Last week, we started a series on the summon monster spells for Pathfinder. Summoning works differently in Fifth Edition and I thought it would be a good idea to take a few moments to discuss the spells one by one. Today, let’s start with the lowest level one: conjure animals, a third level spell for druids and rangers. This spell reads:
Conjure Animals
3rd-level conjuration
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 60 feet
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 hour
You summon fey spirits that take the form of beasts and appear in unoccupied spaces that you can see within range. Choose one of the following options for what appears:
- One beast of challenge rating 2 or lower
- Two beasts of challenge rating 1 or lower
- Four beasts of challenge rating 1/2 or lower
- Eight beasts of challenge rating 1/4 or lower
Each beast is also considered fey, and it disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends.
The summoned creatures are friendly to you and your companions. Roll initiative for the summoned creatures as a group, which has its own turns. They obey any verbal commands that you issue to them (no action required by you). If you don’t issue any commands to them, they defend themselves from hostile creatures, but otherwise take no actions.
The GM has the creatures’ statistics.
At Higher Levels: When you cast this spell using certain higher-level spell slots, you choose one of the summoning options above, and more creatures appear: twice as many with a 5th-level slot, three times as many with a 7th-level slot, and four times as many with a 9th-level slot.
Alright, that’s all good, but what can you conjure up. Lets start with the creatures in the PHB (ignoring anything less than CR 1/4).
- CR 2: —
- CR 1: brown bear, dire wolf, giant eagle, giant spider, lion, tiger
- CR 1/2: black bear, crocodile, reef shark, war horse
- CR 1/4: boar, constrictor snake, panther, riding horse, wolf
You’ll notice there is nothing in the CR 2 range for this. That is not a mistake; there are no “beasts” in the PHB of CR 2. How about the MM (in order they appear in the book, ignoring any options in the PHB):
- CR 2: allosaurus (dinosaur), plesiosaurus (dinosaur), giant boar, giant constrictor snake, giant elk, hunter shark, polar bear, rhinoceros, saber-toothed tiger
- CR 1: giant hyena, giant octopus, giant toad, giant vulture
- CR 1/2: ape, giant goat, giant sea horse, giant wasp, reef shark
- CR 1/4: pteranodon (dinosaur), axe beak, draft horse, elk, giant badger, giant bat, giant centipede, giant frog, giant lizard, giant owl, giant poisonous snake, giant wolf spider
Total: CR 2 has nine creatures to conjure, CR 1 has ten, CR 1/2 has nine and CR 1/4 blows the rest away with seventeen.
Personally, I feel that for the first conjuring spell, there should be more options at the highest power level. Once I am done going through the conjure spells, I will be creating more creatures for you to summon.
When you conjure up a creature, make sure you are first playing an awesome race. Go beyond the ordinary and download Book of Heroic Races: Player Races 2 today at the Jon Brazer Enterprises Shop. Also find it at DriveThruRPG/RPGNow, Paizo, and the Open Gaming Store.
