Hi everyone,
This is my first post! I would love to create a summoner I am just torn between vanilla summoner and Master Summoner. I love the idea of having 'hordes of monsters' but I worry that it will slow down the game or just be unfair and boring to the rest of the players ... and there are 3, sometimes 4, not including the GM.
Is it manageable? Or do I just go vanilla and have a grand ole' time with my eidolon [thinking of making him a rogue of sorts] and back up summons and casting .... ??
I'm so torn, would love some advice from people that have played this class.
Thank you!
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I think you are right about slowing down play by having a small horde of monsters at your command. I do not allow Master Summoners, Broodmaster Summoners or Packmaster Druids for that precise reason.
When I played a Summoner, I played a halfling with a quadruped eidolon, with a focus on charging into combat. The Pounce evolution is fantastic for that.
On the other hand, a biped eidolon gets reach when he gets the Large evolution, and can use weapons more readily since he already has arms.
3 players with one being a master summoner hasn't been an issue for us.
If you've got your ducks in a row its not really a problem. You'll need to pay attention at the table, know what the other characters can do and try not to block their charge lanes, and have your swift, move, and standard actions worked out before your turn comes.
You might want to keep your eidolon out and use them as a scout, wand monkey, or intimidate debuffer. That limits you to 1 summoned critter.
You can also have notecards written up for your more popular summons and possibly pass them out to those who might want to help. You can use multiple sets of dice so you can roll for 3 attacks at once, and use a dice box so you're not looking for dropped dice under people's feet or knocking over half the minis on the table.
Since you're probably going to be using elementals all the time at lowish levels, make sure you have the appropriate languages and declare, "I'm always power attacking unless I state otherwise" if you've got an earth or water elemental in play. That helps to avoid all manner of goofy drama.
I make a little table tent out of a note card that states it along with any other "always on" effects or things the GM should know, like my perception score.
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Hi everyone,
This is my first post! I would love to create a summoner I am just torn between vanilla summoner and Master Summoner. I love the idea of having 'hordes of monsters' but I worry that it will slow down the game or just be unfair and boring to the rest of the players ... and there are 3, sometimes 4, not including the GM.
Is it manageable? Or do I just go vanilla and have a grand ole' time with my eidolon [thinking of making him a rogue of sorts] and back up summons and casting .... ??
I'm so torn, would love some advice from people that have played this class.
Thank you!
I played a halfling MS through RotRl and had a great time. Just make sure you have your summons statted out and know how they work. It also helps to give them to other players to do the rolling for attacks and such.
As far as the eidolon, I didn't use it except for fluff purposes. It is a great class as long as you are an excellent bookeeper.
"Let's Roll a Summoner!"
Ok, you get his wallet, I'll get his watch.
"Let's Roll a Summoner!"
Ok, you get his wallet, I'll get his watch.
I'm on lookout!
And this time, don't forget to neutralize that eidolon!
From a character stance, would you rather be a battle duo or a field commander. Obviously, either can be fun and powerful.
I would think that from a power standpoint, vanilla favors quadraped and MaSum favors biped. With a halving of power and max attacks, damage evolutions like pounce become less important. So the MaSum's eidolon typically becomes a "skill monkey", which biped and its free arms handles better.