Summoned Monster's Question

[Dreckned]

Summoned Monster's Question
Who controls summoned monsters the DM or the player ? It doesn't specifically say in the DMG. Any help would be appreciated. Page numbers of the reference would help also, if any.

 

[Wonko the Sane]

Page 285-6 of the PHB, under the "Summon Monster I" description.

"It (they) attack your opponents to the best of their ability, and if you can communicate with them you can direct it to not attack, attack a particular enemy, or take other actions."

 

[sfedi]

The DM.

 

[Jdvn1]

The way that I've always seen it played was that the player controls it. It's unnecessary bookkeepping for the GM, but the GM has the final say of what the creature would do.

 

[Dreckned]

I agree.

That's the way our group has been handling it(the player taking control). But, my player has them fighting smarter and more tactically than the critter's intelligence would give them credit for. But then again summoned monsters are pretty weak so I should just let it slide.

Thank you for your posts!

 

[Andre]

That's the way our group has been handling it(the player taking control). But, my player has them fighting smarter and more tactically than the critter's intelligence would give them credit for. But then again summoned monsters are pretty weak so I should just let it slide.

Thank you for your posts!

Same for my current group.

BTW, in an earlier campaign I used a suggestion from Dragon magazine (?) where the caster summoned the same creatures each time. IOW, if he summoned 1d3 celestial badgers, the same celestial badgers showed up each time. I roleplayed a session where a celestial introduced the caster to "his" creatures, giving each a name and a bit of personality. The players seemed to really enjoy this aspect and they tended to treat the summoned creatures as more than just cannon fodder for battles, and the creatures learned the party's tactics. IIRC, one of the creatures even chewed out a party caster when he accidentally nailed it with a fireball or some such spell...