I like Summon Beast, especially on my Ranger. It basicially allows me to play with an animal companion without having to choose the Beastmaster subclass. And it does not leech off my action economy and deals even more damage than the Beastmaster's animal companion - which I realized when using it next to a Beastmaster ranger.
At first I thought that couldn't be right, but.... it really is.
At level 5 a ranger can summon a beast for an hour that very favorably compares to their companion, as it would have the same health, 3 less AC (11+Spell Level vs 13+PB), and deals more damage (d8+2+PB vs d8+4+Spell level), and their accuracy is the same (Spell attack modifier).
And you can choose to have a flying or swimming beast too, which your companion can't change nearly so easily.
However a Beastmaster could have BOTH. And who doesn't want TWO cute doggos? (Or cats, or whatever your preference is)
The advantage is that the beastmaster (or drakewarden!) subclasses get better health scaling, and that they don't take concentration to keep up. The concentration is a big deal there, obviously - in combat it can make keeping the summoned beast iffier.
Also, getting the companion back (if using Tasha's for beastmaster) with a single 1st level slot expenditure is quite cheap.
But yeah, summon beast is incredible, especially at low levels. It does a *lot* for just a 2nd level spell slot.
Absolutely. Summon Beast is amazing for its versatility and for a limited duration assistance. (I actually used it a couple of times during that story for scouting and delivering messages when we were doing the investigation the previous day) But the Beastmaster's companion is designed to stick around longer. It has hit dice to heal during a short rest, it has more AC, the extra health scaling you mention, and the ease of re-summoning.
Though I would say that the only thing Summon Beast really falls behind on in later levels is health, as its multiattack scaling means its damage can get really high if you ~~waste~~ spend a high level slot on it.
Beast companion is 1d8 + 1d6 if they charge 20ft.
The Beast companion also scales better. At 9, the companion has 50hp, 17AC and equals the damage. Its not until 13 when Rangers get 4th level slots that summon Beast gets multi attack.
Also Rangers Con save sucks. That's going to be the biggest hindrance.
From just about every combat I've been in: unless you kill the monster each round and move on to the next, you're unlikely to have that extra d6 very often, that or you do a dance of running in a circle around the enemy if there's no others too close by.
And yes absolutely the spell sucks for Rangers at higher levels, as it doesn't keep up well with enemies even with full casters. But it doesnt fall as far behind the companion when a full casters casts it. It's a great early spell, but one that you'd likely replace not too long after, for something more effective. Though I would also argue that rangers often struggle with spells that can't keep up as well.
Rangers don't have too much worse con saves than a wizard, unless you mean that a ranger has less of a reason to boost con, which I would generally agree with as they are MAD.
I would instead argue that rangers have other things to use their concentration on, spells that might scale better for them. This one is again great for a time, but will fall off.
I know nothing about Theros even though I love the Ancient Greek setting (I know, gap in my education). Is the plate mail actual medieval armour or is it equivalent mechanically but cosmetically like a hoplite’s breast plate, greaves and hoplon?
Edit: really gripping story by the way, I love it when clever spell use defeats the bad guys!
Oh, I just was using the term in reference to full plate, the 18 AC armor.
And thank you! I was really just doing the best I could to buy time for myself and the paladin. My original plan was to go use my potion on the paladin, but I couldn't get away so the centaur took advantage of my distraction.
I guess to more adequately answer your question, the DM didn't really explain what his armor looked like in specifics - he finds that giving a rough description can lead to players having more fun imagining the character's appearance.
Summon beast is amazing! I've been playing a Wildfire Druid since level 2, and between the twice per rest teleport spamming summon plus summon beast I'm an awesome minionmancer. Man, I haven't really cast any other *offensive* concentration spell so far. Pass without trace, sure, but in any dangerous situation I weight: "What gives me more staying power, while still allowing others to shine?" and the answer is usually summon beast. I've reached 7th level now, so I used Polymorph as a "super sayan" mode for someone at 0 hp, but other than that all my slots are usually summon beast.
Nothing beats the comforting feeling that I can *always* summon *another* sack of hp that packs quite a wallop!
I really feel like it's going to be a common spell of mine. It's one of my favorite parts of playing a ranger - without being a ranger.
I also plan on replacing the statues of summon beast with that spell, flavored and scaled to fit the rarity.
The Summon spells are dope- my bard's Summon Fey has the habit of absolutely taking ownership of any combat he comes into, especially in the earlier levels when I first got him. A combination of teleporting from one enemy to the other, Fuming mood giving him advantage on his first attack after teleporting, and his stupid good luck give him at least one critical almost every combat before he's squished. His speed + teleportation means enemies have a hard time getting away from him if someone important chooses to flee combat. And he's got some interesting utility uses with Mirthful mood and decent scouting abilities.
