RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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I played in a one off adventure over the weekend, that featured 2 summoners. One was a PC (12th level), and the other was the main villain of the adventure - a 14th level kobold vampire summoner.
The PC summoner made good use of the versatility of his summoning spells (flyers against flying targets, large earth elementals for battlefield control, etc.) His eidolon was built more for defense than offense, and seemed to work just fine for that.
However, our crafty DM found a very sweet combination with his summoner, taking advantage of the life link ability. First, he used disguise self on his eidolon to make it look like one of the 6 other statues in the room, and we had no idea we were dealing with a summoner and eidolon. We coulding figure out why we were having such a hard time hitting the vampire (who we thought was a wizard or sorcerer.) Once we dealt with his greater invisibility, we had a difficult time with his high AC (shield, mage armor, haste, plus high Dex and natural armor due to being a vampire). Plus he kept getting a 'cover' bonus from the statue he was next to (which in fact was his eidolon using greater shield ally).
In addition, the fact that he kept energy draining us and gaining hit points that way as well as his fast healing made him hard to keep him damaged, especially when combined with him dominating my cavalier who took down 2 party members before a successful dispel magic freed him, and the summoner using hold monster on other PCs, not to mention summoned monsters.
The real trick came through the life bond. Every time we hurt him enough to take him down, he just transfered some hit points from his eidolon to himself. When combined with fast healing and the hit points he got from energy drain, this was a tough combo to beat, an in fact impossible while we didn't realize there even WAS an eidolon in the picture.
Once we figured that out (from the rogue climbing on the statue to sneak up on the vampire), we started concentrating on the eidolon. While the eidolon was built for defense, it was still a bit easier to hit than the vampire. The eidolon still had many hp, despite having used life bond significantly, since it also had fast healing. The combination of both summoner and eidolon having a replenishing source of hit points, especially when the eidolon was disguised, was a very hard encounter.
Before someone starts screaming "RAW" and pinholing your post, I want to applaud your DM for being very creative. Very well done :-)
Before someone starts screaming "RAW" and pinholing your post, I want to applaud your DM for being very creative. Very well done :-)
I have to agree on the creative bit. Now for the pinholing...
The Life bond ability is not an activated one. its a passive that kicks in whenever the summoner would be killed by HP damaage. So it sound like your DM wasnt using it quite right.
However, from the description you gave, i think it would have worked out the same either way.
The other problem i see is with using disguise self. I assume it was channeled through share spells to affect the eidolon, but that would have made the summoner look like a statue too. can a shared spell be dismissed for only one target like that?
Before someone starts screaming "RAW" and pinholing your post, I want to applaud your DM for being very creative. Very well done :-)
I have to agree on the creative bit. Now for the pinholing...
The Life bond ability is not an activated one. its a passive that kicks in whenever the summoner would be killed by HP damaage. So it sound like your DM wasnt using it quite right.
However, from the description you gave, i think it would have worked out the same either way.
The other problem i see is with using disguise self. I assume it was channeled through share spells to affect the eidolon, but that would have made the summoner look like a statue too. can a shared spell be dismissed for only one target like that?
That's not the way share spell works anymore. You're remembering 3.5 share spell. The new share spell ability means you can cast any spell with the target of 'You' on your companion (or eidelon) as well. You don't get benefits on both of you, so to disguise both the summoner and the eidelon would require two spells being cast. So only casting it on the eidelon was perfectly valid and RAW.
However, I will note that the glowing symbol on the Summoner's forehead should have been a giveaway unless it was hidden by a hood, mask, bandanna, etc. Disguise self, IIRC, doesn't hide that symbol so the hidden Eidolon should have had one visible also, again barring some sort of covering.
I'd have cast a permanent illlusion on the other statues, so all of them had the same symbol. Then covered the one on the summoner's head.
Here seems to be the problem. From the way I read life link you can transfer health from the summoner to the Eiodolon only. It seems to be a one way street.
Here seems to be the problem. From the way I read life link you can transfer health from the summoner to the Eiodolon only. It seems to be a one way street.
That depends. I believe that the level given for the BBEG was class level, not effective level, meaning the summoner was high enough level to have the Life Bond. While it doesn't technically transfer hit points to the summoner, the effect is not particularly different. And when the eidolon has fast healing and isn't being targeted, it's even more similar.
Here seems to be the problem. From the way I read life link you can transfer health from the summoner to the Eiodolon only. It seems to be a one way street.That depends. I believe that the level given for the BBEG was class level, not effective level, meaning the summoner was high enough level to have the Life Bond. While it doesn't technically transfer hit points to the summoner, the effect is not particularly different. And when the eidolon has fast healing and isn't being targeted, it's even more similar.
Maybe it seemed that way. You still can't transfer health from the Eidolon to the summoner.
Life Bond (Su): At 14th level, a summoner’s life
becomes linked to his eidolon’s. As long as the eidolon
has 1 or more hit points, the summoner cannot be
killed. Damage in excess of that which would kill the
summoner is instead transferred to the eidolon. This
damage is transferred 1 point at a time, meaning that as
soon as the eidolon is reduced to a number of negative
hit points equal to its Constitution score, all excess
damage remains with the summoner, killing him.
Effects that cause death but not damage are unaffected
by this ability. This ability does not affect spells like
baleful polymorph, f lesh to stone, or imprisonment, or other
spells that do not cause actual damage.
Maybe it seemed that way. You still can't transfer health from the Eidolon to the summoner.
I'm aware of that. But just because that's how the player (who posted this) saw it and phrased it didn't mean that's what actually happened, which is what I was trying to say. It's functionally the same as transferring HP, and is therefore easily described that way.
Here seems to be the problem. From the way I read life link you can transfer health from the summoner to the Eiodolon only. It seems to be a one way street.That depends. I believe that the level given for the BBEG was class level, not effective level, meaning the summoner was high enough level to have the Life Bond. While it doesn't technically transfer hit points to the summoner, the effect is not particularly different. And when the eidolon has fast healing and isn't being targeted, it's even more similar.Maybe it seemed that way. You still can't transfer health from the Eidolon to the summoner.
Life Bond (Su): At 14th level, a summoner’s life
becomes linked to his eidolon’s. As long as the eidolon
has 1 or more hit points, the summoner cannot be
killed. Damage in excess of that which would kill the
summoner is instead transferred to the eidolon. This
damage is transferred 1 point at a time, meaning that as
soon as the eidolon is reduced to a number of negative
hit points equal to its Constitution score, all excess
damage remains with the summoner, killing him.
Effects that cause death but not damage are unaffected
by this ability. This ability does not affect spells like
baleful polymorph, f lesh to stone, or imprisonment, or other
spells that do not cause actual damage.
I will add the way I read this the summoner can't die. It doesn't say he can't be disabled and dropped to negative hit points just that he can't die. That being said if it was undead technically it would die at 0 hit points right? But as a vampire this ability would be almost useless because a vampire hits 0 hit points or below it it is incapacitated and already has a mechanic in place to not die.
This also brings up an interesting feat combination with die hard. The bad guy could run around at - 1 away from con and would not drop. That would freak out the PC's.