The casting of this spell attempts a dangerous act — the luring of a powerful creature from another plane to a specially prepared trap where it will be held until it agrees to perform one service in return for freedom from the ensnarement spell. The spell causes an awareness of a gate-like opening on the plane of the creature to be en- snared. A special saving throw is then made to determine if the creature detects the nature of the planar opening as a trap or believes it to be a gate. To save, the creature must roll equal to or less than its intel- ligence score on 3d6. The score is modified by the difference between the creature's intelligence and that of the spell caster’s. If the creature has a higher score, the difference is subtracted from its dice roll to save. If the spell caster has a higher score, the difference is added to the total of the 3d6. If the saving throw succeeds, the creature merely ignores the spell-creat- ed opening, and the dweomer fails. If the saving throw is not made, the creature steps into the opening and is ensnared. The type of creature to be ensnared must be known and stated, and if it has a specific, proper, or given name, this also must be used in casting of the ensnarement spell. When actually ensnared, the creature coming from another plane to that of the spell caster is not constrained from harming the one who trapped it. Therefore, the caster uses a magic circle (for creatures from the upper planes or the Astral Plane), a thaumaturgic triangle (for creatures from the Ethereal, Elemental, or Concordant Opposition planes), or a pentagram (for creatures from the lower and infernal planes). Regardless of such protection, there is a chance that the entrapped creature will be able to break free and wreak its vengence upon the spell caster. The base chance for an ensnared creature to break free depends on the manner in which the confining design was made. A hand-done one has a base chance of 20% of being broken, one inlaid or carved has only a base of 10%, and that for the first time only (which indicates whether or not the job was done properly). This base chance is modified by the total score of the magic-user’s combined intelligence and experience level compared to the intelligence score and the experience level or number of hit dice of the creature summoned. If the spell caster has a higher total, that difference is subtracted from the percentage chance for the creature to break free. If the creature has a higher total, that difference is added to its chance to break free. The chance may be further modified by care in preparation of the protec- tive symbol. If the hand-made protection is inscribed over a long period of time, using specially prepared pigments (1,000 gp per turn of applica- tion), the chance of an ensnared creature breaking free is reduced by 1% for every turn spent so preparing; i.e., an expenditure of 1 turn and 1,000 gp reduces the chance of breaking free by 1%. This can bring the base chance to 0%, but the further modifications for intelligence and level/ hit dice still must be made thereafter, and no amount of special prepa- ration can negate that risk. Similarly, an inlaid or inscribed design can be brought to a 0% chance of being broken by inlaying it with various metals, minerals, etc. This effort will require a jum of one full month of time and add not less than 50,000 gp to the basic cost of having the protection inlaid or inscribed into stone. Any breaking of the lines of pro- tection or blurring of the glyphs, runes, and sigils which guard the magi- cal barrier will spoil the efficacy of the dweomer and allow the creature to break free automatically. Even a straw dropped across the lines of a circle destroy its power. Fortunately, the creature within cannot so much as place a straw upon any portion of the inscribed protective device, for the magic of the barrier absolutely prevents it. Once safely ensnared, the creature can be kept for as long as the spell caster dares. (Remember the danger of something breaking the inscrip- tion!) The caster can offer bribes, use promises, or make threats in order to exact one service from the captive creature. The DM will then assign a value to what the magic-user has said to the ensnared creature, rating it from 0 to 6. This rating is then subtracted from the intelligence score of the creature. If the creature makes its saving throw, a score equal to or less than its adjusted intelligence, it will refuse service. New offers, bribes, etc. can be made, or the old ones re-offered 24 hours later, when the creature's intelligence has dropped by 1 point due to confinement. This can be repeated until the creature promises to serve, until it breaks free, or until the caster decides to release it by means of some riddance spell. It need not be stressed that certain other spells can be used to force a captive creature into submission. Once the single service is completed, the creature need only so inform the spell caster to be instantly teleported from whence it came. Revenge can be sought (cf. efreeti, aerial servant, and invisible stalker). Impossible commands or unreasonable commands will never be agreed to.