Summon

Duration: See Below
Range: 10'

Magic fundamentally works by ripping a hole in the fabric of space and time and pulling out energy that interacts with and warps our reality. Various mages have managed to consistently capture specific energy in exact amounts to produce replicable results: Spells.

The Summon spell opens the rift between the worlds a little bit more and forces an inhabitant from Beyond into our world to do the Magic-User's bidding. What exactly comes through the tear, and whether or not it will do what the summoner wishes, is wholly unpredictable.

Once the Summon spell is cast, there are a number of steps to resolve:

• Step one: The caster chooses the intended Power of the Summoned Entity.

• Step two: The caster makes a saving throw versus Magic.

• Step three: Determine the Entity’s Form.

• Step four: Determine the Entity’s Powers.

• Step five: Resolve the Domination Roll.

Step one

The caster must decide how powerful a creature — expressed in terms of Hit Dice — he will attempt to summon. This cannot be more than two times the caster's level, but this effective level for this purpose can be modified by Thaumaturgic Circles and Sacrifices — see below.

Step two

The caster must make a saving throw versus Magic. Failing this saving throw means a more powerful creature than anticipated might come through the tear in the fabric of reality, which can have dire consequences for all present.

Step three

The creature's form and powers will be randomly determined on the following tables, with different results altering the creature's basic stats.
Those default stats are: AC 8, 1 attack for 1d6 damage, Move 120' (ground), ML 10.
To determine the creature’s basic form, roll 1d12 if the original casting save was made, 1d20 if it was not.

Form

If an Abstract Form (20) is rolled, ignore the rest of the steps and go straight to the particular Abstract Form description below.

Each basic form that is not from the Abstract Forms category will have a number of additional features. The base Hit Dice (HD) of the creature determines the die type used to determine the additional features. The base Hit Dice of the creature that the caster wished to summon determines the die type used to determine additional features as follows:

Roll the indicated die type… This is the Base Number. Roll that die again. If the new roll is less than the Base Number, then roll an appendage on the following table. Roll again and keep adding appendages until a new roll greater than, or equal to, the previous roll is made.

Step four

To determine the number of powers that a creature has, use the base Hit Dice of the creature that the caster wished to summon to determine which die type to use according to the following table:

Roll the indicated die type… This is the Base Number. Roll that die again. If the initial saving throw in Step Two was successful, the entity has a special power if the second roll is less than the Base Number. Roll again and keep adding special powers until a new roll greater than, or equal to, the previous roll is made. However, if the initial saving throw was failed, a new power is gained on a roll less than, or equal to, the Base Number, so the creature will have a greater chance to have more powers than if the casting was more controlled. If a 1 is rolled, however, no further rolls can be made.

The possible powers of a summoned entity can be randomly determined on the following table. Reroll any duplicate results.

