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Olo Demonsbane
2009-03-24, 03:37 PM
Do summoned creatures gain XP for the challenges they overcome while summoned?

Atelm
2009-03-24, 03:40 PM
I would venture to say, no, they don't.

Heliomance
2009-03-24, 03:40 PM
They disappear at the end of the spell and you never see them again, so it's irrelevant.

Dyllan
2009-03-24, 03:56 PM
It's not irrelevant if you use the variant in which you summon the same creature each time you summon X type creature.

RandomFellow
2009-03-24, 04:19 PM
There is no RAW ruling but the creatures most likely do not. And the point is moot unless you have a summon-the-same-creature capability.

Myou
2009-03-24, 04:20 PM
I would say that they do, but they shouldn't be allowed to level up if you use the variant that allows you to summon the same creature each time.

Olo Demonsbane
2009-03-24, 05:31 PM
What about if you had a PC that was summoned, as he/she was an outsider?

What about a continous summon monster (from an item)?

And no, if the question was irrelevant, I would not have asked it.

Riffington
2009-03-24, 05:41 PM
You do not gain any experience points for "encounters" in which you face no risk. Summoned creatures cannot be harmed, so they face no risk.

Paramour Pink
2009-03-24, 05:56 PM
A PC is different in the sense that they're supposed to gain XP for overcoming (or helping overcome) a challenge, regardless of what their type/class/race. An NPC (that isn't a cohort, or cohort-like) won't receive XP, unless the DM rules it for some campaign-specific reason. At least, I assume...

Olo Demonsbane
2009-03-24, 07:00 PM
You do not gain any experience points for "encounters" in which you face no risk. Summoned creatures cannot be harmed, so they face no risk.

They can be banished back to their home plane for 24 hours. Would you force a Demon PC not to gain XP while on the Material Plane because a killing blow banishes them instead of killing them? This is basically the same thing, only a shorter banishment duration.

OzymandiasVolt
2009-03-24, 07:23 PM
Summoned creatures are not creatures. They are a spell effect. They do not gain EXP, as that would require treating them as a party member, which they are not, being a spell effect and all. Would you give EXP to an astral construct?

In addition, you do not gain EXP from DEFEATING a summoned creature. Called? That's different. But not summoned.

Jack_Simth
2009-03-24, 07:28 PM
Do summoned creatures gain XP for the challenges they overcome while summoned?
Not clearly addressed in the Rules As Written = DM Call. If you're the DM, pick an answer, and run with it. If you're not the DM, ask your DM.

As written, though, a Summoned critter doesn't impact the party's XP cut. If a BBEG Summons a Demon in the middle of a battle, the players don't get any more XP for it than if the BBEG had cast a different spell. If the PC's Summon an Angel in the middle of a battle, the PC's XP cut is not reduced due to the extra body.

If they did gain something from it, though, it might explain why Summoning critters gives the spell the alignment descriptor of the critter ([Fire] for Fire elementals, [Evil] for Evil critters, [Good] for Good critters, and so on) - if the casting does some clear strengthening of that side, at negligible risk to that side, it would explain things, no? If you Summon a Celestial Porpoise, you're directly strengthening the celestials in doing so; if you Summon a Fiendish Monstrous Scorpion, you're directly strengthening the Fiends in doing so. This would also explain why demons and demon lords don't go after summoners for taking away their minions....