Summon Monster, Your favorites?

Shin Okada said:

Celestial Dogs. Not for combat. For detecting traps.

About 2 dozen dogs "volunteered" for our party when we run Tomb of Horrors.

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Nice, but at 1 round per level, you'd better hustle. But lesser planar ally would make it a nice companion.

TheGogmagog said:

Nice, but at 1 round per level, you'd better hustle. But lesser planar ally would make it a nice companion.

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Actually, most dogs "dissapeared" after running a round or two. That was a nasty dungeon.

Unicorn, for the healing between fights.
5d8+20 healing for a 4th-level slot, and up to 5x that for a 6th-level slot. Better than the druid can do with his cures, and can be spontaneously cast.

At high levels, multiple Avoral guardinals, if my opponent doesn't have SR. A good roll on summon monster IX will get 5 of them, and each one can do 6d4+6 a round with empowered magic missile. 30d4+30 a round will ruin someone's day pretty quickly, and it's hard to get to a place where a 90 foot (good) fly speed won't catch you.

A sorceror armed with time stop and summon monster IX can really ruin someone's day with a dozen or so avorals on the first round. Not that a 20th level sorceror would have trouble going on the offensive, but the only defense against this is SR. Even a level 20 barbarian has to blink at over 200 damage with no save and no attack roll, and consider if he can escape in one turn before the avorals finish him off. A level 20 spellcaster or rogue is just plain dead on the first round. Nasty stuff.

nameless said:

At high levels, multiple Avoral guardinals, if my opponent doesn't have SR. A good roll on summon monster IX will get 5 of them, and each one can do 6d4+6 a round with empowered magic missile. 30d4+30 a round will ruin someone's day pretty quickly, and it's hard to get to a place where a 90 foot (good) fly speed won't catch you.

A sorceror armed with time stop and summon monster IX can really ruin someone's day with a dozen or so avorals on the first round. Not that a 20th level sorceror would have trouble going on the offensive, but the only defense against this is SR. Even a level 20 barbarian has to blink at over 200 damage with no save and no attack roll, and consider if he can escape in one turn before the avorals finish him off. A level 20 spellcaster or rogue is just plain dead on the first round. Nasty stuff.

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The barb or rogue, sure, but I think an enemy mage would quite plausibly have shield up.

Ah, found it! I was putting together a 3.5e list of spells and abilities you can get from summoned creatures (for a summoner sorcerer I had in mind).

@4th level Mephits are indeed useful:

Air Mephit
1x Gust of wind @6th, DC14

Earth Mephit
1x soften earth and stone

Dust Mephit
1x windwall @6th, DC15

Fire Mephit
1x scorching ray @3rd
1x heat metal @6th DC14

Ice Mephit
1x magic missile @3rd
1x chill metal @6th DC14

Magma Mephit
1x pyrotechnics @3rd DC14

Ooze
1x acid arrow @3rd
1x stinking clout @6th, DC15

Salt
1x Glitterdust @3rd, DC14
1x 20ft radius dessicate, 2d8 DC14

Steam
1x 20ft radius boiling rainstorm, 2d6 DC14

Water
1x acid arrow @3rd
1x stinking cloud @6th DC15

Alongside the aforementioned lantern archon

Archon, lantern
Aid, detect evil, continual flame at will;
Aura of menace, magic circle against evil, tongues


@5th level
Archon, hound
Aid, continual flame, detect evil, message;
Aura of menace, magic circle against evil, tongues

Achaierai
Black Cloud (2d6 + insanity) DC15

(the 3.0e bearded devil had plenty of neat spell-like abilities, sadly he was stripped of them in 3.5e...

@6th
Bralani (eladrin)
At will— blur, charm person (DC 13), gust of wind (DC 14), mirror image, wind wall;
2/day—lightning bolt (DC 15), cure serious wounds (DC 15). Caster level 6th
tongues;
whirlwind blast

Janni (genie)
3/day—invisibility (self only), speak with animals. Caster level 12th. Once per day a janni can create food and water (caster level 7th) and can use ethereal jaunt (caster level 12th) for 1 hour(?maybe not if summoned?)

