Different kind of beasts in Conjure Animals

[emacleric]

Hello everybody!

I have a question. I'm playing a land druid, and soon I will be able to cast Conjure Animals. One option in the spell description is: "Eight beasts of ehallenge rating 1/4 ar lower".
Does it means that I have to conjure necessarily 8 beasts of the same kind (for example 8 wolves)? Or can I conjure beasts of different kind, however of CR 1/4 or lower (for example 7 wolves and a giant owl)?

Thank you,
:smallbiggrin:.

[JackPhoenix]

Ask your DM. RAW, it's the DM who decides what appears based on the CR you have selected, though he may give you the option to choose the beasts you want.

[DonElektro]

If you choose the option of eight beasts then you can conjure any beast your campaign setting have. Having in mind MUST be 8 'beasts' and each one should be of 1/4 CR. Then your DM maybe restrict you some beast like a Giant Owl if you are in daylight (unusual to see an owl) even they are feys not normal animals. It's your DM's decision.

[emacleric]

Ok, I will ask my DM.
Now, spell description says "Roll initiative for the summoned creatures
as a group, which has its own turns". So, if I conjure 7 wolves and a giant owl (for example), do I have to roll initiative for them as a group (even if they aren't identical creatures)?

Thank you,
:smallwink:.

[DonElektro]

For the initiative thing it's again the DM's word. You could make a second initiative to decide which summoned creature plays first over others. As DM I always, even with numberous monsters I roll initiative for every creature.

[Shining Wrath]

This is a "rulings, not rules" situation. Were I your DM each type of creature would form its own group with its own initiative, which is why I'd probably limit the number of different beast types you could pull; it can get cumbersome if there are 8 different types, or even 4.

[dnd2016]

Do they attack in the same turn that you conjured them?

[Dalebert]

I can't think of any RAW that says they have to be the same. It's true that the DM gets to decide what comes. Often they will let you choose but they might veto some choices or just pick something else. It's typically because what you chose doesn't fit the setting. For instance, I was in a floating city and the DM decreed I could only summon flying creatures. Similarly, a DM might, for instance, rule out wolves in the Underdark and say giant wolf spiders come instead.

I love this spell but bare in mind that it can be really tedious, particularly for your party members who are already waiting patiently for their chance to go. It's very effective to summon a lot of smaller creatures but you might want to consider summoning just one or two higher CR ones, for the sake of fun. Fun is the highest priority in the game. And it's bad enough to summon 8 creatures; worse still, I imagine, if they're all different which would slow things down even more, especially if they each have different initiatives.

[NNescio]

Do they attack in the same turn that you conjured them?

If the roll under your initiative, yes. Otherwise they go next turn.

[dnd2016]

Can you command each one of them individually? Maybe some to attack and some to assist allies giving them advantage

[Rhedyn]

Ask your DM. RAW, it's the DM who decides what appears based on the CR you have selected, though he may give you the option to choose the beasts you want.

Those are dev house-rules.

EDIT: Because Sage Advice is full of garbage rulings and those poor devs are probably why 5e has systemic problems and is widely unbalanced even when compared to 3.5.

[GPS]

Those are dev house-rules.

EDIT: Because Sage Advice is full of garbage rulings and those poor devs are probably why 5e has systemic problems and is widely unbalanced even when compared to 3.5.
One word: pun-pun.


If you choose the option of eight beasts then you can conjure any beast your campaign setting have. Having in mind MUST be 8 'beasts' and each one should be of 1/4 CR. Then your DM maybe restrict you some beast like a Giant Owl if you are in daylight (unusual to see an owl) even they are feys not normal animals. It's your DM's decision.
This is mostly right, I just kinda have to point out that Conjure Woodland Beings is the one that can conjure minor fey. Conjure Animals cannot summon minor fey. Sorry 'bout the nitpicking

[Typhon]

Those are dev house-rules.

EDIT: Because Sage Advice is full of garbage rulings and those poor devs are probably why 5e has systemic problems and is widely unbalanced even when compared to 3.5.

Are we talking straight 3.5, or 3.5 after the splat. Straight I can see that, but not after splat books start coming in.

[BW022]

It is up to the DM.

However, I'll offer some advice...

You should put some serious consideration to the effects of this on the game. Lots of creatures in initiative bogs down combat. You can make a 60 minute combat takes 90 minutes without really helping the party that much. Making other players wait while you go through eight more initiatives, moving everyone tracking all those hit points, etc. for creatures who probably can't hit or do much damage. Then their is the effects of command all of them, the space they take up, trying to move in dungeons with so many, keeping multiple sets of stat blocks, tracking all their hit points, differentiating them (via figs, dice, etc.) at the table, etc. Most players and DMs won't typically thank you for this... even if it is mechanically useful.

DMs have the same issue if they throw in a lot of enemies. Most DMs specifically limit numbers of enemies to keep combat and encounters moving quickly.

My recommendation... don't summon piles of creatures. Summon one or two larger ones as needed. About the only time I'd look at multiple lower CR creatures would be if you were summoning horses for riding or something.

[DivisibleByZero]

Those are dev house-rules.

EDIT: Because Sage Advice is full of garbage rulings and those poor devs are probably why 5e has systemic problems and is widely unbalanced even when compared to 3.5.

No, they aren't "dev house-rules."
And it has nothing to do with Sage Advice.

Choose one of the following options for what appears:
• One beast of challenge rating 2 or lower
• Two beasts of challenge rating 1 or lower
• Four beasts of challenge rating 1/2 or lower
• Eight beasts of challenge rating 1/4 or lower

You choose one of those options. Nowhere under those options does it say that you choose which beasts appear. It says you choose a number of beasts at a certain CR from those options. That's it. The rest is up to the DM unless he/she chooses to give you more control over it.

[tieren]

This is mostly right, I just kinda have to point out that Conjure Woodland Beings is the one that can conjure minor fey. Conjure Animals cannot summon minor fey. Sorry 'bout the nitpicking

I think he means the things summoned are fey spirits in the forms of the beasts, you don't literally call a real animal that is nearby or teleport a real animal from somewhere else to your location.

edit:
its also why the beasts disappear when killed and the spell isn't called "conjure bacon"

[GPS]

I think he means the things summoned are fey spirits in the forms of the beasts, you don't literally call a real animal that is nearby or teleport a real animal from somewhere else to your location.

edit:
its also why the beasts disappear when killed and the spell isn't called "conjure bacon"
Ah, my bad