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Gate would normally be the answer, but if the planar ruler is unwilling, they would prevent this spell from opening near them:

You conjure a portal linking an unoccupied space you can see within range to a precise location on a different plane of existence. ... Deities and other planar rulers can prevent portals created by this spell from opening in their presence or anywhere within their domains. ... When you cast this spell, you can speak the name of a specific creature ... [on another plane] ... and [draw] the creature through [the portal] to the nearest unoccupied space on your side of the portal.

Wish could easily be the only answer, but it is not ideal since that would risk never casting wish again:

... You might be able to achieve something beyond the scope of the above examples. State your wish to the GM as precisely as possible. The GM has great latitude in ruling what occurs in such an instance; the greater the wish, the greater the likelihood that something goes wrong. ... The stress of casting this spell to produce any effect other than duplicating another spell weakens you. ... Finally, there is a 33 percent chance that you are unable to cast wish ever again if you suffer this stress.

I would also rule out Planar Ally, since presumably being a planar ruler would mean that the target of the spell would be the planar ruler themself (even if "planar ruler" does not necessarily imply "being of cosmic power", assume it does for the sake of this question):

You beseech an otherworldly entity for aid. The being must be known to you: a god, a primordial, a demon prince, or some other being of cosmic power. That entity sends a celestial, an elemental, or a fiend loyal to it to aid you, making the creature appear in an unoccupied space within range. If you know a specific creature's name, you can speak that name when you cast this spell to request that creature, though you might get a different creature anyway (GM's choice).

Is there a different spell or magic item that can be used to conjure an Elemental planar ruler, specifically a noble genie?

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2 Answers 2

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Use a Ring of Djinni Summoning

The question asks if there is a magic item that can "draw" a particular noble djinni into the material plane, i.e., without having to go to their plane yourself. This seems to fit within the description of this legendary magic item (emphasis mine):

Ring of Djinni Summoning

Ring, legendary (requires attunement)

While wearing this ring, you can speak its command word as an action to summon a particular djinni from the Elemental Plane of Air. The djinni appears in an unoccupied space you choose within 120 feet of you. It remains as long as you concentrate (as if concentrating on a spell), to a maximum of 1 hour, or until it drops to 0 hit points. It then returns to its home plane.

While summoned, the djinni is friendly to you and your companions. It obeys any commands you give it, no matter what language you use. If you fail to command it, the djinni defends itself against attackers but takes no other actions.

After the djinni departs, it can't be summoned again for 24 hours, and the ring becomes nonmagical if the djinni dies.

Note that unlike the description of the Gate spell, there is no provision here for an unwilling target to prevent the effect.

Edit: In keeping with the comments on this answer, you might read "particular djinni" as meaning that the GM selects which djinni the ring summons, and it always summons the same djinni (which is probably the RAI, though the RAW is not 100% clear about it). In such case, if you are the GM, you can stipulate that the ring in your campaign is tied to the particular djinni ruler that you need it to be for story purposes.

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    \$\begingroup\$ From the description it doesn't sound like "particular" means you get to choose, it seems to mean the ring will always summon the same djinn. \$\endgroup\$
    – Cubic
    Commented Sep 2, 2023 at 9:21
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Cubic I see that it could be interpreted that way, but not necessarily. The sentence is ambiguous in that regard, honestly, and IMO the GM should rule generously to the player when the RAW is less than clear and it doesn't destroy balance -- in keeping with longstanding principles of jurisprudence. \$\endgroup\$
    – Valley Lad
    Commented Sep 3, 2023 at 5:05
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    \$\begingroup\$ Aside from the wording there's also the folklore this is based on and the fact that if it was meant to summon any djinn you wanted, it should include a way to specify which one you want to summon (which it does not). \$\endgroup\$
    – Cubic
    Commented Sep 3, 2023 at 10:49
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Cubic I hear you, but it is just as true that if the particular djinni is to be determined by the DM, it should specify that. Unfortunately, a lot of things should be specified, that aren't, in RAW. \$\endgroup\$
    – Valley Lad
    Commented Sep 4, 2023 at 9:06
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    \$\begingroup\$ I'm accepting this since it solves my problem more simply than the workaround I found (and it answers the question I asked, which admittedly I phrased poorly for my own self-answer). Since I'm the DM, I can easily use this magic item as a template for each of my noble genie planar rulers. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Sep 4, 2023 at 15:12
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Plane Shift can send an unwilling planar ruler to the Material Plane.

The wording in Gate applies only to Gate itself, it does not apply to all conjuration spells.

