Drop Dead Studios' Spheres of Power--flexible conjurer pets?

[gharlane]

So, I'm currently using sphere's of power and finding it to be pretty much everything I wanted.

But one of my players has some concerns about the conjuration sphere, because he wants to play a more "on the fly" conjurer, coming up with new spirits to fit the situation rather than a single or small number of contracted pets.

The problem for me, rules wise, is that the conjuration sphere is a very powerful sphere, and letting someone conjure a pet like that, on the fly, gives them an extremely powerful swiss army knife.

OTH, there are a lot of fantasy characters that pretty well do just that, so it's not like the concept isn't unknown.

I have a few, rather unfleshed ideas.

1. Add feats that allow for reconfiguration, but the summoned creature takes a hefty "level penalty" in terms of its abilities, giving up power for flexibility.

2. Allow it, but require a magic foci that has to be created and expended with every reconfiguration, making it expensive enough to make that doing so poses a real cost.

The thing is that it needs to have an opportunity cost that doesn't leave anyone else with the conjurer sphere feeling like a chump for not taking it.

Also, if you can already do this somewhere and I merely had a critical fail on reading, just point out the rule and let me slink away with my shame.

[Lady-J]

have him spend the exploits or what ever they are called on extra summon which grants another summoned creature(you still need to customize them with other exploits so they cant have to many and have them still be useful)

[the David]

The conjuration sphere gives you a Eidolon of sorts. There are a few ways around this though.

- Advanced Talents give you the option to use Planar Ally/Planar Binding spells. Not exactly what your player wants, because of the casting time.
- Rituals can mimic the summoning spells. Casting time would take too long though.
- A Sphere Arcanist can change her "Eidolon" daily. Quick Study allows you to change something in a full round action.
- And finally, you can actually do this by playing a Hedgewitch with the Spiritualism tradition.

[SilvercatMoonpaw]

There might be some stuff for that in the Convoker's Handbook.

My other advice?

Suggest the player take other spheres/talents and reflavor them as calling additional creatures (using the Magical Signs drawback). Maybe not to your player's taste, though.

[Dragonborn3]

An Incanter can have a total of 41 spheres by level 20. That's 20 creatures, each with an extra form added on to them, and 1 left over talent for anything.

He want's an Easy Button. Make him work for it.