What role do you want your eidolon to play?

[Uchuujin]

I am curious how everyone prefers to use their eidolon; either in 1st edition or with playtest / theoretical 2E characters you would like to play? Less about the exact rules, but more about the role and the feel.

Personally my two favorite 1E summoners had one as a high mobility mount that allowed her to keep her distance and use control spells; and one who had an earth elemental bodyguard at his side at all times, for largely the same reason actually.

[KrispyXIV]

Companion and advisor, friend and mentor, guardian and enforcer.

I want them to be the powerful mystical ally that shapes my characters path through life.

A reflection of some subconscious or explicit aspect of the characters beliefs and desires.

Generally, a reflection of some being that wouldn't be hanging out on the street with just anyone.

[cavernshark]

Summoner concepts that resonate most for me are the ones where they are working together. My favorite in 1E was Twinned Summoner because of the opportunity to get teamwork feats to create some interesting battle tactics (dual archers, spears for AoO, etc). I think that's why I really like the way Eidolons are portrayed as a literal extension of the summoner in the play test. The shared HP and action pools really emphasize the dual-minded nature.

It's a little harder to realize that with this summoner at the moment because the summoner doesn't have light armor / minimal weapon proficiency whereas in 1E it was a little more robust. I think those choices are still fine, but I'd like to see a lot more Tandem feats where you can use your one "Act Together" action to do some cool things, especially since you can't split that action to something like casting a spell.

As I say that, it might be neat if the Summoner had access to some two action activities that required the two actions to come from the ones gained from Act Together. Totally spitballing, but if your eidolon had cantrips from Magical Evolution, maybe there could be a level 4 feat to give you both the ability to cast a spell together using Act Together (Cast As One, Tandem Spellcasting, etc), where each of you offers up an action to complete the spell. It'd would make it easier for that team to cast a spell (even just a cantrip) and then let the Eidolon still move and strike. That functionality would come online right right when a druid would be getting a mature animal companion.

[WatersLethe]

There's two ways I want an Eidolon to behave.

1. A powerful being I invoke to crush my foes. Something foreign and otherworldy and terrifying, who, in moments when it's not doing what I command, I feel a deep, dark dread that it is constantly evaluating me to see if I am still worthy to summon it.

2. A mindless alternate form that I put on like a fur-suit.

[Stack]

I want the summoner and eidolon to work together, acting dynamically to support and set the other up. Right now, the eidolon is a second-rate beatstick and the summoner hides and heals/buffs from a safe spot. Your 4 spells don't go very far (best case is probably dropping good battlefield control once per fight).

Let the eidolon open an enemy up to the summoner's spells, let the summoner be able to survive staying close to the eidolon. Look at 1st ed. teamwork feats as a start, but give each body something to do with its actions that is worth doing each turn (beyond "okay, you get a damage bonus).

Frankly, if a class is called 'summoner', I would rather it actually focus on summoning, but for the eidoloniturge class we have, lean in to the tandem nature. If that means no built-in high-level spells, fine.

[Salamileg]

Mechanically, a buff beefcake to wreck stuff while protecting my squishy summoner. The eidolon needs the summoner to perform well, but in a lot of ways the summoner is a liability to the eidolon.

Narratively, two bound souls that cannot exist without one another. I don't want the bond to be inherently friendly or combative, as I feel that should be unique from summoner to summoner. I also feel like the creation of a bond between them should rarely be intentional. Intentionally calling creatures from other realms feels more like the purview of conjuration wizards.

[TheGentlemanDM]

In practical terms, a Summoner in combat should be a decent frontliner with a pocket mage 'companion' boosting them from the backlines.

Yeah. I think it's more practical to think of the class in terms of the Eidolon first and foremost, and the Summoner as merely a secondary enabler.

The Eidolon represents the bulk of the power of the class, and needs to be on par with other martials from the start. They're going to be taking most of the pair's actions, and will be responsible for almost all damage dealt and taken.

The Summoner themself is a receptacle for casting Boost Eidolon and using the occasional more powerful spell. In combat, they should be using Act Together and/or Tandem Move to get out of the way so that they're not taking fire.

Of course, in terms of theme, narrative, and character, this isn't the case, but mechanically? Thinking of the Eidolon as the character enables us to properly hammer out the weaknesses of the class and see it become its best possible version.

[Verzen]

Uchuujin wrote:

I am curious how everyone prefers to use their eidolon; either in 1st edition or with playtest / theoretical 2E characters you would like to play? Less about the exact rules, but more about the role and the feel.

Personally my two favorite 1E summoners had one as a high mobility mount that allowed her to keep her distance and use control spells; and one who had an earth elemental bodyguard at his side at all times, for largely the same reason actually.

I want my Eidolon to be a big bruiser that feels like an actual monster. Not just a PC or an extension of the PC.

[Dubious Scholar]

If we're looking for reference points, FFX is one that's been mentioned already. Yuna is (typically, given that game's systems) a support mage who summons giant monsters to smite enemies. Another reference point would be Pokemon, probably (in which the trainer options are literally give orders and use items to heal/support).

At a baseline, I feel that the spotlight should be on the eidolon during combat, as it goes in and wrecks house. But in town, the focus is on the summoner. In a dungeon, it's probably a bit of a wash between the summoner doing brainy things and the eidolon providing brawn depending on the obstacles.

There's a good parallel to be drawn with the Vigilante concept there (especially for synthesis summoners).