1. AC -2d6

2. AC -1d10

3. AC -1d12

4. AC -1d12, immune to normal weapons

5. AC -1d20

6. AC -1d4

7. AC -1d6

8. AC -1d6, immune to normal weapons

9. AC -1d8

10. AC -1d8, immune to normal weapons

11. Animate Dead (at will)

12. Blurred (always on, first attack against creature always misses, otherwise -2 AC)

13. Bonus Attack (if initial attack hits, opportunity for another attack)

14. Bonus Damage on Great Hit (does one greater die damage on critical hit)

15. Chaos (at will, one at a time)

16. Cloudkill (at will, one at a time)

17. Cold Attack (ranged, HDd6 damage)

18. Confusion (on a successful hit)

19. Continuing Damage (after a hit, victim takes one die less damage each Round until creature leaves or is killed)

20. Damage Sphere (all within 15' take 1d6 damage per Round)

21. Darkness (at will, one at a time)

22. Detect Invisibility (always on)

23. Drain Ability Score (on a successful hit)

24. Duo-Dimension (always on, but does not take extra damage)

25. Electrical Attack (ranged, HDd6 damage)

26. Energy Drain (on a successful hit)

27. ESP (always on)

28. Explosion

29. Feeblemind (on a successful hit)

30. Fire Attack (ranged, HDd6 damage)

31. Gaseous Form (at will)

32. Globe of Invulnerability (always on self)

33. Grapple

34. Haste (always on self)

35. Immune to Cold

36. Immune to Electricity

37. Immune to Fire

38. Immune to Magic

39. Immune to Metal

40. Immune to Normal Weapons

41. Immune to Physical Attacks

42. Immune to Wood

43. Impregnates (victims hit must save versus Poison or carry a thing)

44. Incendiary Cloud (at will, one at a time)

45. Lost Dweomer

46. Magic Drain (on a successful hit)

47. Maze (on a successful hit)

48. Memory Wipe (on a successful hit, but no other damage)

49. Mimicry (can duplicate sounds and voices it has heard)

50. Mind Control (at will, one at a time)

51. Mirror Image (always on)

52. Move Earth (at will)

53. Multiple Attacks (additional 1d3 attacks)

54. Paralysis (on a successful hit)

55. Pernicious Wounds (do not naturally heal)

56. Phantasmal Force (at will, one at a time)

57. Phantasmal Psychedelia (at will, one at a time)

58. Phantasmal Supergoria (at will, one at a time)

59. Phasing (can move through solid objects)

60. Plant Death (all vegetation dies within 10' x HD)

61. Poison (on a successful hit)

62. Polymorph Other (on a successful hit)

63. Prismatic Sphere (at will)

64. Prismatic Spray (at will)

65. Prismatic Wall (at will, one at a time)

66. Psionic Attack (auto-hit, 1d6 damage)

67. Psionic Scream (auto hit in 30' radius area, 1d6 damage + victims must save versus Magic or be Slowed)

68. Radiation Attack

69. Radioactive

70. Ranged Attack

71. Regenerate (regains 1d3 Wounds a Round)

72. Reverse Gravity (at will, one at a time)

73. Silence (always on in 15' area)

74. Slow (once every ten Rounds)

75. Spell Turning (always on)

76. Spellcasting (as Magic-User of 2d6 levels – random spells)

77. Spore Cloud (all in area must save versus Poison or become infested)

78. Stinking Cloud (continuous around creature)

79. Stone Shape (at will)

80. Summon (as per this spell, no miscast, creatures under control of this creature, not original caster)

81. Swallow Whole (on a natural 20 or hitting by 10 or more)

82. Symbol (one type, randomly determined, at will)

83. Telekinesis (at will)

84. Teleportation (at will)

85. Time Stop

86. Transmute Flesh to Stone (on successful hit)

87. Transmute Rock to Mud (at will)

88. Valuable Innards (worth 500 sp × HD)

89. Ventriloquism (at will)

90. Victims Rise as Undead

91. Vulnerable to Cold (takes +1 damage per die)

92. Vulnerable to Cold Iron (takes +1 damage per die)

93. Vulnerable to Electricity (takes +1 damage per die)

94. Vulnerable to Fire (takes +1 damage per die)

95. Vulnerable to Metal (takes +1 damage per die)

96. Vulnerable to Physical Attacks (takes +1 damage per die)

97. Vulnerable to Silver (takes +1 damage per die)

98. Vulnerable to Wood (takes +1 damage per die)

99. Wall of Fire (at will, one at a time)

100. Web (at will, one at a time)

Step Five

The Domination roll requires two 1d20 rolls, one on behalf of the caster, the other on behalf of the summoned entity. The caster's level, Thaumaturgic Circle Modifiers, and Sacrifice modifiers are added to his roll. The creature's Hit Dice is added to its roll, and it also receives +1 to the roll for every Power it has.

Domination Roll Results

• If the Magic-User wins, the margin of victory determines how many d10s to roll to determine how many Rounds the creature will be under the caster's control. The caster must concentrate on controlling the creature for this period of time, and if the caster's concentration is broken (by being damaged, or casting another spell, for instance), there must be another Domination roll to determine if the creature will remain under control. This second roll can only confirm the original term of control, not extend it, and at most the creature can only win a basic victory in this second contest. The creature returns to its dimension when this time ends.

