Summon

The Summon spell creates a creature made entirely of magic to serve as an ally or combatant. Knowing Summon does not grant access to every creature. Each pattern must be learned separately under the Game Master's direction, through an in-game investment comparable to learning a new spell. Studying Giants does not teach water elementals or dragons. Mastering a creature's pattern also masters it for Polymorph, provided the caster knows both spells.

The Summon spell can create animals, giants, elementals, dragons, and other learned creatures. Every profile in the creature's wiki template gives its minimum spell level. The caster chooses a known profile whose requirement is no higher than the level of Summon actually cast. The spell spends one slot of that level as normal. The complete Spell DC at casting generates the physical body under Magical Creature Templates, and temporary bonuses included in that DC remain locked into the creature after they end.

The Summon's Spell Slots

Every creature created by Summon has its own reserve of four spell slots at every spell level strictly below the level of Summon cast. These slots belong to the summon, recover in full once per day, and can be spent only on spells found in the creature's own template. They grant power, not knowledge: a creature with no spells in its template cannot use them. With Metamagic Bond, the summon can also spend several of these slots to apply its master's Metamagic feats.

Summon level	Innate spell slots
2	4 Level 1 slots
4	4 slots at each level from 1 to 3
6	4 slots at each level from 1 to 5
8	4 slots at each level from 1 to 7
10	4 slots at each level from 1 to 9

The summon receives no innate slot at the level of Summon itself. A creature created with Summon Level 8 may therefore know a Level 8 racial spell without beginning with the slot required to cast it.

Giving Additional Spell Slots to a Summon

When a summoned creature knows racial spells, the caster can give it spell slots as part of casting Summon. Every slot given is spent immediately, in addition to the slot used to cast Summon. The summon begins with slots of the same levels and can spend them only to cast spells from its own template. A higher-level slot can pay for a lower-level racial spell normally. These slots do not recover; Spell Conduit is required to draw further slots from the caster after the creature has been created.

For example, a Level 10 Red Dragon already begins with four Level 9 slots. Creating it with two additional Level 9 slots and one Level 10 slot costs:

Slot level	Total cost
10	2 slots: one to cast Summon, one given to the dragon
9	2 slots given to the dragon

The resulting dragon begins with six Level 9 slots and one Level 10 slot. Its Breath Weapon is not a spell and never spends a spell slot. Slots given at creation are additional to the summon's innate reserve.

The summoned body uses Magical Creature Templates: generated DEX governs Reflex, while Fortitude, Will, effective CON, Breath Weapons, and racial ability DCs use the locked Spell DC unless the creature entry states an exception.

Casting a Summon spell is a lengthy process, typically taking three ticks. The caster can dismiss the summoned creature at any time as a swift action, requiring only a single tick.

The primary challenge of this spell lies in communicating with the summoned creature. This limitation prevents Summon from being strictly superior to Polymorph. At lower levels, communication is difficult, relying on voice commands with a limited number of understood orders. At higher levels, this bond evolves into telepathic and eventually global communication, allowing the caster to command the creature even across great distances or from other planes of existence.

The bond also carries an instinctive awareness of the summon's location, as detailed in the main scaling table. This awareness provides information only; it does not move either creature.

Beginning at Level 8, the summon counts as a perfectly known destination for the caster's teleportation magic. The teleportation effect must still be capable of crossing the required distance or planar boundary.

For long-duration summons (starting at days/level), the caster must infuse each creature with fresh mana daily to maintain it. This begins at Level 6 for an ordinary Summon and at Level 4 for a Psychic Summon. This requires no action but reserves one spell slot of the same level originally used to summon that creature. A reserved slot lowers the caster's maximum available slots at that spell level for as long as the summon is maintained. It cannot be spent or recovered during that time. There is no fixed limit to the number of summons a caster may maintain; available spell slots and the cost of permanent bodies impose the limit.

Reserved Slots and Recovery

The caster's base maximum does not change. Slot recovery is calculated from that complete reserve, including the slots currently reserved by summons. After recovery is calculated, the number of usable slots is capped by the reduced available maximum. The normal recovery rate and ceiling of the chosen form of rest still apply. Maintaining a large number of summons therefore reduces how many slots the caster can hold, but does not also slow the body's natural recovery rate.

