Please Help! Lv 2 Master Summoner. Feats? Stats? Traits?

[Secane]

Hi all! Please help me vet my character.
I'm making a Lv 2 Master Summoner for a modified Carrion Crown (The setting is changed to Ebberon.)

Lv 2 Summoner (Master Summoner)
Race: Gnome
PointBuy: 20

Str: 10-2=8
Dex: 14
Con: 14+2=16
Int: 14
Wis: 10
Cha: 14+2=16

Skills (points 2+2+1=5 per level) Ranks:
Diplomacy: 1 = 4
Handle Animal: 1 = 7
Knowledge (Arcana): 1 = 6
Linguistics: 1 = 6
Perception: 2 = 4
Ride: 1 = 6
Spellcraft: 2 = 7
Use Magic Device: 1 = 7

Feats:
1) Lv1: Extra Gnomish Magic - For speak with Animals
2) (DM Extra): Extra Summon

Traits:
1) Chance Savior +2 Ini (Campaign Trait)
2) ? (Not sure what to get.)

Equipment:
1) Standard adventure pack.
2) Riding Dog (with Backpack)
3) Chainshirt
4) Srolls for some spells, Pots of CLW...etc
5) (Anything else?)

Please have a look an let me know if I should change or add anything. Thanks!

EDIT: Party currently consist of:
1 Aasimar Bard
1 human? Gunslinger
1 Warforge Fighter

and we have no proper healer! Bard is a Songstriker

[nicklas Læssøe]

I think starting with 4 times 14s is pretty wierd. would probably suggest something like this

Str: 10-2=8
Dex: 12
Con: 10+2=12
Int: 12
Wis: 9
Cha: 18+2=20

which would total out to +2 dc to resist your spells, 2 ekstra summons per day, and some ekstra spell slots too. Still has decent survivability.

If you refuse to go that much min/maxing :) i still think something like this would be better.

Str: 10-2=8
Dex: 14
Con: 13+2=14
Int: 12
Wis: 10
Cha: 16+2=18

or maybe switching the 13 con to int, and putting 12 there. depending on what you would rather bump up at level 4.

I actually like your feat choice of the speak with animals spell, but only if you want to play to the RP aspect of it, otherwise it kinda sucks. You could also take something like toughness or maybe a save increase for better survivability.

One more advice is to take max ranks in linguistics. You need it to be able to command the different stuff you summon around, meaning u need to get 4 elemental languages, and celestial and the 2 demonic ones.

And as a last thing, dont worry about a healer. Your minions just need to take the beating so the other people dont get hurt, thats free healing right there.

[Secane]

Thanks for the information.
First of all, BIG QUESTION: What spells should I get at each level?

Just wondering, for a Master summoner, is a high dc needed?
I mean looking at the spell list, I feel like I should just stick to casting buff spells and leave debuffing/offensive spells to my party's bard.

Some questions:
Should I go with 18 cha or 16 cha and 1 feat in Extra summons?

Is Extra summons needed at all?

Should I take Spell Focus Conjuration?

Is 16 Con really ok? (I keep fearing I need the hp if I got hit.)
-----------------------

Also with 4 skills recommended by the player's guild + perception(the Tax skill). Should I really drop my Int to 12?

Sorry for all the questions!!!

On linguistics, I took Gift of Tongues, a Gnome alternative racial trait, since I realize that I need the languages and I don't think I will be fighting much Giants or Goblins. Can I afford to go slower on linguistics then? Or should I still max it?

Gift of Tongues: Gnomes love languages and learning about those they meet. Gnomes with this racial trait gain a +1 bonus on Bluff and Diplomacy checks, and they learn one additional language every time they put a rank in the Linguistics skill. This racial trait replaces the defensive training and hatred racial Traits.

Academician: Some gnomes are more academically inclined than their kin. Gnomes with this racial trait gain a +2 bonus on any one Knowledge skill. This racial trait replaces the obsessive racial trait.

[Thalin]

Ultimate Magic offers a feat that, whenever you cast a spell to summon more than one monster, you summon an additional one. This is particularly sick for a master summoner.

For traits I'd just up saves in Will / Fort by 1 each. Boring but effective. Nothing sucks worse than having Eidilon dismissed. If I were to min-max stat:

Str: 8
Int: 10
Wis: 10
Dex: 14
Con: 16
Chr: 18

Spells:

Enlarge person (handy buff, melees will love you)
Grease (even if they make their save it's great, no 5 foot steps and tough to move at all.
Summon minor monster (works well with above feat and your augment)

2
Haste (earliest access, party can never have enough)
SM II (d3+1 riding dogs usually)
Lesser evolution surge (randomly need scent or flight? No problem)

3
Black Tentacles (sick, especially since you should easily have a lesser meta rod of widen)
Summon Monster IV (apes)
Dimension Door

Just summon with your ability and spells and go to town. Focus most of your feats on adding various template words to your summons.

And I'd go ahead and get that 18 Cha, it's cheap enough, though not 100% necessary.

After a few levels when your Eidilon seems like he'd be less useful, make him small and skilled in UMD and Stealth, then go around wand-curing people :). Handy healer, and get him some buff-wands as well.

[Secane]

As a Summoner, are the Summon Monster spells worth learning? Or should I just stick with the spell-like ability summons that summoners get?

Cos, the way I am reading it, at lv 2, for summoners, spells like Summon Minor Monsters, will only last 2 rounds when cast as a normal spell.
Am I right in this?

Also, how soon should I get Spell Focus Conjuration? Would lv 5 be too late?

[Thalin]

Never; master summoner gets augment summon @ 2nd, and that's usually the reason people take the spell focus: conjuration.

That's correct on timing, but doesn't matter. 2 rounds of damage / flanking is plenty, it gets much better later. After all, you can only have one copy of your spell-like out at a time, but you can augment the battlefield with even more summons. So first spell-like, then clutter with annoying flank buddies. Later you'll be killing BBEGs with armies of lantern archons that ignore dr :). Most combats last 5-6 rounds at the most; so after 5th they should be around all combat.

[Black Lotus]

Thalin wrote:

Never; master summoner gets augment summon @ 2nd, and that's usually the reason people take the spell focus: conjuration.

That's correct on timing, but doesn't matter. 2 rounds of damage / flanking is plenty, it gets much better later. After all, you can only have one copy of your spell-like out at a time, but you can augment the battlefield with even more summons. So first spell-like, then clutter with annoying flank buddies. Later you'll be killing BBEGs with armies of lantern archons that ignore dr :). Most combats last 5-6 rounds at the most; so after 5th they should be around all combat.

If you don't have your eldion out, then you can have unlimited out.

:)

[Secane]

I am thinking of making my Eidolon a Dog/Mount. Quadruped, with 1 evo point in Mount, 1 in Skilled Survival, and 1 in Scent or Perception.

Is there anything else I am missing out?

[Thalin]

Nah, riding buddy is as good use as any. In fact, if you and he take the "Lookout" feat, he can get you acting in the surprise round with his great perception score :).