asteryx's page

Our barbarian 8 was drained 4 times so he has 4 negative levels. Which save bonus should apply 24h later when he rolls to see if each drain is permanent?

Each negative level bestows a double whammy: -1 penalty to save and -1 effective level. So the Barb 8 take a -4 (from each neg lvl) and a -2 (Barb8 vs Bar4) for a total of -6 to Fortitude save for 24hours. The question is whether those penalties apply when he rolls his Fort save 24h later.

Should he rolls with:
i) +9 as a Barb 8 with 16 of Constitution (no penalties)
ii) +7 (4+3) (his Cons +3, his effective level is Barb 4's Fort+4 but no -1 per neg. level)
iii) + 3 (4 effective lvl + 3Constitution -4 from the neg levels penalty still in place)

I'm leaning toward iii if only because otherwise high level characters would never lose a level permanently.

RAW PHB p310's text is slightly different from the SRD as it states the "Neg . level goes away, but the afflicted creature must make a Save to determine whether there's a lasting effect."

SRD doesn't mention the neg lvl going away and hence its penalty should apply to the For save.

RAW SRD:
Each successful energy drain attack bestows one or more negative levels on the opponent. A creature takes the following penalties for each negative level it has gained.
–1 on all skill checks and ability checks.
–1 on attack rolls and saving throws.
–5 hit points.
–1 effective level (whenever the creature’s level is used in a die roll or calculation, reduce it by one for each negative level).
...
Negative levels remain for 24 hours or until removed with a spell, such as restoration. After 24 hours, the afflicted creature must attempt a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 attacker’s HD + attacker’s Cha modifier). (The DC is provided in the attacker’s description.) If the saving throw succeeds, the negative level goes away with no harm to the creature. The afflicted creature makes a separate saving throw for each negative level it has gained. If the save fails, the negative level goes away, but the creature’s level is also reduced by one.[/indent][/i]

Advice on what a summoner should conjure along with stats table of those which cannot be found directly in the MM. And I don't mean choose the octopus when at sea.

It would add depth to the games as I suspect many DM & players are lazy like me. I'll choose the Hellhound over the Fiendish dire weasel(FDW) as I won't apply 2 templates just to figure out whether the FDW is better on some aspect. How about choosing a few lemures instead of the Hellhound, when does it make sense?
What about all the other MOnsters books?

Also it would be neat to see
- is it worth having the Augment Summoning feat tree?
- new magic items or focus to help the summoner e.g. extend the duration.
- rituals or glyph on the ground to boost a spell
- Explanations on when to Gate vs Summon vs Call vs Extraplanar travel
- extended rules allowing Summoner to stretch themselves
(like in many Fantasy novels) and summon/conjure/call a monster with the risk it will turn against you. What Mechanics could be used for that? Maybe it's a feat or COncentration check allowing a caster of Summon Monster N to choose in the N+1 or even N+2 table with a percentage chance of failure every round.
- I could see many web enhancements on this

These summoners have experience, their lives are on the line and they have Int so they should know what to use when.