Summonings....

[Jkeown]

... so I have this idea, it involves not having summoners call up animals and monsters (though they could) so much as, say... A killing attack described as a one-horned chocobo-like beastie that runs into the scene and gigs their opponent.

 

Final Fantasy -ish, right?

 

Or is the prefered method to complicate things further by adding one more combatant to an already crowded scene? How do ya'll do it?

 

I thought it might be fun to have summoner powers stem from ancient contracts with powerful beings, call them...oh... The Ilzar Isharri... the Sleeping Gods.

 

These Ilzar, and their chosen, the Ilzaru, can call upon the gods' servants, each one a unique creature of power. He/she/it pops in, does ONE THING, pops out. Maybe making some cryptic remark about future events... just for my enjoyment.

 

So, the summons are unique, flavorful and world-building critters all by themselves. And they reflect the nature of their boss/creator/whatever by the nature of their special effects.

 

Discuss.

[Curufea]

Re: Summonings....

 

Ranged Killing Attack - SFX: A Crazed Chocoba appears from the distance and charges over the target before disappearing again. Extra Time: full phase (for the bird to run over the character).

 

I wouldn't make it a summoning at all - just a special effect for other powers.

[JTesla]

Re: Summonings....

 

You might take a peak at this thread: Summoner

 

The thread contains many summoning ideas, as well as a character from Killer Shrike containing powers written with the flavor you are looking for.

[Jkeown]

Re: Summonings....

 

I shoulda known KS would have beaten me to the idea... he's my hero.

 

How're these? I've thought about it. I think instead of having the Celestial Glee Club here show up and miss the attacks, I think GMs should roll the attacks, determine if the effect will, in fact, happen before describing the event. I think it detracts terribly to have Zooti show up, do her fashion model strut to the target only to miss the target, don't you agree? I mean, these particular characters are ancient and awful... they don't miss. Fail to hit, and they don't even show up.

 

Azdrekas, the Sword of Solann: RKA 3d6, Area Of Effect (5" Radius; +1), Selective (+1/4) (101 Active Points); 1 Charge which Recovers every 1 Month (-3), OAF (Ilzaru Callingstone; -1), Only When Serving The God's Purposes (-1/2), Incantations (-1/4), Gestures (-1/4)

Notes: Summons the Sword of Solann, an ancient-appearing man nine feet tall, wearing every scar earned in battle everywhere, sufferer of every torture, to instruct the enemies of the cult in the ways of pain and death.

 

Illashardros, the Shining One: Darkness to Sight, Mental and Hearing Groups 6" radius, MegaScale (1" = 10 km; +1/2) (105 Active Points); 1 Charge which Recovers every 1 Month (-3), OAF (Ilzaru Callingstone; -1), Only When Serving The God's Purposes (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4)

Notes: At first a single point of light, it grows to fill your vision, it is Illashardros, Herald of Imnestros. The brilliance collapses into a seething, cloying absence of light. For miles around, nothing is seen, heard... or felt....

 

Zootiakka, the Touch of Aboleann: Drain BODY 5d6, NND (Soulless; +1) (100 Active Points); 1 Charge which Recovers every 1 Month (-3), Gradual Effect (1 Month; -2 1/4), OAF (Ilzaru Callingstone; -1), Only When Serving The God's Purposes (-1/2), Gestures (-1/4), Incantations (-1/4)

Notes: Zootiakka arrives amid black flurrying snowfall. Her rune-carved ebon armor making no sound. Scrolls cling like desperate lovers to her metal-clad form, each one a terrible prophesy. Her withering gaze falls on the target, the slightest of smiles on her full, black lips. She touches the target with a delicate, well-manicured finger. Despite her vanishing back to the Sphere Unspeakable, her touch slowly, over a month's time, drains his soul.

 

Somewhat Interesting Caleon Trivia: Zootiakka used to be an NPC, albeit an unearthly lovely one, until the forces of Chaos sacrificed her to Aboleann. So taken were the Chaos Lords that they did not consume her soul but made of her a demon. Now, she feeds on souls, transferring the energy to her Lord.

 

Relgos, the Gate of Evosheanous: Extra-Dimensional Movement (Single Dimension), Usable As Attack (+1) (40 Active Points); 1 Charge which Recovers every 1 Month (-3), OAF (Ilzaru Callingstone; -1), Only When Serving The God's Purposes (-1/2), Incantations (-1/4), Gestures (-1/4)

Notes: Arriving in a storm of mental static is Relgos. His massively muscled, amber colored body is clad in chains, at the end of each hangs a key. He howls with despair for the target. His face, appearing unfinished and simple, is expressive nonetheless. His gaze is almost thoughtful and sorrowful. Then, remembering his duty, and moreso, his master's earth-shaking wrath, flings the victim into the Sphere Unspeakable.

