Summon (Entity) rules questions

[Psullie]

Here's my take on all this:

1. A written, according to P248, it's Variable because you can have Summon (Entity) 2 or Summon (Entity) 6. A caster can only cast as high as the spell they know, if you know Summon (Entity) 6, that's most you can spend. This would limit most casting of this spell to summoning small animal or plant spirits, for more powerful entities you will need Rune Magic or Sorcery. Does Summon (Entity) 8 or 12 exist? 

Stackable/Non-Stackable only apples to Rune Spells. So you are limited to one entity

2. The spell is not listed as Temporal, so what the entity does is entirely based on the entity, it could stick around or not. Without a control spell the caster is at the mercy of the whim of the entity, though friendly entities are likely to be helpful etc. It's Active because if you want it do something you must communicate with it. If you stop concentrating the entity will do whatever the entity feels to do. 

3. My reading of point 1 makes this moot, that type of energy channelling is reserved for Rune Magic (Heal for example). This may make the spell seem too weak, but remember this is Spirit Magic and doesn't cost POW like other rituals.

4. Dispelling doesn't effect the results of magic, just like you cannot Dispel or Dismiss the hit points received from a Healing spell.

5. See 4.

6. Why not? There is a reasonable chance of hostile spirits who will attack anyway. Attacking friendly spirits may earn the caster a reputations and find fewer friendlies available.  

 

[whitelaughter]

Found this post while trying to find errata on the Sorcerer Summon spell 😕

Not getting a resistance roll sounds massive, until you consider the *time* it takes to cast the spell. Any intelligent spirit is either going to attack or leave, so the spirit needs to be either mindless or somehow restrained for the spell to be useful.

So it's balanced.

it's also useful; consider an ally who has been possessed by a Disease spirit. Simply place the enchantment on the ally's chest, pull back a few metres and perform the ritual - your ally is free and you have a bound Disease Spirit.

I imagine that this is how Broo maintain a supply of bound Disease Spirits. For everyone else, this is great for acquiring Soul Waste spirits, that can then be used to destroy other disease spirits.

 

[PhilHibbs]

I assume you are referring to Spirit Binding. The lack of specific wording to say that the POW needs to be overcome does not mean that it does not. The default for any hostile spell is that you need to overcome POW vs POW. I wouldn't let someone bind a hostile or neutral spirit without some kind of control spell. And you'd have to pry the spirit loose from possessing the body to bind it, you can't just bind your way out of a powerful disease.

[PhilHibbs]

20 hours ago, whitelaughter said:

Found this post while trying to find errata on the Sorcerer Summon spell 😕

Not getting a resistance roll sounds massive, until you consider the *time* it takes to cast the spell. Any intelligent spirit is either going to attack or leave, so the spirit needs to be either mindless or somehow restrained for the spell to be useful.

Not I'm not so sure you're talking about Spirit Binding, as it's an instant spell. What are you referring to here?

[Shiningbrow]

21 hours ago, whitelaughter said:

Not getting a resistance roll sounds massive, until you consider the *time* it takes to cast the spell. Any intelligent spirit is either going to attack or leave, so the spirit needs to be either mindless or somehow restrained for the spell to be useful.

I'm confused...

Further along the spell description is, "If the caster does not know the true name of the entity summoned, the caster must overcome the magic points of the entity with the total spell strength of the summons." This is clearly a resistance.

Granted, there's no resistance to see if the entity is actually summoned, but that's like the other non-sorcerous variants as well.

21 hours ago, whitelaughter said:

it's also useful; consider an ally who has been possessed by a Disease spirit. Simply place the enchantment on the ally's chest, pull back a few metres and perform the ritual - your ally is free and you have a bound Disease Spirit.

RAW - no. Because you wouldn't know the spirit you're summoning. Nowhere does it say that it summons the closest spirit of the type you request. (granted, any good sorcerer is going to have Identify Otherworldly Spirit anyway..., and before and at higher skill than the Summons... IMHO).

 

As @PhilHibbs indicated above, I don't think you're referring to the Summon spell, but to the Control spell (aka, Dominate in sorcery).... Now, if that's what you mean, then perhaps you're onto something.... except, Control spells are most certainly resisted. In fact, it's directly implied (ok, oxymoronic) in the last paragraph, where it says that bound spirits can't resist, and thus that non-bound spirits can resist.