Summoning!

[Nidogg]

AKa my favourite was to win. but i dont know how to get the most out of my monsters. Can anyone give me any good hints on how to summon every last creature from the celestial (or infernal) realms (Hyperbole I do not want a entire plane to do my bidding just a summoner build.)?

[*.*.*.*]

http://brilliantgameologists.com/boa...p?topic=5573.0


You better play a Malconvoker!

[Optimystik]

Thaumaturgist is also a great summoner PrC (particularly for divine casters.)
Wizards, Druids and Archivists all make excellent summoners. Clerics are good too, but somewhat behind the other three.

And if you'd rather give building some killer ectoplasmic robots a try, go for psionics and the Constructor class.

[Admiral Squish]

And if you'd rather give building some killer ectoplasmic robots a try, go for psionics and the Constructor class.

Okay, briefly confused. Where exactly is the constructor? I've head it before but I haven't actually seen it in any of my books.

[Optimystik]

Okay, briefly confused. Where exactly is the constructor? I've head it before but I haven't actually seen it in any of my books.

When in doubt, internets!

[Eldariel]

Wizard (Focused Specialist: Conjurer) with Rapid Summoning/Malconvoker/Thaumaturgist is pretty good. Note, you can enter Thaumaturgist through e.g. Arcane Disciple for Planar Allies (as a bonus pointer, you are just as good as a Cleric in that regard as it's not the kinda spell you would cast more than once per day anyways).

But yeah, Malconvoker is precisely what you want to make Summons awesome. Of course, Planar Bindings are already kinda nuts even without it, so the improvements there are kinda redundant. And Thaumaturgist is best taken quite early as Extend Summoning and Augment Summoning are both better, the earlier you get 'em. That said, Fiendish Legion is still better. So...yeah.

[Rainbownaga]

Don't underestimate the alienist!

Okay, the alienist is pretty weak since you can't summon spellcasting monsters, but it's fun to be the conduit for the outer realms.

Generally-
Rapid conjuration (UA/SRD) is almost essential if you're going wizard

focused specialist conjurer (CM) + Master specialist (CM) adds swift action summoning 3x day if you can take it to 10.

[*.*.*.*]

Don't underestimate the alienist!

The Alienist has some of my favorite flavor in a prestige

[Optimystik]

Alienist has nice flavor, but you get so gimped power-wise as a dedicated summoner that you're better off blasting at that point.

Now if it used the Pseudonatural template in the SRD...

[*.*.*.*]

Now if it used the Pseudonatural template in the SRD...

Hey you, stop that




=D

[Private-Prinny]

You want at least Conjurer 3/Master Specialist 4/Malconvoker 5. After that, fill up the last 8 levels with 4 levels of 2 of the following: Malconvoker, Thaumaturgist, and Fatespinner.

Conjurer is your base class. Make sure you take the Enhanced and Rapid Summoning Variants from UA. They are the key to a good summoner. Focused Specialist never hurts, either.

The first 5 levels of Malconvoker deal mostly with Summon Monster spells. With a high enough Bluff, you get free Extend and double the bonuses from Augmented Summoning. Fortunately, you get Skill Focus: Bluff as a bonus feat. Free Planar Binding spells let you learn other things. Best of all, Fiendish Legion is basically a free Twin Spell. These are mandatory.

The last 4 levels of Malconvoker deal mostly with Planar Binding spells, but you can summon a Balor with Greater Planar Binding. Goes well with Thaumaturgist.

4 levels of Master Specialist gives your monsters extra HP, and you get a couple bonus feats. It's the only PrC that you can qualify for by level 3, so you may as well tack it on.

4 levels of Thaumaturgist Extends all of your summonings for free! (Thaumaturgist+Deceptive Summons+Rod of Extend=8 rounds/level duration) Contingent Conjuration is also amazing. You can probably convince your DM to let you take another feat instead of Augmented Summoning. Highly recommended, but you need a feat or a generous DM.

4 levels of Fatespinner provides really nice insurance against failed Bluff and/or Charisma checks. If you don't want to bother jumping through hoops to get Thaumaturgist, this is a nice alternative.

I personally enjoy Conjurer 3/Master Specialist 4/Thaumaturgist 4/Malconvoker 9 as my final level, but there are other options.

Honorable Mention: You could also take Malconvoker 6/Paragnostic Apostle 3 as opposed to Malconvoker 9, but fast healing for something designed to be expendable just doesn't sell it for me. At least not when compared to binding a Balor or the extra insurance of Safe Summoning.
Edit: One level of Paragnostic Apostle only gives up the Safe Summoning. Getting extra durability instead of extra insurance against a natural 1 seems like a fair trade.

Hope this helps. Summons are amazing.

[The Deej]

The above build is indeed a powerful summoner, but if you want a single build capable of summoning everything possible, Archivist is the way to go. Every summoning spell appears on either Cleric or Druid, and if malconvoker is taken as A PrC, the planar binding line is added, which are the only calling spells that aren't divine. A master specialist build might be able to eke out a bit more power into the summons he has, but an Archivist can beat it in versatility/variety. Both are eligible for most if not all other PrC's. Which way you go just depends on what you want to go for.

[Private-Prinny]

The above build is indeed a powerful summoner, but if you want a single build capable of summoning everything possible, Archivist is the way to go.

I don't think I have any books that mention Archivists... I also heavily favor arcane casters, so I did what I could there. One thing I can see wrong with the extra versatility is that (correct me if I'm wrong) Malconvoker bonuses don't affect SNA spells, so the extra power actually goes a long way.

It still seems like a powerful suggestion, though. Plus it doesn't make your caster borderline MAD.

[AbyssKnight]

Probably a dumb question, but how are you getting lesser planar ally on your wizard?

Arcane Disciple (Summoner domain)? Or is there a better way?

[Private-Prinny]

Probably a dumb question, but how are you getting lesser planar ally on your wizard?

Arcane Disciple (Summoner domain)? Or is there a better way?

Arcane Disciple is the easiest, and probably only, way.

I am fortunate enough to have an epic level Cleric as a major NPC in the campaign I'm in, so researching spells should be fair game. Something like that is DM arbitration territory, though.

[Gnorman]

There's also Frank and K's Tome Summoner, which pretty much can summon everything - monsters, nature's allies, ice beasts, and undead. Available in the Tome of Fiends. They're more of a swarm-summoner, throwing endless waves of creatures at your enemies. They require the most bookkeeping and the most independent research, as you're going to have quite a few summon available to you.

Arguskos has a version available here. They're similar, but different enough to warrant close scrutiny of their divergences.

And then there's Pathfinder's Summoner, which trades higher-level spells for the ability to summon monsters as an SLA, as well as one big beefy pseudo-permanent summon, called an eidolon. Again, lots of bookkeeping - you have to keep track of your character, the eidolon, the summon SLAs, and your spellcasting (you can cast Summon Monster I-VI as spells). Be careful which version you end up looking at - the first one was kind of broken-powerful, while the final one is nerfed a bit too much.

[deuxhero]

Human focused rapid conjurer/master conjurer/malconvoker is cookie cutter, but useable.

[Geiger Counter]

Also there is the Demon Piper, link in my signature.

[Optimystik]

Hey you, stop that


=D

*Tries and fails to look innocent*

I don't think I have any books that mention Archivists...

You're in luck, the class is online for free.

[Pluto]

You might also want to see Gnorman's guide to Demons (and how to get them).