Planar ally

Planar ally was a divine spell that could petition a deity to send one or two powerful entities of the same kind from another plane to assist the spellcaster in exchange for some form of payment.

Effects
At the completion of the spell, one or two of a deity's servants were sent, often from among its favored creatures. If the cleric casting the spell knew the name of a particular servant of the deity, she or he could request that specific being, but the deity could chose to send another. The caster specified a location withing close range where the called servant or servants would appear.

The deity's servant or servants arrived instantly, but how long they remained to help the caster depended on whatever deal the caster made. Payments could take a variety of forms and varied widely. The value was influenced by the power of the called creatures, the length of time required for the assigned task, the risk or harm involved, or how well the task aligned with the called creatures' moral and ethical outlook and goals. Not all payments were made directly to the creatures; some noble creatures, for example, might ask for the payment to be offered as a gift to the deity's temple.

In any case, when the task was completed, the called being or beings returned to their plane, sometimes after delivering a report to the caster. If they were killed in the attempt, they actually died, unlike beings called by a summoning spell. For this reason, they would usually refuse any suicidal task.

Components
Requesting a planar ally from one's god required verbal and somatic components, a divine focus, and at least ten minutes of prayer. It also drained some of the power of the caster.

Notable Users
Hathrans were able to call planar allies to appear at slightly farther distances than most other casters.