question about summon undead

[evilbob]

One of the options for summon undead IV is an allip. Given the range and caster level of the spell, it is impossible to summon an allip (until caster level 16) so that it is far enough away from you that you are outside the range of its babble ability.

Additionally, ghasts are summonable and have fort saves vs. sickened.

Would you interpret this spell to mean that summoned creatures can choose not to affect yourself and/or your allies with their abilities? Or is that just the price you pay to use this spell?

 

[Voadam]

Price you pay.

A zero range fireball is a fine spell, if you are immune to fire.

I expect lich and vampire mages to summon undead with abilities that would affect the living but not themselves. Others less so.

 

[frankthedm]

Hell, even telling an allip what to do with Summon Undead is very costly since it lets you mentally control the critter IIRC.


Madness (Su)
Anyone targeting an allip with a thought detection, mind control, or telepathic ability makes direct contact with its tortured mind and takes 1d4 points of Wisdom damage.

 

[Arkhandus]

Right. Just because you cast it doesn't mean it's no danger to you. You cast a Fireball point-blank, you get burned like everyone else. You summon a monster with a nasty aura-like effect, you suffer from that aura too.

That's what stuff like Enlarge Spell metamagic is for.

If the monster has an ability it can suppress, then you could command it after the summoning to suppress that ability as long as it is within X many feet of you (you'd have to specify the distance, or how many seconds it should suppress the ability for, or just tell it to suppress the ability indefinitely). But the aura-like effect would still affect you immediately after summoning (assuming it starts out close enough), until the creature takes some action on its turn to suppress the effect (if it was so commanded).