
Draznar |

Thod wrote:Eidolon has a special ability that lets it be the target of spells that it's type (outsider) normally doesn't allow.
On a different note - I was wondering:Enlarge Person works on a humanoid target. I'm not sure a bipedal would be classified as humanoid.
Not sure I understand this, can someone explain how that works?
EDIT: Nevermind, its all under Eidolon Ability. "Share Spells"

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stringburka wrote:Not sure I understand this, can someone explain how that works?Thod wrote:Eidolon has a special ability that lets it be the target of spells that it's type (outsider) normally doesn't allow.
On a different note - I was wondering:Enlarge Person works on a humanoid target. I'm not sure a bipedal would be classified as humanoid.
It means that you can, for example, cast Enlarge Person on Eidolon despite the fact that Eidolon is not of the Humanoid type.

MicMan |

At early levels the Eidolon is weak in the hands of a mediocre class.
In mid levels the Eidolon can be on par with melee chars.
In high levels (10+ really) the Eidolon can be leaps and bounds ahead of any melee char.
The invention of "classes" was ment to prevent just that - a min/maxers dream of creating the impossible can-do-it-all monstrosity. With the construction kit that the Eidolon uses that dream has come true again.

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Okay - thanks for the clarifications on my last questions. Here is another bit I don't understand:
The Eidolon has 4 spells actrive to buff it up. Enlarge Person, Magic Fang Greater, Heroism and Haste.
None of them last very long - maybe Heroism works for more as one fight.
So assume I have the summoner with his Eidolon standing on one end of the corridor - and my basic level 10 Wizard non optimized on the other side.
What prevents the Wizard to cast 3 Fireballs in the time it takes the Summoner to get his Eidolon 'ready'. This is 30d6 damage - halved if Eidolon and Summoner make the reflex saves. One more fireball if the wizard wins initiative. I guess there are more intelligent spells with more damage - but fireball was a simple one that you could expect even a non-optimized wizard level 10 to know.
Yes - the Eidolon would probably charge the lonely wizard in round 1 and wouldn't bother to be boosted up. But that's exactly what I don't understand. As without the buffs a lot of the damage just goes down dramatically.
It also means - they eat up a lot of spell resources of the Summoner- he could do that a max. of 2 fights and then he is out of spells.
Thod

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Okay - I just realize - the Haste is from the Boots of Speed.
Now the question is:
Can a quadrupled use boots?
Would be need two pairs for them to be active to double the cost to 24K
Are they compatible with claws - that means - can you have claws and boots of speed at the same time on the feet of a quadrupled?
Still working out all the details - so sorry if I still don't get a few of the intricacies of the built.
Thod

