Hi Everyone,
Summoner: The amount of time the summoner must spend to summon his eidolon is reduced by 1 round, to a minimum of 1 round.
Most FCBs say something like "+Y bonus every X level(s)" but this one is worded differently, so I am a little confused.
Normally, it takes a summoner a full minute to summon their eidolon - or, 10 rounds.
So, is this saying, that if the elf takes this bonus at lvl 1, the time to summon the eidolon is reduced to 9 rounds? So, by level 10, the summoner can summon his eidolon in one round?
Is this FCB that TERRIBLE? Or, am I missing something?
Developer
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Yes, you are understanding the favored class bonus correctly.
Is this FCB that TERRIBLE? Or, am I missing something?
I can't quite tell if you're suggesting the favored class bonus is really bad or really good, though I'm guessing it's the former. Personally, I find it's pretty neat to be able to conjure the eidolon in just one round, as that make it fairly viable to walk around without the outsider present. That enables one to use the summon monster class ability yet still bring in the eidolon at the drop of a hat if necessary.
I agree with John that it's a very attractive option, especially now that you can take it 9 times with a half-elf and then start buying evolution points once you have it down to 1 round.
Follow up question - would it be worth taking the FCB for a PFS character (max 12th level)?
It really depends on your playstyle with the eidolon. If you always leave it out, it's not as useful.
everytime I see John's avatar, I keep thinking he is gonna say "Mister Anderson."
So, what does FCB stand for?
FCB = Favored Class Bonus
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Follow up question - would it be worth taking the FCB for a PFS character (max 12th level)?
Sure.
You only need to take it 9 times, which means you'll have 9 more games before you hit 12th with which you get the full benefit.
And 12th level isn't the maximum anymore. You can take a character all the way to 20th if you plan it right.
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Is this FCB that TERRIBLE? Or, am I missing something?
You did not miss anything. It is really that terrible.
Here's Why.The only real advantage you get is that you don't have to re-summon it later...but when you use the spell you could get benefits from your Summon feats like this one. Which is a benefit you don't get when using the class feature instead.
I thought of this too. But, to counter, the summoner only gets so many spells a day. So, wouldn't this FCB help? Or, does saving a spell slot not really matter by 9th level?
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Oh! Didn't realize it was a 2nd level spell.
For some reason I thought it was a 1st.
This whole time I've been thinking to myself it would probably be more advantageous to just have the spell on your list, and get some extra hit points.
But knowing it's a 2nd level spell actually makes choosing the FCB more justifiable in my mind.
I can see both being handy. Extra HP is always nice. The elf's -2 con hurts.
But, on the other hand, with this build, I'm going First Worlder and a small eidolon with this build so the Eidolon will have d6 HD. As a scout, it will probably die a lot - especially at higher levels. So, not having to waste spells on summoning the thing could really save resources.
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Oh! Didn't realize it was a 2nd level spell.
For some reason I thought it was a 1st.
This whole time I've been thinking to myself it would probably be more advantageous to just have the spell on your list, and get some extra hit points.
But knowing it's a 2nd level spell actually makes choosing the FCB more justifiable in my mind.
I feel the absurdity of the favored bonus comes from practical implementation. As a Summoner you will not have your Eidolon with you in combat for one of two reasons: It's dead or there's a tactical advantage to not using it. In the case of death, you cannot summon it again for 24hrs, so summoning time is meaningless. If there's a tactical reason, then you only may want access to summon it in combat. Of the two methods, the spell is much cheaper. You can essentially get it for the cost of a Page of Spell Knowledge(Level 2). Which also makes it optional for when the situation arises. The summoning reduction is a 9 level investment for a widget you will need only on occasion.
As a scout, it will probably die a lot - especially at higher levels. So, not having to waste spells on summoning the thing could really save resources.
You can still summon it regularly. Once it's dead you cannot summon again for another day (see above). However if it is Banished or Dismissed then being able to resummon it is good. The opponent will be unlikely to ever try that trick more than once in any given combat, due to the high value of upper level spell slots.