Summoner Class (5e Homebrew, testers wanted)

CyanideSprite

First Post
I wrote up a Summoner Class designed around the idea of using monsters in the Monster Manual in a more interesting way than any of the options available in the rulebook.

The class is pretty fleshed out and it has been used in a campaign I ran where one of the party members had lots of fun with it. That said, I would like some help play testing more. There are two paths available; one which gives the player the ability to use monster's stats and abilities themselves and another which is a more traditional "summon monster to fight for you" deal. I would like the first path tried out more.

Check it out, let me know what you think, and let me know if you're gonna try it out in a game.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/16C-dJrZk_pPsPZ5Nn3zdjZdCTqI7wyDzTtL9KHIIZDU/edit?usp=sharing

(Copied and pasted for those who don't like links)

Summoner

Lvl
Prof. Bonus
Summons known
Features
Summon Slots
Inspire Points
1
+2
-
Summoner’s Focus, Monster Specialty
-
-
2
+2
2
Summon (1), Summoner’s Path
1
-
3
+2
3
Inspire
1
2
4
+2
3
Ability Score Improvement
1
2
5
+3
4
Summon Improvement (2)
2
3
6
+3
4
Summoner’s Path Feature
2
3
7
+3
5
Sense Monster
2
3
8
+3
5
Ability Score Improvement
2
3
9
+4
6
Summon Improvement (3)
3
4
10
+4
6
Monster Specialty (2nd)
3
4
11
+4
7
Summoner’s Path Feature
3
4
12
+4
7
Ability Score Improvement
3
4
13
+5
8
Summoner’s Commune
3
5
14
+5
8
Summon Improvement (4)
4
5
15
+5
9
Summoner’s Path Feature
4
5
16
+5
9
Ability Score Improvement
4
5
17
+6
10
Summon Improvement (5)
5
6
18
+6
11
Monster Specialty (3rd)
5
6
19
+6
12
Ability Score Improvement
5
6
20
+6
13(+1)
Grand Summoner
5(+1)
6
[h=1]Class Features[/h][h=1]
[/h]Hit Dice: 1d6 per Summoner level
Hit Points at 1st level: 6+ Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher levels: 1d6 + Constitution modifier

Proficiencies: Light Armor
Weapons: Simple Weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Charisma and Wisdom
Skills: Choose two from Arcana, Animal Handling, History, Insight, Investigation, Nature, Performance, Perception, Persuasion, Religion.

Equipment: • (a) a quarterstaff or (b) a dagger
• A trinket representing from your Monster Specialty in some way
• (a) a scholar’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack
• Leather armor, Calligrapher’s supplies

Quickbuild: Make Charisma your highest stat, followed by Constitution. Take the Sage (Researcher) Background.
[h=3]Summoner’s Focus[/h]You possess a trinket of magical power that has been attuned to you. This trinket is the source of your powers as a summoner. This trinket is usually small and unassuming. Your summons are channeled through this Summoner’s Focus. If you lose this Summoner’s Focus, you may convert another trinket into your Summoner’s Focus. This process costs 50 gold and takes 1 hour to complete.
[h=3]Monster Specialty[/h]Beginning at 1st level, your unique studies of certain types of creatures have given you specialized skills and esoteric knowledge. Choose a type from: Aberrations, Beasts, Celestials, Elementals, Fey, or Fiends. This type becomes your Monster Specialty. You have advantage on knowledge checks (History, Nature, Religion, or Arcana) in order to recognize or recall or learn information about your chosen type. You gain additional benefits as listed below. At the 10th and 17th levels you may choose an additional monster specialty.


Aberrations

  • You learn Deep Speech.


  • You gain advantage on sanity checks and saving throws caused by Aberrations.


  • As long as you can see, you automatically recognize an Aberration even if it is using False Appearance to disguise itself.
Beasts

  • You gain proficiencies in Animal Handling or expertise if you’re already proficient.


  • You have advantage on any rolls you make to track a beast.


  • You do not suffer movement penalties for climbing or swimming.
Celestials

  • You learn the Celestial language and one additional language of your choice.


  • You gain proficiency in Religion or expertise if you’re already proficient.


  • You have advantage on Persuasion and Deception checks against Celestials.
Elementals

  • You learn the Elemental languages and their dialects.


