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I play in a group that has a huge amount of RPG experience, including Pathfinder and D&D 3.X.
We've gotten to the point that we don't feel the need to always make the obvious optimized builds, but instead try to find something interesting and then make it as good as we can (even if other core options would have been better from a pure optimization standpoint).
We're currently playing Strange Aeons. I'm running a CN Cleric of Azathoth (who, for various reasons, doesn't even know he's a cleric, much less of what god...he's totally insane, but in a nice, amiable kind of way. He's not a violent type at all, but often times, the reality he's dealing with is totally different than what everyone else is experiencing). The DM has allowed me to mix Elder Mythos Cultist and Herald Caller (both only get one Domain, so they shouldn't stack); the flavor is that everything he summons is some Lovecraftian horror in appearance, rather than just a Dire Rat or Small Earth Elemental (the creature rules don't change, just the appearance).
So, I'm making some of the normal choices as far as Feats and such for a Summoning focused Cleric so the Summons will stay moderately effective as the levels increase. However, I noticed Summon Guardian Spirit, and it intrigues me. I'm trying to figure out how it works.
First a rules question. When it says that you can select a creature that "qualifies to be an improved familiar," is it safe to assume that the alignment restriction remains? I would assume so.
In any case, any ideas on how to make this not just a wasted Feat selection? I'm not seeing much that jumps out at me. The Charisma buff the creature would get makes me think selecting something with cool SLA's would be a good idea due to the buff to the save DCs. Most are Tiny, so trying to get combat effectiveness out one would be more challenging.
*Hi Five*
I love the concept!
Thanks!
To further flesh out the character idea, he's heard voices in his head since he was around 11. What he didn't know, and still doesn't know, is that his mind has a tenuous connection to Azathoth, and those voices are the mad ramblings of The Blind Idiot God. Obviously, this has led to him losing a good bit of his connection to reality. When he casts spells, he doesn't really know exactly what he's doing or how it's happening; he just acts on inspiration for the moment based upon the need at hand.
He calls his summoned creatures his "puppies," "kittens," "butterflies," etc. In his own mind, that's what they look like, though when he summons a "Dire Rat," for example, everyone else seems a mass of writhing tentacles that flops its way across the ground at Carsten's bidding (that's the character's name). Sometimes, if he gets bored, he'll summon one of these creatures just to play with and cuddle for a few moments.
This kind of thing has gotten him thrown out of towns before, though we're still at a point in the AP that he doesn't remember any of that.
Bump:
So, I'm thinking not many people have really put much though into how to make Guardian Spirits something effective?
I don't think the alignment restrictions of familiars would still apply, but you are limited by what spells you can cast as a cleric. So, summoning something with a lawful descriptor would be a lawful spell. And herald caller limits your options a little further.
There is only a small list of options that make really strong guardian spirits. One of the more powerful options is a small aether elemental. It's invisible and its attack should scale from being a guardian spirit. Most of its abilities benefit from being a guardian spirit actually.
I have a guardian spirit for one of my characters. I took it at level 13, so I can't speak to how it plays at lower levels. In general my GM and I treat him as an Eidolon to the point where I can equip him with gear which improves the functionality considerably and it's a great way to utilize low level loot items that would normally be sold for half price. If you get pushback on this, you should be able to scry and teleport to your guardian to equip them with gear (once you get access to those spells).
Natural attacks for most of the base forms leave much to be desired over what you can summon, so it's a good idea to choose a form that has a SU or EX ability that will be advanced by the template. For example, my tidepool dragon has a 7d6 fire breath weapon every 1d4 rounds.
Rod of giant summoning is a good idea to pick up if you want them to be in melee.
One thing to utilize is the change to minutes per level for the summons, it's great for situations where you are likely to have 2 or more combats in a short period of time.
The monster SLA feats are good to keep in mind to add in functionality, I have reach breath of life for mine.
I had a hard time finding feats for the guardian that seemed worth it so I had it pick up a draconic bloodline through Improved Eldritch Heritage for a 15d6 acid breath weapon 1/day. He then picked up Noxious Bite for a chance to nauseate with his bite attack. This helps to make up for his low damage output when he can't use his fire breath weapon. If you are interested in Noxious Bite, you can get it earlier if you choose an Ooze or Water Mephit as your guardian spirit.
I like Summon Guardian Spirit a lot both mechanically and for RP potential. It's not just a faceless random summons, they get to stick around longer and come back giving the party a chance to interact. In general I highly recommend picking it up even if other options may be a bit more powerful for a given spell level.
I'm considering one of the Mephits since they're small, which means the Rod of Giant Summoning would put them to Medium, coupled with Augment Summoning and some group buffs mean it's not completely worthless in combat (Strength goes from 13 to 21 before any buffs). It also has a breath weapon, so could benefit from the template's improvement.
Also, it's pretty much humanoid, so I could get more use out of the kind of extra, lay-around loot the party's found. Making it medium expands that stuff, too. Though, using some equipment may require relevant feats.
I was trying to find one that had a cool SLA that would benefit from the increased Charisma score, but they all seem to be pretty low-level, so the save DCs would still not be significant.
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