I had an interesting PC concept brought my attention and I'm curious what you all think on the matter.
The concept is thus:
A player has created a new PC, a Forgemaster[3] | Summoner[1] who is interested in being the Magic Item Creation monkey of the group. His concept is that he wants no part in actual combat, as you could totally be killed doing that, so stays in town while his Eidolon does all the heavy lifting.
He plans to accomplish this by crafting an item to grant a continuous Unfetter spell effect for his Eidolon. The only issue I see there is that he couldn't use the 'Life link' ability, but that doesn't seem to be a deal breaker.
He will still retain the Eidolon special ability by a similar name called 'link', which is handy as he can remain in constant mental contact with his Eidolon from wherever he is. (most likely in town still.)
Using the UMD skill he plans to use lots of scrolls and Wands, with little to no failure due to buffing his Chr, using skill boosting items, and taking 'skilled' for the +8 UMD racial bonus.
So far no real issues at all with this build as this is a fairly standard use for an Eidolon.
Here is where I'd like to hear some feedback from you all.
1.) Would the summoner earn full XP, or any XP for that matter, for engaging in fights he wasn't "physically" present for, even though technically it is his summoned creature involved in the fight? This is assuming the summoner is "mentally" involved in the fight. Directing the Eidolon, providing advice, dictating where and who to attack etc.
Is there a RAW rule saying he shouldn't earn XP in this scenario? I can't think of one off the top of my head, but would love to hear if anyone has an opinion either way.
And as a follow up, if the summoner IS mentally involved in the fight, does that mean he can't earn a full days crafting pace as he is no longer resting in town, does purely mental actions disrupt this?
Feel free to drop your 2 cents, or cite RAW at me. Thanks!