Select Summoners
Hello everyone and welcome to another great edition of Best in Class, where we bring you new and exciting class options and archetypes each and every week. This week I want to look at one of my least favorite classes to come out into the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: the summoner. So let’s get down to it with some new archetypes.
New Summoner Archetype:
Eidolon Master
This sect of summoners has forgone the study of the arcane arts in order to focus wholly on improving his eidolon. Eidolon masters are rarely seen outside the company of their eidolons, and will often refuse to go anywhere their eidolon is not welcome.
Spelless: An eidolon master cannot cast spells and loses both his cantrips and spellcasting class features. This ability affects only spellcasting granted by the summoner class; spellcasting or cantrips granted by another class, such as wizard, are unaffected.
Improved Eidolon (Su): At 1st level, and again at each level beyond 1st, the eidolon master’s eidolon gains an additional evolution point.
Empowered Eidolon (Su): Beginning at 4th level, the eidolon master treats his Hit Dice as 2 higher than normal for the purposes of determining his eidolon’s statistics and special abilities.
Toughened Eidolon (Su): Beginning at 7th level, the eidolon master’s eidolon gains 2 additional Hit Dice. This ability may grant the eidolon additional base attack bonus, base saving throw bonuses, skill points, feats and ability score increases, but doesn’t affect the eidolon’s armor bonus, maximum attacks, evolution points, or Strength or Dexterity adjustment.
Restive Eidolon (Su): Beginning at 10th level, the eidolon master’s eidolon recovers 1 hit point per Hit Dice when it receives at least 8 hours of rest. The eidolon must be summoned in order for this ability to have any effect.
Heal Eidolon (Sp): Beginning at 13th level, the eidolon master gains the ability to heal his eidolon. Once per day, the eidolon master can use heal as a spell-like ability targeting his eidolon. Unlike other spell-like abilities, this ability only functions when targeting his eidolon.
Enhanced Eidolon (Su): Beginning at 16th level, the eidolon master’s eidolon gains a +4 enhancement bonus to each of its ability scores.
New Summoner Archetype:
True Summoner
This summoner cannot summon an eidolon, but does have incredible powers with regard to summoning creatures. While true summoners don’t form strong bonds with the creatures they summon, they can summon creatures more often, and the creatures they do summon are more powerful than normal creatures of their kind.
Summon (Sp): The true summoner can cast summon monster I and summon nature’s ally I as a spell-like ability at will. His caster level for this ability is equal to his summoner level. At 3rd level, and every 2 levels thereafter, the power of this ability increases by one spell level, allowing him to summon more powerful creatures (to a maximum of summon monster IX and summon nature’s ally IX at 17th level). At 19th level, this ability can be used as gate, instead. If used as gate, the true summoner must pay any required material components.
A true summoner cannot have more than one summon monster or gate spell active in this way at one time. If this ability is used again, any existing summon monster or gate immediately ends. These summon spells are considered to be part of his spell list for the purposes of spell trigger and spell completion items. In addition, he can expend uses of this ability to fulfill the construction requirements of any magic item he creates, so long as he can use this ability to cast the required spell.
This ability replaces the eidolon, life link, and summon monster class features.
Summoned Senses (Su): Beginning at 2nd level, creatures the true summoner summons with his summon ability gain darkvision and low-light vision. Additionally, as a standard action the summoner can concentrate on a creature summoned by his summon ability in order to see through its eyes, observing everything it sees from its perspective for 1 full round.
This ability replaces bonded senses.
Summon Horde (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, when the true summoner uses his summon ability to summon a greater number of lesser creatures (such as using summon monster II in order to summon 1d4+1 creatures from the summon monster I list) he summons an additional creature.
This ability replaces shield ally.
Transport Summoned Creature (Sp): Beginning at 6th level, the true summoner can magically transport his summoned creature by spending a standard action. This ability functions identically to the spell dimension door, except that it can only affect creatures summoned by his summon ability.
This ability replaces maker’s call.
Banish Resistant (Su): Beginning at 8th level, any creature the true summoner summons with his summon ability cannot be dismissed or dispelled with spells such as dispel magic or banishment.
This ability replaces transposition.
Enhance Summoned Creature (Su): Beginning at 10th level, any creature the true summoner summons with his summon ability gains an additional +2 enhancement bonus to its Strength, Dexterity and Constitution scores. This ability stacks with augment summoning, but not with spells such as bull’s strength.
This ability replaces aspect.
Greater Summoning (Sp): Beginning at 12th level, the true summoner can use his summon ability to have up to two summon monster, summon nature’s ally, or gate spells active as a result of his summon ability at any one time.
This ability replaces greater shield ally.
Extended Summon (Sp): Beginning at 14th level, creatures summoned by the true summoner’s summon ability last for 1 minute per caster level, instead of one round per level.
This ability replaces life bond.
Powerful Summon (Su): Beginning at 16th level, creatures summoned by the true summoner gain a +2 enhancement bonus to their Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma scores.
This ability replaces merge forms.
Master Summon (Su): Beginning at 18th level, the enhancement bonuses granted by his enhance summoned creature and powerful summon abilities increase to +6.
This ability replaces greater aspect.
Summon Legion (Sp): At 20th level, the true summoner may have up to 3 summon monster, summon natures ally, or gate spells active as a result of his summon ability.
This ability replaces twin eidolon.