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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hashmalum" data-source="post: 566483" data-attributes="member: 9450">How one goes about converting a Final Fantasy summoner to D&D depends on what one is trying to do. Are you trying to convert the summoner only, or do you wish to convert an entire Final Fantasy campaign world? The game mechanics will likely be considerably different if one is doing an entire jobsystem with the summoner as a higher-tier class (ala Final Fantasy Tactics, for example) than if summoner is intended to stand alone.It also depends on what version of the summoner one is using as a base--Summoners (in one form or another) have been a Final Fantasy staple ever since the third Final Fantasy game (which was never officially released AFAIK outside of Japan). With you talking about possibly restricting the summon monster spells, and the summoner possibly being some sort of cleric, I would assume that you are trying to convert either the FF9 or FF10 summoner.Personally, I would leave the standard summon monster spells alone and have the ability to summon unique creatures be a class ability or a feat. I came up with the following metamagic feat for my campaign, which represents something of an adaptation of an optional rule in the Dungeon Master's Guide into feat form:Specific Summon Monster [Metamagic]Your summon monster spells can summon specific creatures if you know the creature's true name.Benefit: A summon monster spell cast with this feat summons the specific, named elemental or outsider whose true name is known by the caster instead of a random creature. The creature's "summoning level" cannot be higher than that of creatures that can normally be affected by that summon monster spell. When cast this way, only one creature may be summoned at a time. If the creature's level is too high, the creature has been permanently killed or is otherwise unavailable, or the creature has been summoned by any spellcaster in the past 24 hours and the summoning has ended abnormally (with the dispelling of the summons, or the killing or banishment of the summoned monster), the spell simply fails, giving no indication of what went wrong.    Benefits abound to being able to summon a specific creature instead of a random one. One benefit is that a creature can be summoned, sent ahead on a scouting mission, then summoned again when the duration has expired to report on what it has seen, without needing to worry about the scout having to return by mundane means (and potentially leading enemies to the party). Another benefit is that the caster need not risk summoning a creature that is near-useless due to poor rolls for hit points or other random qualities. If called using a spell such as planar binding or gate, the creature can be given magical items or masterwork equipment to increase its power. Summoned monsters can even be used as messengers (with one caster summoning a monster, giving it a message, dismissing it, and a second caster summoning the same monster to receive the message). Finally, there are unique creatures having abilities different from those of the standard summoned monsters that can't be summoned quickly any other way.    This feat doesn't by itself bestow knowledge of any true names; these must be acquired seperately.    A specific summon monster spell uses up a spell slot of the spell's normal level, modified by any other metamagic feats. No feats such as Augment Summoning or other effects that modify summoned creature's abilities will operate on a specific summon monster.Normal: Creatures summoned by the summon monster spells have their stats randomly determined at the time the spell is cast. There is no way without this feat to summon creatures with unusual equipment, or to summon the same creature again.Now, as for getting ahold of the true names the feat requires... There are basically two different ways of getting a creature's true name, both of which are in keeping with the main Final Fantasy ways of obtaining summoned monsters: free will and force.Praying to a Fayth would esentially be a means of persuading a creature to give its true name so that it may be called to the aid of the spellcaster. The sylphs in FF4 allowing Rydia to summon them in place of Yang rejoining the party, Golem in FF5 giving you his summon when you save his life, and Ramuh testing Garnet in FF9 would all fall into this category as well.The other method would basically consist of beating a creature senseless, showing it that the summoner has the power to kill it if she desires to do so, and demanding that it reveal its true name or die. Since summonable creatures are elementals and outsiders and thus can't be revived if slain, obviously it would be better to be summoned than to die. In most of the Final Fantasy games, one had to defeat creatures in combat before you could summon them.If you want players to be able to buy summoning spells like in FF5, you could always have NPC spellcasters who do the hard work of calling and browbeating the monster and then sell its true name.</blockquote>

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