  • You gain resistance to your choice of one damage type from: Cold, Fire, or Lightning damage.


  • You gain advantage on knowledge checks to recall or learn any information about the Elemental Planes.
Fey

  • You learn Elvish and Sylvan.


  • You gain advantage on any saving throws against being charmed by a fey creature.


  • While traveling through the Feywild, you always know how much time has passed in the material realm.
Fiends

  • You learn Infernal.


  • You gain darkvision 60ft.


  • You gain advantage on saving throws against being frightened by fiends.
[h=3]Summoner’s Path[/h]Also at 2nd level, you’ve discovered you can manifest the spirits of your summons internally or externally. Summoners who want power for themselves choose the Path of Power. Summoners who want monstrous companions to fight for them choose the Path of Command. You gain additional features from this path at the 7th, 12th, and 16th levels.
[h=3]Summon[/h]At the 2nd level, you gain the ability to summon creatures in a manner related to your Summoner’s Path. You may select 2 monsters whose spirits you may invoke. This number increases as indicated in the Summons Known column of the Summoner’s Table. These spirits are summoned in the forms indicated by your chosen Summoner’s Path — either spiritual energies in the Path of Power, or physical manifestations in the Path of Command.

You may not summon certain creatures unless you are sufficiently powerful enough. As a beginner summoner, you may only summon creatures in whose challenge rating is below 1. At the 5th level, you may choose creatures up to challenge rating 2. At 10th level, you may choose creatures up to challenge rating 5. At 14th level you may choose creatures up to challenge rating 8, and at level 18, you may summon monsters with a challenge rating of 11. A list of various monsters you may summon is already organized at the end of the Summoner class features section. You may choose monsters not listed so long as they fit your monster specialty type at the DM’s discretion. (Note that sometimes constructs, giants, humanoids, monstrosities, plants, and undead may count as a type you can choose from, such as certain monstrosities being beasts or a Zombie Beholder also being an Aberration. If this circumstance arises, ask the DM if the monster counts as a type you can summon under your monster specialty).

Whenever you gain a level in this class, you may exchange your summons known for others available to you.
[h=3]Inspire[/h]When you reach the 3rd level, you may inspire your summons to act with great valor for one turn. You may expend one Inspire Point whenever you take an action to attack with one of your summon’s abilities. If you do so, add your Charisma modifier to the ability’s attack and damage rolls. If the attack is a spell or ability that requires the enemy to make a save, you may add your Charisma modifier to the spell save DC in addition to the damage if any. You have a number of Inspire Points available as indicated by the “Inspire Points” column of the Summoner table. You regenerate one Inspire Point per short rest up to your maximum available or all of them upon a long rest.

[h=3]Ability Score Improvement[/h]When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.
[h=3]Sense Monster [/h]When you reach the 7th level, you gain the ability to sense the presence of creatures whose type fall under your Monster Specialties. If a creature whose type you specialize is within 100ft of you, you will always know its exact location, even in complete darkness and total obscurity.
[h=3]Summoner’s Commune[/h]When you reach the 13th level, you gain the ability to sate hostile creatures of your Monster Specialty. If you have not attacked creatures whose types are within your Monster Specialties, you may make a Charisma check (Persuasion) with advantage against a DC chosen by the DM. If you succeed, the creatures become docile to you.
[h=3]Grand Summoner[/h]When you reach the 20th level, you gain the ability to capture the spirit of a monster with a challenge rating up to your level that you slay in combat if its type is within your Monster Specialty. Once this creature’s spirit is captured, it may be summoned using all 5 summoning slots. Only one creature may be captured like this at a time. If you capture another creature, the previous one vanishes and can no longer be summoned. This summon is noted at (+1) in the Summons Known column of the Summoner’s table and doesn’t count against your summons known.



Path of Power

Bonus Proficiencies and Hit Dice:
When you choose the Path of Power, you gain proficiencies with medium armor, shields, and martial weapons. Additionally, Your hit dice increases to a D8.

