obviously, it's focusing on the "as long as they behave themselves" part.)

 

[Warmaster Horus]

That's part of my question--what are the usual methods of return?

Planeshift is the most common. A devil that lacks Planeshift needs some other method of moving to another plane - perhaps a summoning or a portal or the like.

 

[MechaTarrasque]

That's part of my question--what are the usual methods of return?


No, but devils do maintain a permanent presence and an embassy in Hestavar.


It's working to undermine the contract that allows devils to be in Hestavar as long as they behave themselves. (Obviously, it's focusing on the "as long as they behave themselves" part.)

If they have an embassy, the devil just needs to get to the portal to the embassy (unless transport to and from Hestavar and Baator is solely by ship [which seems like a good idea for Hestavar]). Of course, the devil might have to explain itself to someone in the 9 Hells (you can't just have people teleporting in willy-nilly, that is pretty chaotic), and there is probably a lot of paperwork involved (and that assumes getting banished isn't some kind of serious black mark on your record that gets you sent to the front lines in the Grey Wastes). In 5e teleportation for devils seems pretty limited (I believe this will be part of the explanation for why they have cults in MToF's), possibly they have tasked almost all of it to the fighting part of the Blood War.