Help with a Summoner (PF)

[Shinovar]

Hello all! I am planning on playing a Fetchling Summoner in our next campaign. We are a fairly new group and many of my fellow players don't know all of the rules or how to optimize at all. Because of this, I want to tone down my character, but I also want to be able to save the day if a battle goes south for us.
Because of this, I want to use my Eidolon rarely, but still have it able to shine if it needs to. So I want to play a character that pretends to just be a mage of some kind (I was thinking Sorceror? I doubt it will matter much cause my group doesn't tend to think of classes as in game concepts) and only summoning my Eidolon if absolutely necessary.
I was wondering what kind of spells you think would help me pull this off. I can use my summoning abilities to fake my high level spells. My first though was to use invisibility at the beginning of combat and then summon things from there. What other spells would be good while invisible?

We are starting level 5, no WBL but we can have basic items. We also get one item worth up to 2000 gold. I am going to try to get a custom item that can cast mage armor, shield, and enlarge person 1/day. I think I can talk my DM into letting me have a wand of Rejuvenate Eidolon too. Ill fluff it as a starter kit for Summoners and hope he will count that as 1 item.

For feats I was thinking the summoning feats with Spell focus conjuration, augment summoning, and superior summoning. I doubt he will let us have flaws, but I'll ask. Not sure about traits either.
It will be a mostly Pathfinder game but we can get 3.5 things approved on an individual basis.
Stats are unknown, we will probably used rolled stats. I might try to talk him into point buy if I can, but we are all pretty new to this and a lot of them like rolled stats.

[NeoSeraphi]

It's an interesting idea, but note that you will only be able to bust your eidolon out very very rarely if you play like this. At 5th level, you have two second level spell slots per day, three if you have a Charisma score of 15-21 (I'm guessing you do).

Summon eidolon is a 2nd level summoner spell, so you will only be able to call your eidolon in an emergency for a maximum of three times per day. Notice that when you call your eidolon normally it takes one minute. That's ten rounds of uninterrupted concentration, and that's not going to happen in combat, even if you're invisible (Your party members will either have beaten the enemy or gotten themselves killed by then. Plus, it will be incredibly boring for you to sit there and concentrate while everyone else is making rolls and dealing damage).

Now, with that out of the way, your eidolon will certainly be more effective in these situations, thanks to the Augment Summoning feat, which applies to your eidolon when you cast summon eidolon. So it will work a lot like you want it to, as a big finisher that you can't call often and that can't stay long.

Other spells that are nice to cast while invisible are slow and haste, which will change the tide of battle for your party.

[Shinovar]

I wasn't planning on using my Eidolon often. My go to strategy was to be invisible and summon monsters. I would only use my Eidolon if it were absolutely necessary and was planning on getting the summon Eidolon spell, although not using it most days. Fluff wise, my character uses his Eidolon for secret assassinations of humans that oppress fetchlings where he lives. No one there even knows he has one and he plans on keeping it a secret.
I had thought about haste, especially since summoners get it a level earlier (although that won't matter at 5th level), but wont I lose invisibility if I cast slow? I'm not very familiar with casters, as I have only played a sorcerer once and it may have been the least optimized character I have ever seen. I had run, toughness, point blank shot, and weapon focus ray as feats, and a toad familiar I used for nothing other than the hitpoints. Not even Awareness. That was obviously long before I found these boards, but some of my fellow players aren't much better optimized than I used to be. Last game I played a monk that far outshined the other players.

[Barstro]

I think that you can be a Shadow Caller (I assume that's why you went Fetchling), and also be a Master Summoner. Some of the changes overlap replacement powers, but I believe that the changes can be read together. As such, you are not sacrificing the same power twice to get two bonuses.

If you can do that, you can keep your (due to Master Summoner) weaker Eidolon out all the time, but still use your SLA Summon Monster to summon creatures with a Shadow Template. You can have out one SLA at a time while your Eidolon is out, or burn through up to 5+Cha of them at the same time if the Eidolon is gone.

