A History of Magic: Conjuration Subschools and Selected Spells (D&D)

Contents

Previously: The History of Conjuration

Subschools of Conjuration: Creation, Summoning, Teleportation

Creation: A creation spell manipulates matter to create an object or creature in the place the spellcaster designates. If the spell has a duration other than instantaneous, magic holds the creation together, and when the spell ends, the conjured creature or object vanishes without a trace. If the spell has an instantaneous duration, the created object or creature is merely assembled through magic. It lasts indefinitely and does not depend on magic for its existence. Tenser’s Floating Disk, Bigby’s hands, acid, poison.

Summoning: A summoning spell instantly brings a creature or object to a place you designate. If the spell has a duration other than instantaneous when the spell ends or is dispelled the summoned creature or object is instantly sent back to where it came from. One result is such spells often have protections involved for the target of the summons, keeping their spirit from being destroyed if they are slain and restoring them to full health when returned all as part of the ongoing magic. Some summoning spells, referred to as Calling spells, provide none of these protections for the target and caster. Generally these spells have an instantaneous duration, locating a distant subject as normally and then physically teleport them to their new location without additional safeguards and bindings.

Teleportation: A teleportation spell instantaneously transports one or more creatures or objects a great distance. The most powerful of these spells can cross planar boundaries. Unless otherwise noted teleportation spells are like calling spells; the transportation is one-way and not dispellable.

Selected Spells:

Summon Stone

Conjuration cantrip (creation)

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: Touch

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

You create a piece of unworked, non-magical, generally worthless rock no larger than your fist.
You can double the size of this rock or the number of rocks created when you reach 5th level (2 rocks or double the size), 11th level (4 rocks or up to approximately the size of your head), and 17th level (8 rocks or up to approximately the size of your torso).

Conjure Minor Elemental

1st level Conjuration (summoning)

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 5 feet

Components: V, S M

Duration: Concentration, up to 10 minutes

You summon a single elemental creature of challenge rating 1/2 or less that appears in your space or an unoccupied spaces that you can see within range. The summoned creature is friendly to you and your companions and disappears when it drops to 0 hit points or when the spell ends. It obeys any verbal commands that you issue to it (no action required by you). If you don’t issue any commands, it defends itself from hostile creatures, but otherwise take no actions. In combat, the summoned creature has its own turn.

Next: The History of Transmutation

~~*~~

Summon Stone was one of the first spells that I created for this project, along with the proto-flame bolt. I've already talked about how the point of these spells is to show an evolution of the underlying concepts, not to be particularly useful. However, that doesn't mean that these spells don't have use. For example, the ability to create essentially unlimited amounts of unworked, mundane, cheap rock is unlikely to break the game. On the other hand, this is exactly the sort of very simple thing that both underscores the conjurer as a "creator of things from nothing" and provides a creative player a tool which, if they can find creative applications, becomes more powerful than the sum of its parts.

I originally wanted the conjure minor elemental spell to be a cantrip, part of my intent to make cantrip forms of each of the schools major components. Summoning is one of the trademarks of the conjuration school. In fact, prior to 3e, the school was called Conjuration/Summoning. But, for all the reasons that the DMG explicitly says that cantrips should not heal, cranked up to 11, that just wouldn't work. Meanwhile, this is what drove the creation of the elemental wisps, my contribution to filling this gaping hole in the monsters available both for DMs and summoners.