Fight Your Own Summon for XP, would you allow it?

[Jackinthegreen]

Tell that to her:

Her gates would seem to be regularly opened.

Giggity.


As for fighting a summoned monster, that definitely shouldn't happen. It's like fighting your druid's animal companion or your wizard's familiar.

Fighting called monsters, while technically feasible, probably isn't a good idea in the grand scheme of things. I guess the best one could hope for is to call a lesser version of some other foe, and use that as a learning experience and to prep for the real danger.

 

[TanithT]

Uh... What Gatekeeper? The Gatekeeper for all-things-summoned? Every animal, vermin, outsider and elemental?

Presumably whatever makes plausible backstory for your PC's circumstances and your world background. What you name this boss and how you explain it is up to you. It's a potential plot hook to hang your PC's on; flesh it out in a way that makes sense in the context of your game.

I think I see what you're saying, but I find it hard to imagine "The Gatekeeper" as a plausible entity. Especially one whose exp is exactly the same as the all-things-summoned put together.

So who might your PC's have ticked off by abusing that particular spell or summoning those particular creatures? It could be anyone or anything. In this scenario you're invoking deus ex machina, or GM ex machina, to explain to your players why it is a bad idea to try to gank easy xp from the game system by abusing spells. And you make it fair by statting up your annoyed entity to match their level of abuse.

You could also just say, "That doesn't work, you get no XP from summons," and stop there. That doesn't add much to the plot. Which is fine if you're already in the middle of a plot you don't want to deviate from. But if you're actively looking for fun to be had and willing to let your players pay Tuesday for their XP hamburger today, it's a scenario you can use.

"There is no Dana, only Xuul!"
- Some iteration of a seriously ticked-off Sumerian deity

 

[halfcore]

Well, yes. You make a good point. I think I'd choose to rather not allow it though (should it ever come up, which it won't), simply because a certain type of player might find it unfair that they angered some supernatural creature through their own stupidity and blame it all on the GM, i.e. me. I'm usually not short of plot hooks anyway. The players do lots of weird things that end up being different from what they thought it would be and omg is that a sentient automaton behind you? And it's infecting other automatons all over the city with its sentience? And they're revolting? Good times, crazy days.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Taking care of the game mechanics part would actually be a pretty easy tweak.

"I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."
- J. Wellington Wimpy


The PC's get the XP for the summoned monsters. No problem. Happy PC's. Until the Gatekeeper shows up, enraged at their abuse of the delicate aethyric pathways that weave through the Gates of such summonings.

How much XP is the Gatekeeper worth? Pretty much the total of what the PC's already got from killing "his" monsters. Except the PC's already got it. No loot either, since he dissolves back into the aethyr upon defeat.

Note I said defeat, not death. I don't imagine you can actually kill such a being. So he's still out there, in case the PC's feel like repeating the abuse so that they can enjoy another completely XP-less, loot-less fight against a very mean boss.

Uh... What Gatekeeper? The Gatekeeper for all-things-summoned? Every animal, vermin, outsider and elemental?

I think I see what you're saying, but I find it hard to imagine "The Gatekeeper" as a plausible entity. Especially one whose exp is exactly the same as the all-things-summoned put together.

I'm envisioning this "Gatekeeper" to be the creative, RP-enjoyable version of the DM's lightning bolt smiting players for their foolishness or irritation.
I can roll/role with that.

An Inevitable, specifically a Kolyarut with it's focus on the breaking of contracts (and the warping of a spell's intent such as this could easily constitute a breaking of the contractual expectation of the Arcane magic itself and the caster) could make an excellent "Gatekeeper" in this case.
Or perhaps an avatar of a minor god of magic.

...This would be assuming regular abuse from my players.

 

[kitcik]

Works for me. Except change this reference to "her."

"How much XP is the Gatekeeper worth? Pretty much the total of what the PC's already got from killing "his" monsters."

Like a bad-ass mother nature, she comes to right this abuse.

 

[Ahnehnois]

I wouldn't allow the infinite gain of experience for repeatedly fighting anything, regardless of whether it was summoned or not.

 

[TanithT]

I'm envisioning this "Gatekeeper" to be the creative, RP-enjoyable version of the DM's lightning bolt smiting players for their foolishness or irritation.
I can roll/role with that.

This.

I haven't used official D&D world settings or rules since 2e, and my memory is pretty hazy on it. Mechanics and D&D game specifics are not my strong suit. I really don't have much to contribute that is likely to be relevant or perfectly usable as-is in your game.

Folks who aren't looking for creative or atmospheric fluff should probably just put me on /ignore. I got nothin' else to give.

 

[kitcik]

Folks who aren't looking for creative or atmospheric fluff should probably just put me on /ignore. I got nothin' else to give.

Two thoughts:

1) Your characters need a Rust Monster Mount.

2) Maybe you can help [MENTION=5788]me[/MENTION]adyeon (sp?). Check out some of his posts. He is a fluff machine.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

...Your characters need a Rust Monster Mount.

Thanks for the plug [MENTION=98256]kitcik[/MENTION], I'll xp you my appreciation as soon as I am able!

 

[TanithT]

Two thoughts:

1) Your characters need a Rust Monster Mount.

EVERYONE needs a rust monster mount. Whatchutalkinbout.

2) Maybe you can help @me adyeon (sp?). Check out some of his posts. He is a fluff machine.

No idea what you're pointing to there, sorry.

I'm not really from around these parts; my gaming interests usually aim a bit to the left of here. I mostly lurk to keep up with Shemeska's topics. Eg, to add +1 to success rolls for dinner table conversation.