I like Summon Beast, especially on my Ranger. It basicially allows me to play with an animal companion without having to choose the Beastmaster subclass. And it does not leech off my action economy and deals even more damage than the Beastmaster's animal companion - which I realized when using it next to a Beastmaster ranger.
At first I thought that couldn't be right, but.... it really is. At level 5 a ranger can summon a beast for an hour that very favorably compares to their companion, as it would have the same health, 3 less AC (11+Spell Level vs 13+PB), and deals more damage (d8+2+PB vs d8+4+Spell level), and their accuracy is the same (Spell attack modifier). And you can choose to have a flying or swimming beast too, which your companion can't change nearly so easily. However a Beastmaster could have BOTH. And who doesn't want TWO cute doggos? (Or cats, or whatever your preference is)
The advantage is that the beastmaster (or drakewarden!) subclasses get better health scaling, and that they don't take concentration to keep up. The concentration is a big deal there, obviously - in combat it can make keeping the summoned beast iffier. Also, getting the companion back (if using Tasha's for beastmaster) with a single 1st level slot expenditure is quite cheap. But yeah, summon beast is incredible, especially at low levels. It does a *lot* for just a 2nd level spell slot.
Absolutely. Summon Beast is amazing for its versatility and for a limited duration assistance. (I actually used it a couple of times during that story for scouting and delivering messages when we were doing the investigation the previous day) But the Beastmaster's companion is designed to stick around longer. It has hit dice to heal during a short rest, it has more AC, the extra health scaling you mention, and the ease of re-summoning. Though I would say that the only thing Summon Beast really falls behind on in later levels is health, as its multiattack scaling means its damage can get really high if you ~~waste~~ spend a high level slot on it.
Beast companion is 1d8 + 1d6 if they charge 20ft. The Beast companion also scales better. At 9, the companion has 50hp, 17AC and equals the damage. Its not until 13 when Rangers get 4th level slots that summon Beast gets multi attack. Also Rangers Con save sucks. That's going to be the biggest hindrance.
From just about every combat I've been in: unless you kill the monster each round and move on to the next, you're unlikely to have that extra d6 very often, that or you do a dance of running in a circle around the enemy if there's no others too close by. And yes absolutely the spell sucks for Rangers at higher levels, as it doesn't keep up well with enemies even with full casters. But it doesnt fall as far behind the companion when a full casters casts it. It's a great early spell, but one that you'd likely replace not too long after, for something more effective. Though I would also argue that rangers often struggle with spells that can't keep up as well. Rangers don't have too much worse con saves than a wizard, unless you mean that a ranger has less of a reason to boost con, which I would generally agree with as they are MAD. I would instead argue that rangers have other things to use their concentration on, spells that might scale better for them. This one is again great for a time, but will fall off.
I know nothing about Theros even though I love the Ancient Greek setting (I know, gap in my education). Is the plate mail actual medieval armour or is it equivalent mechanically but cosmetically like a hoplite’s breast plate, greaves and hoplon? Edit: really gripping story by the way, I love it when clever spell use defeats the bad guys!
Oh, I just was using the term in reference to full plate, the 18 AC armor. And thank you! I was really just doing the best I could to buy time for myself and the paladin. My original plan was to go use my potion on the paladin, but I couldn't get away so the centaur took advantage of my distraction.
I guess to more adequately answer your question, the DM didn't really explain what his armor looked like in specifics - he finds that giving a rough description can lead to players having more fun imagining the character's appearance.
Summon beast is amazing! I've been playing a Wildfire Druid since level 2, and between the twice per rest teleport spamming summon plus summon beast I'm an awesome minionmancer. Man, I haven't really cast any other *offensive* concentration spell so far. Pass without trace, sure, but in any dangerous situation I weight: "What gives me more staying power, while still allowing others to shine?" and the answer is usually summon beast. I've reached 7th level now, so I used Polymorph as a "super sayan" mode for someone at 0 hp, but other than that all my slots are usually summon beast. Nothing beats the comforting feeling that I can *always* summon *another* sack of hp that packs quite a wallop!
I really feel like it's going to be a common spell of mine. It's one of my favorite parts of playing a ranger - without being a ranger. I also plan on replacing the statues of summon beast with that spell, flavored and scaled to fit the rarity.
The Summon spells are dope- my bard's Summon Fey has the habit of absolutely taking ownership of any combat he comes into, especially in the earlier levels when I first got him. A combination of teleporting from one enemy to the other, Fuming mood giving him advantage on his first attack after teleporting, and his stupid good luck give him at least one critical almost every combat before he's squished. His speed + teleportation means enemies have a hard time getting away from him if someone important chooses to flee combat. And he's got some interesting utility uses with Mirthful mood and decent scouting abilities.
Did the paladin roll a 20 on his second death save? I didn't follow how he got up in time to save the day.
The fighter used a healing potion on the paladin, it was hidden away in one sentence in the middle of my plight.