Summoner assistance


Advice


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Greetings Paizo community. This is my first post to the board, and I've an inquiry. I've GMed many games, across many different systems, but this is the first time I've encountered the Summoner class in one of my games. For the sake of being a better GM, I set out to learn more based on being shown the power of a 10th level Eidolon and was really surprised at the power level of it. I don't understand it, though I've looked through the rule system and much more trying to wrap my head around the power level presented here, and the legitimacy of a 6-limbed (which can all attack) monstrosity of death represented here.

(Original text below)

I am curious if the community would be so kind as to break this down? Point out flaws if there is any and kind of give me pointers as a counter to this, beyond a Dismissal or plain up incapacitating the summoner.

"This is an example of what a really nasty higher-level Eidolon can look like. It's a hybrid of the Pouncer and Slugger packages, designed as an alpha-strike build capable of killing a good fraction of level-appropriate enemies in one round.

The stats below assume the following all-day buffs are active: Mage Armour, Greater Magic Fang, Overland Flight (all last 10 hours at CL 10). The Eidolon carries two magic items: a +1 greatsword and a belt of strength +2. (In practice it would have far more items and probably some extra buffs like Heroism.)

Form: Quadruped
HP: 76 (8d10+32)
AC: 28 (+3 Dex +12 NA +4 armour -1 size)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 40 ft, fly 40 ft.
Ability Scores: Str 28 (30) Dex 16 Con 17 Int 7 Wis 10 Cha 11
Saves: Fort +9 Ref +9 Will +2/+6
Feats: Martial Weapon Proficiency: Greatsword (1st), Toughness (3rd), Improved Natural Attack: Claw (5th), Lunge (7th), Multiattack (Bonus)
Evolutions (base): Bite, Limbs (Legs), Limbs (Legs)
Evolutions (extra, 14-point pool): Large (4), Pounce (1), Limbs (Arms, 2), Limbs (Arms, 2), Claws (Legs, 1), Claws (Arms, 1), Improved Damage (Claws, 1), Rend (2)
Special Abilities: Darkvision, Link, Share Spells, Devotion, Multiattack
Attack Routine: +1 greatsword +18/+13 (3d6+16, 19-20 crit) and bite +16 (1d8+6) and 4 claws +16 (2d6+6) and rend 2d6+21 if two or more claws hit.

On turn 1, the summoner casts haste and moves and the Eidolon makes a flying charge of up to 140 feet, pounces, and full attacks, making 3 greatsword attacks, 4 claw attacks, a bite, and a rend at an average to-hit bonus of +19.

Just for fun, we'll compare this to a Fire Giant, the iconic CR 10 melee monster. It has an AC of 24. Assuming average rolls and no criticals, the Eidolon can expect to do about 143 damage. A Fire Giant has 142 HP. You can push the average damage up much higher by getting the Eidolon better items or more buffs.

Now, granted, things won't always turn out this neatly, but the fact that the Eidolon has a better-than-average chance of 1-round-killing a monster that's supposed to be a challenge for an entire party is fairly impressive."


Looking at the new unchained summoner may be an option but IMHO they butchered the spell list a tad too much.

Scarab Sages

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The only mistake I noticed in the stat block is it looks like the rend damage is high (should be 2d6+16, looks like you added 1.5 STR to the 0.5 STR of a regular claw attack).

To answer the question how to deal with it, if the party is coming up against varied encounters, those saves look dangerously low at level 10, and the hit points aren't fantastic either. I'd expect a confusion effect to suddenly turn this melee beast into a horrible liability pretty quickly.

Try these encounters to terrify your party:
1x Glabrezu (CR 13)
3x Advanced Seugathi (CR 10)
2x Barbed Devil (CR 12) (this one deals damage back for each of those claws/bites instead of assaulting the saves)

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