Summoning poll (yes, we all hate these but I'm bored)

Rodo · Post by **Rodo** » Thu Sep 13, 2001 7:11 am

My first poll!

Roleplay wise, what's your favorite type of summon? I'm not speaking gamewise, I mean what kind of monster would you most like to have as a companion?

I guess my favorite would an earth elemental.

Although a nymph can be nice (who can resist being followed around by a beautiful fey?).

concluder1 · Post by **concluder1** » Thu Sep 13, 2001 7:19 am

I like using Fire Elemental.

Cynik · Post by **Cynik** » Thu Sep 13, 2001 7:25 am

Easily earth elemental!

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Thu Sep 13, 2001 7:47 am

1)Fire elemental
2)invisable stalkers
3)Skeletal warriors

Ned Flanders · Post by **Ned Flanders** » Thu Sep 13, 2001 8:08 am

arattanir · Post by **arattanir** » Thu Sep 13, 2001 10:14 am

After you start playing ToB, forget your puny elementals. The Devas and Planetars actually can take some heavy monster damage, and they are not as traitorous as the Pit Fiends

Xyx · Post by **Xyx** » Thu Sep 13, 2001 11:47 am

I did a quick experiment in which a single Planetar would kill three Red Dragons in a row (two quick vorpal hits) before she bit the dust!

Powergaming-wise I would go for Planetars, because they just rock.

Roleplaying-wise I would go for Planetars, because they just rock (I like roleplaying opportunistic characters

).

Coolness-wise I would not go for Planetars because I think their graphics suck. They look like they're made of some Glow-In-The-Dark Plastic(TM).

Based on appearance, I would choose Wyverns.

All this does not include clones! If those were included, I'd go for Project Image in each and every case. What would be better than one Mage that can summon Planetars? You guessed it...

UserUnfriendly · Post by **UserUnfriendly** » Thu Sep 13, 2001 2:23 pm

My Soa auto biography...

My life as a projected image

by Userunfriendly.

I am extensively testing both skellys and inv stalkers and swords with kevins new patch.

Swords are still vulnerable to hold person, and while some people have mentioned inv stalkers are better than skellys for mind players, nope, they are very resistant to mind flayer attack, due to being inv seems to keep them from being targetted for int dain attacks. but skellys are better for inflicting raw damage to mind flayers and umber hulks.

conclusion....

spend a little extra time, and get skellys hasted for most situations, and mass inv for mind flayers. hasted swords will clear a room full of werewolves in seconds. inv stalkers are best as high damage taking blockers, while you cast skellys in the back row, among the enemy. Inv stalkers are good at taking damage and swords are still the offensive champs, but skellys using mass inv and haste can be both.

Once you really think summons, have a flock of skellys and inv stalkers, due to their faster speed they are excellent blockers, with a sim or project image providing fier power.

have skellys and inv block the passage way, and have the image cast abu dahzims. result...dead mind flayers or what ever.

an incredibly evil strat is the have your summons hold the enemy and cast an abu dazim... the abu dazim will either kill out right or severly weaken the enemy.

planetars are too cool, i think they look ok, not too day glo for my taste, but they are most effective as cruise missles, not infantry. have them cast gloe barrior and launce at a mass of enemy or single poweerful foe, the globe provides a superb damage radius making a lot of battles too easy.

UserUnfriendly · Post by **UserUnfriendly** » Thu Sep 13, 2001 5:43 pm

Something about summons...
the stuck in door trick.

Finally realized that some people, who for what ever reason is unable to summon, they may have had their creatures stuck in door ways. was doing the mind flayers in sewer, and had aerie poised with 6 skellys backing of her, ready to rush in as soon as she open the door.

Opened door, 4 skellys rush in! Two of them got stuck behind the opened door! It behaves like a closet, locking two behind the door sprite!

And since the doors in this place don't close, I had to rest to desummon them. i strongly suspect this accounts for quite a few people who have lost track of summons and have whined about it in the forum.