For example, a sorcerer has a base maximum of 9 slots at every spell level and continuously maintains two creatures created with Summon Level 10 and four created with Summon Level 8. Their available maxima become:

Spell level	Base maximum	Reserved by Summon	Available maximum
10	9	2	7
8	9	4	5

If the sorcerer spends every available Level 8 slot, recovery is still calculated from the original reserve of 9 slots. However, they can hold no more than 5 usable Level 8 slots while those four summons remain maintained. If a summon ends, its reservation ends and the available maximum rises; the newly opened capacity is empty and can be recovered normally.

A non-Psychic Level 10 summon can be made permanent by paying a considerable cost in gold determined by the GM. A permanent summon no longer reserves a daily spell slot. Gold has no effect on Psychic mana, so a Psychic summon can never use this form of permanence.

A summon is vulnerable to abjuration spells used to destroy it, spells that disrupt the communication between it and the sorcerer, and illusions that could be used to trick it with false orders. A summon that has been made permanent with gold is not vulnerable to abjuration attempts.

Upon creation, the summon recognizes its master, is loyal, and knows its first order. It can understand and execute that order only as far as its intelligence and knowledge allow. An ordinary summon begins every casting as a new consciousness with no memories of previous manifestations. Only a Named Echo returns as the same individual.

If a summon has completed all its orders, it defaults to a standing, unending command: protect its master. However, if its master is missing or dead, the summon becomes free and acts as a real creature would, with its own desires. For example, a dragon made permanent with gold who witnesses its master's death regains its free will. If that dragon is later convinced its master has returned, it might resume its service or might wait for a magical command.

The summon possesses the intelligence, languages, and basic knowledge of the creature it copies. The longer a summon exists, the more intelligent and useful it can become, capable of executing more complex plans.

When a summoned creature is destroyed, it disappears in a cloud of particles. However, if the summon was made permanent with gold, it leaves behind a true physical corpse.

Psychic duration. Stable blue mana holds a summoned body together for one duration category longer: hours/level at Level 2, days/level at Level 4, weeks/level at Level 6, and indefinite with daily upkeep at Levels 8 and 10. Gold has no effect on blue mana, so a Psychic summon can never become permanent through gold and must continue reserving its daily slot.

Characteristic	Level 2	Level 4	Level 6	Level 8	Level 10
Maximum Duration	minutes/level	hours/level	days/level	weeks/level	Indefinite with daily upkeep; permanent with gold
Cast Range	close	close	medium	long	global
Cast Time	3 ticks	3 ticks	3 ticks	3 ticks	1 tick
Communication	Natural organs of the creature	Oral with caster's voice	Oral or Psychic (30 ft)	Oral or Psychic (200 ft)	Oral or Psychic (∞ allies, 1000 ft enemies)
Spatial awareness	Direction within Close range	Direction and distance within Medium range	Exact position within Long range	Exact position anywhere on the same plane	Current plane and exact position, even across planes
Creature profiles	Known profiles requiring Level 2 or less	Level 4 or less	Level 6 or less	Level 8 or less	Level 10 or less

Creature Templates in the Archives

Combat templates carry their own profiles, attribute multipliers, HP per STR, action economy, DR, anatomy, movement, and special abilities. A profile's listed level is its minimum for both Summon and Polymorph. Size is part of the profile, not a universal level limit.

Minimum level	Example profiles first available
2	Raven, Owl, Cat, Dog, Snake, Cavern Weaver, Black Wolf of Cerberus, Dream Dragon, Fire Elemental, Earth Elemental, Air Elemental, Water Elemental, Humanoid
4	White Wolf of Brazzant, Griffin, Ogre, Owlbear of Cerberus
6	Hill Troll, Young White Dragon, Young Red Dragon, Hill Giant
8	Colossal Hill Giant, Mountain Troll, Basilisk, Minotaur, Colossal Worm, White Dragon Wyrm, Red Dragon Wyrm, Plains Giant
10	Sand Troll, White Dragon Great Wyrm, Red Dragon Great Wyrm

Ordinary creatures such as the Chicken and the Horse of Cerberus have a fixed sheet instead of a scaling table: summoning one produces exactly the creature described on its page, whatever the level of the spell. It costs the same slot and is occasionally the right answer.