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Lvl 10 Half Elf Summoners eidolon attacks AC 24 dude
HD 8, BAB +8, Feats 4 (only power attack will be used in this one), Str&Dex+4, Ev pool 16, ability increase x2
Evolutions:
Limbs(hands) (2)
Claws x2 (2)
Pounce (1)
Improved Damage (Claws) (1)¨
Large (4)
Energy Attacks (Acid) (2)
Rend (2)
Bite (1)
Improved Damage (Bite) (1)
Ok, you built a quadruped, so it has base Str and Dex of 14. How is your evolution pool up to 16? My APG has it at 14, so that's the first error.
Items: Belt of Giant Strength +6, Boots of Speed
Spells on: Greater Magic Fang on every attack & Heroism (Summoner can use 4th level spots for some)
This assumes a bunch of buffs and some very expensive items, but fine.
Str: 14 + 2 (Ability Increases) + 4 (Str&Dex +4) + 8 (Large) + 6 (Belt) = 34
The actual value here is 14 + 4 (from the Str/Dex increase on the table) +8 (Large) +6 (Belt) = 32. I don't know where your "Ability Increases" comes from, but you didn't pay for that evolution, and the passive increase from the table is already in place.
Summoner casts Enlarge Person (Str to 36) to Eidolon, Eidolon uses boots and charges.
This does work as you have listed, however note that the Eidolon is now Huge. It also has a Str of 34 I think. Do note that this involves three solid rounds of buffing, so presumably any comparison would also involve this. I'm also uncertain as to whether you can have boots of speed AND also make claw attacks or rake attacks through the boots (all six of your limbs here have either claws or the rakey claws, and I seriously doubt that would work). You are either clawing or raking through boots.
Attack bonus: 8 (BAB) + 13 (Str) + 2 (Heroism) + 2 (Greater Magic Fang) + 2 (Charge) - 3 (Power Attack) - 2 (Size) + 1 (Haste) = 23
I have you at +22, about the same.
Since 1 is miss and 20 is critical, I'll just add up the values
The +22 might change that. However, I'll also add that your bite damage was d6 (baseline) -> d8 (large upgrade) -> d26 (evolution for a better bite) -> 2d8 (enlarge person). This is via:
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/rules-for-monsters/universal-monster-rules
Are we certain that power attack applies to rend? I don't know.
Bite:
[ 3d6 (Basic damage) + d6 (Acid) + 19 (3/2 x Str) + 9 (Power attack) + 2 (Magic Fang)] x 2 (Haste) = 88Claws:
[ 2d6 (Basic damage) + d6 (Acid) + 13 (Str) + 6 (Power Attack) + 2 (Magic Fang) ] x 4 (# of Claws) = 126Rend:
[ 2d6 (Basic damage) + d6 (Acid) + 19 (Strx3/2) + 6 (Power Attack) + 2 (Magic Fang) ] = 37,5Total: 88 + 126 + 37,5 = 251,5 DPR
And of course, you still need to lose those 2 extra evolution points, plus the ghost 4 you assumed when you added in 2 extra strength. The -2 to strength I think subtracts 6 from your total damage, and you lose like 1.5 from your bite miscalculation, which is still very close to your listed value. But you still have to lose the other 2 points.

stringburka |

Ok, you built a quadruped, so it has base Str and Dex of 14. How is your evolution pool up to 16? My APG has it at 13, so that's the first error.
Weird! I only assumed he had the correct number, but my APG says 14 for an eidolon of a 10th level summoner!
The actual value here is 14 + 4 (from the Str/Dex increase on the table) +8 (Large) +6 (Belt) = 32. I don't know where your "Ability Increases" comes from, but you didn't pay for that evolution, and the passive increase from the table is already in place.
The ability increases are the normal increases from 4 and 8 HD.

Pinky's Brain |
Half elf favoured class bonus gives extra evolution points.
The Eidolon gets extra ability increases once every 4 HD.
Of course the thing is optimized for damage, but that was just to make a point ... the amount of damage you leave on the table for a properly min/maxed build really isn't that much. If someone doesn't beat me to it I'll do a properly min/maxed Summoner later ... his Eidolon will still do ridiculous damage, I can promise you that.

deadman |

I think raising pounce up to like 3 evolution points is reasonable. But anybody who thinks the Eidolon is OP just because he gets full attacks isn't thinking outside the box. Any class can do this. I've seen fighter archers that can outshine any other character in terms of how much damage they can put out in a round. Fact is that the Eidolon can't do anything else the other classes can't do.

Fauxknight |

What prevents the Wizard to cast 3 Fireballs in the time it takes the Summoner to get his Eidolon 'ready'.
The eidilon can kill while the summoner buffs, neither item is exclusive to the other. The summoner pretty much doesn't have anything more usefull to do most of the time anyways.
My resolution was to implement possession based summoners. One set of stats and one set of actions, buff or melee, make the choice.

stringburka |

Thod wrote:What prevents the Wizard to cast 3 Fireballs in the time it takes the Summoner to get his Eidolon 'ready'.The eidilon can kill while the summoner buffs, neither item is exclusive to the other. The summoner pretty much doesn't have anything more usefull to do most of the time anyways.
However, the wizard has a GOOD chance to act first. An average 10th level wizard of 20pt buy might have +10 perception, +3 hide (+3 dex), +7 initiative (+4 imp init, +3 dex). The eidolon mentioned above has +8 perception, -4 hide (+4 dex, -8 size), +4 init. I'd say the wizard will begin in 4 of 5 cases. Then it's just to cast a simple Grease spells and the eidolon can't charge.