Good summon habits...

summon in blocks, like 4 or 6, using project image, and keep them together. make sure you have a char keep an eye on them, so they don't wander off on their own. Keep track of the battle messages, and keep count of how many get munched by monsters. If necessary, if you have fewer summons at end of battle than you thought you should, rest to desummon them. you need to do this for skellys and inv stalkers, but not anything else.

swords and others desummon after few rounds.

Never ever use far sight or wiz eye to send out long range strikes, unless you keep a very close eye on your strike team. too easy with the pathing intelligence of the summon creatures to have them get lost or lose a few.

use the gather all party button frequently, right next to the ai button, to click on a open area and bring all party members together.

Finally, even after all this you think you've lost a skelly or stalker, rest in the same map and you should see a desummon message.

Nayl · Post by **Nayl** » Thu Sep 13, 2001 6:15 pm

I was playing an evil fighter/cleric before--I miss my skellies. They just last so long, it's great. I str of one, haste, 10' invis, and defensive hamrony them for the undead commando team.

TheDude · Post by **TheDude** » Fri Sep 14, 2001 4:46 am

Skeleton Warriors rock!!!
they last long have high magic resist. and do a lot of dammage!!!

fire elemantals are great to.
But i still haven't saw the power of the planetars. so for now it still is the Skeleton Warrior.

Xyx · Post by **Xyx** » Fri Sep 14, 2001 9:12 am

I would cast Project Image, have the Image summon 3-4 Skeleton Warriors and read a bunch of Invisible Stalker scrolls. These summons last for 8 hours and stay when the Image unsummons. I then had the Image cast Simulacrum, Wizard Eye and Haste, and I'd send the whole bunch off to clear the dungeon.

Not bad for one spell, and that was with the SoA XP cap.

With the ToB cap, your Simulacrums can cast Project Image...

THE JAKER · Post by **THE JAKER** » Fri Sep 14, 2001 9:24 am

I want to point out one thing about summoning spells - casting speed. I like all the summons, but one of my favorites is still spider spawn - I always hated and feared the giant spiders and the dreaded sword spiders in Baldur's Gate, it is so great to be able to call them to my side now!

Anyway, spider spawn has a lower casting time than a lot of the other summoning spells, making it an "instant" summon if you have the robe of vecna and am of power. Also, if you have these items and cast improved alacrity, spider spawn is an instant spell where the other summoning spells take some time.

This is why I still like spider spawn and find myself using the wand of monster summoning (very fast casting time) even in TOB.

I'm also a big fan of the skeleton warriors and even the regular skeletons early on in the game - just like in Baldur's gate, the long duration of these summons allows you to clear out a whole screen with your army of undead - and it looks wicked, too!

UserUnfriendly · Post by **UserUnfriendly** » Fri Sep 14, 2001 11:22 pm

O personally agree with the jaker. spiders ar a low level spell, and mswords cut into abu dahzims or inc. clouds, my fav spells...so I cast those when i need a few expendable foot soldiers who can make high speed assaults.. boy are they fast!

Its important to realize, unless you use projecet image to cast, with the five summon limit, you have to enhance your summons to make them deady and effective.

mass inv and haste are the best for skellys, haste is all you need for swords, and the 10th level summons need nothing at all.

but buffed summons can really make the diff in tough dungeons. beholders, for example, fall to buffed skellys rather easily.

will2k · Post by **will2k** » Sun Sep 16, 2001 5:09 am

I just think that shambling mounds are the best summon in SoA. But you only get them very near the end but with around 30 damage a hit!

NeKr0mAnCeR · Post by **NeKr0mAnCeR** » Sun Sep 16, 2001 5:42 pm

1) skeleton warriors
2) invisible thingy
3) wyvern
.
.
.
last) lesser earth elemental (it looks like a walking large piece of dragon poo)

Csadar · Post by **Csadar** » Sun Sep 16, 2001 6:10 pm

Well my fav. summon is rather strange...

It's Joolon the lion(panther?) you can summon with the Lion figurine. Not that powerful but I like it...

I feel just like Drittz and his panther

Aegis · Post by **Aegis** » Sun Sep 16, 2001 6:20 pm

I'm actually trying to make Guenwhyvar a summon. Not quite perfected yet though...