D&D 5E Anyone else annoyed at Wizards lack of Minion summoners?

[cbwjm]

Conjure minor elementals actually has a few elementals that you can summon. Azer, fire snakes, the various mephits, and gargoyles. They range from CR 1/8 to 2 so it allows to you to make use of all the options in the spell description.

Conjure elemental has the standard elementals, galeb duhr, water weirds, salamanders, xorn, and invisible stalkers and if you have access to the elemental evil book then you can use a 7th level slot to summon an elemental myrmidon.

Personally, I still think that conjure animals could be added to the wizards.

The signature of champions.

 

[Dausuul]

Conjure minor elementals actually has a few elementals that you can summon. Azer, fire snakes, the various mephits, and gargoyles. They range from CR 1/8 to 2 so it allows to you to make use of all the options in the spell description.

Conjure minor elementals is a perfectly good spell... but it's still 4th level, which means you don't get to even touch it until you reach level 7, and then you only get it twice a day.

I'm with the OP: Conjurers should be able to conjure from level 1, even if all you get is a single mephit.

 

[Azzy]

The lack of Pokemon Trainers in D&D doesn't bother me at all.

As this thread has already pointed out, they still exist in 5e.

 

[Hawk Diesel]

This gives me an interesting idea. What if the 2nd level ability for a Conjuration Wizard was more similar to the Pact of the Chain for Warlock. When you cast summon familiar, you can summon a slightly more powerful creature. This makes a bit more sense than conjuring a tool or object.

To differentiate the abilities, you could limit the Conjuration wizard to summon any variation of Mephit. Warlock maintains their connection to fiends/fey/whatever GOO is, and wizards are elemental conjurers.

 

[cbwjm]

Conjure minor elementals is a perfectly good spell... but it's still 4th level, which means you don't get to even touch it until you reach level 7, and then you only get it twice a day.

I'm with the OP: Conjurers should be able to conjure from level 1, even if all you get is a single mephit.

I agree. Some lower level summons would be good. Currently you have to make do with find familiar and unseen servant. Dust devil kind of qualifies but I do think there should be more. Perhaps a level 2 spell conjure minor elemental which lets you summon a single elemental of cr 1/2 or less.

The signature of champions.

 

[Caliban]

As this thread has already pointed out, they still exist in 5e.

Their existence also doesn't bother me at all.

 

[MechaTarrasque]

Yeah, they're XGtE spells.

At 3rd level, you get summon lesser demons, which calls in a bunch of low-grade demons - manes, quasits, that sort of thing - and drops them on your enemies' heads. You don't control the demons, they just attack anything that moves. They vanish as soon as you stop concentrating, and you can make a warding circle that protects a single creature of your size or smaller. However, the warding circle requires the blood of a humanoid slain within the last 24 hours*.

At 4th level, you get summon greater demon and infernal calling, both of which summon a single more powerful fiend and give you a measure of control... shaky, dangerous control. You can hang onto the summoned creature as long as you dare. It keeps getting saving throws to break loose. If you stop concentrating, it vanishes; but if it's broken free, it gets a little extra time to nosh on you before going back. Again, you can do a warding circle for protection, if you don't mind murdering someone to get the component.

They're very thematic and flavorful. If you want to play a fiend summoner, XGtE has you covered. If you prefer to play with less malevolent forces, however, you're out of luck. Personally, I see no problem with limiting wizard summons to fiends and elementals; I just wish there were more options for elementals at lower levels.

[SIZE=-2]*The blood is a material component for all of these spells. There's no listed cost on the blood, so normally you could use an arcane focus instead. However, the description of the warding circle is quite specific that you draw it with the blood used as a material component. So, the way I read it, you can cast the spell with an arcane focus and no blood, but then you can't have a warding circle. This is definitely up to DM interpretation though.[/SIZE]

Jeremy agrees with your interpretation: https://www.sageadvice.eu/2017/12/0...-be-used-to-substitute-for-the-material-cost/.

I'm an evil DM and would totally let you cast the spell without blood. Of course, no blood on the ground means no protection from the demons you summoned, but hey, you didn't have to find a recent dead humanoid, so it is all good, right?

 

[Stalker0]

Jeremy agrees with your interpretation: https://www.sageadvice.eu/2017/12/0...-be-used-to-substitute-for-the-material-cost/.

I'm an evil DM and would totally let you cast the spell without blood. Of course, no blood on the ground means no protection from the demons you summoned, but hey, you didn't have to find a recent dead humanoid, so it is all good, right?

That’s how I would play it too. And to be fair, PCs are Murder hobos. So you’ll have your blood by the second encounter of the day

 

[IgnatiusJ.Reilly]

I've no problem with the Conjure Elemental spells per se, but that 1 minute casting time makes them largely unusable to me, really.

 

[Hussar]

True. By the time you add FF, the fiend summoning spells from XGtE (3), the elemental summoning spells (2), and gate, the wizard's summoning spell list basically doubles the druid's summoning spell list, but why let facts get in the way of complaining about something on the Enworld forums......

What's with the snark? I asked flat out if there were spells in XGtE, since I don't have that book.

You list three wizard spells, one of which is 9th level and is unlikely to see play in most games. The first PHB summoning spell is 4th level. That's a bit high if someone wants to play a summoner. Waiting 7 levels before you get your first actual summoning spell isn't really much support is it?

Druids get Conjure Animals as a 3rd level spell, so it's not like balance is really the issue here. I've managed to play a summoner in every edition of the game save 4e. It would be nice to actually be able to play one in 5e as well.