 

Kuon, Reaver of Magic: Dispel All Magic 25d6, Area Of Effect (One Hex; +1/2), MegaScale (1" = 10 km; +1/2) (150 Active Points); 1 Charge which Recovers every 6 Months(-4), OAF (Ilzaru Callingstone; -1), Incantations (-1/4), Gestures (-1/4)

Notes: Suddenly, all is silence on the battlefield. Then you mark a single clear tone. It is the sound made by Kuon's scythe, you turn to see him pull the blade from the ground. As the point clears the earth, a pulse goes out, delivering a killing blow to all magic for miles around. The wind has died, and his pale robes are undisturbed. His thin face is unemotional, for what Kyeen has given, Kuon must take away. With a thought, he vanishes.

[JTesla]

Re: Summonings....

 

Very interesting. Fleshed out with more definitive descriptions and they would be awe inspiring.

[Jkeown]

Re: Summonings....

 

Bumped for edit! They are now more inspiring...

[JTesla]

Re: Summonings....

 

Can't rep you again, but very nice detail. The extra details seem very fitting for 1 to 6 month recovers.

[NuSoardGraphite]

Re: Summonings....

 

Very well done! And for a Heroic level Fantasy game, they'd all be uber-powerful attacks without being too powerful. (I like the one that flings the enemy into another dimension, and the one that covers the entire battlefield in darkness. Good stuff!)

[Jkeown]

Re: Summonings....

 

I have an idea for a second class of summonings, that are more... complex in a way. See, these same gods' physical forms are sleeping. Sleeping creatures dream. Dreams of gods are powerful. How about a class of ilzaru channeller/summoner/dreamcaller that can take the dieties' dreams and mold real creatures of them?

 

They would have a vast array of forms, but certain abilities, powers, immunities and a definate lack of "realness" Thus, they could violate biology and physics in ways "normal" demons and the like cannot.

 

(In Caleon, Demons are simply the inhabitants of other Spheres, not necessarily fire-belching winged dreadnaughts, though we have those, too!)

 

I'm at work, so I can't elaborate too far... but I'll post this evening... comments will be folded into the final product with credit intact...

 

Discuss!

[Jkeown]

Re: Summonings....

 

How geeky is this, posting in my own thread?

 

Anyhow...on the matter of these Dream Calls... I think "Not Being Real" has got to translate to Damage Reduction, Energy, Physical and Mental. This makes them very hard to kill. It will be a frustrating hard fought victory for most characters, certainly longer than most battles where such abilities aren't in play.

 

Let's focus (and I can focus, having only had 1 Coke all day, caffiene really degrades my HEROability) on a single creature. Something fun. There is a Sleeping God in Caleon who is known as Evosheanous. He sleeps in a pit in Distant Zzan, the South Polar Region. While his spirit roams the stars, his body lay frozen and dreaming. This suggests that his dreams are cold and dark; nightmarish beasts that control ice and push away comforting light. They strike quickly, leaving icy corpses, even in desert regions.

 

Beginning to sound like a Metallica song, isn't it? Let's give him the standard Dream Summons power: Unreal.

 

Unreal: (Total: 90 Active Cost, 90 Real Cost) Mental Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% (Real Cost: 30) plus Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% (Real Cost: 30) plus Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 50% (Real Cost: 30)

 

So, he's tough to wound... Especially when all that flash-frozen water vapor builds up on his inky black skin.

 

Ice Armor: Armor (4 PD/3 ED)

 

If I know my Armor/DR interaction... an 8 pt HKA only does 2 pts to this bastard, right? Let's hope the party brought hench-things.

 

His other abilities stack up pretty quickly:

 

Intense Cold: Change Environment 8" radius, -2" of any one mode of Movement, -4 Temperature Level Adjustment, Multiple Combat Effects

 

Just before his Darkness hits, frost, then ice, creeps across the walls and floor... perhaps heralding his arrival?

 

Icy Body: EB 5d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2), Persistent (+1/2), Damage Shield (+1/2) (62 Active Points)

 

Ever licked a flagpole in winter?

 

The Dark Between the Stars: Darkness to Sight Group 2" radius

 

Shining with pinpricks of light and drifting nebulae from afar, and just plain dark inside, the creature cannot be seen. Now, if your narrative is up to it, this can be very creepy indeed.

 

Give this 223 points to any critter you fancy... like a tiger, or ape, as a template. Just tack it on like some kinda psychotic version of Eyeor's tail... Then hand it to your favorite Evil Channeller... Priest, Ilzaru... then keep him alive long enough to summon this beast. This is why I am a GM. The unbridled creative moment... it's better than any powertrip I could embark on.

 

Your players will remember this encounter. If Dark and Cold doesn't bring up some moment of Racial Memory... the fear, the remembrance of our race's time in the freezing cold of the Wisconsonian Glaciation... nothing will.