Summon Monster spells.......yawn....
- Thread starter Darmanicus
- Start date
The_Warlock
Explorer
I don't remember which issue it was, but there was a absolutely fantastic variant summon system presented in Dragon last year I think.
The basic jist is, you get a list equal to I think 3 + your Spellcasting Stat Mod. You research entities to add to the list using your Knowledge skills (arcana, religion and nature depending on caster type). As long as the templated entity fits the spell (outsiders, elementals, etc for summong, animals/beasts/fey for nature's ally) and meets a standard CR range for the spell level, you are set. Since the entities are essentially tied into the spell as your caster understands it, you can instead research later when something new strikes your fancy, and remove creatures you no longer use or like for new ones using your knowledge skills.
It's very flexible. I'll see if I can find what issue it was when I get home after work and post it.
The basic jist is, you get a list equal to I think 3 + your Spellcasting Stat Mod. You research entities to add to the list using your Knowledge skills (arcana, religion and nature depending on caster type). As long as the templated entity fits the spell (outsiders, elementals, etc for summong, animals/beasts/fey for nature's ally) and meets a standard CR range for the spell level, you are set. Since the entities are essentially tied into the spell as your caster understands it, you can instead research later when something new strikes your fancy, and remove creatures you no longer use or like for new ones using your knowledge skills.
It's very flexible. I'll see if I can find what issue it was when I get home after work and post it.
Twowolves
Explorer
The_One_Warlock said:
I have been using a house rule like this for a couple of years now. In my HR, the number of creatures on your personal summoning list is equal to your ranks in Knowledge/Planes (for arcane casters) or Knowledge/Religion (for clerics) or Knowledge/Nature (for druids), minus the spell level. Thus, the number of critters on a wizard's SMIII list is his ranks in Knowledge/Planes -3. I also use elemental templates as well as the axiomatic/anarchaic/celestial/fiendish alignment templates, so the possibilites are greatly expanded that way as well.
Of course, that's a house rule.....
Archade
Azer Paladin
Hey guys!
There was a great article waaay back in dragon that outlined the CR's of the summonable creatures, and variants based on their spell-like abilities. I highly recommend it!
We tried the UA variant of a custom list built 1 critter per character level, but it ended up with too narrow a list. We then toyed with 2 critters per character level but it still wasn't reasonable.
Our current house rule (IIRC) is use the existing list, and if you want to summon a custom creature, make a Knowledge (the planes) check at DC 15 + spell level. Hard at early levels, and not guaranteed at high levels.
There was a great article waaay back in dragon that outlined the CR's of the summonable creatures, and variants based on their spell-like abilities. I highly recommend it!
We tried the UA variant of a custom list built 1 critter per character level, but it ended up with too narrow a list. We then toyed with 2 critters per character level but it still wasn't reasonable.
Our current house rule (IIRC) is use the existing list, and if you want to summon a custom creature, make a Knowledge (the planes) check at DC 15 + spell level. Hard at early levels, and not guaranteed at high levels.