From Plane Shift:

You and up to eight willing creatures who link hands in a circle are transported to a different plane of existence. You can specify a target destination in general terms ... and you appear in or near that destination. ... You can use this spell to banish an unwilling creature to another plane. Choose a creature within your reach and make a melee spell attack against it. On a hit, the creature must make a Charisma saving throw. If the creature fails this save, it is transported to a random location on the plane of existence you specify. A creature so transported must find its own way back to your current plane of existence.

Setup

You would need at least two characters with access to the spell, but nine total is better. Eighteen total would ensure that the genie does not immediately return to their domain.

The first character would use Plane Shift to transport everyone to the specific planar ruler. The remaining spellcasters would attempt to cast plane shift on the planar ruler, specifying the Material Plane. Assuming that each character is at least level 13 in order to have access to a 7th-level spell slot, that would give them a proficiency bonus of at least +5. We can also assume that the characters have an ability score of 20 in their relevant spellcasting ability, giving them a +5 modifier to spell attacks. This would mean that the DC of the Charisma saving throw would be 18.

Effectiveness Against a Dao

Dao have an armor class of 18, and a +6 bonus to Charisma saving throws. Each attempt to Plane Shift would have a 35% chance to miss, and the dao has a 45% chance to succeed on the saving throw. Each attemptedPlane Shift has a 64.25% chance (.35 + (1-.35) x .45) of not affecting the dao. There is only a 2.9% chance that 8 castings of Plane Shift all fail to affect a dao.

Effectiveness Against a Djinni

Djinni have an armor class of 17, and a +9 bonus to Charisma saving throws. Each attempt to plane shift would have a 30% chance to miss, and the djinni has a 60% chance to succeed on the saving throw. Each attempted plane shift has a 72% chance (.3 + (1-.3) x .6) of not affecting the djinni. There is only a 7.2% chance that 8 castings of plane shift all fail to affect a djinni.

Effectiveness Against an Efreeti

Efreeti have an armor class of 17, and a +7 bonus to Charisma saving throws. Each attempt to Plane Shift would have a 30% chance to miss, and the efreeti has a 50% chance to succeed on the saving throw. Each attempted Plane Shift has a 65% chance (.3 + (1-.3) x .5) of not affecting the efreeti. There is only a 3.2% chance that 8 castings of plane shift all fail to affect a efreeti.

Effectiveness Against a Marid

Marid have an armor class of 17, and a +8 bonus to Charisma saving throws. Each attempt to plane shift would have a 30% chance to miss, and the marid has a 55% chance to succeed on the saving throw. Each attempted Plane Shift has a 68.5% chance (.3 + (1-.3) x .55) of not affecting the marid. There is only a 4.8% chance that 8 castings of Plane Shift all fail to affect a marid.

Conclusions

Of course, every genie has the ability to just Plane Shift themselves back to their domain, but that can be handled by simply running this plan multiple times in a single day. Additionally, the genie is sent to a random location on the Material Plane, but that likewise can be handled by other tactics, such as Scrying followed by Teleport.

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    \$\begingroup\$ This pushes a creature from their plane to the Material Plane via casting the spell in their plane, which I do not believe is what the question asks. \$\endgroup\$
    – Tiger Guy
    Commented Sep 1, 2023 at 17:42
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    \$\begingroup\$ I also would consider an Elemental Ruler to be more similar to the Elemental Princes, who are clearly more powerful than the standard stat blocks. Lair Actions and Legendary Resistances would probably apply. \$\endgroup\$
    – Tiger Guy
    Commented Sep 1, 2023 at 17:50
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    \$\begingroup\$ I agree with Tiger Guy: if you want this self-answer to be a valid answer, you should reformulate the question, because this is not "drawing" them to the material plane. While there no templates for "planar ruler", a bog standard genie seems like an awfully weak choice for one. Look at the princes of elemental evil, like Imix, for how powerful elemental rulers would look like. You don't need those calculations for the answer, either. Lastly, plane shift will not allow you to surely appear before the ruler, only near a general location. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Sep 2, 2023 at 4:54
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    \$\begingroup\$ Also, Sorcerers have Plane Shift on their spell list, and a sorcerer casting Plane Shift as a heightened spell imposes disadvantage on the Charisma saving throw, thus improving the effectiveness of this approach even further. \$\endgroup\$
    – Valley Lad
    Commented Sep 2, 2023 at 6:35
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    \$\begingroup\$ I am amused by the complicated nature of this course of action. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Sep 2, 2023 at 12:54

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