I have seen many comments on the forums that can be summarized "we do not like the spell list for the Summoner". For me, when I see the class, it seems that the spell list is not really necessary. It seems to me that the "point" of the class is the Eidolon, all the rest is just added on because that is not enough on its own.
So, I was wondering about "what if the Summoner did not cast spells as well as it does, since that is the contention of many people". What would it do instead? I think that is probably why it is a spell caster.
What if it were a reduced caster, maybe a variation of a Paladin? If it were Divine-based, that would also give a hint as to why it has an Eidolon. Or a ranger, where the Eidolon is a sort of an extraplanar Animal Companion.
What if it did not cast spells at all? Maybe a variation of a Fighter, Cavalier, or even Rogue.
What do you think of that? Would it be fun?
This character has two archetypes that remove spells and the summon monster ability. He has been pretty fun so far. His focus is to disarm people with the whip and then let the eidolon grapple and use swallow whole.
The only part I miss is being able to easily heal the eidolon. To help that, the first feat the eidolon took was Godless Healing.
Blood God disciple for one. Orc racial and removes summon monster.
Blacksnake is third party, used on the pfsrd in the regular archetype tables. Removes casting higher than cantrips.
Cool, I will have to check those out.