DarkMidget |

Ah, the eidolon! The source of much debate and argument... a few of the people I play with have looked through it repeatedly and keep coming to the same conclusion that they feel it might be broken. Though we haven't tried it yet, I am kind of hesitant, because if I DO allow the Summoner and end up feeling it's being overpowering, or that it causes all the melee fighters to feel moot, or redundant, I don't really want to have to tell the person to remake their character or change their eidolon so it's not as powerful.
So, how many people have actually tested it in a game so far? I'm just curious to see how much the finalized summoner has been used to get some in-depth opinions on the matter.

Zurai |

So, how many people have actually tested it in a game so far? I'm just curious to see how much the finalized summoner has been used to get some in-depth opinions on the matter.
<Raises hand> 3rd level Summoner. The Eidolon's fine. It's actually died once while no other character has even come close, and it's got less AC than the highest AC character in the party and less offense than the most damaging character in the party. It is the only party member to have energy resistance currently (which is a big deal because we have an Alchemist with 10' radius firebombs), though.

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I am playing a 4th level Summoner. The Eidolon is a biped and is not very tough. He got crushed in the past two games I played. Now that they modified some of the Eidolon rules, he seems even more realistic. Granted I am not trying to min/max him, but just make him an enjoyable companion creature. I wouldn't have any issue with letting a player create a summoner.

Zurai |

Oh? So it does definitely seem like Eidolons start out weaker than most other PCs? I should take that to mind...
Oh yeah, forgot to add that it has way fewer hit points than the other PCs. Part of that is because of a house rule (we used the old Alpha Playtest suggestion of adding the Con score to starting hp), but also because Eidolons do not get a maximized hit die to start off with, and generally are going to have a lower Constitution than the party Fighter or Barbarian until it gets pretty high level (and probably even then, unless you put a Con belt on it, which then makes the Summoner very weak hp-wise), plus getting fewer actual hit die (they get 3 HD every 4 Summoner levels).

mdt |

So, how many people have actually tested it in a game so far? I'm just curious to see how much the finalized summoner has been used to get some in-depth opinions on the matter.
<also raises hand> I had a 9th to 11th level summoner in my game, and I created at least one 12th level summoner using the Final Playtest rules. That's why I find it so hilarious when people bring up these broken builds to show that the whole class is broken (especially since I've seen every character type in every game get built as broken, no class is immune to it, except maybe the Healer from the miniatures book).
If you set up a situation and tailor make it to show something is uber, it's going to be. It's the same principle as a sales demo. You set everything up to show off the things you want to show off, and hide the things that don't fit with what you want people to see.
The final playtest version was not broken, and I feel the current one is, but not in the way this thread portrays. But that's just my opinion.

Pinky's Brain |
Apart from some nutters with two line posts no one said the whole class was broken. In fact I gave a list of what exactly makes it possible for the Eidolon to outperform core melee ... as a well as list of fixes.
Lots of people make highly suboptimal builds, but that is neither here nor there ... I want there to be multiple good builds close to the optimal build, and I want the optimal build not to make the melee PCs cry.

MicMan |

This is true and it was the main reason that Gary Gygax invented "classes" back when D&D came to life.
If you allow your character to be build up using "points" and choosing among a plethora of abilities you end up with VERY different experiences.
The Eidolon is the same. A little bit on the weak side early on it can be staying weakish and it can be an absolute nightmare later when min/maxed properly.
In short, the Eidolon is a fall back to the times when rules demanded actual sensibility on part of player and GM to work well.

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Long time reader, recently started posting.
I've been flipping through the guide, and I really enjoyed the summoner class. When I showed my DM, he decided to do 'research' on it, and he said it was overpowered because of the simple 'possible' evolutions I could get.
So, when it comes to 'nerfing the eidolon', he spoke out on Flight and a Breath Weapon. Any helping hints? I would appreciate some feedback on those two and if they're even as broken as he might suggest.

