Since I reviewed Arcania of Legend : Blood Magic I was very intrigued by the summoning rules. I think the potential to include demons, devils and other strange things is great, and must be exploited.
I think to get the intended result the demons and their otherworldly ilk should be not only powerful but strange, unique and characteristic. Thankfully we have a lots of material to work with.
I think the random monster creation system provided in the book is good, but there are so many established types of strange beings in fantasy and mythology that we shouldn't pass the opportunity to use them. Things like Balors, Succubi or denizens of the Cthulhu mythos should be included in the game, for two reasons : players could instantly relate to them, and by providing ready-to-use summonable monsters we could help the Game Masters if they need a monster instantly.
So I'm thinking about writing a whole book of monsters for the Summon skill from small to epic levels with references (monsters by type, monsters by Mana Point cost), and house rules. Some of them could deviate from the core rules slightly, but not much. (for example the succubus below has a winged biped form)
I'm asking you now : is anybody interested in a book like this, or should I abandon the project ?
As examples I provide some already finished materials below, including a house rule and the stats of the Succubus and Incubus.
Optional Rule : Outsiders and Common Magic
I don't know what you think, but I find it strange that even a common orc warrior or a village blacksmith could use some common magic, while demons are unable to do the same. Of course, they could receive magical resistance and sorcery spells, but it's not appropiate for every demon or other outsider. So I think they should receive some common magic as anybody else.
Rule : A summoned creature have points to spend on Common Magic spells equal to it's POW. No single spell could have a higher magnitude than POW divided by three.
Succubus (Demon)
The Succubus is a non-combatant demon, but this doesn't mean that she is not dangerous. The Weaken ability could help her in a fight, but her real strenght is manipulation, which is bot represented by her high charisma, skills, and Dominate (sorcery spell) and Alluring (feature) powers. Since they are able to take humanoid forms often when somebody recognize the danger they represent it's already too late.
They are very useful as diplomats, manipulators, spies or even as assassins.
STR 1D6+6 (10) CON 1D6+6 (10) SIZ 1D6+6 (10) INT 1D6+12 (16) POW 1D6+12 (16) DEX 1D6 +12 (16) CHA 1D6 +18 (22) Hit locations HP/AP 1-3 Right Leg 4/2 4-6 Left Leg 4/2 7-8 Abdomen 5/2 9-10 Chest 6/2 11-12 Right Wing 3/2 13-14 Left Wing 3/2 15-16 Arm 3/2 17-18 Arm 3/2 19-20 Head 4/2Combat Actions 3 Damage modifier -1D2 Magic Points 16 Movement 8m (10m flying) Strike Rank 16
Properties
Physical Apperance : Special (Biped - Winged) Natural weapons : Horn (1D4), None (uses weapons) Additional AP 2 (strong skin) Magic Resistance 3 Features : Alluring, Weakening
Mystical Abilities Dominate (Human), Spell Resistance, Shapechange (Demons to Humanoids) Skills : Dance 98%, Influence 114%, Insight 82%, Persistence 82%, Resilience 80%, Sing 88%, Stealth 92%, Courtesy 88%, Seduction 88% Combat styles : Horn 76%, Melee Weapons 76%, Ranged Weapons 82%Summoning : Abilitities 19 + Skills 15 + Protections 6 + Mystical abilities 3 + Features 2 = 45 Magic Points
Incubus (Demon)
The male version of the Succubus is much more powerful physically, but they are weaken in the magic and skills department. They are a little bit more aggressive, but this difference aside they act the same way.
STR 1D6+12 (16) CON 1D6+12 (16) SIZ 1D6+12 (16) INT 1D6+12 (16) POW 1D6+6 (10) DEX 1D6 +12 (16) CHA 1D6 +18 (22) Hit locations HP/AP 1-3 Right Leg 7/3 4-6 Left Leg 7/3 7-8 Abdomen 8/3 9-10 Chest 9/3 11-12 Right Wing 6/3 13-14 Left Wing 6/3 15-16 Arm 6/3 17-18 Arm 6/3 19-20 Head 7/3 Combat Actions 3 Damage modifier +1D4 Magic Points 10 Movement 8m (10m flying) Strike Rank 16 Properties Physical Apperance : Special (Biped - Winged) Natural weapons : Horn (1D6), None (uses weapons) Additional AP 2 (strong skin) Magic Resistance 3 Features : Alluring, Weakening Mystical Abilities Dominate (Human), Spell Resistance, Shapechange (Demons to Humanoids) Skills : Dance 98%, Influence 104%, Insight 76%, Persistence 80%, Resilience 82%, Sing 82%, Stealth 82%, Courtesy 88%, Seduction 88% Combat styles : Horn 82%, Melee Weapons 82%, Ranged Weapons 82% Summoning : Abilitities 21 + Skills 13 + Protections 6 + Mystical abilities 3 + Features 2 = 45 Magic PointsZoltán "Cain" Mészáros