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Fralex
2014-05-15, 08:30 PM
I like being able to have minions in games. So I was a bit disappointed at the lack of creature-obtaining spells in the playtest, and was compelled to homebrew some of my own. I don't have many opportunities to test things like this, so I thought I'd share them here and see what you guys( and gals) think of them. I know it's a bit silly to homebrew a game before it's even finished, but it's fun so I did it anyway.

Summon Beast
1st-level conjuration, available to druids, rangers, mages, bards, and clerics

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 25 feet
Duration: 4 rounds (concentration)

You summon any level 1 beast that you know of to a location within range. The summoned beast can be either a celestial, fey, or fiendish version of its natural form. It acts on your turn and attacks your opponents to the best of its ability. If you can communicate with it, you can give the creature more precise orders using your bonus action. At the end of the spell’s duration it instantly returns to wherever it came from. If the beast is reduced to 0 HP, it likewise vanishes.
You may reduce the duration of this spell by 2 rounds; each time you do so, it increases the level of beast you may summon by 1.
At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, increase the duration by 4 rounds for each level above 1st.

So this is just a basic remake of a mix of the Summon Nature's Ally and Summon Monster spells from earlier editions. Mainly the former. I've designed it so a primary caster will be able to summon creatures up to their own level + 1, with higher level creatures being harder to keep around. I have two main concerns about this spell:
First, is allowing a character to summon any beast they know of rather than selecting one from a list too powerful? I thought it would be more fun if players had more freedom over what they were conjuring, but is it too open? I imagine if a player tried to summon a creature they don't seem to have a good reason to know about, the DM could call for an Intelligence(Nature) check with a DC based on how uncommon that beast is.
Second, does the balance between level and duration need tweaking? As it stands, I'm not sure if an exchange of 2 rounds for 1 level is too good or not good enough.

Plant to Seed
3rd-level transmutation, availiable to druids and maybe rangers

Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 10 feet
Duration: Instantaneous

Choose a target plant or plant creature with 4d8 hit points or less within range. That plant rapidly grows backwards, becoming a seed again in a matter of seconds. Any very tiny seed is encased in a small turquoise crystal, making the object the at least the size of a 3-inch cube.
You can also cast this spell on a seed created by it to instantly grow it back into its original state with 4d8 hit points remaining. Doing so has a casting time of 1 action. The regenerated plant is charmed by you for 24 hours or until it is harmed by you or your allies.
Casting this spell on intelligent plant creatures such as treants is not a good act, and only evil casters frequently use this spell on plants like these.
At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher you roll an additional 2d8 for each level above 3rd.

This is a sort of weird spell I plan to use in an upcoming campaign involving an insane treant druid trying to turn a city into a forest using this spell to transplant trees and its plant creature minions. The treant developed the spell itself and taught it to its followers, but the heroes will be able to learn it too at some point. Instead of a saving throw, I took a leaf out of Pokémon's book and made the effectiveness of capturing the target plant based off its remaining HP. Have you managed to severely weaken that shambling mound? Now it's yours!
My main concern here is how useful this spell actually is. Plant creatures, as far as I can tell, aren't particularly common. Heck, there's only one plant in the playtest's main bestiary! But I left it open to any kind of plant, not just monsters, so there's probably some utility in this spell. I hope. But can you think of any way it could be better?

Geligenesis
3rd-level transmutation, availiable to mages

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 5 feet
Duration: Instantaneous

This spell brings an aqueous fluid to life as an ooze creature. Choose a pool of water within range with a volume at least as big as the kind of ooze you wish to create. That pool quickly constitutes itself into an ooze.
The ooze acts naturally, usually attacking the nearest creature, unless its creator gives it a mental command to attack or ignore a specific kind of creature( i.e. humaniod, monstrosity, etc.) its turn. You lose the ability to give it mental commands 24 hours after creating it unless you cast this spell on the ooze again( no material components needed), extending the mental link another 24 hours.
Material Components: You must provide alchemical raw materials with a value in GP equal to the amount of experience points the ooze you plan to create is worth and mix them into the body of water targeted by this spell.

This spell was partly inspired by Pathfinder's alchemist class (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist), with which it is possible to learn how to make "bottled oozes (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo---alchemist-discoveries/bottled-ooze-su)" that you can toss into a battle to have fight like summoned creatures. It's similar to the Animate Dead spell, but without an alignment restriction and more costly material components( note that it requires the same sort of raw materials an alchemist's set of artisan's tools would use). But is GP an OK way to balance a spell's power? Also, it's the same level as Animate Dead, but can get you creatures much higher in level than a zombie or skeleton. Is it too good for a 3rd-level spell? Maybe I should make it 4th-level instead...