• If the Magic-User wins by a Great Margin (equal to, or greater than, 5 + creature’s Hit Dice + the number of its Powers), the caster can demand a longer service from the creature without needing to consciously direct it. The details of this service must be communicated in a clear and succinct manner.

• If the caster wins by a margin of 19 or more (or double a Great Margin), the creature is bound permanently in our world, and under the complete control of the caster, with no direct concentration required to maintain this control.

• If the creature wins the Domination roll, it will simply lash out, attempting to kill and maim all living creatures while it is stable in this reality (a number of Rounds equal to d10 × the margin it won the Domination contest, minimum number of Rounds equal to its Hit Dice).

• If the creature wins by a Great Margin (equal to, or greater than, 5 + Magic-User's Hit Dice + Sacrifice + Thaumaturgic Circle modifiers), the caster is completely at the mercy of the creature, mind, body, and soul. Roll 1d6 and consult the Dominating Creature table below to determine what happens.

• If the creature wins the roll by 19 or more (or double a Great Margin), it must make a 1d20 roll. On a 1–19, it is empowered by energy from its own dimension and multiplies its Hit Dice by 1d4+1. Re-roll its powers using its new Hit Dice as a base. It will then go on a killing rampage.

• If this extra roll is a 20, the barrier between realities is sundered, and innumerable monstrosities begin dropping through. Hundreds of them will come through in the first hour, then about a hundred a day for the next week, then just a few each day. All will be hostile, as their passage to this world is accidental and our reality will be unfamiliar and unpleasant to their sensibilities.

• If the domination roll is a tie, then roll again, but this time, the caster uses a d12 instead of a d20, and Thaumaturgic and Sacrifice modifiers do not apply.

Dominating Creature

1. The creature retreats to its own reality, bringing the caster back with it. The caster's physical body is destroyed, but his mental essence exists forever in misery.

2. The creature's presence in this universe is stable and it will not be drawn back to its world. The caster's will is replaced with that of the creature, and the character becomes an NPC. If the creature and the Magic-User together have the strength to destroy everyone and everything in their immediate surroundings, they will do so. If there is doubt about their ability to accomplish this, the creature and caster will retreat and begin their long-range campaign to bring about Hell on Earth.

3. The creature holds the rift open longer than it was supposed to be; 1d10 more creatures with Hit Dice ranging from 1 to the summoned creature's Hit Dice, flood into the physical world. They will attempt to slay and consume every living thing.

4. The creature and the Magic-User merge to form one being. It can switch between the two physical forms at will, and in either form possesses all the powers of both beings. The creature is in control.

5. The creature explodes on contact with our universe, disrupting all sense of self and identity. All human or human-like characters within 120' are randomly switched into new bodies, with the levels and class abilities of the new body (all bodies must change, even if a random roll puts a character back in their original body). Characters retain their previous Charisma, Intelligence, and Wisdom, and take on the Constitution, Dexterity, Strength, Class, Level, and Hit Points of the new body. All present are now Chaotic in alignment, and any Clerics lose their Cleric spells.

6. The creature is not at all interested in being in “reality,” nor does it care about anyone present. It is, however, supremely vexed at being called through the veil by a piece of meat. It will take one of the caster's comrades as compensation. The caster must choose one of his fellow player characters, and then that character will simply cease to be. If the caster delays, or chooses anyone else than a player character, then all the player characters in the area will be winked out of existence… and the caster will be left alone.

Thaumaturgic Circles and Sacrifices

Using Thaumaturgic Circles and offering Sacrifice while casting the spell makes the portal between worlds more interesting, attracting greater creatures to the summoning point and so allowing them to be summoned. It also numbs the consciousness of these creatures, such as it is, allowing a Magic-User to more easily control greater creatures.

