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{{flavour|The Summoner specialises in calling creatures from this and other worlds to give assistance. Although they can at first summon only very wimpy creatures, the more advanced summoning spells allow summoners to call on such powers as hydras and dragons.}}

Summoner is a background which focuses on creating [[summon]]s, creating magical monsters from thin air.

==Preferred Species==
[[Deep Elf]], [[Mountain Dwarf]], [[Merfolk]], [[Tengu]], [[Vine Stalker]], and [[Vampire]] are the recommended species if you pick a Summoner Background.

==Starting Equipment==
Some [[species]] may receive different items based on their unique restrictions.
*+0 [[robe]]
*[[Potion of magic]]

'''Available Spells:'''
*[[Summon Small Mammal]]
*[[Call Imp]]
*[[Call Canine Familiar]]
*[[Summon Blazeheart Golem]]
*[[Summon Lightning Spire]]

Summoners start with the [[Summon Small Mammal]] spell already memorised.
==Starting Skills and Stats==
These are adjusted by your species' [[aptitude]]s.
*[[Dodging]]: 2
*[[Stealth]]: 2
*[[Spellcasting]]: 2
*[[Summonings]]: 4

Choosing Summoner adds 7 to your starting [[Intelligence]] and 5 to your starting [[Dexterity]].

==Strategy==
Technically, Summoners never have to see a single fight. For many frailer species, this is an optimal thing to do. Summons in general are great; they soak up damage, block enemy line of fire, and you can replenish them for only an MP cost.

===Spell Details===
Summon Small Mammals was historically called "spammals"; Summoners should live that name out to the fullest. While recent versions of Crawl have strict summon limits, all that means is that you should use a wide repertoire of Summonings spells. Call Imp gives you a spear-wielding imp that can poke enemies from behind your spammals or a canine familiar. There's almost no downside to having all your conventional summons out at the same time. You can have up to two Small Mammals, and one of any other starting spell.

Blazeheart Golems and Lightning Spires should be handled with greater care. The former is prone to [[Inner Flame|exploding]], but the explosions are great at taking out strong early game enemies. Note: in order for a golem to do anything before turning into a [[blazeheart core]], you must stay adjacent to it. Lightning Spires are placed randomly in [[line of sight]], and stationary. But in exchange, it deals great damage; it can even [[doublezap]] in the right conditions. For example, when the spire, monster, and wall are all in a straight line (and you adjacent to said line).

===Tips and Tricks===
*Summons can be used to create space away from the enemy. For strong or fast monsters, you want as many summons as possible.
*Don't forget that you can command your summoned monsters using '''t''', compelling them to do useful things, such as proactively moving toward your foes, attacking a different enemy or retreating when they are hurt, rather than simply waiting for hostile monsters to approach. Using the t command will use up your turn, though.
*Summoners need to think carefully about the offensive spells they pick up if they intend to keep relying on their summons as well. [[Borgnjor's Vile Clutch]] and [[Ignition]] are examples of spells that offer area-of-effect damage without damaging your summons.
*Damaging your summons (such as attacking with '''v''') will immediately dispel them. This is great for when an inconvenient lightning spire gets in your way, but don't try this on lit golems. You can also just recast the spell, though that costs MP.

==History==
{{CBA|0.33|Summoners will start with [[Eringya's Surprising Crocodile]] and [[Summon Seismosaurus Egg]] instead of [[Summon Blazeheart Golem]] and [[Summon Lightning Spire]].}}
*Prior to [[0.31]], Summoners started with [[Summon Guardian Golem]] instead of [[Summon Blazeheart Golem]]. (Also, [[Call Canine Familiar]] was reworked this version, and [[Call Imp]] the version before.)
*In 0.29, most backgrounds were buffed; all Mage backgrounds gained a [[potion of magic]].
*Prior to [[0.28]], summoned creatures took up to half of your [[XP]], but many spells had a higher summon cap.
*Prior to [[0.27]], Summoners started with the [[book of Callings]], and also had [[Summon Ice Beast]].
*Prior to [[0.15]], Summoners started with 20 gold.
*Prior to [[0.14]], Summoners started with only 1 level of Spellcasting.

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[[Category:Backgrounds]]

Summoner - Revision history

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