Topic: Need Elemental Summoning Pointers

[providence13]

With all of the different/conflicting rules from EssCo, C&M and F&I,
I've got some questions on how everyone else handles the rules.
I understand that F&I changes were intentional.

I've never used Level Codes under creature stats before. So our Mage PC has been summoning with reckless glee as it was never "dangerous".

1) Does anyone else use a varying level of elementals summoned?
Using the variable sounds like a whole lot more fun for me as GM...

Under the old EssCo, you could Master 3 elementals at once. I'm assuming that other GM's don't allow the casting of all 3 different Master spells to allow 9 elementals hanging around..

2) Does someone allow casting all three in there game?
(Thankfully, Control can't work that way because of required concentration.)

3) When the Master spells say that the elemental is there until "it dies, caster dies, or it goes out of range", is this meant to be days...forever... until those conditions are met? Or, like in C&M, for Servant and Weak, 1 round/level of the caster?

I had hoped that F&I covered this as it did such a great job of making Master/Control a creature level to caster level ratio, but I haven't seen it. It might be in clearly bolded type.. I'd never find it then.

4) Do elementals have a natural resistance to magic?
Even though it was Mastered, another character was going to cast Haste to speed it along and keep up with the horses... I said that the elemental could be told what to do as it was mastered. It could not be told to lower its natural resistance to magic. The other guy didn't want to waste the PP and it was dropped.

5) Can you cast Haste on an elemental?


 

[PiXeL01]

1 - I never used lvl variations. I just took the elementals straight out of C&T. If the summon spell says Weak Elemental, then that is exactly what the summoner will get ^^

2 - Not sure, but I think you can master one being pr level.

3 - Mastery is until the mastery spell end or the element is banished one way or the other.

4 - afaik the only resistance elementals have are against their own elemental and possibly against mental spells as their minds are well ... alien

5 - Sure, why not. If the Haste spell isnt self sure thing

[providence13]

Thanks PiXeL01,

1) and 2) Well, depending on what rules you use, it could make a HUGE difference!

   a. If using EssCo, it really doesn't matter because you can Master 3 Elementals. The strength/lvl of each has no bearing on the game for Mastered purposes and you ignore the "Those summoning Strong Elementals need to be wary of these creatures mindless tempests, the strength of which could well exhaust the will of even the most skilled practitioners of magic" part of every C&M I can find.

   b. But if the GM uses F&I, the Mastered/Commanded Elemental durations are a function of the caster's lvl and NOT by number of creatures.
Now the +/- levels greatly affect the caster (and party!) because there's a chance of something coming through that is bigger than you can handle.. and maybe slightly weaker than you wanted. The GM can now proudly use the text from the monster description..

If you don't like the variable amount, then casters can develop the Summoning Skill; helps to Summon the correct type of creature that you want.
* New Rule:  If you make the Summoning Skill roll, Summoning can modify the levels of a creature Summoned by the # of Ranks in the Skill. This way, you treat it kinda like Ambush.

Example: Caster wants to Summon an Elemental Guardian for his tower while he goes on vacation. As Guardians are Lvl:15G, this is a range of 5-32 (!). Since he may need to summon while on his trip, he might want to buy down the Guardian's lvl.

3) F&I has Master Elemental True affecting Types I-IV and if used on a Type V, it only lasts 1 hr/lvl.
Well, I guess Mastered is permanent. So, I guess C&M is just cut and pasted from much older rules...

[providence13]

Addendum to my *New Rule above..
Ranks in Power Manipulation- Summoning Skill are used to modify the Level Code for creature stats.
This would keep it in line with the Ambush-style RM mods.. and make it less powerful.

Example: Guardians are Level 15G. Open Ended roll... yields...76. If the caster has 15 Ranks in Spell Mastery, he could modify the roll from 61 to 91. This way, a caster could summon a 16th lvl Guardian, all the way up to one 25th lvl.

Example: if the roll had been 125. The caster could mod from 110 to 140. This yields a +11 but since that roll is in the 101-140 column for "G", the caster can't actually mod the level.

So generally, the highest and lowest rolls, provide less benefit to influencing creatures lvl with the Summoning skill.

BTW, the level chart is in many of the books, but pg 6 in my C&M.

[providence13]

Well...
I really appreciate PixeL101's input. Wish I had more..

No one uses the letters after Levels for alternate creature stats?
I'll post how it goes after next game.