[Summoner] Spells management

[nulltread]

Hi everybody,

Seems like a basic question but since we have many interpretation in our party, I'd prefer ask : Can somebody help with spells management for Summoner class?

Heres 2 extracts from the summoner rules :
"Each day, you can cast one 1st-level spell and five cantrips. You must know spells to cast them, and you learn them via the spell repertoire class feature. The number of spells you can cast each day is called your spell slots.

As you increase in level as a summoner, the magical link with your eidolon grants you additional, more powerful spell slots. Your total number of spell slots and the highest level of spells you can cast are shown in Table 2–4: Summoner Spells per Day. Because of the way you draw magic from your connection to your eidolon, you begin to lose lower-level spell slots once you reach 5th level. The maximum number of spell slots you get from the summoner class is four, starting when you reach 4th level."

and

"A cantrip is a special type of spell that doesn't use spell slots. You can cast a cantrip at will, any number of times per day."

Link cantrips
- How many link cantrips can I cast per day?
- Do I have to spend focus points or prepare them?

Cantrips
- How many cantrips can I cast per day?
- How many cantrips do I learn per level?
- Do I have to prepare a daily cantrip list?

Spells
- Du I have to prepare spells?

Many thanks for your help

NT

[YuriP]

About Cantrips. In pathfinder every time you see a cantrip that's means it's unlimited. No mater what's cantrip type or source. So don't worry about them you can cast them at will.

About prepare. Summoners are spontaneous spellcasters so you don't need to prepare your spells or cantrips.

[Dubious Scholar]

Spellcasters in general don't get extra cantrips except via feats, so that initial 5 for Summoner is it (you don't have the Cantrip Expansion class feat available), though you can always add more from other sources (and as a CHA caster you're good with them, especially if they match your tradition).

You can retrain your cantrip selections, of course, and they can be swapped out as part of the leveling process (you get to swap one spell in your repertoire each level)

[Perpdepog]

In addition, Link Cantrips are specifically cantrips that your class grants you through feats. The feat Reinforce Eidolon grants you the Reinforce Eidolon link cantrip, for example. Unlike normal cantrips you can only pick these up if you take the necessary feats, and can't retrain or swap them without swapping out the feat.

[breithauptclan]

OK. There are three concepts here.

* Spell tradition list
* Spells known
* Spells in repertoire

The spell tradition list is all of the spells available to the character (aside from special ways of getting additional spells via feats). These are the spells that can be learned.

Spells known is the list of spells that you have actually learned. You can learn as many spells as you want. You learn a few spells automatically when you level up - including learning an initial set at level 1. You can pay some gold and make a skill check in order to learn more.

Spells in repertoire are the spells available to cast. These are the ones that you have on-hand, or memorized, or however you want to describe it. When you spend a spell slot to cast a spell, you can only cast a spell that is in your repertoire.

~~~~~~~~~~

There are another two concepts to consider.

* Repertoire slots
* Spell slots

Repertoire slots are the number of spells that you can put in repertoire at any time and have available to cast.

Spell slots are a fuel or resource that you use to actually cast spells with.

~~~~~~~~~~~

So with the concepts out of the way, hopefully the rules will make more sense.

The spell slot table is for both the number of repertoire slots and spell slots that you have. Technically those are different concepts and could have different numbers. But since they start out the same at the base, they are combined into the one table to save printing space.

You start out with 5 repertoire slots to put cantrips in. (Most classes get a feat called Cantrip Expansion that gives you two more cantrip repertoire slots, but it looks like Summoner doesn't get that one) Casting a cantrip doesn't cost any resources though, so you can cast those 5 cantrips as many times as you want.

Same with the Link Cantrips. Casting a cantrip doesn't cost any resources - in this case focus points. You can cast the Link Cantrips as many times as you want.

There are some rules (rather complex ones for Summoner) that allow you to switch out which of your spells known are actually in repertoire when you level up. You can also switch them around by spending downtime.

[breithauptclan]

To answer the specific questions:

nulltread wrote:

Link cantrips

- How many link cantrips can I cast per day?
- Do I have to spend focus points or prepare them?

You learn Link cantrips either automatically from the class features, or through feats taken.

You can cast a Link cantrip that you know as many times as you want.

You do not need to prepare Link spells or any other type of focus spell. You always know and have ready any focus spells that you have paid feats to get.

nulltread wrote:

Cantrips

- How many cantrips can I cast per day?
- How many cantrips do I learn per level?
- Do I have to prepare a daily cantrip list?

You can cast the cantrips in your repertoire as many times as you want. You have 5 cantrips in repertoire (though it may be possible to get more repertoire slots).

You don't automatically learn additional cantrips, though many GMs would let you learn a cantrip instead of a spell slot spell when you level up and gain new spells. That may not be the best idea though. You can also learn cantrips through the Learn a Spell process.

You don't prepare your repertoire every day. Your repertoire is semi-permanent. You can only change it when leveling up or through downtime process that usually takes a week for each spell changed.

nulltread wrote:

Spells

- Du I have to prepare spells?

No, not really. Same as with cantrips, the rest of your spell repertoire is also semi-permanent - it only changes when you deliberately change it.