When using the banishment spell, how do you determine when a creature is native to another plane of existence?
E.g. While all elementals are native to their respective plane, it's not stated in all descriptions. Are all celestials native to a celestial plane, and all fey native to the feywild? Or can some of these creatures be 'of an otherworldly nature" but technically 'native' to the material plane?
I realise there's some subjectivity and DM decision making tied up in this, but how do you decide it?
This is entirely up to the DM, as there’s no guarantee that any given plane will even be available in a given setting. Not all settings share the same cosmology.
In the front of Monster manual (page 6-7) they tell you where the broad types are from.
Aberrations are listed as "alien" beings, which probably argues for being non-prime-material.
Celestials are listed specifically as being from the Upper Planes. Which one depends on the cosmology of the DM.
Elementals are listed as being from the Elemental Planes.
Fey come from the Feywild.
Fiends are native to the lower planes.
No other groups have mention of the other planes and I would rule, unless there is some reason otherwise, that all the other types are native to the prime material plane (or in my cosmology, the Mortal World, since I do not have a "Prime Material" in my multiverse).
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What would a celestial who was "native" to the Prime look like?
Aasimar, Tieflings, Kalashtar, Genasi are all anchored on the Prime by way of one ancestor at least. Eladrin, Shadar-Kai, and Gith might be edge cases. I want to say they're native to other planes, but if it meant one player being banished to the middle of the Astral Plane with no way back, I probably wouldn't pull the trigger on that even if it was the "correct" result.
Personally, I think a LOT of things can be "of an otherworldly nature but native to the Prime," but not things listed as Celestials, Fiends or Elementals or Fey. Aberrations, Neogi, Giff, I'd probably add Undead, since the alternative would be...I guess the Negative Energy Plane? Vistani, I suppose.
Slaads and Modrons, as always, defy the usual categories. One is an "aberration" and one I think is listed as a "construct." Both are extraplanar in origin.
The fundamental way to decide, where did that particular creature first come into being. Almost all celestials will native to a celestial plane unless you're talking about a setting where the gods walk the prime material. Similarly for fiends and elementals, they'll usually be native to the appropriate plane unless those planes don't really exist in the setting. Feywild and Shadowfell creatures are more complicated as at least some of them follow the normal rules of procreation, which means interplanar travelers might give birth on the prime material.
For DM advice, unless you have a reason for it to be otherwise, assume creatures are from the plane that makes sense.
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When using the banishment spell, how do you determine when a creature is native to another plane of existence?
E.g. While all elementals are native to their respective plane, it's not stated in all descriptions. Are all celestials native to a celestial plane, and all fey native to the feywild? Or can some of these creatures be 'of an otherworldly nature" but technically 'native' to the material plane?
I realise there's some subjectivity and DM decision making tied up in this, but how do you decide it?
This is entirely up to the DM, as there’s no guarantee that any given plane will even be available in a given setting. Not all settings share the same cosmology.
In the front of Monster manual (page 6-7) they tell you where the broad types are from.
No other groups have mention of the other planes and I would rule, unless there is some reason otherwise, that all the other types are native to the prime material plane (or in my cosmology, the Mortal World, since I do not have a "Prime Material" in my multiverse).
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
What would a celestial who was "native" to the Prime look like?
Aasimar, Tieflings, Kalashtar, Genasi are all anchored on the Prime by way of one ancestor at least. Eladrin, Shadar-Kai, and Gith might be edge cases. I want to say they're native to other planes, but if it meant one player being banished to the middle of the Astral Plane with no way back, I probably wouldn't pull the trigger on that even if it was the "correct" result.
Personally, I think a LOT of things can be "of an otherworldly nature but native to the Prime," but not things listed as Celestials, Fiends or Elementals or Fey. Aberrations, Neogi, Giff, I'd probably add Undead, since the alternative would be...I guess the Negative Energy Plane? Vistani, I suppose.
Slaads and Modrons, as always, defy the usual categories. One is an "aberration" and one I think is listed as a "construct." Both are extraplanar in origin.
The fundamental way to decide, where did that particular creature first come into being. Almost all celestials will native to a celestial plane unless you're talking about a setting where the gods walk the prime material. Similarly for fiends and elementals, they'll usually be native to the appropriate plane unless those planes don't really exist in the setting. Feywild and Shadowfell creatures are more complicated as at least some of them follow the normal rules of procreation, which means interplanar travelers might give birth on the prime material.
For DM advice, unless you have a reason for it to be otherwise, assume creatures are from the plane that makes sense.