I like the amount of detail put into this, although I do have a few criticisms...
I'm personally not a fan of being able to select your spellcasting ability when selecting this class. I get the appeal of it, but I personally prefer for classes to perhaps be a bit restrictive in that regard. This one might just be me.
Recovering your Proficiency Bonus in Summon Points per Long Rest feels unnecessary. I'd rather just regain all summon points after a long rest.
I feel like you included far more information within the Summoning feature to explain how the summons work. I think you could simply put, "Summons are Ethereal and do not occupy their space when summoned". But that also raises a problem with the class... The summons themselves seem to just be flavor for spells. I think you could easily play as a Wizard and just flavor your spells as being the result of ethereal creatures you temporarily summon. If the Summons don't occupy any space on the board, don't have hit points, and don't have unique features dependent on where you summon them... why even make them summoned creatures in the first place? I know that's basically how summons work in most of the Final Fantasy games... they are functionally just bigger spells that have a cool graphic that goes with them.
If I were to play a Summoner Class in D&D, I would want something that functions more like the summons from Final Fantasy X, where the summoned creature actually joins you in combat and has multiple skills they can employ. I know that makes it much more difficult... now each summon requires a full stat block. But as it stands, although this does accurately recreate how summoners actually work in most of the games they appear in, it's just not as exciting for a game like D&D.
they are functionally just bigger spells that have a cool graphic that goes with them.
You are correct, the Summons are basically "Super Spells", but that was done for the flavor I was trying to recreate mostly from the earlier FF games. I tried to make the effects scale differently and have a broader range than standard wizard spells, but be related to them (Shiva, Ifrit, and Ramuh all have range and AOE identical to cone of cold, fireball, and lightning bolt). I tried to make them functionally different enough to be interesting to play, hence the higher limits at their top end range, and some effects outside the normal wizard spells list
I feel like you included far more information within the Summoning feature to explain how the summons work. I think you could simply put, "Summons are Ethereal and do not occupy their space when summoned"
You are a better wordsmith than :)
If I were to play a Summoner Class in D&D, I would want something that functions more like the summons from Final Fantasy X, where the summoned creature actually joins you in combat and has multiple skills they can employ.
Sure, but the thing is if thats what you want, there are already plenty of custom classes with that kind of theme/ability. I wanted to create something that captured the FF7-esque summoning "feel" in DnD,
Power-wise, I think they seem reasonable. It's interesting how it works, with this being a half-caster class, but still has the potential damage output of a full-caster thanks to the summons. I think, for your intended purpose, this works. I am seeing some more value in the summoned creatures... such as how Shiva deals damage in a cone originating from her space. Normally spells cast in a cone can only originate from the caster's space, so having the summon appear and occupy a specific space on the battlefield does give some strategic options that traditional spellcasting lacks. I think it would be good if you could incorporate some element of that with each summon... so that it's placement on the battlefield has some impact and isn't just pure flavor.
This is so cool. I was looking for a hombrew summoner class thar worked like this. Not to actually summon crestures but its efects. Im preparing a campaing based on the Tales of Phantasia game,and this work perfectly for Klarth, the summoner of the group. With just some adjustmen it will be perfect for my need. Thanks!!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/share/VpXiGw2HQQjz
I like the amount of detail put into this, although I do have a few criticisms...
I'm personally not a fan of being able to select your spellcasting ability when selecting this class. I get the appeal of it, but I personally prefer for classes to perhaps be a bit restrictive in that regard. This one might just be me.
Recovering your Proficiency Bonus in Summon Points per Long Rest feels unnecessary. I'd rather just regain all summon points after a long rest.
I feel like you included far more information within the Summoning feature to explain how the summons work. I think you could simply put, "Summons are Ethereal and do not occupy their space when summoned". But that also raises a problem with the class... The summons themselves seem to just be flavor for spells. I think you could easily play as a Wizard and just flavor your spells as being the result of ethereal creatures you temporarily summon. If the Summons don't occupy any space on the board, don't have hit points, and don't have unique features dependent on where you summon them... why even make them summoned creatures in the first place? I know that's basically how summons work in most of the Final Fantasy games... they are functionally just bigger spells that have a cool graphic that goes with them.
If I were to play a Summoner Class in D&D, I would want something that functions more like the summons from Final Fantasy X, where the summoned creature actually joins you in combat and has multiple skills they can employ. I know that makes it much more difficult... now each summon requires a full stat block. But as it stands, although this does accurately recreate how summoners actually work in most of the games they appear in, it's just not as exciting for a game like D&D.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
You are correct, the Summons are basically "Super Spells", but that was done for the flavor I was trying to recreate mostly from the earlier FF games. I tried to make the effects scale differently and have a broader range than standard wizard spells, but be related to them (Shiva, Ifrit, and Ramuh all have range and AOE identical to cone of cold, fireball, and lightning bolt). I tried to make them functionally different enough to be interesting to play, hence the higher limits at their top end range, and some effects outside the normal wizard spells list
You are a better wordsmith than :)
Sure, but the thing is if thats what you want, there are already plenty of custom classes with that kind of theme/ability. I wanted to create something that captured the FF7-esque summoning "feel" in DnD,
How do you feel the power level is?
Power-wise, I think they seem reasonable. It's interesting how it works, with this being a half-caster class, but still has the potential damage output of a full-caster thanks to the summons. I think, for your intended purpose, this works. I am seeing some more value in the summoned creatures... such as how Shiva deals damage in a cone originating from her space. Normally spells cast in a cone can only originate from the caster's space, so having the summon appear and occupy a specific space on the battlefield does give some strategic options that traditional spellcasting lacks. I think it would be good if you could incorporate some element of that with each summon... so that it's placement on the battlefield has some impact and isn't just pure flavor.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
This is so cool. I was looking for a hombrew summoner class thar worked like this. Not to actually summon crestures but its efects. Im preparing a campaing based on the Tales of Phantasia game,and this work perfectly for Klarth, the summoner of the group. With just some adjustmen it will be perfect for my need. Thanks!!