Each full 2 Hit Dice of sacrifices gives the caster a +1 bonus to the Domination roll, or 1 Hit Die for a +1 bonus if the sacrifice is the same race as the caster. To count as a sacrifice, the victim must be helpless at the time of the slaying and purposefully slain for just this purpose. Combat deaths do not count.

Thaumaturgic Circles are magical diagrams (or mathematical equations which are nonsense in our world, but important in some other) used to focus magical energy and give the caster greater control over his summoning. The diagrams are not enough, though. The materials used to draw and decorate the circles are crucial to communicating their information to the summoned creatures. 500 sp worth of materials is required to invest in a circle for every +1 bonus to the caster's Domination roll, and this is consumed with every casting.

Abstract Forms

1. Collective Unconscious Desire for Suicide
   The biological instinct to survive and the intrinsic arrogant assumption of importance in all self-aware beings merely delude the mind about the ultimate truth about the universe: It hates you because you exist and it wants you to die, and sooner or later it will kill you and you will turn to dust. Yet deep below conscious thought, the self knows this to be true and longs to satisfy the universe's desires. The sum of this desire in all beings has become independently sentient in another realm, and with the casting of this spell, the membrane between worlds is sundered and the submerged living thought fights to become an active idea.

   Everyone that the caster is aware of in the immediate area (including the caster) must make a saving throw versus Magic every Round. If they fail, instead of their desired action (even if it was no action at all), they will attempt to harm themselves in the most severe manner possible. If there is a convenient cliff or spiked pit, a character will fling himself over the edge. If he possesses poison, he will drink it. If nothing obvious is available, a character will attack himself with his weapons, doing 1d6 damage each Round with no roll needed to hit. Those with no other options will simply slam their heads into the wall or floor, doing 1d2 damage each Round. Only when all affected characters successfully save in a Round and/or are unconscious or completely incapacitated will the effect pass.

2. Disruption of the Universal Order
   All of reality is structured by laws and rules which allow it to function, all administered by a petty tyrant, but a disruption of the normal flow of time and causality changed this, putting a new petty tyrant in charge in a way that threatens the cohesion of creation. The Referee must randomly select one player in the group and hand over all adventure materials to that player, who is now the Referee of the group. The previous Referee must then create a brand new, 0xp character. The new Referee must continue the current adventure being played and run it impartially. If the ex-Referee is able to level up his character by the end of the adventure, then everything returns to normal. If he does not, the temporary Referee's character gains a level, and a different random player becomes Referee and will run the next adventure. The former Referee will regain his seat when either his character levels up or he is randomly selected to be the Referee again. If the ex-Referee's character dies before the end of an adventure, then every character (except for the temporary Referee's) loses one level, and all magic items carried by the party (except for those carried by the temporary Referee's player) permanently lose their enchantment.

3. Fear of a Blackened Planet
   When is the end of the world? Tomorrow? Next year? In a thousand years? Today? What will cause it? Will pestilence scrape every last living thing from the planet? Will it be the Last Judgment of the creator? A magical blasphemy of great power? Will the almighty sun burn off our water and air in a thousand thousand thousand years' time? Everyone knows that nothing lasts forever, but who knows when and how the end will come? Our reality is governed by physical laws mutable only by magic and divine will. Yet other realities are different. In some of those, imagination and thought create reality.

   The combined sum of mankind's apocalyptic fears will stream through the portal between worlds, infecting all living creatures within 240'. Every such creature must make a saving throw against Paralyzation or fall into a catatonic state for the next 2d100 weeks. Catatonic characters are conscious, will walk if physically led, but will take no action on their own. They will not defend themselves if attacked, nor will they eat, drink, or remove clothing before relieving themselves. Those who succeed their saving throw will begin to hoard survival materials—food and water, mostly, but also weapons and other gear that would be useful to living alone in the wilderness. All characters will seek to gain and hoard such materials by any means necessary. If they already have some such material to hand and are weaker than others who seek it, they will flee. Animals will be slain for food and fur, as will rivals for their precious resources. When no rivals are nearby, a character will take his supplies and go as far into the wilderness as possible to avoid other scroungers. Characters can make a saving throw versus Magic after every damaging blow they strike against another of the same race to shrug off the effects, or if alone can make a saving throw weekly.

