I had this great idea for a Summoner, but turns out I can't make it.
So, why is it not allowed. I thought the main thing people disliked about them is the ability to summon as a SLA. This Archetype changes that for a Spirit.
Are they just keeping Summoner Archetypes to a minimum?
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While I am not aware of any specific reasons why that archetype in particular is banned, there are many possibilities as to why it was excluded.
Personal dislike has never been the reason for any archetype getting banned. It may appear that way at first glance, since many Summoner archetypes are not legal. Things are often banned because of one (or more) of the following reasons:
- Doesn't fit the theme of the campaign or the Pathfinder Society
- Heavy reliance on GM discretion (which the Spirit Summoner does require)
- Requires an evil alignment
- Places too many minis on the battlemap (which many Summoners do)
- Has a feature that is unbalancing to gameplay
- Will become available on a Chronicle Sheet as a special reward (like the Thassilonian Specialist)
- And I'm sure I'm missing some other explanations.
It's also not in the practice of Campaign Leadership to disclose why any particular thing gets banned. Sometimes a lengthy discussion has opened up a previously banned thing (like Magical Knack, or Pummeling Charge), but those occurrences are the exception, not the rule.
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You may wish to try out the Spiritualist from Occult Adventures, when it gets released. That was one of the classes I wanted to playtest, but decided to go with a Kineticist instead. But the Spiritualist does practically everything that this Summoner Archetype does, and the theme is the same.
You'll just have to wait until next Summer.
Oh, I see.
So it is this part that got it banned.
"The eidolon's form and abilities must be appropriate to his chosen spirit, at the GM's discretion"
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One improvement being made to new resources is a "behind the scenes" consultation between Campaign Leadership and many top Venture Officers on the VO Forums.
When a new source gets released, it's reviewed by the collective masses and a discussion is had about any items, classes, etc. that might not fit the Campaign, for any number of reasons.
If something seems overwhelming like it might become a problem, it simply doesn't get approved.
I'm not saying that GM discretion was the killer for this archetype, and it may not have even been a consideration. It may have also been the combination of some of its class abilities that made it too unbalancing during playtests.
We'll probably never know for sure as to the exact reason why.