Back to the Solar discussion...
The real argument against the current Solar abilities is that it is effectively another player character (or better). They have (by far) the best AI of any summon (I can't speak to the lvl 30 PM summon), they cast logical spells in battle and they can hit about anything with high damage. They are given to high level mages or clerics who are effective characters themselves, who then are able to summon another melee component that rivals a high level melee player character. I know the solar is capped at level 25, but I would love to see any level 25 build, and I man ANY, go up against a Solar. Additionally, thier spot ability is well beyond thier level. Their balance just surpasses their level. They are simply way out of sync with what they are supposed to be...a support summon for an already effective player character. I have played a mage with a solar. I know, and anyone who has played or fought against a solar knows that this is true, whether they admit it or not.
As for balance against a PM summon:
As stated before, the PM summon is his/her offense. The PMs spells are good for buffs and little else. If the devs want to start including PM levels as caster levels, this will change the basis of the PM himself and would not require summon tweaks. I personally don't think this fits the PM back story. On the other hand, if the PM is to stay as is, the summon should progress in a more linear fashion and must be the primary component of the build. The PM is great defensively, but the AB is not modest, it is non-existent. The summon IS the sword/offensive spells of the PM. In essence, the summon is the PM, the player character is typically an observer in this build, and the summon must support this. This direction of tweaking seems more in line with the PM back story...he is supposed to be a necromancer. His power is in his summoning ability.
dragon knight summons
Because it is my build and NOT YOURS!JesterOI wrote:Why would you make a PM using sorc levels?
Besides how are we supposed to test all the features in this beta if we all have the same builds. Perhaps if PMs and maybe even other prestige classes that have the special ability to summon undead/creatures/fiends were able to stack that ability with the actual summons spells this would make the other summons more worthwile. A PM that can actually control more then one undead at a time truly would be a master of the undead. Sorry I don't have anything insightfull about the Dragon Knight spells as my only true summoner is a PM.
MLoki