How come Druids can summon Giants and not Plants?

[Barachiel Shina]

Looking at the Summon Nature's Ally list why are giants listed? What do they have to do with nature? They weren't on the 3.5e summon list, why did Paizo add them?

Also, why are Druids capable of summoning elementals, fey, magical beasts, and animals but can't summon plants?

[lemeres]

For the strictest balance explanation I can imagine, the fact that they are immune to mind affecting effects seems like a good reason to prevent their use. That seems like an immediate difference from elementals.

The extent that such a thing is an issue...hard to say actually.

[Oliver McShade]

Because we do not wish for the plants to get killed.

... now the gaints on the other hand.... make good fertilizer out of those attacked, to grow more plants in :-)

[Barachiel Shina]

Is immunity to mind-affecting that powerful? I mean when monsters are summoned I highly doubt enchanting them is the first line of defense...dispelling them, killing them, or a simple dispel magic is the answer.

[strumbleduck]

Barachiel Shina wrote:

Looking at the Summon Nature's Ally list why are giants listed? What do they have to do with nature? They weren't on the 3.5e summon list, why did Paizo add them?

Summoning in general was buffed between 3.5e and Pathfinder. In 3.5e, the summon nature's ally list was much better than the summon monster list, but in Pathfinder most of the animals available in summon nature's ally are available at the same level for summon monster.

Since animals summoned using summon monster also get the celestial or fiendish template and summon monster can also be used to summon angels or demons, this leaves druids at a bit of a disadvantage. To compensate, they added some extra magical beasts and giants to the summon nature's ally lists.

Quote:

Also, why are Druids capable of summoning elementals, fey, magical beasts, and animals but can't summon plants?

I'm not sure that there's any particular reason. Maybe they thought summoning a giant was just cooler than summoning a plant creature. Also, the giants are mostly used to fill in the higher-level lists (which were pretty short in 3.5e), and most plant creatures aren't powerful enough for the high-level lists.

[stormcrow27]

You could always rip out giants and swap in plant creatures. The Bestiaries have all sorts of CR appropriate creatures now, ranging from CR 5 to 13. AP 75 adds in giant flytraps and shambling mounds to summon monster 7 and 6 respectively.

[stormcrow27]

Frankly I find customized summon lists to be more fun than the generic lists anyway, especially if you have a terrain specific druid archetype and so on. Why can't a druid summon up a treant at summon nature's ally 6th in place of a stone giant? Given a high enough level druid, a small copse or part of the forest becomes insanely nasty after the treants start animating all of the trees....

[BigNorseWolf]

Because trying to attack a lich with a ficus plant never seems to work

[Kobold Catgirl]

A giant is arguably a bit better in one way, since the giant you can boss around. Plants are harder to communicate with.

[LazarX]

Barachiel Shina wrote:

Is immunity to mind-affecting that powerful? I mean when monsters are summoned I highly doubt enchanting them is the first line of defense...dispelling them, killing them, or a simple dispel magic is the answer.

Try that again the next time someone thinks to hit your low save summons with Confusion.

[Barachiel Shina]

I doubt not being able to use Confusion on summoned plants is the sole reason for lack of plant summoning.

Just find it weird a class whose entire retinue of abilities deals with nature...and yet the most iconic themes of druids, plant life, take a backseat to most of their spells.