D&D 5E Summon Fey cast at 4th level gives a HUGE boost in action economy.

[ECMO3]

Summon Fey is a really good spell to start with, but if you upcast it with a mirthful fey 4th level the Wizard is essentially getting like 4 actions every round.

You need to use a turn to cast it, but even on that round it can move up to 70 feet, make 2 attacks for 4d6+14 (28DPR) and cast a one minute charm at your DC. Each turn after that it does those things and you get another action too - throw a fireball, magic missile, cantrips.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Ok, I just read the spell description and I must be missing something because I am not following you at all.

How is...

the Wizard is essentially getting like 4 actions every round.

???

 

[jgsugden]

On the rounds after it is cast, an upcast to 4th level gives you an AC 16, 40 hp mirthful fey spirit with 2 attacks at your spell attack bonus for 2d6+7 damage each (not a DPR of 28 because you have to factor in chance to hit in DPR - but an average of 28 on two non-crit hits), and it can charm as a bonus action.

The '4 actions' idea is that you get to use your action, the creature makes 2 attacks (which the OP is counting as 2 actions) and it gets to charm a creature as a bonus action (which is easily the equivalent of a normal action ability).

The ability to charm one creature per turn is pretty solid all by itself. The melee damage is not insignificant, but it is a very solid spell. However, it is all based upon the caster's concentration ... it can be a low risk way to try to deal with a solo creature, but it is not a game changer. I find Summon Aberration's long range beholder-esque summon is more useful because the caster and the beholder can both be far from the action and still highly effective.

 

[DND_Reborn]

The '4 actions' idea is that you get to use your action, the creature makes 2 attacks (which the OP is counting as 2 actions) and it gets to charm a creature as a bonus action (which is easily the equivalent of a normal action ability).

Ok, got it. That is what I figured but from the OP I thought maybe the fey gave the caster some sort of "action surge" ability I was missing...

 

[humble minion]

The interesting things about it for me are that the charm explicitly has a fixed duration rather than a concentration duration, that the target is charmed by the caster as well as the summoned fey (so will continue to be charmed if the fey gets killed), and also that it's effectively a Charm Monster spell - no restrictions on target creature type. If you can keep your summoned fey alive (not a trivial exercise, considering how vulnerable it is at this level) you could potentially charm a new target every round. Though it's an easier charm to break than most - if the target takes damage from ANY source the spell ends, not just if it takes damage from you or your allies. So the classic 'make my enemies fight each other' shenanigans aren't going to last for long.

I'm not sure about the melee output. 2x 2d6+7 force damage is nothing to be sneezed at, but your fey is real fragile and might not get that off many times before someone casually blats it out of existence.

 

[ECMO3]

Ok, I just read the spell description and I must be missing something because I am not following you at all.

How is...

???

Including the Fey (that goes right after him), the Wizard is gets his action, then the Fey gets two attacks each of which are generally more powerful than most melee attacks and together more powerful than a 7th-level Sneak attack, and charm as a bonus.

 

[ECMO3]

I find Summon Aberration's long range beholder-esque summon is more useful because the caster and the beholder can both be far from the action and still highly effective.

The Fey can move 70 feet in one turn while still getting both his attacks and his charm and there is no range limit on the spell, so the caster can be far from the spell.

It is nice to have a ranged attack, but summon abberation does far less damage and lacks a bonus action it can use in combat.

 

[ECMO3]

Though it's an easier charm to break than most - if the target takes damage from ANY source the spell ends, not just if it takes damage from you or your allies. So the classic 'make my enemies fight each other' shenanigans aren't going to last for long.

In most of the tables I play we can't make charmed enemies attack their allies anyway (at least not just from the charm effect). All we can do is keep them from attacking the charmer and portentially convince them to give up.

Here is the thing; charm monster is a 4th level spell, for a lower level slot I can do this every single turn. It is only a minute duration instead of an hour, so you may think you can't use it for utility (charm the guard and tell him to escort you to the BBEG). But even here there is a workaround there. Summon Fey lasts an hour so I can just keep recharming him every turn. Unless he makes 10 saves in a row he stays charmed.

I'm not sure about the melee output. 2x 2d6+7 force damage is nothing to be sneezed at, but your fey is real fragile and might not get that off many times before someone casually blats it out of existence.

28 average damage is a lot of damage at 7th level, especially since it is round after round. For comparison a 7th-level Rogue with a 20 dex and a Rapier will average 24.5 on a Sneak attack.

The Fey Step Charm works with this and makes it far more survivable. You can use the Fey Step to disengage if the enemy does not have reach and if the charm lands he can't attack you anyway. If he has reach you need to decide between Fey Stepping out of reach or charming, but you can still disengage if that is what you need to do.

It was not uncommon for the last character I used this with to attack and then charm the same enemy he attacked every turn over and over again. To add insult to injury the Fey can use an AOO to attack the charmed enemy if he tries to move and attack someone else (which does break the charm if it hits).

 

[jgsugden]

The Fey can move 70 feet in one turn while still getting both his attacks and his charm and there is no range limit on the spell, so the caster can be far from the spell.

It is nice to have a ranged attack, but summon abberation does far less damage and lacks a bonus action it can use in combat.

All true - but it is going to be vulnerable to attack. That absorbs damage that might otherwise go to the party, potentially, but it also means you can lose the benefit of the spell. The damage from the eye ray is 1 point more on average per attack, it deals psychic damage which is one of the least resisted damages, and that killer range of 150 can be devastating. They're both good spells, but the fey has to get close and that is going to have benefits and detriments. For my sorcerer, I'd rather have the benefits of long range.

 

[Stormonu]

Both the Fey Step and Mirthful are separate bonus actions, so it won't be doing both in the same turn. <Never mind, I see it does both. Don't like that>

Other than that, it is quite a strong spell - I think it lasting an hour puts it over being a little too good (10 minutes should be plenty time to get use of the spell). Personally, I also think the Charm should probably only be good on one individual at a time, if you want to charm another individual, should have to drop charming the previous one.