I'm playing a synthesist summoner shark-man in a homebrew game for a while now, and I've been enjoying it. One of the other players is a bit min/maxy, and I've taken a couple sub-optimal evolutions to further emphasize the shark theme (keen scent, for example). In the first couple levels, I was clearly doing too much damage, and it was fun (and kind of funny) to see it in action, but that advantage tapered off around level 4 or 5 and became more in line with the rest of the melee characters in the party. The min-maxer has far surpassed me at level 10, our current level.
This next sentence will lose a lot of you, but bear with me: I've felt that the synthesist was a decently built class with a lot of front-loaded power, but the only thing I've actually felt guilty about accepting was the hit point total. From level one, I had essentially two sets of hit points, because Life Link let me feed the eidolon when it ran low, and that hasn't changed or tapered off at higher level.
So I wanted to add a fix, in case the GM (my son-in-law) decides that the eidolon is just too tough to threaten. Unchained is out of the question. It just doesn't fit here.
I propose changing the first level power so:
Life Link (Su)
The manifestation of the eidolon on the same plane of existence as the summoner is powered by a link between the life forces of the two. The summoner and the eidolon always maintain separate hit point totals, but damage to one is always reflected as damage to the other, including ability damage (but not ability drain). If damage is incurred simultaneously from the same effect (such as a single fireball or breath weapon), the damage is only applied one time, using the greater* damage total suffered in the effect. If the eidolon is reduced to 0 hit points, the summoner may instantaneously transfer his own hit points to the eidolon without using an action, as often as he has hit points remaining, to keep the eidolon at 1 hit point.
Although the summoner is capable of natural healing, the eidolon must still be healed by magical means to restore hit points. Magical healing performed on one will heal damage to the other. Rejuvenation and restoration spells that specifically target eidolons will only heal the eidolon.
In addition, the eidolon and the summoner must remain within 100 feet of one another for the eidolon to remain at full strength. If the eidolon is beyond 100 feet but closer than 1,000 feet, its current and maximum hit point totals are reduced by 50%. If the eidolon is more than 1,000 feet away but closer than 10,000 feet, its current and maximum hit point totals are reduced by 75%. If the eidolon is more than 10,000 feet away, it is immediately returned to its home plane. Current hit points lost in this way are not restored when the eidolon gets closer to its summoner, but its maximum hit point total does return to normal.
*or greatest, in the case of summoners with multiple eidolons, but that would be noted in the archetype modification for Life Link.
Applying damage once for a fireball would keep (non-synthesist) summoners from being unfairly vulnerable to area attacks.
The question, or discussion point, I wish to raise with this is: Is this a good fix? Is it adequate? If you are one of those GMs who ban the summoner entirely, would this alteration change your mind and allow someone to play one? Or are the other class features of the summoner still too much for you to accept in your game?
Bump, because I'm wondering, is this a really terrible idea? Perhaps this makes the summoner players not want to play summoners, and doesn't do enough to the class to mollify GMs who ban it.