Or can an earth elemental be summoned in the air and then have levitate cast on it by the summoner so it could float up and down and hit people?
Also, could it be summoned on the branch of a tree 50' above the earth?
The same could go for can water elementals be summoned on land? And can air or fire elementals be summoned inside earth if the summoner has been burrowing?
I feel they can but cannot find any ruling and it's an issue in our game as one cleric wants t focus on summoning.
Advice appreciated. Thanks.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The spell says that a creature can be summoned on any surface that is abke to sustain it.
Even though there is some controversy on what does mean, what is beyond doubt is that you cannot summon anything in the air if it doesn't have a flight speed.
My ruling here is that you can summon on a solid surface anything with a land speed, and you can summon underwater anything that could swim (not necessarily with a swim speed and it might start drowning) but you could always say that it has to have a swim speed to be allowed to be summoned underwater.
A water elemental can survive and act out of water so you can summon it on any solid surface too. A branch of a tree, a strong one, is a solid surface, so it would be valid to summon a creature on it. It might have to roll to avoid falling from it, at GM's discretion.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The rules for Conjuration say:
A creature or object brought into being or transported to your location by a conjuration spell cannot appear inside another creature or object, nor can it appear floating in an empty space. It must arrive in an open location on a surface capable of supporting it.
You can't summon an earth elemental into the sky, even if you plan to cast levitate immediately afterwards.
On a branch of a tree 50ft in the air would be possible, provided it's a solid tree branch, capable of supporting the elemental's weight.
In the rules all I can find is "Creatures cannot be summoned into an environment that cannot support them," which is under the summoning spell. Ascalaphus, please tell me where you got that quote from "It must arrive in an open location on a surface capable of supporting it" but summoning something in air such as an air elemental ... well, how is there a surface in air? And that would mean you cannot summon an earth elemental within earth if you were burrowing as it is not an open space next to you?
Kileanna, what you say makes sense.
Thanks for the link Ascalaphus. But if one was flying surely one could summon an air elemental in the air. Rules say "cannot appear inside another creature or object, nor can it appear floating in an empty space. It must arrive in an open location on a surface capable of supporting it."
So an air elemental cannot appear in air as air does not have a surface and it would be floating in open space?
And also the problem with earth elementals. Surely an earth elemental can be summoned in solid earth by a burrowing summoner as earth is effectively just an open loaction for earth elementals as it's kind of where they live.
I think you cannot summon a burrowing earth elemental because you wouldn't have LOS/LOE.
I rule that you can summon creatures with a flight speed in the air because it makes sense and it still doesn't allow to crush enemies with creatures as I'd rule the creature is flying when you summon it. Anyway, I'm not claiming it goes by RAW, it's just how I rule it.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Yeah, I think the common sense approach (as usual) is the way to go! But I know the players might grill me on it. But this conversation gives me a better grounding (excuse the joke!) on the matter! Thanks guys.