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Long time reader, recently started posting.
I've been flipping through the guide, and I really enjoyed the summoner class. When I showed my DM, he decided to do 'research' on it, and he said it was overpowered because of the simple 'possible' evolutions I could get.
So, when it comes to 'nerfing the eidolon', he spoke out on Flight and a Breath Weapon. Any helping hints? I would appreciate some feedback on those two and if they're even as broken as he might suggest.
Hit your DM with something hard on his head. If he thinks that Flight and Breath weapon is overpowered he should ban Wizards, because they can fly and cast fireballs and whistle at the same time. Uncanny ! :)

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Rizzym Jaderenai wrote:Hit your DM with something hard on his head. If he thinks that Flight and Breath weapon is overpowered he should ban Wizards, because they can fly and cast fireballs and whistle at the same time. Uncanny ! :)Long time reader, recently started posting.
I've been flipping through the guide, and I really enjoyed the summoner class. When I showed my DM, he decided to do 'research' on it, and he said it was overpowered because of the simple 'possible' evolutions I could get.
So, when it comes to 'nerfing the eidolon', he spoke out on Flight and a Breath Weapon. Any helping hints? I would appreciate some feedback on those two and if they're even as broken as he might suggest.
Thanks. I keep trying to point him to these forums but he made up his mind when he went to a 3rd-party site and read a playtest review (From February no less!) that showed how 'overpowered' it was. I'll be sure to bring it up with him next time - but in the meantime, I'm making a druid to show him why it's weaker.
edit: I recall the issue. The flight being 'permanent'. Yeah. I'll hit him with the book.

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Large creatures can squeeze through a medium door ... also a summoner can cast reduce person on his eidolon from a scroll when necessary.
You are aware you have a huge Eidolon after casting Enlarge Person on it?
Medium size to start
Large through Evolution
+1 size category due to Enlarge Person
I use Dwarvenforge to build up my Dungeon Crawls. The max. with of a corridor therefore is 10 feet. The Eidolon would be squeezing a lot.
Another question:
Magic Fang - Greater
As far as I can tell you get either a +1 for each for levels for a single attack or a +1 for all of them. You seem to have +2 for all (bite and all 4 claws). You would have to cast the spell multiple times to have this effect as far as I'm aware.
Thod
Oh and just in case - I have played a Gnome summoner in PFS. At a table of 6 tier 1-2 characters only two 'characters' went down throughout the game. These were BOTH my summoner and my Eidolon despite me playing careful.
My summoner was ambushed as the 'weakest looking character' - my Eidolon failed an acrobatics check while trying to get to the BBE and crashed down from a ledge.

Pinky's Brain |
So, when it comes to 'nerfing the eidolon', he spoke out on Flight and a Breath Weapon. Any helping hints? I would appreciate some feedback on those two and if they're even as broken as he might suggest.
Well flight is available to your Eidolon earlier than other common tactics of getting it ... so it can change low level encounters a fair bit.
Breath weapon is not an issue.

stringburka |

Rizzym Jaderenai wrote:So, when it comes to 'nerfing the eidolon', he spoke out on Flight and a Breath Weapon. Any helping hints? I would appreciate some feedback on those two and if they're even as broken as he might suggest.Well flight is available to your Eidolon earlier than other common tactics of getting it ... so it can change low level encounters a fair bit.
Breath weapon is not an issue.
At 5th level, the wizard and druid both can fly, rangers, druids, clerics, wizards and sorcerers can have flying pets. In addition, sorcerers can have limited vertical movement in levitation.
Now, I'd only consider the druid a an equally good flyer at level 5, but both he and his companion can fly at that level.

AlQahir |

Hm, so it seems all over the place huh? Makes it sound like a LOT of people's eidolons got their asses handed to them the first few times, but later on CAN be insane, however don't have to be.
I played a level 6 summoner for a one off and I'm making a level one for a new kingmaker campaign. The problem I see with the eidolon is that it is really easy to min/max. This leads to sensational board builds that come up with massive amounts of damage and then the class gets called broken. Those builds are possible. So are other min/max builds, and like all min/max builds if the DM targets the min not the max the eidolon/summoner is toast.

