Summoner Design Diary Week 2

Week 2

Hey Game Fans we’re back with another look at the new character class we’re homebrewing around the office.  We published the first part of this design log last week and we’ve gotten some interesting feedback.  The first thing we’re probably going to do is change the name of the class to Binder,  It’s a better title for the class than Summoner, though we’re keeping that as an also known as, in addition to Medium.  This does a better job of capturing the feeling of the class and its specific connection to the planes and how it interacts with planar energy.  So we’ve got an idea of how the basic class feature Planar Shape is going to work, but now we’re going to have look at the other core ability, Spell Casting.

Core Ability 2

Channeling (1st Level)

Background

Binders/Summoners/Mediums traditionally channel the extra planar energies they tap into to create magical effects.  Their spellcasting is going to be much more focused than either the sorcerer and wizard, and may share some spells with the Warlock list.  The primary focus of a Binder’s spellcasting is limited to two schools of magic, Conjuration and Abjuration.  Conjuration is the school of moving things from one place to another, and summoning monsters from other planes is a hallmark of this.  Abjuration is the school of protection and warding, especially when working with holding and restraining creatures of extra planar origins.  

Rules

Your connection to the Planes has given you access to magical power that others can only dream of.  . See chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting and the end of this design log for the Binder spell list.

Cantrips

You know two cantrips of your choice from the Binder spell list. You learn additional Binder cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Binder table.

Spell Slots

The Binder table shows how many spell slots you have. The table also shows what the level of those slots is; all of your spell slots are the same level. To cast one of your Binder spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a spell slot. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a short or long rest. For example, Insert example using spells from the Binder spell list.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

At 1st level, you know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the Binder spell list. The Spells Known column of the Binder table shows when you learn more Binder spells of your choice of 1st level and higher. A spell you choose must be of a level no higher than what’s shown in the table's Slot Level column for your level. When you reach 6th level, for example, you learn a new Binder spell, which can be 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level.

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the Binder spells you know and replace it with another spell from the Binder spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

Spellcasting Ability

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your Binder spells, so you use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a Binder spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Spellcasting Focus

You can use an arcane focus (found in chapter 5) as a spellcasting focus for your Binder spells

Ritual Casting

You can cast a Binder spell as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag and you know the spell.  This does not consume a spell slot.

Ideas

This ability is pretty much a carbon copy of the Warlock’s spellcasting approach to life at 1st level.  The spell lists are going to have a few shared spells as well, but this core ability of the class is going to have a spellcasting approach that’s different from any of the other classes we’ve seen.  The spells are a compliment to the Planar Shape ability, and the spells that a Binder has access to are going to fill in missing areas.  I expect there’s going to be a new offensive cantrip to fill in that missing area, and then we’ll be pruning the rest of the spell list down to fill in areas related to Conjuration and Abjuration.  We’re going to try to avoid creating new spells as best we can, though we borrow some from a few lists and rename/reflavor them for a wider usage for the Binder.