[Shinovar]

Barstro, I had thought about going Master Summoner as well, but a large part of the point of this strategy was to come up with a way for me to have an interesting character that was optimized but also who purposely held himself back in a fight for believable reasons. I know I could just not try as hard as I can, but I would much rather set restrictions and do my best within them than just purposely not try that hard. I'm trying to thread the needle between both having fun myself and not overshadowing my unoptimized group. Last time I tried to play a monk, knowing what these forums say about them, but that didn't work.

[QuidEst]

Well, you get your Fetchling SLAs for a little extra magic.

Summon Eidolon is a necessity if you're not keeping your Eidolon out regularly. Otherwise, it's useless in an emergency. If you're also grabbing Invisibility, then that leaves a second level slot open. I'd take Haste or Glitterdust for your remaining spell.

As for other spells, Mage Hand and Unseen Servant are basic sorcerous things to do, and Grease is a first-level staple.

Rather than limiting yourself to summons, though, I recommend simply lowering the optimization on your Eidolon. It's easy enough to do- they provide plenty of cool options that are nevertheless not very useful. The magic evolutions, for instance, take a great deal of investment. Or simply focus on pumping its AC and health to make it sturdy, but don't max its attacks. That leaves your summons for an emergency, and you can replace Summon Eidolon with Lesser Evolution Surge for utility.

[Barstro]

Barstro, I had thought about going Master Summoner as well, but a large part of the point of this strategy was to come up with a way for me to have an interesting character that was optimized but also who purposely held himself back in a fight for believable reasons. I know I could just not try as hard as I can, but I would much rather set restrictions and do my best within them than just purposely not try that hard. I'm trying to thread the needle between both having fun myself and not overshadowing my unoptimized group. Last time I tried to play a monk, knowing what these forums say about them, but that didn't work.

You misunderstand my opinion of Master Summoner. I think it is quite weak compared to a normal summoner. In your case, your summons and weakened Eidolon will basically be disposable targets or flanking buddies for the rest of the group. Give your eidolon both Shadow evolutions and it can only do half damage (but also take about half on hits). I think this build doesn't help you shine at all; it helps the rest of the team shine. And, you can tailor your multiple summons to be as useful/useless as you deem fit.

Other than that, I agree with the above post on what you should take. Very useful spells.

[Shinovar]

I agree with you that Master Summoner is weaker if you use your Eidolon, but if you take the Eidolon out of the picture, then Master Summoner is much stronger. Sorry, I don't think I have done the best job describing what I am trying to do.
I want to be able to have a build that can save us if I need to. We are all new players and a new DM. We are a small group and have been taking turns DMing. I took my turn last and I had to fiat some saves so battles didn't turn into TPKs when they really shouldn't have been. I had a really hard time making it not incredibly easy but also possible for them. I don't like that use of fiat, but it seemed better than killing all of them several times. I got it near the end, but it took awhile. So I want to be able to be strong if necessary, but also be weaker generally and have an in game reason for this. When I was thinking about that, I actually came to really like my idea.
Basically, my summoner (Szeth) is living in a fetchling ghetto of a mostly human city. The fetchlings are being oppressed by the humans and used for a labor source. They are not afforded rights as humans are and humans can generally rob, kill, etc them without worrying about the law. Szeth is part of a group that invokes vigilante justice on humans that the law wont punish. He uses his magic, his SLAs, his wits, and mostly his Eidolon to do this, often resulting in the death of those humans. He doesn't want anyone to know he has an Eidolon because the Eidolon is the only one that any witnesses ever see. This is why he would not use his Eidolon unless it were an absolute necessity. If I took Master Summoner, he would be stronger most days and weaker if I need the power in a pinch. Also, a large part of me really likes the idea of busting out a huge burst in power suddenly.
Also, what alignment do you think that would be? He takes the law into his own hands and technically commits murder, but he only does so to protect his people and because the law wont.
You guys have been great, especially for the spells. My second level spells will be pretty needed for invisibility and summoning my eidolon if needed. I was mostly wondering what first level spells I could use and remain invisible that would actually help us in a fight.