The Spirits Within
Starting at the 2nd level when you choose the Path of Power, you may channel your Summoner’s Focus to imbue yourself with the spirit and power of a creature specific to your Monster Specialty. Spirit energy surrounds you in the vague shape of the creature you summoned. When you reach the 5th, 10th, 14th, and 17th levels, you may invoke more powerful spirits upon yourself or multiple weaker spirits simultaneously as listed in the Summon Slots tab of the Summoner table. While these spirits are summoned, the following effects happen:


  • You may use your summoned creature’s Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Wisdom in place of your own for attacks, spells, and ability checks.
  • You may use the movement speed of your summoned creature in place of your own but cannot fly.
  • You gain any additional senses your summons possess (blindsight, tremorsense, etc) and any vulnerabilities or resistances your spirit offers, but not immunities.
  • You gain the ability to speak any language these creatures speak.
  • You may take an action to use any of the summoned creature’s abilities (such as flame breath or multi-attack) or spells (if any) following the rules listed on the creature’s profile using yourself as the origin. Each monster uses its own spell slots and they regenerate after a long rest. If you use an attack action, you may use either your own weapon and its statistics or you may use the claws, teeth, lasers, swords etc of your summoned spirits following the rules listed on the creature’s profile.
  • Any rules that target or reference the creature target or reference you instead.

Invoking oneself with a summon requires one action. The summon lasts 10 minutes or until dismissed, which requires a bonus action. If you fall unconscious, all active summons are dismissed.

Spiritual Swiftness
Starting at the 6th level, invoking a summon requires only a bonus action. In addition, if you are targeted by an attack or a spell, you may use your reaction to summon a spirit or exchange an active summon with another from your Summons Known.

Spiritual Shield

Starting at the 11th level, you may use the highest constitution among your active summons for purposes of saving throws and expending hit dice. If you are hit by an attack or spell, before damage dice are rolled, you may use your reaction to have your summons absorb damage for you. The damage is reduced by d10 x the number of active summon slots being used, and all your active summons are dismissed.

Spiritual Synergy
Starting at the 15th level, You may have one spirit active even while you’re asleep or unconscious. The passive perception of this spirit functions at all times and alerts you to anything it finds interesting. Additionally, while you are unconscious, this summoned spirit can make any actions and reactions it could normally make with its own weapons or spells. It can take reactions and use the Spirit Shield ability even though you are unconscious. The spirit cannot make movement or bonus actions.



Path of Command

Manifest Creature
Beginning at 2nd level, you’ve learned how to bring forth manifestations of your favored type of monster. As an action, you may channel your Summoner’s Focus to conjure a creature correlated with your Monster Specialty type. These monsters are found at the end of the Summoner class features section. This monster must be summoned so that at least part of it is within 10 ft of you. When you reach the 5th, 10th, 14th, and 17th levels, you may summon more powerful monsters which require more summon slots, or you may summon multiple weaker monsters simultaneously as indicated by the Summon Slots column of the Summoner’s Table. Summoned monsters use the following rules:

Leash Range: Summoned monsters cannot stray too far from you. At level 2, at least one part of your creature must be within 25ft of you at all times. You cannot willingly move a summon or yourself beyond this range. However, if ever a summon finds itself outside this distance, it is immediately dismissed. The leash range increases by 25ft every time you reach a new Path Feature. 50ft at level 6, 75ft at level 11, and 100ft at level 15

Command: You may use your action to give your monsters verbal orders which they will obey to the best of their ability even if they do not share a language with you. You must be able to use your voice to command a creature and anyone else nearby can hear your commands as you say to them. When you give your summons a command, they act at your initiative and may move and use any of their attacks, abilities, or spells available to them. If you choose to not give them an action or if any of them cannot hear you, they will automatically move into range of the closest target that they can see and will use the first attack action listed in their the creature’s action section. If multiple enemies are equidistant to them, the DM decides who they attack. Creatures may use any reactions available (such as opportunity attacks or certain abilities) at the summoner’s discretion.

Dismissal: Summons last 10 minutes or until they are dismissed. Summons are dismissed if they move outside their leash range, or if they or you fall unconscious. Alternatively you may use a bonus action to dismiss any number of summons. Summons do not regain hit points or spell slots upon dismissal. If a summon is reduced to 0 hit points in combat, it becomes unusable and vanishes and you may only summon this creature again after a long rest.

Summoner’s Synapse

Starting at the 6th level, summoning creatures now requires only a bonus action. In addition, you gain the ability to use telepathy to communicate with and command your summons. This telepathy extends as far as your Leash Range and can be used even if your summon does not share a language.

Your Leash Range increases to 50ft.

