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| All you need do is open the door, and ask them to come to your side. |
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When You Have Friends in Low (And High) Places
While there are a lot of games out there that use summoned creatures and spirits, I will be using the framework of Pathfinder, as well as Dungeons and Dragons for discussing this idea. Since it's a largely roleplay-centered idea, you can apply this idea to any other game where the creature or spirit you summon and control is an actual entity, rather than a simple collection of energy that has no will or thoughts of its own that merely mimics a creature.
Okay? Okay.
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| Who's messin' with you, fam? Point me at 'em! |
The idea of summoning a creature to your side to aid you in whatever struggle you're currently dealing with is not a particularly new one, as far as magic in the genre goes. From the ancient wizards battled by barbarian heroes like Conan, to Gandalf calling on Shadowfax to whisk him and Pippin away, to the warrior mages of Magic: The Gathering, calling on powerful monsters and deadly beasts to fight your battles for you, or to provide you aid at a critical moment, is nothing new in the genre. But while it can be a pain to keep track of multiple miniatures on the map, as well as the hit points, special abilities, attacks, etc. used by your newly-summoned allies, you can squeeze a little more RP value out of them if you're willing to.
For that, you need to make them full NPCs, and give a few hints of the story you have with them, and how they play into your character's history. As an example, consider some of the following scenarios:
- The sorceress with a secret tie to an archdevil reluctantly calls upon infernal creatures to aid her in battle. The lesser creatures refer to her with the term mistress as a sign of respect, but more powerful devils might use a title unfamilar to the rest of the party, or simply offer a cryptic message like, "Your godmother sends you her regards," before vanishing at the end of the battle. While the sorceress may not interact with the devils much, she calls on them by name, showcasing her mastery of the devil's tongue, and suggesting that something more than mere arcane study is to blame for her skill at calling on these allies.
- The gnome druid Bingala only calls on animals he's personally met and befriended with his spells to summon nature's allies. At first this might lead to some moments of affection as he's nuzzled by a wolf pack that defended him, or he sends a bear off with a scratch behind the ear, and a whisper to watch over his mother before he disappears. But as the animals get stranger and stranger, the druid has more and more tales to tell about his travels, and how he encountered such truly bizarre allies... as well as what he did to earn their friendship so that they would come to his side when called by the power of the green.
- An aasimar summoner who was born on the celestial plane, and only came to the material plane on the business of the higher realm. When they call on celestial creatures, they do so because these are the beings from their home plane, and the kinds of monsters they're most familiar with. Even if that means colossal, feathered T-Rexes with glowing eyes golden claws, or boars with silver ridges who speak in a tongue like a perfect bell. Seeing the bizarre creatures they call to their side, and how the summoner interacts with them, can drive home just how alien they are, and how bizarre the plane they grew up on is compared to the one whose soil they now tread.
Your Mileage May Vary
To get out in front of some of the comments I've seen with advice columns like this before, this isn't a strategy everyone is going to want to try. Some players and Game Masters may already be juggling too many balls to start assigning story significance, personal narratives, and more to summoned creatures who are only going to be on the board for a single fight, or a handful of rounds. However, I've found that this is a unique method of injecting a little extra character and story into using summoned creatures as a main method of overcoming challenges, so I wanted to share it for folks who wanted to add some more personality to what can quickly become a very scattered and impersonal method of magic use.
Also, I've linked some of the articles I've written about the most common classes in Pathfinder who are known for using summoned creatures. Please consider giving those a look as well, as I'd love to get back to this series and really finish it out!
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