Summoning
Magic; OOC
Contents
Summoning Has Universal Elements
Magic is very diverse in Edgewar. There are many ways to use magic. Different magic users perceive the possibilities and limitations in different ways, based on their paradigm. Thus, most magic is inherently subjective: the beliefs of the magic user directly influence the possibilities and limitations.
However, summoning is a special case. Regardless of paradigm, when you use summoning magic (e.g., a spell, a magic item), you're bringing one or more spirits to you and enlisting their aid. Your paradigm can strongly influence many aspects of what happens, but you are definitely dealing with real, living beings.
One way your paradigm can influence summoning is whether you can accidentally or intentionally summon the same spirit(s) more than once. This may be influenced by how your treat them (see below).
What You Can Summon
All spirits have the same traits in their essential nature:
- Spiritual form: Their natural form is incorporeal.
- Spiritual life: Their metabolism, mortality, and life cycle are different than flesh-and-blood humanoids and beasts.
- Spiritual movement: They can move around the multiverse in unusual, sometimes-inscrutable ways. This may include flying, passing through walls, and/or traveling between planes.
Regarding spiritual life, a spirit might begin its existence fully mature and capable. It may crave or even require unusual sustenance, such as lava or fear. It may live for hours or centuries.
Regarding spiritual movement, consider the difference between summoning a spirit versus traveling to another plane. For example, a mage of modest power can summon a Fey spirit from their native plane of Arborea and then send them back. That's an immense metaphysical distance traveled in a very short time, using relatively-low magical power. The spirit's essential nature helps make it work. In contrast, the magic required to transport the mage to Arborea needs to be much more powerful.
In many paradigms, spirits are one of three kinds of beings: mortals, gods (or "divinities"), and spirits. Most spirits can easily create or adopt a corporeal form.
Theoretically, you can summon a wide variety of spirits. In practice, the means you use dictates the kind of spirit you summon (e.g., a spell's description). The types of spirits include:
- Aberration: a being from the Far Realm or another alien realm of madness
- Beast: a being from Prime Material Plane or an Outer Plane
- In some paradigms, a beast spirit is the essence of a beast that isn't self-aware, and is dead and/or not yet born (e.g., a bear spirit)
- In some paradigms, a beast spirit is the unified life force (or portion of that force) of a individual species, genus, or family (e.g., a spirit of Bear)
- Celestial: a being from an Upper Plane
- Elemental: a being from an Inner Plane
- The Inner Planes are the essence of primordial matter/energy, so in some paradigms an elemental spirit is a pure, living manifestation of a particular kind of matter/energy
- Fiends: a being from a Lower Plane
- This might be a devil (Order), yugoloth (Neutrality), or demon (Chaos)
- Fey: a being from the Feywild or an Outer Plane
- Shadow: a being from the Shadowfell
- In some paradigms, a shadow spirit may be a being who died in the Shadowfell in particular ways (e.g., by a shadow's Strength Drain feature)
- Undead: a mortal being who died
- In some paradigms, an undead spirit is the soul of a self-aware mortal who hasn't found their way to their afterlife (or reincarnation)
In some ways, defining different spirits by planes is a recursive definition. Spirits are partly defined by their native planes, and many planes are partly defined by the spirits who are native to them.
(These types are inspired by Dungeons and Dragons canon and some of their Unearthed Arcana.)
Choosing What You Summon
If a spell doesn't give you precise control over what's summoned, you can still express a preference. As a GM, I'll usually honor that preference, but I reserve the right to choose something else.
Sharing Control of Summoned Beings
If you summon many spirits, I encourage you to use this approach.
If you want to avoid hogging the spotlight, instead of having your summoned beasts act on their own turn, consider asking your fellow players if they want to play as the beasts in addition to their own characters. This house rule lets other players have fun with your spell by letting them play the beasts on their own turns, in addition to their character. This gives them more tactical choice, and spreads the turn time around more evenly than just giving you an extra turn. (https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/254-spell-spotlight-conjure-animals)
Lorewise, such sharing is eminently compatible with Edgewar. The PCs are usually linked through the Chain, and the caster is linked to their summoned beasts.
Spirits May or May Not Be Friendly
The following is a from IC book called Spirits: How to Get Closer to Our Fabulous Friends by Victor Bronzeborn.
Even if a spell specifies the attitude of the spirit towards the summoner, many factors can apply.
How are you able to summon the spirit?
For example, if you summon a celestial and both of you serve the same god, the spirit will likely be enthusiastic about aiding you. On the other hand, if you compel a demon to serve you but have no loyalty to the spirit's true master (e.g., a demonlord), the spirit may only grudgingly aid you and surreptitiously seek their freedom.
Where are you summoning the spirit?
For example, if you summon an air elemental while aboard a flying airship, they'll likely be comfortable and happy. But if you summon that same spirit while deep underground, they'll likely be uncomfortable and anxious to depart.
What do you want the spirit to do?
For example, a demon is a spirit of evil and chaos. If you want a demon to terrify your enemies and smash through walls, they'll likely be enthusiastic. But if you want the same demon to neatly cut and stack wood, they may only grudgingly aid you and do a poor job.
Is the spirit in real danger?
While away from their native plane, a spirit is usually effectively immortal. If their corporeal form is destroyed, they can naturally return to their native plane and reform. However, all spirits know or can intuit when they're facing more substantial risk. This is especially true when spirits face their metaphysical opposites. For example, if you ask a celestial to fight a devil, both spirits know they might incur lasting injuries or even permanent death.
An elemental can face a similar danger. This includes facing an opposing elemental, such as a water elemental fighting a fire elemental, magma elemental, or ash elemental. It can instead include facing an opposing primordial phenomenon, such as an erupting volcano.
If a spirit is facing a substantial risk, they may still aid you. But the real danger will affect their attitude towards you, and it may impel them to seek their freedom.