Summoner’s Sentinel
Starting at the 11th level, if an enemy performs a melee attack against the summoner while a summoned creature is adjacent to both the enemy and the summoner, the attack has disadvantage and the adjacent summon may use its reaction to make an opportunity attack against the attacker.

Your Leash Range increases to 75ft.

Summoner’s Sidekick
Starting at the 15th level, you may choose one creature to be your favored summon to be active at all times, even while you are asleep or unconscious. If you are reduced to 0 hit points, this creature will continue fighting, and will fight in the manner you choose, even though you are unable to give it instructions.

Your Leash Range increases to 100ft.
List of Summons

*(WK) Denotes a homebrew monster that can be found on this page: https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/5e_Creatures*(WP) Denotes a homebrew monster that can be found on this page:https://lackhand.wordpress.com/2015/07/25/illyrian-denizens-with-stats/
Tier 1 (Uses 1 summon slot) [Choose from monsters under CR 1]
Aberrations
Beasts
Celestials
Elementals
Fey
Fiends
Darkmantle
Ape
Blink Dog
Magmin
Blink Dog
Death Dog
Flumph
Black Bear
Flumph
Dust Mephit
Dryad
Dretch
Piercer
Draft Horse
Attendant Aspect (WK)
Ice Mephit
Pixie
Imp
Rust Monster
Hippogriff
Lemma Kertwyn, Giant (WK)
Magma Mephit
Satyr
Lemure
Slaad Tadpole
Pteranodon

Steam Mephit
Sprite
Quasit
Tier 2 (Uses 2 summon slots) [Choose from CR 1-2]
Aberrations
Beasts
Celestials
Elementals
Fey
Fiends
Gibbering Mouther
Allosaurus
Guardian Aspect (WK)
Azer
Sea Hag
Bearded Devil
Intellect Devourer
Fire Snake
Pegasus
Gargoyle
Owl Bear
Gargoyle
Nothic
Griffon

Fire Snake
Will-o’-wisp
Displacer Beast

Giant Boar

Water Weird
Illyrian Knave (WP)
Nightmare

Saber-Toothed Tiger

Xorn

Hell Hound
Tier 3 (Uses 3 summon slots) [Choose from CR 3-5]
Aberrations
Beasts
Celestials
Elementals
Fey
Fiends
Chuul
Elephant
Couatl
Air Elemental
Displacer Beast
Cambion
Otyugh
Basilisk
Ghost
Earth Elemental
Hag
Flameskull
Red Slaad
Mammoth
Revenant
Fire Elemental
Shambling Mound
Manticore
Roper
Triceratops
Sandman (WK)
Water Elemental

Shadow Demon
Spectator
Wyvern
Lemma Vissiv, Greater
Flesh Golem

Succubus/Incubus
Tier 4 (Uses 4 summon slots) [Choose from CR 6-8]
Aberrations
Beasts
Celestials
Elementals
Fey
Fiends
Blue Slaad
Bulette
Unicorn
Galeb Duhr
Night Hag
Barlgura
Green Slaad
Great Ape

Invisible Stalker
Unicorn
Chasme
Grick Alpha
Gorgon

Salamander
Illyrian Knight (WP)
Hezrou

Tyrannosaurus Rex

Shield Guardian

Vrock

Eurypterid (WK)



Chain Devil
Tier 5 (Uses 5 summon slots) [Choose from CR 9-11]
Aberrations
Beasts
Celestials
Elementals
Fey
Fiends
Death Slaad
Behir
Deva
Clay Golem
Illyrian Rock (WP)
Bone Devil
Grick Alpha
Hydra
Djinni
Dao

Glabrezu
Remorhaz
Roc
Guardian Naga
Djinni

Horned Devil
Yochlol
Nemean Lion (WK)
Cloud Giant
Efreeti



Young Phoenix (WK)
Young Phoenix (WK)
Marid


 
Last edited:

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CyanideSprite

First Post
Oh also if anyone has homebrew monsters they want to suggest I reference in the tier lists, let me know! Some of the types are a little sparse on options in the Monster Manual.
 

LuvSpudz

Villager
Love this homebrew, hoping to use it for a lvl 20 oneshot! Do you happen to have added a version of this to DND beyond by any chance?

If not do you mind if I add it in and credit you?
 

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