Pathfinder Summoner

Discussion in 'Roleplaying Forum' started by TheDavisChanger, Oct 28, 2011.

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  1. TheDavisChanger

    TheDavisChanger Well-Known Member

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    This thread concerns considerations for a character of the Summoner class in the Pathfinder rule system.

    I don’t metagame like a few of my friends do so I didn’t read ahead to get a solid grasp of the rules governing the Summoner class before building him. I had desired to create a character adept at constructing golems, but the Summoner class served my needs well enough. I just wanted a big pet or a friend, and I got it.

    Wanting to play a fantastic diminutive race, I chose a Gnome and this race has an inherent boon to the Summoner class because of the racial Charisma bonus, upon which Summoner special abilities are based; the number of times a Summoner may use his Summon Monster ability is directly proportional to his Charisma bonus. Consequently, my Gnome character has maxed his Charisma to take advantage of this relationship.

    A Summoner also gains an Eidolon, which is basically an uber-Summon. The drawback to having this Eidolon summoned is that while he is summoned, the Summoner’s Summon Monster ability cannot be used. My character could dismiss his Eidolon and summon some monsters, then resummon is Eidolon, but the summoning of an Eidolon takes one minute, which is ten rounds of combat. After ten rounds of combat, combat is already over, making this Summon Monster ability useless and sinking character points into Charisma a waste.

    Now I question the wisdom of choosing a Gnome Summoner, thinking maybe it would have been better to choose a beefier race for a different Summoner style. Having a stronger character with medium Charisma would give enough access to spells to buff the Eidolon so the two could tank foes together in combat.

    Fortunately, my GM is allowing some flexibility with our characters, giving us a few levels to shift stats and abilities around as we get a feel for our characters. Taking advantage of this allowance, I’m considering shifting my Summoner to the Master Summoner archetype, which would weaken my Eidolon, making him less uber and allowing for more frequent and more powerful summoned monsters. My chief concern with going this route is that combat and the sessions in general drag out long enough without an extra four bodies engaged in any given combat. Still, this has gotten me thinking about various Summoner builds and play-styles:
    • Diminutive Mounted Master Summoner
      Choose the Gnome race for the Charisma bonus and max your Charisma score. Acquire Charisma enhancing equipment and spells and focus on Feats that improve your ranged combat prowess. Use your lesser Eidolon primarily as a mount (which will make up for your diminutive race’s slower moving speed) and feel free to send it into combat for a quick attack before dismissing it and spamming the field with your extraplanar allies.
    • Raging Half-Orc with Tank Buddy
      OK, Half-Orc may be a poor choice because racial Charisma penalties will keep him off of the higher-level Summoner spells, so choose a more balanced race and improve Charisma sparingly, favoring Strength and Dexterity instead. Choose Feats to maximize the combat prowess of both yourself and your Eidolon and flank your foes. Use your Summon Monster ability to summon bags of XP.
    • Religious Orphan
      I haven’t thought this one through too much from the game mechanics aspect, but more from a role-playing aspect. I hate playing religious characters, but I might do that with this build. The concept is an orphaned child that doesn’t understand her summoning abilities, but her Eidolon always appears as an Angel whom she identifies as her Guardian Angel. I like the role-playing potential for this character but don’t know where else to go with it.
    I created this thread for input from people who just like to think about this stuff, to see what kind of builds they come up with or extra ideas for the builds I've suggested. Also, feel free to spout off about some of your favorite builds from various tabletop games.
     
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