Binary and ternary metal pnictides have proven over the years to be structurally diverse and highly application oriented. For instance, the III-V semiconductors have been well studied since the 1950s and are widely used in electronic applications, such as GaAs or InP. The wide range of structural motifs has led to a wide range of observed properties, making some of them suited for nearly any imaginable application. In this dissertation, we examine known and novel materials that are present in binary and ternary metal phosphide and antimonide systems, focusing heavily on heavy alkali metal, late transition metal, group 13 triel, and pnictide phases. We show that many of the chosen explored systems are phase rich with undiscovered materials. The potential applications for many of these materials fall into a wide scope and range from: thermoelectrics, battery anode materials, and water splitting catalysts.