Does the death of the caster of a summoning spell cause the summoned creatures to automatically vanish, or do they stay their alloted duration?
Thanks!
On a related note, what if they're just knocked unconscious and not killed?
all spell remain in effect until their normal condition of termination is met.
For example BBEG casts bestow curse on PC, BBEG dies PC is still cursed because the spell is permanent.
Similarly spells last their duration as normal regardless of the caster
If the duration of a spell is concentration then clearly when the caster goes down the spell goes down.
if the duration is 1rnd/level or 1min/level or 1hr/level then those effects last as long as they normally would.
so in this case summoned monsters remain for their normal duration however are no longer being directed by the caster they'll fall back on instinctual behaviour as decided by your GM.
so if caster summons a demon and gets knocked out, well the Demon gets to act as it normally would ;)
as far as what happens if summoned animal reduced to 0 HP, they fall unconscious and lie prone on the ground until their summon duration is up at which point they vanish with the end of the spells duration.
I agree that they stick around if yuo die or go unconscious.
They do not however "do what they want", that that depends on what was used to get 'em.
The "Summon MonsteR" line of spells says:
It attacks your opponents to the best of its ability. If you can communicate with the creature, you can direct it not to attack, to attack particular enemies, or to perform other actions.
So even an evil creature is bound by the spell to either attack your opponents or- if none are left standing, to stand around and wait for further instructions.
If your DM has them just start doing evil stuff and whatever then they are changing the spell, and in effect, houseruling stuff. (Not saying they can't, just that they should be aware they are changing the rules in doing so)
-S
The one exception to what Phasics said involves spells which cease to have a valid target after the caster is dead (such as many buffs). I don't think there's any RAW answer, but my group plays that they are suppressed and cease functioning when he dies, but if he returns to life they turn back on with any remaining duration.
The one exception to what Phasics said involves spells which cease to have a valid target after the caster is dead (such as many buffs). I don't think there's any RAW answer, but my group plays that they are suppressed and cease functioning when he dies, but if he returns to life they turn back on with any remaining duration.
ah yes I forgot that you are quite correct , buffs turn off if the target goes down.
the further exception to this is a contingency spell which could be set to activate when you go down and apply some effect to give you a HP/tempHP boost to bring you back up again.
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One fuzzy area is what happens to spells like levitate and fly when the caster goes unconscious or dies. The rules don't state that he has to use any sort of action to remain airborne, so most likely he just floats there motionless (or perhaps drifts in a strong wind) until the spell either ends by itself or he wakes up and becomes able to direct his movement again.
We had a GURPS mage who got around by all-day levitation, and he ended up getting killed, and floating there for the next 40 seconds, bleeding out, before the next maintenance period came around and he plotzed to the ground. That was a creepy visual...
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Spells only end if their duration lapses, they are dismissed, or they are dispelled. If the caster falls unconscious with mage armor up they still have mage armor up. The only time I could see a spell ending on a caster is if they die (- Con score) as their body is now an object and it may no longer be a valid target.
--Schoolhouse Vrock
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The one exception to what Phasics said involves spells which cease to have a valid target after the caster is dead (such as many buffs). I don't think there's any RAW answer, but my group plays that they are suppressed and cease functioning when he dies, but if he returns to life they turn back on with any remaining duration.ah yes I forgot that you are quite correct , buffs turn off if the target goes down.
the further exception to this is a contingency spell which could be set to activate when you go down and apply some effect to give you a HP/tempHP boost to bring you back up again.
Why? You check the target validity when the spell is cast but then it run its full course.
Prayer has been cast and you have a +1 to all ST? Your body still benefit from it as long as the spell last.
If you are killed while you have some Mirror image up there are a few copies of your dead body on the ground.
I don't see any reason or rule that require to remove buffs because you are dead.
If you are re-checking if the target is still valid every round, I suppose you are removing the spells if there is no more a valid Line of sight or Line of Effect between the caster and the target, right?