Summoned Creatures and Gear

[Dykstrav]

I've been playing some version of D&D for many, many, many years now. The way I've always seen the various summoning spells work (Summon Monster, et cetera) has been that the critter in question appears exactly as it does in the Monster Manual.

After casting Summon Undead II (from Spell Compendium) in a recent game, my current group insists that creatures summoned through the various summoning spells have no gear whatsoever. Specifically, another player voiced this opinion to the DM, who seemed to glaze over for a moment. I let the issue drop for the time being as the skeletons I summoned were meant to block the escape of our enemies more than kill them on their own.

After the game I directly asked the DM whether or not summoned critters have gear in his game, he told me to go by the book. The Player's Handbook and Spell Compendium don't specifically say anything about the gear of summoned creatures. I'd always assumed that summoned critters have whatever gear is listed in their Monster Manual descriptions and have never had problems with players trying to loot summoned monsters or any such silliness.

Is this how summoned critters play? Do they get gear or not?

 

[Rackhir]

Yes, they should have what ever equipment is listed in their descriptions. However anything they have will vanish along with them, when they are killed or the duration of the summoning runs out.

 

[Ambrus]

What Rackhir said. The spell description states what type of creatures are summoned. Those creatures are described in the Monster Manual. Whatever they're described as having in the MM is what they show up with; there's nothing in the RAW that states that summoned creatures deviate in any way from their descriptions in the MM. Seems fairly straitforward to me.

That being said, there's no reason you couldn't hand the summoned creatures better equipment when they appear. But you can't loot summoned creatures of their equipment; it disapears when the spell ends.

 

[Infiniti2000]

What Rackhir said.

The spell description states what type of creatures are summoned. Those creatures are described in the Monster Manual. Whatever they're described as having in the MM is what they show up with; there's nothing in the RAW that states that summoned creatures deviate in any way from their descriptions in the MM.

That being said, there's no reason you couldn't hand the summoned creatures better equipment when they appear.

There's a reason. You gave it yourself prior to this comment.

 

[Ambrus]

There's a reason. You gave it yourself prior to this comment.

The MM entry lists what type of equipment those creatures normally know how to use. As long as you can hand over some new equipment to the summoned creature and communicate effectively what you want them to do with it and they have the ability to use it then I don't see any RAW reason they couldn't make use of it. Even if they lack the correct feats to use the equipment properly, the RAW describe what type of penalties to apply to their efforts.

 

[Infiniti2000]

As long as you can hand over some new equipment to the summoned creature and communicate effectively what you want them to do with it and they have the ability to use it then I don't see any RAW reason they couldn't make use of it.

Oh, okay. I'm sorry, I thought you were talking about the monsters appearing with the better equipment. Absolutely, I agree with you that you can give the monsters some equipment to use temporarily (while they are summoned of course). The equipment then will drop to the ground when the monsters disappear.

 

[Ambrus]

Agreed. S'okay.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Isn't there a variant rule in the DMG somewhere that has you Summon the same monster every time you cast, say, SMIII, and lets you give it equipment that vanishes and reappears with it?

-Hyp.

 

[shilsen]

Isn't there a variant rule in the DMG somewhere that has you Summon the same monster every time you cast, say, SMIII, and lets you give it equipment that vanishes and reappears with it?

-Hyp.

Not exactly. The variant (pg.37) says that in order for the equipment to appear and disappear with the creature, you have to either go to the creature's plane and give it the equipment or actually bring it to the Material Plane with a calling spell.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Not exactly. The variant (pg.37) says that in order for the equipment to appear and disappear with the creature, you have to either go to the creature's plane and give it the equipment or actually bring it to the Material Plane with a calling spell.

Ah, okay. Makes sense.

-Hyp.