Summoned creatures identifying friend or foe

[Quasqueton]

Summon Monster I
This spell summons an extraplanar creature (typically an outsider, elemental, or magical beast native to another plane). It appears where you designate and acts immediately, on your turn. It attacks your opponents to the best of its ability. If you can communicate with the creature, you can direct it not to attack, to attack particular enemies, or to perform other actions.
The spell conjures one of the creatures from the 1st-level list on the accompanying Summon Monster table. You choose which kind of creature to summon, and you can change that choice each time you cast the spell.
A summoned monster cannot summon or otherwise conjure another creature, nor can it use any teleportation or planar travel abilities. Creatures cannot be summoned into an environment that cannot support them.

Summon Nature's Ally I
This spell summons a natural creature. It appears where you designate and acts immediately, on your turn. It attacks your opponents to the best of its ability. If you can communicate with the creature, you can direct it not to attack, to attack particular enemies, or to perform other actions.
A summoned monster cannot summon or otherwise conjure another creature, nor can it use any teleportation or planar travel abilities. Creatures cannot be summoned into an environment that cannot support them.
The spell conjures one of the creatures from the 1st-level list on the accompanying Summon Nature's Ally table. You choose which kind of creature to summon, and you can change that choice each time you cast the spell. All the creatures on the table are neutral unless otherwise noted.

Does a summoned creature automatically know who the spellcaster's enemies/opponents are? Say the summoned creature(s) kill the opponent they are first summoned beside -- can the summoned creature identify other enemies/opponents out of a battle scene to attack? Or does the spellcaster have to communicate to the creature who to attack next?

What if the summoned creature is summoned among a group a friends fighting one bad guy? Does the creature know who to attack among the crowd?

I would think that if summoned in the middle of a pack of opponents, a summoned creature could easily move to another after dropping one. But can the creatures pick out the bad guy from the good guys in a battle scene? I would also figure that a summoned creature would understand that anyone attacking or threatening the spellcaster was an enemy.

Would the ability to identify friend and foe depend on the creature summoned?

And if you have come across any other questions or situations that pertain to summoning monsters (specifically nature's ally), please tell me. I (DM) have a druid (PC) who is specializing in summoning.

Quasqueton

 

[Flyspeck23]

Does a summoned creature automatically know who the spellcaster's enemies/opponents are?

Yes. Anything else, and the summon spells wouldn't be good enough for their level - or even harmful.
Don't ask me why... let's just say it "smells" who's an enemy and who's not...

 

[Quasqueton]

bump - to get the thoughts of those who don't read the forums over the weekend.

Quasqueton

 

[Hypersmurf]

But what determines who is an "enemy"?

Likewise, what determines who is an "ally"?

If we have a devil, a demon, and an eladrin in combat, all of whom will cheerfully kill both of the others...

If the demon is standing between the devil and the eladrin, both of whom are attacking him, do the two attackers provide flanking bonuses for each other?

If so, are the devil and the eladrin considered allies? And thus, if the eladrin casts Bless, will the devil receive the bonus?

Now, while the devil is currently attacking the demon, he will have no hesitation in attacking the eladrin once the demon is disposed of. So if the eladrin casts Bane, is the devil considered an enemy, and thus receive the penalty?

Note that neither of those spells are targeted. They affect "Area: All allies/enemies within 50 feet" respectively.

From the Magic Overview description of Area Spells: "Creatures: A spell with this kind of area affects creatures directly (like a targeted spell), but it affects all creatures in an area of some kind rather than individual creatures you select."

The eladrin doesn't get to select the targets. The spells affect all creatures of the specified type in the area. While he couldn't target anyone with Mass Inflict Light Wounds if he were blind, since a targeted spell requires Line of Sight (or touch), he can hit all his enemies within 50 feet with a Bane... even if he doesn't know they're there.

So what determines who is an ally and who is an enemy? Is the devil in the above example both? Neither? One or the other?

By extension - if a cleric's buddy has been replaced by a doppelganger assassin tasked with killing him, and he casts Bane, does the doppelganger receive the penalty (and thus radiate Enchantment under a Detect Magic)? And if so, does a summoned creature - who attacks the summoner's enemies - attack the doppelganger, even if the cleric doesn't know the doppelganger is an enemy?

-Hyp.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Upon summoning, the monster is imparted with the knowledge of the caster - ie who's an enemy and who's not. Furthermore, this information is fixed at the time of casting. If you can't communicate with the summoned, you can't change your target information.

My interpretation of an 'enemy'? Whoever the caster (or otherwise initiator of the action) selects to be an enemy at the time of casting. If you really want to select only a single target or group of targets for your summoned monster, then fine - I don't really care. However when that target/targets dies, the creature will just sit patiently by.

 

[Nifft]

IMC, spells are intelligent. Higher-level spells are more intelligent, until very high-level spells are actually self-aware.

Of course, IMC magic exists because the basic Superstrings that make up the local 10-dimensional macrosphere are themselves sentient, but that's neither here nor there.

-- N

 

[Hypersmurf]

IMC, spells are intelligent. Higher-level spells are more intelligent, until very high-level spells are actually self-aware.

"That's odd... why didn't my spell work?"
Well, my duration is 'Until Discharged', innit? You don't 'spect me to go round commitin' soo-cide just on your say-so, do you? I know my rights! I'm in the union, I am!

-Hyp.

 

[Nifft]

"That's odd... why didn't my spell work?"
Well, my duration is 'Until Discharged', innit? You don't 'spect me to go round commitin' soo-cide just on your say-so, do you? I know my rights! I'm in the union, I am!

Spells don't get uppity until 7th level (particularly Limited Wish ).

-- J

 

[Li Shenron]

But what determines who is an "enemy"?

Likewise, what determines who is an "ally"?

...

By extension - if a cleric's buddy has been replaced by a doppelganger assassin tasked with killing him, and he casts Bane, does the doppelganger receive the penalty (and thus radiate Enchantment under a Detect Magic)? And if so, does a summoned creature - who attacks the summoner's enemies - attack the doppelganger, even if the cleric doesn't know the doppelganger is an enemy?

-Hyp.

I think it is fair enough that every character/creature chooses which are its enemies. If someone casts bless, at the time of casting he chooses to which creatures it should have effect (including the disguised enemy, if he believes it's a friend). I see no problem in letting anyone deciding by will who's an ally and who's an enemy, there's no need to worry about lacking a definitive definition.

In the case of a Summon spell, the summoned creature is really completely bound to the caster's will, and therefore attacks only the creatures precieved as enemy by the caster.

I still have some doubts about for example an ally Dominated by an enemy, with the ally currently attacking the caster, who perhaps doesn't want to hurt his friend. But I would probably let the caster still keep control on the summoned creature's attack/no attack decision, and leave detailed instructions (who to attack first, which special attack to use, where exactly to move...) to language-based commands.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I see no problem in letting anyone deciding by will who's an ally and who's an enemy, there's no need to worry about lacking a definitive definition.[/b]

So if you are facing two ranks of orcs, and you charge up to the first rank, you can declare the second rank to be your allies, and thus gain flanking bonuses against the first rank?

You're making a melee attack, and your opponent is in the threatened area of your ally on the opposite side (the second-rank orc)...

-Hyp.