@7th
Avoral (guardinal)
At will—aid, blur (self only), command (DC 14), detect magic, dimension door, dispel magic, gust of wind (DC 15), hold person (DC 16), light, magic circle against evil (self only), magic missile, see invisibility;
3/day—lightning bolt (DC 16). Caster level 8th.
Lay on hands (66hp)
Speak with animals
True seeing


Djinni (genie)
At will—invisibility (self only); 1/day— create food and water, create wine (as create water, but wine instead), major creation (created vegetable matter is permanent), persistent image (DC 17), wind walk. Once per day, a djinni can assume gaseous form (as the spell) for up to 1 hour. Caster level 20th


Devil, bone
At will—dimensional anchor, fly, invisibility (self only), major image (DC 15), wall of ice. Caster level 12th

Babau (demon)
At will—darkness, dispel magic, see invisibility


@8th
Lillend
Typical Bard Spells Known (3/4/3; save DC 14 + spell level): 0— dancing lights, daze, detect magic, lullaby, mage hand, read magic; 1st— charm person, cure light wounds, identify, sleep; 2nd—hold person, invisibility, sound burst.
3/day—darkness, hallucinatory terrain (DC 18), knock, light; 1/day—charm person (DC 15), speak with animals, speak with plants. Caster level 10th.

Vrock (demon)
At will—mirror image, telekinesis (DC 18),
1/day—heroism. Caster level 12th
Spores
Stunning Screech DC22

@9th
Couatl
Psionics (Sp): At will—detect chaos, detect evil, detect good, detect law, detect thoughts (DC 15), invisibility, plane shift (DC 20), polymorph (self only). Effective caster level 9th.
Typical Spells Known (6/7/7/7/4; save DC 13 + spell level): 0—cure minor wounds, daze, disrupt undead, light, obscuring mist, ray of frost, read magic, resistance; 1st—endure elements, mage armor, protection from chaos, true strike, wind wall; 2nd—cure moderate wounds, eagle’s splendor, scorching ray, silence; 3rd—gaseous form, magic circle against evil, summon monster III; 4th— charm monster, freedom of movement.

Leonal (guardinal)
At will—detect thoughts, fireball (DC 15), hold monster (DC 17), polymorph, wall of force;
3/day—cure critical wounds (DC 16), neutralize poison, remove disease; 1/day—heal (DC 18). Caster level 10th
Roar (holy word) 3/day
Lay on hands (114hp)
Protective Aura 20ft radius (+4 deflection, +4 resistance & lesser globe)


Devil, barbed
At will—hold person (DC 16), major image (DC 17), scorching ray (2 rays only).
1/day—order’s wrath (DC 18), unholy blight (DC 18). Caster level 12th


Night hag
At will—detect chaos, detect evil, detect good, detect law, detect magic, magic missile, polymorph (self only), ray of enfeeblement (DC 12), sleep (DC 12). Caster level 8th

Hezrou (demon)
At will—chaos hammer (DC 18), unholy blight (DC 18);
3/day—blasphemy (DC 21), gaseous form. Caster level 13th
Stench DC24


Probably not an exhaustive list, but interesting nonetheless (and much less powerful than it was in 3.0 days as I mentioned before!)

Cheers

Don't forget the cool beam attack the lantern archons get.

Fly 60 ft. (perfect)
2 light rays +2 ranged touch (1d6)
Light Ray (Ex): A lantern archon’s light rays have a range of 30 feet. This attack overcomes damage reduction of any type.

Now, if you have five of them, that's 10 such beams per round!

Bye
Thanee

That's why they used to be so great as teleporting strike teams in 3.0. Summon them in batches and then get them to teleport to your scried enemy and unload their light rays o' death! The other top tip was protecting yourself inside a domed wall of force and them summoning teleporting outsiders and getting them to teleport outside to attack your foes. Ah, happy days now long past...

Bralani Eladrin, (Summons 6 IIRC).

1. Holy weapons.
2. Can cast Mirror Image.
3. Can cast Lightning Bolt.
4. Can cast cure spells.

Pretty damned good if you ask me.

Air elementals are pretty darned cool as well.