4. Imaginary Equation, Incorrect yet True
   Make have is the to and of them meaning numbers power order no sufficient no. 1 ≠ 1. a = b, b = c, c > a. 0 > ∞. f ≠ f. a + a = a. (x + 1)² = x. To act player must roll dice not his own, multiple dice only multiple owners, roll unimportant just pile of dice with most owners wins. Count sideways, subtract behind. No decision = no action. All actions accompanied by spontaneous spellcasting of 1d4 level random spell. Random targets, in hindsight calculated. Clerics retain faculties, keeps time slipping, must kill the stalwart stabilitist to stabilize. Kill until it is dead. First to next sleep dies as brain flees.

5. Lament of a Mother for her Dead Child
   In a world where the religious consider it their duty to slay those that have slightly different beliefs, in a world where plague and disease are commonplace and skilled medical care is rare, in a world where rulers believe that they have true dominion over their subjects by birthright, in a world where eldritch scholars crack the shell between worlds to summon unknown things to do their bidding, it is sometimes difficult to remember that life indeed has value. If you ever need be reminded of this, ask a mother who has had to bury her son.

   Piercing the cosmic reservoir where the sum of this feeling has collected will fill all in the area with an acute sense of guilt and disgust concerning violence and conflict. Everyone involved will lay down their arms and cease hostility. None of those present can ever take any action which will result in harming any of the others present. A successful saving throw versus Magic must be made if an affected character wants to take an offensive action against anyone else, even if that person is himself being violent. However, these restrictions only apply to those of the same race as the character in question.

6. Lust of a Betrayed Lover
   Thoughts are not formless things. Every thought we have, every impulse we feel, is a creature from another realm leaking through the fabric of existence. Our personalities, our philosophies, are formed by the coincidence of which of these entities we are more attuned to at the random periods when we are most impressionable. Our proclivity for individuality and need for personalities to make that happen enrages Those From Beyond. It steals parts of them and their realms, it fills their existence with the feedback of thoughts and contemplations which in their world were never meant to be intertwined, without the context, without the knowledge of temporal cause-and-effect—time does not move there as it does here. Imagine every moment of an intense love affair turned bad, from the first meeting to the last bitter parting, separated and then experienced in random order. And then some foolish mage meddling with forces that he neither understands nor can control, pulls that collection of moments into our world. People are going to die.

   All characters within the local area (to be determined by the situation) roll 1d6. Those that roll a 1 are at fault for the situation. All characters not at fault will become allies in the drive to hunt down, subdue, and mutilate the genitals of all who are at fault. After this is done, all who are not at fault must make a saving throw versus Magic. Those who fail will seek to kill the parties at fault, and all who stand in their way of doing so. The effect ends only when all of the characters at fault have been dealt with, although they will not be hostile with any of the characters present who are not at fault, even if they were hostile or longtime enemies before Summon was cast.

   If nobody is at fault, then things will get ugly. All characters become obsessed and fixated on one random other character in the vicinity, and will attempt to have sex with that character—at any cost. The character will first attempt to subdue the subject of his obsession, to unconscious if he can or death if he must, before having his way. Male-female pairings will result in conception, and 10% of male-male pairings will as well. The offspring will be an otherworldly creature—use these Summon charts to determine exactly what, assuming a 1 HD creature—which will do 1d10 damage to a woman carrying it as it is born, 2d10 to a man. The effect ends for a character when his lust is sated.

7. Memories of Pre-Conception
   Do you remember anything from before you were born? What about before you were conceived? Is your essence simply a result of biological forces which go into motion as your father's sperm penetrates your mother's egg? Or is that intrusion itself a cosmic event, opening a gateway and trapping a free spirit into a mortal form? What were you before you were you? You were nothing really; nothing important or else you would not have been weak enough to be trapped in a physical shell. You were a minor element of a greater reality, but without the gracious ignorance of insignificance that mortality grants a being. You had no self, no will, while at the same time being able to feel. These memories stream through the existential wall, reminding everyone just who they really are. Or perhaps it is a lie as certain parties take advantage of a person's inability to conceptualize nonexistence.

