What exactly is an eidolon?

[Venger]

I hear eidolon discussed occasionally, but I'm not sure exactly what it is. I've heard it alternatively described as:

a dinosaur
a ghostwalk prc
some kind of PF thing.

there is also a rogue eidolon from MM2, some kind of dummy with a sigil on his face, and a rimefire eidolon from frostburn, a legged will-o-wisp looking thing.

are there more definitions of eidolon in the game? what are all the things named "eidolon" in the game?

[Kudaku]

A pathfinder class, the summoner, gets an "eidolon" as a class feature. It's part part permanently summoned monster and part Mr. Potato Head.

The class description can be found here (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/summoner).

[Kelb_Panthera]

There are several eidolons but the definition of the term can be found here (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/eidolon?s=t).

In specific game terms, there are several eidolons.

There's the eidolon class in Ghostwalk; a base class with the prerequisite that a character must be a ghost, per the template in that book.

There's the rogue eidolon; a construct that has several spell-like abilities, determined at construction, and an intelligence score that serves a caster.

There's the eidolon feature of the summoner class; a creature sculpted from planar material drawn from elsewhere by the summoner.

I'm not familiar with the dinosaur.

I believe there's an eidolon of some sort in lords of madness. The details escape me, atm.

That's all I've got.

[Thurbane]

I believe there's an eidolon of some sort in lords of madness. The details escape me, atm.
Elder Eidolon - an ancient construct (template applied to a living creature).

https://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/lom_gallery/88138.jpg

[Alent]

For a more mythologically inclined answer, it's a ghost.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eidolon_%28apparition%29

Derived from the greek word Eidos, or "that which is seen: form, image, shape".

Which is appropriate in term, I guess, since the Eidolon build I hear about summoners using most is the Hecatonchires lookalike build. (Which, by the way, is a lot squishier than the real thing.)

[Crake]

There's also the Rimefire Eidolon from Frostburn.

[Killer Angel]

There's the eidolon feature of the summoner class; a creature sculpted from planar material drawn from elsewhere by the summoner.

I'm not familiar with the dinosaur.


I'm not sure either. Maybe it was a way to describe a particular shape of a PF eidolon?

[Snowbluff]

some kind of PF thing.
are there more definitions of eidolon in the game? what are all the things named "eidolon" in the game?
In PF, Summoners use an Eidolon. I've always thought of of it as a projection (see above above the definition) of a creature unique to the summoner in another plane.

Elder Eidolon - an ancient construct (template applied to a living creature).

https://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/lom_gallery/88138.jpg
These things are literally made out of madness, non-euclidean dice, and pottery. I had one made into construct armor in PF once. They're immune to most spells, deflection AC, and have fast healing, so it was pretty broken.

[papr_weezl8472]

Building off this, what exactly, in fluff terms, is a Pathfinder eidolon? I mean, it's some kind of outsider, but not a kind that shows up anywhere other than in reference to summoners. I've got a wizard/summoner in a Skull&Shackles game that's curious about where the hell the thing comes from, and how can have such a cherrypicked set of evolutions.

[huttj509]

Building off this, what exactly, in fluff terms, is a Pathfinder eidolon? I mean, it's some kind of outsider, but not a kind that shows up anywhere other than in reference to summoners. I've got a wizard/summoner in a Skull&Shackles game that's curious about where the hell the thing comes from, and how can have such a cherrypicked set of evolutions.

I have 2 interpretations of it.

a) It's an outsider from "somewhere else" that enters into a sort of pact with the summoner, linking them together. Summoner gets the Eidolon's power, in exchange for linking some of his own to the Eidolon. Eidolon in return gains powers, but is linked somewhat to the whim of the Summoner. Sort of a reverse Faustian deal. "I'll give you some of my power, but you need to serve me."

b) The Eidolon is a manifestation of the Summoner's imaginary friend, and has no true existence outside of when summoned. Though the Summoner thinks it does.

[upho]

I have 2 interpretations of it.

a) It's an outsider from "somewhere else" that enters into a sort of pact with the summoner, linking them together. Summoner gets the Eidolon's power, in exchange for linking some of his own to the Eidolon. Eidolon in return gains powers, but is linked somewhat to the whim of the Summoner. Sort of a reverse Faustian deal. "I'll give you some of my power, but you need to serve me."

b) The Eidolon is a manifestation of the Summoner's imaginary friend, and has no true existence outside of when summoned. Though the Summoner thinks it does.I would consider both of these to be fully possible options, but still mild re-fluffing:

a) The fluff doesn't mention any info about the terms of a pact, contract or similar deal, just that the summoner has 'a link' to the eidolon which is seemingly unbreakable.

b) The eidolon is specifically described as actually having a home plane, not an 'imaginary home plane'. (Really like the 'imaginary friend made real'-concept though.)

Expanding/explaining the original fluff with a typical D&D-ish setting (such as Golarion), I get something along the lines of:

Several planes of existence are infinite, and some, like the Astral Sea, are potentially also harboring an infinite number of both finite and infinite planes. The eidolon is a creature from one such unknown plane. Perhaps it came into existence simply as a side effect of the summoner being able to manifest an aspect of her being as a physical, separate entity in the material world, or perhaps it was always there, waiting for the summoner's soul to come into existence. Or perhaps it only exists while the eidolon isn't summoned. Regardless, it is a plane that could, at least in theory, be found and visited by other creatures.

Similar possibilities are potentially true when regarding the eidolon itself, which may originally be an infinite of possible creatures on its home plane, while only a certain aspect of it is summoned to the summoner's side, its nature depending on the summoner's personality, wishes and power.

Still very hazy and open to a multitude of possibilities and interpretations though. Which I think is great, allowing for the actual facts to be unique for every summoner and/or campaign/setting.

[Psyren]

Building off this, what exactly, in fluff terms, is a Pathfinder eidolon? I mean, it's some kind of outsider, but not a kind that shows up anywhere other than in reference to summoners. I've got a wizard/summoner in a Skull&Shackles game that's curious about where the hell the thing comes from, and how can have such a cherrypicked set of evolutions.

Its form varies depending on the evolutions you have selected, but it always has a fantastic appearance, i.e. not resembling any existing creature. So you can't have, say, an eidolon that looks exactly like a dire bear. For ideas on what it could look like, there are scattered images in some sources, like the APG and bestiaries.