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Ah. Much appreciated. I was just going to rely on having the Summon Eidolon spell on hand or in a magic item. Thanks.

Awesome. Excellent responses guys. I really appreciate how speedy and clear you guys were. Thanks, and may the dice be ever in your favor!

I've been playing 3.5 and Pathfinder for several years now, and one of my GM's campaign settings is finally coming to a close. So, with a new one coming up soon, everyone is rushing around, trying to come up with new characters and ideas for one.

In the past, I've never played a true magic user, although I have played semi-hybrids (ranger/paladin). For this upcoming campaign, I was considering playing a summoner, as I have long loved the idea of playing something that summmons other things as its main function. I like the idea of casting summoning spells, and all the utility they bring through a huge list of summon-able creatures. While I could play a conjurer or any other class that can cast the Summon Monster/Summon Nature's Ally spells, I also like the idea of having an eidolon that I can customize.

Yesterday though, while browsing through Ultimate Magic, I stumbled upon the Synthesist archetype for summoners. I immediately fell in love with the idea of BEING the eidolon, instead of it just being another monster I can summon.

However, there are a few points in the Fused Eidolon class feature, where the rules are unclear:

1) It states that the eidolon no longer has its own feats, and the summoner instead uses their own feats. It also states that the summoner "gains access to the eidolon's special abilities and the eidolon's evolutions." So, can a summoner acquire feats which focus on improving the capabilities of his eidolon, such as weapon focus for an attack gained through an eidolon's evolution?

2) How does the synthesist acquire an armor bonus to their AC? I get that the summoner can cast spells and such while wearing armor (to a certain extent), but they do not receive the benefits of their armor while fused with their eidolon (see the errata for printing 1 to printing 2). The eidolon can also no longer acquire feats to allow it to use armor, with the class feature "Fused Eidolon". So, do the AC increases to a fused synthesist/eidolon come from increasing his Dexterity modifier bonus and natural armor bonus? And can a synthesist's eidolon no longer receive an armor bonus to AC except through wondrous items?

3) "The eidolon must be at least the same size as the synthesist."
This sentence kind of confuses me. I'm not sure if the designers mean that the eidolon has a minimum size of one equal to that of the synthesist, or that the eidolon must remain at the same size as his synthesist. This alone could affect my decision on whether or not to play a synthesist. After all, playing an elf who seems like your run-of-the-mill wizard one minute, then is suddenly a size Huge tarrasque-like creature the next would be pretty baller.

4) This is a bit more of a general summoner question, but is there a way to shorten the casting time it takes to summon your eidolon? One minute seems a bit much for a synthesist, especially if your eidolon is now the equivalent of your combat gear.

Thanks in advance for any helpful replies.

I'm assuming this book will focus on the lost cultures/empires/nations of the Inner Sea region, but would it be going too far if there was some more info about the lost empire of Ninshabur? Personally, I'd be happy if there was just some stuff about the olden days on the other continents period.

So while i've been preparing multiple possible character builds for the campaign i'm planning for after I get home from Afghanistan later this year, I've been reading a lot more in depth on the rules and spending time analyzing them and reading up on the Pathfinder Campaign Setting.

One thing struck me in particular: it appears that Pathfinder is built for classic fantasy gameplay, and is rather customizable.

Many of the character builds I've made so far are partly based on my favorite characters from movies, books, and video games. I love the characters and the ideas I've come up with, but I'm worried about how well they'll mesh with the Pathfinder Campaign Setting (which I've come to love as well). I mean, they work with the rules most of the time, but should I be worried about that as well?

Also, if anyone has experience with things like this, do tell of them.

All things considered that have been stated above, I must agree that the Test of the Starstone stands on the same playability level as the deities. As soon as it's made, the importance of deities goes out the window. After all, with all of the current PFRPG rulebooks out there, there's already plenty of ways to reach immortality. Plus, I would assume that most 20th level characters are receiving loads of hero worship from the common citizens of Golarion (who still constitute the majority of the worshipers of the REAL gods).

However, if Paizo would hold some sort of tournament-style play at a major convention (Gen-Con perhaps), the final challenge could indeed be the Test of The Starstone. But this would need to be a one-time only thing. So, if the characters fail, big whoop. So has everybody else. If they win: TA-DA! Canon demi-gods. And a great story to put in the timeline of the next edition of the game.