How to Summon the Party—Summoner Class Deck Preview

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Need someone to find out if that door is trapped? Go tackle that sorcerer? Carry you quickly to town? Chill your wine? Whether you need a demon, elemental, phantom steed, or trusty eidolon, the summoner knows that every problem just requires the right selection of summon to solve. Some parties quibble over who heals, who melees, who deals with traps. The Summoner Class Deck shows that the Summoner is the party.

Everyone's favorite Hatmancer and Battlechicken.

First up, let's look at our returning champions, Balazar and Padrig. Balazar uses the classic "-mancer" toolkit, scooping up monsters he defeats to use later. This iteration of Balazar is very friendly to anyone at his location (including himself). He can freely cycle his spells for monsters or monsters for spells, letting him cast his best spells for effect and keep his hand moving along.

Wolf beats chicken. Every time.

Alase and Tonbarse hail from the Worldwound, having been introduced in the novel Pathfinder Tales: King of Chaos by Dave Gross. As a Sarkoris God Caller, Alase believes her eidolon is a god. She has little interest in other summons and monster cards, instead focusing her spells as prayers to enhance Tonbarse. Tonbarse roams from location to location, and wherever he is, Alase can assist from afar.

Shh. Zetha will let you know when you can be useful.

Our last Summoner is inspired by the Shadow Caller archetype from the Advanced Race Guide. Zetha is a fetchling, the daughter of a sorcerer trapped on the Shadow Plane. Her eidolon is her own shadow sent forth to do her bidding. Zetha summons a steady supply of shadows each turn, allowing her to stealth her way past many a barrier or check to acquire. Of the summoners, Zetha is the most self-reliant (and least helpful), and she likes it just fine that way.

This class deck is also full of boons that might be useful to a summoner, including many new spells. Because none of the summoners rely on Attack spells, we loaded the class deck with utility spells, including lots of movement, evasion, and ways to add to combat checks.

Summoners don't need to keep watch at night. Or walk. Or bring bug repellent.

We also created a new cycle of allies, bound to the will of the summoner by power rather than kindness. If you can't back up your request with magical oomph, they are more costly than your normal allies, but if you've got the juice, they're oh, so sweet. In a pinch, Balazar and Zetha can also treat them as monster cards for added versatility.

So much power. Such a small price.

Summoners are some of the most crazy, fun, and versatile casters in the RPG, and I hope you'll find them equally crazy, fun, and versatile in the Summoner Class Deck.

Keith Richmond
Adventure Card Game Designer