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Okay - I just realize - the Haste is from the Boots of Speed.
Now the question is:
Can a quadrupled use boots?
Would be need two pairs for them to be active to double the cost to 24K
Are they compatible with claws - that means - can you have claws and boots of speed at the same time on the feet of a quadrupled?Still working out all the details - so sorry if I still don't get a few of the intricacies of the built.
Thod
It would have to be a magic item specifically designed for the number of limbs your eidolon has. Think of a horse's gait and horeshoes of a zephyr, a quadraped gait isn't simply two pairs of walking legs... it's a unified rhythm that involves all four legs simultaneously so for such an item to work properly all four pieces have to work as one unit the way the horseshoes do.

mdt |

Ok,
Believe it or not, I think I found something on the current summoner I will have to tone down (or nerf if you prefer).
Either the build earlier in the thread is invalid because Rend is an attack and the eidelon has 6 attacks at level 10, or, Rend is not considered an attack, in which case it is ok, but then anything that's not a natural attack (as listed as NA in the bestiary) does not count against the limit of attacks.
Off-hand, I think the build earlier is invalid, 6 attacks (1 bite, 4 claws, 1 rend). However, if it's ruled that only Natural Attacks count as attacks, then you can add Rend and Breath Weapon to any build to increase it's natural attacks. Same for constrict, rake, and trample. I think this is invalid, but it could be argued, since there is nothing in the eidelon to list what is considered an attack and what is not (for example, is trip an attack? Is grab? or is it just the ability to do a combat manuever?).

stringburka |

Ok,
Believe it or not, I think I found something on the current summoner I will have to tone down (or nerf if you prefer).Either the build earlier in the thread is invalid because Rend is an attack and the eidelon has 6 attacks at level 10, or, Rend is not considered an attack, in which case it is ok, but then anything that's not a natural attack (as listed as NA in the bestiary) does not count against the limit of attacks.
Off-hand, I think the build earlier is invalid, 6 attacks (1 bite, 4 claws, 1 rend). However, if it's ruled that only Natural Attacks count as attacks, then you can add Rend and Breath Weapon to any build to increase it's natural attacks. Same for constrict, rake, and trample. I think this is invalid, but it could be argued, since there is nothing in the eidelon to list what is considered an attack and what is not (for example, is trip an attack? Is grab? or is it just the ability to do a combat manuever?).
It's invalid anyway. He's used too many evolution points (2 or 3 too many, it seems different APG's say different things! :O), he's spent more gold than he realistically could (you don't waste 75% of your WBL on just two items on the eidolon, and if you do, that summoner is toast). And he's used Greater Magic Fang the wrong way, since it gives either +2 to one natural attack or +1 to all natural attacks. So there's probably a -2 to hit and damage with bite (i think that's more damage than -1 to hit and damage with all attacks)
With two less evolution points, he'd have to drop either increased damage for both claws and bite, or energy attack. Either would drop his DPR significantly. Also, that damage is for a Huge guy which need a straight line between himself and the enemy without any kind of difficult terrain or obstacle in the way.
It's much damage, but not useful.
EDIT: Looked it up and Rend isn't considered an attack:
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/rules-for-monsters/universal-monster-rules #TOC-Rend-Ex-

