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Summon Minion

Type: Control • Action: Standard • Range: Close • Duration: Sustained • Cost: 5 points per rank

Under the Hood: Summon

Summon Minion is a useful effect; it doesn't cost much to summon up a gang of minions, giving you a lot of effective actions per round! Gamemasters may wish to limit large numbers of minions (summoned or otherwise) to villains and non-player characters. Player character minions are subject to the series power level limits. There are also practical matters limiting just how much your minions can do at any one time.

First, directing your minions to do something requires communication, such as talking which, is generally a free action but limited in how much you can say during a turn. If you want to issue different commands to different minions, then you must communicate with each of them, that is per command. So it's easier to tell all of your minions "attack!" than it is to issue complex commands to each one in the midst of combat.

Second, Gamemasters may wish to have groups of minions use team checks (see Team Checks in The Basics) rather than rolling their actions separately. For example, instead of making eight attacks for eight different minions, the GM has seven minions aid the eighth, giving that minion a +5 bonus. This makes groups of minions more effective and efficient overall, but keeps the number of dice rolls to a minimum. GMs should keep in mind the limits on the number of opponents that can team up on a character at once.

Gamemasters may wish to limit the use of the Heroic extra for Summon Minion. Treating minions the same as heroes can greatly slow down combat, especially if there are more than a couple of them, since it becomes that much harder to take them out of a fight.

You can call upon another creature--a minion--to aid you. This creature is created as an independent character with character points equal to your summon rank. A summoned minion is limited to a Power Level equal to the rank of the Summon Minion effect used to create it divided by 15 rounded down but a minimum of 1. It is subject to the normal power level limits, and cannot have minions of its own, either from this effect or the Minions advantage.

Summon Minion can't have permanent duration, see the Minion advantage instead.

You can summon your minion automatically as a standard action; it appears in the nearest open space beside you. Minions have their own initiative (see Initiative in the Gameplay Rules) and act starting on the round after you summon them. Summoned minions are dazed, taking only a standard action each round. Directing a minion to do something is a free action (talking) for you, but minions generally do as they are told until a task is completed.

You always have the same minion unless you apply the Variable Type modifier, allowing you to summon different minions. Your minion automatically has a helpful attitude and does its best to aid you and obey your commands.

Incapacitated minions disappear. They recover normally and you cannot summon an incapacitated minion until it has completely recovered. Your summoned minions also vanish if your effect is not maintained, or is countered or nullified. For more information and rules regarding Minions.

Note that the minion isn't created, instead it is somewhere else and is teleported to you. It is possible to use this to summon a minion you already own. Minions are replaced in a normal manner upon death.

You may use this to summon anyone, if the target doesn't have too many character points, but if you try to summon someone who is unwilling and is not your minion then they get a defense check (typically Will) against (DC equal to Summon Minion rank) to avoid being summoned. If they successfully resist, you cannot attempt to summon them again in that scene without using extra effort (same as the Resistible modifier).

If you succeed at summoning an unwilling character and you have the Controlled modifier then the character makes another defense check against an Affliction effect dazed, compelled, then controlled as Fort or Will vs summon rank, the character recovers from the conditions normally.

Minions As Descriptors

Some effects might seem to be Summon Minion, calling up minions to do things for the character, but are actually better treated as descriptors of other effects. Take for example a shaman able to "summon" various spirits to perform magical tasks. By calling on particular spirits of the winds, he can attack a foe with an Affliction that "steals" their breath. Is the "wind spirit" a minion? Technically, no, it's just a personified effect, since it cannot be attacked, interacted with, or do anything other than create the Affliction effect. It can be Nullified, but so can any effect. The same is true of a character summoning a "minion" that acts as a shield, providing Protection but doing nothing else.

Consider carefully whether or not the particular effect a player wants really needs Summon Minion, or if the "minion" in question is just a descriptor for another effect, no different than "heat ray" is a descriptor for a Damage effect or "sticky webbing" is a descriptor for a hindering Affliction; in neither case does the character need Summon Heat Ray or Summon Webbing to create the desired powers!

Extras

Active: Your minions are particularly independent and do not have the dazed condition, having a full set of actions each round. +1 cost per rank.

Automatic Dismiss on Death: If a summoned minion dies then the effect duration ends instead and the minion is stable with -2 HP away and recovering. +1 cost per rank.

Controlled: Your minions all have the controlled condition (see Controlled in The Basics). They have no free will of their own and are completely under your direction. The summoned minions do not get any check to resist this and it lasts as long as the Summon Minion's duration. +1 cost per rank.

Heroic: The creatures you summon are not subject to the minion rules, but treated like normal non-player characters (aka sidekicks). Additionally, they do not have the dazed condition and take a full set of actions each round. Do not apply the Active modifier to Heroic minions, as this modifier already includes it. Gamemasters should be particularly cautious about allowing this extra for Summon Minion effects used by player characters, especially ones summoning more than one minion. +2 cost per rank.

Horde: If you have Multiple Helpers (see following) you may take a standard action to summon any number of minions up to your maximum amount. You are vulnerable until the start of your next turn when summoning a horde. The Distracting flaw is built into this modifier and can't be applied again. +1 cost per rank.

Mental Link: You have a mental link with your minions, allowing you to communicate with them and issue orders telepathically like the Communication Link effect (see Senses effects). Flat +1 point.

Multiple Helpers: You can have more than one minion or sidekick. Each application of this increases your total number of helpers by 1 and doubles the cost. So, for example, with Summon Minion 3, you have a single 3-point minion for 15 points. With Multiple Helpers 1 (cost +2), you have two 3-point minions for 21 points, with Multiple Helpers 2 (cost +4), three minions for 27 points, with Multiple Helpers 3 (cost +8), four minions for 39 points, and so forth. Each Helper needs to be the same unless you also have the Variable Type extra. +(2^applications) cost per rank.

Sacrifice: When you are hit with an effect requiring a defense check, you can spend a victory point to shift it to one of your minions instead. The minion must be within range of the effect and a viable target. Needless to say, this is not a particularly heroic ability, it might even be considered evil. Therefore, the GM may wish to restrict this modifier to villains or non-player characters. Flat +1 point.

Variable Type: Minions are normally identical in terms of traits, although they may differ cosmetically. With this modifier you can summon different minions of a general type (like elementals, birds, fish, etc.), or even a broad type (like animals, demons, humanoids, etc.). General Type: +1 cost per rank. Broad Type: +2 cost per rank.

Flaws

Attitude: Your summoned minions are less than cooperative: indifferent or even unfriendly. You can use interaction skills and other effects to get your summoned minions to cooperate, but success is by no means assured! Indifferent: -1 cost per rank. Unfriendly: -2 cost per rank.

Resistible: Your minions get an appropriate defense check (typically Will) against (DC 10 + Summon Minion rank) to avoid being summoned. If they successfully resist, you cannot attempt to summon them again in that scene without using extra effort. -1 cost per rank.