Summoned creature psychology

[Particle_Man]

One of the reasons I liked XPH is the power Astral Construct. I liked the idea of having buddies created to help me out. I realize that there already are Summon spells in the PHB, but I just didn't like the psychology of forcing another creature to do my bidding (in fact, as written and evil wizard can force good summoned creatures to do her bidding). Shadow magic was a special case. I am still not sure whether shadow-created creatures are real shadow-creatures, wearing the "masks" of whatever they are duplicating, or whether they are "created" wholly from shadowstuff on the spot. If the former, would they remember the various creatures they pretended to be? Would it be like an acting gig?

Anyhow, Astral Construct creates, well, constructs on the spot. These are mindless creatures, so I can order them to do risky (even suicidal) acts without any twinges of conscience on the character's part, and without me as a player feeling a bit queasy about it all.

Does anyone else think this way, or am I unique in worries about the psychology of summoning?

 

[blargney the second]

If you're the DM, go with whichever one is likely to make for a more compelling story!

If you're a player, by definition you shouldn't feel bad about using people. *grin*
-blarg

 

[Painfully]

You're thinking too hard.

Summoning spells don't last very long, that's why you can make the summoned creatures do what you want right away. Even the spell descriptions presume that you'll use them for combat. Wizards/sorcerers would almost never risk their familiars, and would be foolish to go into melee themselves.

It doesn't matter what you summon for the most part. Shadow creatures, astral constructs, or celestial/fiendish creatures. They all just play along with the summoner and do his bidding.

I don't think good casters would summon evil creatures, and vice versa. Good clerics have a good aura I believe, and I think their deity might frown on the summoning of fiendish creatures.

If you want to summon a creature and have a philosophical dialogue with it though, I'm sure it'll be happy to chat about the weather in the Abyss, or wherever it came from for a few minutes.

 

[ARandomGod]

One of the reasons I liked XPH is the power Astral Construct. I liked the idea of having buddies created to help me out. I realize that there already are Summon spells in the PHB, but I just didn't like the psychology of forcing another creature to do my bidding (in fact, as written and evil wizard can force good summoned creatures to do her bidding). Shadow magic was a special case. I am still not sure whether shadow-created creatures are real shadow-creatures, wearing the "masks" of whatever they are duplicating, or whether they are "created" wholly from shadowstuff on the spot. If the former, would they remember the various creatures they pretended to be? Would it be like an acting gig?

Anyhow, Astral Construct creates, well, constructs on the spot. These are mindless creatures, so I can order them to do risky (even suicidal) acts without any twinges of conscience on the character's part, and without me as a player feeling a bit queasy about it all.

Does anyone else think this way, or am I unique in worries about the psychology of summoning?

I've always had that spell function very similiarly to astral construct.... Or to say, these creatures aren't creatures that exist elsewhere and come to your aid, but that they are constructed by magic, take the form of the animals in question, along with certain basic functions, but they aren't real... at the end they don't go away or return anywhere if alive, instead they simply evaporate... redispersed into the ether, lose their form and function as the magic that holds them together dissipates.

Thereby neatly avoiding any moral conflicts of using the creatures.

 

[Kershek]

There are good reasons for good creatures to summon evil creatures. For instance, there is an ironic twist to seeing an evil creature do good for someone else by fighting other evil creatures for a good cause.

 

[Kershek]

I've always had that spell function very similiarly to astral construct.... Or to say, these creatures aren't creatures that exist elsewhere and come to your aid, but that they are constructed by magic, take the form of the animals in question, along with certain basic functions, but they aren't real... at the end they don't go away or return anywhere if alive, instead they simply evaporate... redispersed into the ether, lose their form and function as the magic that holds them together dissipates.

Thereby neatly avoiding any moral conflicts of using the creatures.

Except for the fact that the first sentence of Summon Monster says this: "This spell summons an extraplanar creature (typically an outsider, elemental, or magical beast native to another plane)."

 

[Gez]

Sometimes, I wanted to tell a player he's made a weird dream -- he was suddenly naked in a strange place, and surrounded by monsters. One strange creature urged him to attack the monsters, and so he did -- no time to think in these situation. Then he died and woke up.

 

[Simplicity]

Sometimes, I wanted to tell a player he's made a weird dream -- he was suddenly naked in a strange place, and surrounded by monsters. One strange creature urged him to attack the monsters, and so he did -- no time to think in these situation. Then he died and woke up.

Yeah, I just figure that all of these summoned fuzzy animals actually live somewhere else, and while they're summoned to the Prime Material plane, they're just lying asleep with their legs kicking, and their owners looking at them going "Awwwwww..."

 

[Peskara]

Yeah, I just figure that all of these summoned fuzzy animals actually live somewhere else, and while they're summoned to the Prime Material plane, they're just lying asleep with their legs kicking, and their owners looking at them going "Awwwwww..."

My boxer-plott hound mix must get summoned a lot then. She's always having really loud, vivid dreams.

In our campaign the summoned animals are from the spirit world (ethereal realm), the magic gives them temporary physical bodies, which they like, in return for aiding the druid/wizard/priest who called them. Same goes for the Mount spell.

 

[Greybar]

Two examples from storyhours come to mind:

Seasong's, where a summoned lightning-hawk type creature considers being summoned a great fun game.

Sepulchrave's, where in one scene summoned angels weep as they are forced to attack the PC Paladin.

john