stringburka |

Thought I'd redo the math after taking the above errors into consideration. I'll try to make a little more realistic comparision, not including 3 rounds of prebuffing as many combats are over in 3 rounds.
Dropped Imp. Damage for both natural attacks, as they are still less damage than Energy Damage. I'll also only account for only heroism and one 1 min/level buff, since you don't go around with the short buffs all day. In essense, I'll simply allow the summoner a turn to buff. Enlare Person would grant him +0 to hit, +2,5 damage with claws and +2 damage with bite, while GMF would give him +1 across the board. It's my belief that GMF will do more good, and also not force the eidolon to be Huge with all the drawbacks that has.
I may have chosen suboptimal spells and evolutions here, but in that case someone else has to redo the calculations.
The eidolon has a belt of giant strength +4, and boots of speed which are activated.
Thus:
Str: 14 + 2 (Ability Increases) + 4 (Str&Dex +4) + 8 (Large) + 4 (Belt) = 32
Attack bonus: 8 (BAB) + 11 (Str) + 2 (Heroism) + 1 (Greater Magic Fang) + 2 (Charge) - 3 (Power Attack) - 1 (Size) + 1 (Haste) = 22
The Bite base damage is 1d8, and the Claw base damage is 1d6.
As said before, damage is:
Full Damage * 0,9 + PhysDamage*0,045
Bite (x2):
(1d8 + 1d6 + 16 + 9 + 1)*0,9 = 30,6
30,5*0,045 = 1,4
Total = 64 DPR from bite
Claws (x4):
(1d6 + 1d6 + 11 + 6 + 1)*0,9 = 22,5
21,5*0,045 = 1
Total = 94
Rend:
1d6 + 1d6 + 11 + 9 + 1 = 28
Total: 64 + 94 + 28 = 186 DPR
So, 186 DPR and not 250. Still a whole lotta damage, but this guy's got crap-ass bad hit points, AC and so on - so if he doesn't kill it on the first turn, he's screwed.

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I don't think the build had more points than it should have(but I haven't done the math, so I could be wrong). As a half-elf, he could put his favored class bonus into evolution points, gaing 1/4th evolution point each time he puts the bonus into Summoner(instead of HP or skill points).
This means at 10th level a half-elf Summoner would have 2&1/2 more evolution points than normal.

mdt |

EDIT: Looked it up and Rend isn't considered an attack:
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/rules-for-monsters/universal-monster-rules #TOC-Rend-Ex-
Yes, that was my point. If it's not, then neither is breath weapon, constriction, and basically everything that's not on the Natural Attacks table, which kind of blows the 'max attacks' limit to smithereens.

stringburka |

stringburka wrote:Yes, that was my point. If it's not, then neither is breath weapon, constriction, and basically everything that's not on the Natural Attacks table, which kind of blows the 'max attacks' limit to smithereens.
EDIT: Looked it up and Rend isn't considered an attack:
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/rules-for-monsters/universal-monster-rules #TOC-Rend-Ex-
I think it simply depends on "do you make an attack roll or not". Not saying that it's balanced, but that's probably the logic behind it - it's the same as in magic. If a spell requires an attack roll, then it's an attack and can have SA, crits and the like - if it doesn't, it's not an attack.

stringburka |

I don't think the build had more points than it should have(but I haven't done the math, so I could be wrong). As a half-elf, he could put his favored class bonus into evolution points, gaing 1/4th evolution point each time he puts the bonus into Summoner(instead of HP or skill points).
This means at 10th level a half-elf Summoner would have 2&1/2 more evolution points than normal.
Oh, that's what I missed. It explains a lot.

Zurai |

stringburka wrote:Yes, that was my point. If it's not, then neither is breath weapon, constriction, and basically everything that's not on the Natural Attacks table, which kind of blows the 'max attacks' limit to smithereens.
EDIT: Looked it up and Rend isn't considered an attack:
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/bestiary/rules-for-monsters/universal-monster-rules #TOC-Rend-Ex-
Eh, I disagree. Rend and Constrict aren't attacks, they're extra damage on an attack. Would you make Energy Attacks count as a natural attack for each attack it modifies? It's the exact same thing, except that its condition is a lot easier to meet.
As for Breath Weapon, that strikes me as cutting off the nose to spite the face. Breath Weapons are a standard action to use, meaning you can't use anything but the Breath Weapon that turn, and can't combine it with any other attacks. I don't see why it should count towards the attack cap since it cannot be combined with any other attacks.

