Monster's Summon duration?

[magicalmagicman]

If the creature has Caster Level 12 for most of its spell like abilities, but the summon spell is listed as a 3rd level spell with no caster level, does the summon spell last 12 rounds or 5 rounds?

Edit: Nevermind. It says unstated caster level = monster's hit die. Boy do I feel silly making a thread :(

Edit2: Good thing I made this thread because it turns out, its always 1 hour!

[Kelb_Panthera]

If the creature has Caster Level 12 for most of its spell like abilities, but the summon spell is listed as a 3rd level spell with no caster level, does the summon spell last 12 rounds or 5 rounds?

What?

If the creature has SM3 as a SLA and its CL for its SLA's is 12 then the creature it summons will remain for 12 rounds.

If the creature is summoned with SM3 and you're the caster, it stays for a number of rounds equal to your CL.

If the creature has a listed CL for its SLA's but has SM3 listed separately or referenced from some other racial summoning ability, then it defaults to CL = HD per the rules in the MM glossary and here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#spellLikeAbilities).

[magicalmagicman]

What?

If the creature has SM3 as a SLA and its CL for its SLA's is 12 then the creature it summons will remain for 12 rounds.

If the creature is summoned with SM3 and you're the caster, it stays for a number of rounds equal to your CL.

If the creature has a listed CL for its SLA's but has SM3 listed separately or referenced from some other racial summoning ability, then it defaults to CL = HD per the rules in the MM glossary and here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#spellLikeAbilities).

Oh no, you misunderstood. Summon SLAs list a spell level, "This ability is the equivalent of an 3rd-level spell. " but no CL level. The creatures in question do not have SM3 as a SLA. Their other abilities however do have a listed caster level, which is why I asked.

[Crake]

Oh no, you misunderstood. Summon SLAs list a spell level, "This ability is the equivalent of an 3rd-level spell. " but no CL level. The creatures in question do not have SM3 as a SLA. Their other abilities however do have a listed caster level, which is why I asked.

If you're referring to a creature's summon ability, not an SLA that duplicates the summon monster spell, those summons last for 1 hour and are not subject to the restrictions of the standard summon monster spell (such as being unable to teleport), only that they can't use their own summon ability. This is detailed in the back of the monster manual. Here's the full text from d20srd:

Summon
A creature with the summon ability can summon specific other creatures of its kind much as though casting a summon monster spell, but it usually has only a limited chance of success (as specified in the creature’s entry). Roll d%: On a failure, no creature answers the summons. Summoned creatures automatically return whence they came after 1 hour. A creature that has just been summoned cannot use its own summon ability for 1 hour. Most creatures with the ability to summon do not use it lightly, since it leaves them beholden to the summoned creature. In general, they use it only when necessary to save their own lives. An appropriate spell level is given for each summoning ability for purposes of Concentration checks and attempts to dispel the summoned creature. No experience points are awarded for summoned monsters.

[magicalmagicman]

If you're referring to a creature's summon ability, not an SLA that duplicates the summon monster spell, those summons last for 1 hour and are not subject to the restrictions of the standard summon monster spell (such as being unable to teleport), only that they can't use their own summon ability. This is detailed in the back of the monster manual. Here's the full text from d20srd:

Wow, thanks. This ruins some of my plans... >.<

[Kelb_Panthera]

Crake has the right of it on duration. It's worth noting that the CL is still equal to HD unless otherwise noted because the spell-like can still be dispelled to get rid of the creatures. Likewise, the fact that it's a 3rd level effect interacts with certain other effects, like break enchantment's caveat about the spell effect needing to be below 5th level or globe of invulnerability's restriction to 4th level and lower spells (though neither of those is particularly applicable to summoning).