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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Brother MacLaren" data-source="post: 3487737" data-attributes="member: 15999">I've found that summon spells are outstanding, IF you can get the spells cast without interruption.  They're good for battlefield control (obstructing enemies' charges), flanking, grappling, threatening areas, and so on.  They reduce a caster's main weakness, which is number of actions per round.  And with buffs that affect multiple targets (Animal Growth, Inspire Courage, Haste) they become fantastic damage-dealers. A simple CR comparison isn't always useful.  Sending the right summons after an opponents' weak point is the way to go.  Look at SNA IV.  The CR 4 giant crocodile's improved grab will crush most Medium-sized NPCs of levels 7-10.  It even does well on strength-vs-strength, such as facing CR 7 giants (the hill giant or the ogre barbarian).  Arrowhawks can wear down high-SR foes, and Perfect manueverability reduces retaliation.  Unicorns' Magic Circle Against Evil is great when facing other summoners or mind-control users, and they can also heal you.  The tiger can inflict up to 65 points of damage on a pounce without ANY boosts, and is great against high-hp low-AC foes.  The dire boar's single powerful attack will break through a Stoneskin effect or other DR (and at SNA V the rhino is great for this).The elementals' DR and mobility (speed, earth glide, swimming, or feats) make them very useful even at high levels.  A 17th-level caster can summon an elder earth elemental with a +37 grapple check.  Despite being only a CR 11 monster, it beats ANY of the CR 17 MM creatures, as well as the CR 20 balor and pit fiend.</blockquote>

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