Zurai |

I definitely see where you're coming from. And for the record, I've been saying Pounce was too easy and too cheap since the alpha Summoner playtest :p I think it should be a 3 or 4 point evolution available at 10th level or so. It should also be available to every base form, but then I hate the base form system anyway.

mdt |

I definitely see where you're coming from. And for the record, I've been saying Pounce was too easy and too cheap since the alpha Summoner playtest :p I think it should be a 3 or 4 point evolution available at 10th level or so. It should also be available to every base form, but then I hate the base form system anyway.
Personally, I really like the way I'm going to be doing it in my campaigns (still needs to be playtested). Buy as many attacks as you like. You're limited to N attack rolls per turn (based on the level), and it doesn't matter if they are weapon or natural attacks. So mix and match as best suits the occasion. Going to treat manufactured weapons as Primary attacks if the eidelon is proficient with them, and secondary if he's not. Get's rid of a lot of the headaches of tracking things, and keeps the balance a bit down the road.

Riku Riekkinen |

If anyone wants to "balance" eidolons, here is what I think is the problem:
At the first levels the eidolons evolution pool goes to make it even with druids companion (Get pounce and claws... maybe scent to get even).
After that the eidolons evolution is basicly extra feats to eidolon.
Comparsion to fighter is slightly harder, but I'll try (Biped eidolon at all cases):
2nd level:
Eidolon has: Str 17, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 11 , So pretty crappy fighter stats (except int is about par with Fighter ;) )
AC with Mage Armor is 19... that is ok, but nothing spectacular. All the evolution pool goes to martial weapon proficiences.
Also (human) fighter wins feats 4-1. But now eidolon knows all it needs to be fighter. The extra evolution is basically extra feats.
Also... eidolon eventually catches fighters stats:
10th level:
Eidolon has (as base stats... it can then use evolutions & of course it gets almost the same ability increases as Fiighter):
Str 20, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 6, Wis 10 Cha 11. Wow... pretty good starting stats for a fighter. And there is really no way to
cry "min maxing" as those are lowest you can get.
Now eidolon is left back at BAB. But what it loses there, it gains in armor: Natural armor is hefty 10. With Mage Armor eidolons
AC is 27. So I like to think: What eidolon loses in BAB, it gains in AC.
Naturally it seems eidolon has also lower HP. But link ability makes it the other way. 10th level eidolon has ability to use 18HD.
OK... then the feats: Human fighter has 12 feats. Eidolon has 4 feats... and evolution pool 14. 4 of that evolution is going to go
to martial weapons, the rest are basically extra feats. So the eidolon has 14 "feats". If I further I see that fighter has Armor and
weapon trainings. The armor training isn't an issue here, since eidolon probably out ACs fighter and has unlimited max dex and no armor check.
Weapon trainings give fihter +2/+2. So it can be counted as 2xweapon Focus & Weapon Specialiazation. That brings fighter to 15 feats.
On the other hand eidolon has evasion, devotion and multiattack (link is counted on the HP). So 3 more also: 17.
-----
Now I keep saying evolutions are basically feats. Surely I'm crazy? Well, I'm a bit since most of them are better. Lets look:
Improved damage: Exactly as the feat Improved Natural Attack
Improved Natural Armor: +2 AC. The feats that give AC give +1. So this one is hugely better
Skilled: +8! to a skill. This one is hugely better that Skill Focus. Eidolon is better than anyone in non-int skill it wants.
Reach: Very near to Lunge. Applies only one attack, but also helps during AoOs and doesn't lower AC.
Ability Increase (Dex): 2 evolutions, but you'll get Weapon Focus (for ranged attacks), +1 AC (Dodge), +1 Ref save (1/2 feat), +1 Initiative (1/4 feat)...
Ability Increase (Str): 2 evolutions, but you'll get Weapon Focus (for melee), 3/4 Weapon Specialialization (considering 2h weapons), +1 to CMB...
Limbs (legs): +10 feet for 2 evolutions = 2xFleet. Seems pretty crappy for eidolon as they can increase flight speed much cheaper.
Damage Reduction: 5 evolutions for 10 DR. Means 2 DR per evolution. Would be a pretty decent feat.
Pounce: Many melee fighters would take this feat, if it were on the list.
Etc...
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So my final thoughts:
Nearly all evolutions are too strong. I would think it would be easier to make them about equivalent to feats. Also the eidolon has one too many (evolution pool to be exact) thing that goes up by levels.
Of course since evolution pool is kind of essential to eidolons, balancing would need major changes.

