The Path of Summoning

The Path of Summoning came about after looking over the AD&D 5e wizards and thinking they were pretty bland. While they had a few small tricks of their own, they were just that - tricks. Nothing very defining as a class in my opinion. So I wanted to do something that could take some of the concepts there and extend them out a bit.

With the summoner, it follows a progression. They start with the ability to sense things across distances (Mark), then move to summoning those things on this plane (Banish, Summon), then to moving entities between planes and across planes (Evoke, Teleport), then finally gain the ability to open long term portals between planes.

What you will find with most of my Sorcery schools is that they are fairly focused in theme. There are few, if any, spells that everyone gets. That's by design. I like my sorcery schools to be dedicated to pursuing a particular avenue of magic, like you might see in a modern day academic or scholar. This has the added benefits of allowing a great deal of distinction between them as well as giving a character clear paths that they can pursue. 

The summoner gets even more distinct, as it has several gifts that hold it distinct from other sorcerers. Like the Four-Fold Battle Wizard they gain extra abilities with their spells they cast with their school's Invocation. Putting in this sort of bonus and restriction will prevent unexpected interactions and disagreements at the table. Their Gifts (Familiar, Possessor, and Ritualist) really set the tone for a sorcerer who oozes summoning.

These also give the summoner an incredible amount of flexibility. Summoning a chest of armor or a box of potions could be handy to any adventurer, but being able to summon a box of products to sell at a market would avoid any bandits on the road. Marked items can be targeted (likely with another sorcery school) with all sorts of nastiness.

No summoner would be complete without the ability to Banish, and this school teaches it before they teach their students how to Evoke other planar entities, fortunately. It is worth noting that the Evoke given here is substantially altered from the core rulebook Evoke, allowing a certain number of services to be performed without any containment. This grants them great power, as demons, elementals, and other sundry extraplanar beings tend to be quite strong. 

Mythos and History

Since the first sorcerer witnessed a shaman reach through the Barrier between worlds, they have tried to duplicate the animist’s power. Beginning with inaccurate views of what space was, they practiced moving objects around the world before reaching into the great beyond. Eventually, demons took notice and offered them knowledge and power for whatever ends they pursued. 

Nature

Summoners are hard to pin down into one motivation or goal. Some seek power from demons, some from angelic beings. Some merely from nature spirits, and some from eldritch horrors from beyond. All, with sufficient experience, learn of the twisted multidimensional nature of space, how to reach through it, and how to pull out whatever is on the other side. 

Organization

Many of this cult are scattered in small cells, often only a Master and an Apprentice together pursuing power by reaching across the worlds. Occasionally though, a group gathers with a common goal - often to exploit some extraplanar being of immeasurable power.

There are no lay members of this cult.

Membership

Standard. 

Restrictions

None, though many summoners have very strong passions that drive them to seek the help of extraplanar entities.

Skills

Insight, Invocation (Path of Summoning), Lore (Extraplanar Beings), Shaping, Willpower

Magic

Apprentices are taught the Folk Magic spells Beastcall (one animal type), Dishevel, Glue, Grease (Mythic Constantinople, p78), Perfume, Protection (manifesting as a shimmering layer over the conjurer), Repair, and Shove. Apprentices also learn the sorcery spells Mark which, when cast with Invocation (Path of Summoning), has a duration measured in days rather than turns and may be visible or invisible. In addition, they learn Summon which, when cast with Invocation (Path of Summoning), may be used to summon a container (of SIZ up to the spell’s intensity in cubic meters) containing inanimate objects.  

Adepts quickly learn to Banish demons, spirits, and other extraplanar entities. Their Banish (cast with the school’s own Invocation skill) may be used to return Summoned items if cast at a greater Magnitude than the Summon spell. 

Mages are granted the privilege of learning two important spells: Teleport at the cost of 5xp and Evoke at a cost of 10xp per kind of entity (fire elementals, earth elementals, ifrit, Mi-go, etc.). The Evoked entity will willingly perform one task asked of it per magic point given to it, and each request requires a proactive action by the caster and may, as a whole, take no longer than the duration of the spell. The sorcerer must have cast Evoke with their Invocation (Path of Summoning) skill.

Archmagi learn Teleportation Circle (Portal). Their Teleportation Circle, when cast with the school’s Invocation skill, Combined with Evoke, and 10 shaping points are applied to the Range component, does not summon a creature, but instead opens a portal to the plane native to that creature.

Gifts

Adepts gain a Familiar, a natural animal with Average SIZ not exceeding the character’s POW. It also gains an INT score. The conjurer and familiar can understand each other’s speech, and the familiar understands the native tongue of the conjurer.

Mages learn mastery over objects with the Possessor ability. The mage may perform a day-long ritual on a single non-living, inanimate object. This object is treated as if it had been Enchanted with the Mark spell, without impacting the conjurer’s magic points or regeneration of them. The conjurer allocates Shaping points as desired and can have as many items Marked with Possessor as one third his POW score.

Archmagi learn to become Ritualists. The archmagi may increase their base casting time to cast his spells from turns to days. They may then use the Further Extending Duration Table for Duration (Mythras, p162). These spells may not be Combined with spells from other schools of sorcery.