   Everyone present needs to roll 1d20, Wisdom modifiers apply. If there is a tie for the highest roll, those tied will fight to determine the true high roller. The highest rolling character has been infiltrated by a (slightly) greater entity which sees an opportunity to rule. This character retains all intelligence, while all other characters are reduced to an effectively mindless state while still retaining all physical and class abilities. They will obey all orders given to them by the leader character and completely disregard all features of the material world unless explicitly instructed to interact with them. The effects will last for as many weeks as the difference between the character's d20 roll and the leader's d20 roll. When all followers are free of the influence, the leader character will return to normal as well.

8. Regret for Unchosen Possibilities
   Every decision you make, even one so inconsequential as which side of a piece of toast to first bite into, splits the time-line. As you continue making decisions, alternate versions of you have made different decisions and their lives play out differently as a result. An infinite number of timelines have been created by each and every person and creature that exists. And this result brings the knowledge of all those alternate timelines crashing into the brains of all present. While there will be momentary relief at the confirmation of most decisions bringing about a better life than what might have been, there will be hundreds, thousands, even millions of alternate timelines which resulted in greater success and greater glory. The negative consequences of choosing the life being led will be made plain.

   This will result in every character present losing all confidence in themselves and second-guessing every action that they are going to take. The resulting failures only further degrade their confidence. Every character nearby gains a –1 penalty to every roll he has to make. Every time a roll is failed, the penalty increases one point for the individual character who failed the roll. Succeeding in a roll does not break the penalty, just prevents it from advancing. Only by making a perfect roll (before modifiers) on a single die no smaller than a d10, for example, rolling 10 on a d10, 12 on a d12, and 20 on a d20, will the character regain enough confidence such that all penalties end.

9. Space Between the Ticks of a Clock
   All of the time between counted time exists... somewhere. Here it comes crashing through like a wave, disrupting local time. The Referee rolls 1d10, and every character within 120' of the caster needs a d10 rolled for them as well. Begin counting down from 10 as if this is Initiative for a combat Round, but only the characters that rolled 10 get to act (if more than one character rolled the same number, run this as a regular combat Round with Initiative with only those that rolled 10 involved). For the next Segment (say, 9), all of the characters who rolled that number and all the characters that had rolled a higher number have a normal combat Round. Continue the countdown down to 1. The characters that rolled the same number as the Referee are directly attacked by the lost time—roll a number of d6s equal to the Segment number (each character gets a separate roll) and add it to their age. If the time gets to attack at least one character, then the entire effect ends after the countdown gets to 1. If the time attacks on a Segment that no one rolled, then the Referee must roll another d10 roll and do another iteration. Note that moving outside of the 120' area does not end the effect nor is a new character entering the 120' area caught up in the effect—it is the characters in the initial area that are affected, not the area itself. The entire 10-to-1 sequence (or sequences) takes place before the next Segment of regularly rolled Initiative—less than a second. As long as the sequence does not end, it is quite possible for a character to move around and cause great mischief to those not similarly affected.

10. World Under Water
    Instead of summoning a creature, a portal was opened to a dimension of infinite liquid. Whether this liquid is something mundane like water or something more exotic is up to the Referee. The sea level will begin to rise immediately, worldwide, at a rate of 10' per Turn until the water reaches a level 50' higher than the caster was when the spell was cast. Once it reaches this level, it will drain away at a rate of 1d10 feet per day.

    The Referee is of course free to add his own Forms, Appendages, and Powers to the tables, replace or remove certain powers, or devise his own unique tables to suit his individual campaigns, as well as invent specific Thaumaturgic Circles which have more specific effects.

    Summon spells to call specific beings can be researched (or discovered). They will be first level spells but must be researched as if they were a level equal to the summoned creature’s Hit Dice + Number of Powers.