Riku Riekkinen |

Yeah my eidolons dmg count had some errors:
1. Didn't count 20 roll followed by 1 roll. Error 1/400x251,5 < 1
2. Acid doesn't double on the critical. Error 7x3,5 x 1/20 < 1,5
3. 2d6 dmg goes to 2d8 on natural attacks when size grows. Error 2x1,5 = 3
4. As the rend is not a natural attack neither power attack or magic fang affects it. Error 11
So total < 15,5 => The DPR is near 236.
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Anyway, the reason I did the build is because I've read a thread of 250+ posts where people were going "Fighter out damages eidolon!" "No the other way (you are an idiot)". So there is nothing spectacular on the build. I just hoped it would end the arguments about the DPR and the people could focus on the other things. I got AC 24 from DPR olympics thread. In the same thread there was also an assumption that you can have spells that have 10 min / lvl or greater duration can be assumed on (Greater magic Fang has 1h / lvl, Heroism 10 min / lvl). Since 4th slots can be converted to 3rd level slots by for example silent spell, the eidolon can be assumed to have a Greater Magic Fang on its every attack. So the damage really is what summoner+eidolon can do in 1st round.
The level 10 fighters (and other classes) I have seen all have 1st round DPR < 120.

mdt |

One reason I don't read the DPR threads.
My assumptions have always been thus :
If you are comparing two builds for melee, throw out anything that isn't able to be used all the time. So spells that have any duration less than 24 hours you toss. Why? Because you can always be surprised, or run out of resources that can be used up. Another reason is that it becomes extremely complex, and most broken builds of any class assume at least a moderate amount of magic.
I'll sit down and make an 11th level summoner and the best 11th level fighter I can make today. I'll not apply spells (as those are situational), and only count things you can use when you didn't have time to prepare. I'll try to maximize them for damage, but not at the expense of making either a glass cannon (so no spending 75% of their money on 2 items, for example).
Why use 11th? Because 11th is where a fighter get's his 3rd attack, so it's a much fairer comparison than 10th vs 10th. I get to set the rules for it since I'm making it. ;)

Riku Riekkinen |

I would also like to note (again) that the eidolons power creep doesn't just include DPR. For example:
Biped Eidolon: Str 16, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 11 1st level
Evolutions: Skilled Perception, Skilled Sneak, Skilled Disable Device
Perception: 1 (Rank) + 3 (Class skill) + 8 (Skilled) + 0 (Wis) = 12
Sneak: 1 (Rank) + 3 (Class skill) + 8 (Skilled) + 1 (Dex) = 12
Disable Device: 1 (Rank) + 8 (Skilled) + 1 (Dex) = 10
Half-elf Rogue: Str 7, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 14 (well 26 points, but good enough skill monkey).
Perception: 1 (Rank) + 3 (Class Skill) + 3 (Skill Focus) + 2 (wis) + 1 (Rogue) + 2 (Half-Elf) = 12
Sneak: 1 (Rank) + 3 (Class skill) + 4 (Dex) = 8
Disable Device: 1 (Rank) + 3 (Class Skill) + 4 (Dex) + 1 (Rogue) = 9
Now the serpentine could also take Skill Focus, if it feels like it. If rogue is small, the Sneak is 12 (Eidolon can also be small, also raises dex by one in that case). Of course only the rogue can disable magic traps, but in many cases rogues player could feel "I should the rogue and the skill monkey!". Also, if rogue blows a major trap disarm at early level (with cruel DM), it could mean a new char. If eidolon does it, the summoner can call it again next day. Takes a whole minute though. So actually DPR isn't the first thing eidolons power creep hits.