# What happens to Summoned Monsters if caster dies?



## DrSpunj (Aug 15, 2002)

During this week's session the mages our party was fighting used (presumably) Summon Monster to sick half a dozen Apes on us.  We took out the head mage and eventually his flunkies as well.  A couple of the Apes were the last to fall.  At the end of the evening we started wondering whether the Apes should've disappeared when their caster was laid low.  I've just looked through a bit of PHB in the dying/death and spell durations sections and couldn't find anything on the subject, nor could I find any help in the SRD or FAQ.

Can someone please point out what I missed?  Or are the rules here ambiguous and therefore up to the DM?

I did find the rules about any spells the Summoned creatures cast end when they're time is up, but that wasn't that helpful 

Thanks ahead of time.

DrSpunj


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## the Jester (Aug 15, 2002)

Generally a spell or effect lasts as long as the duration says it does.  If there are special considerations it'll say so in the description.  I know some groups house rule this, but by the book (afaik) the summoned creatures stick around as long as the spell lasts.


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## hong (Aug 15, 2002)

DrSpunj said:
			
		

> *During this week's session the mages our party was fighting used (presumably) Summon Monster to sick half a dozen Apes on us.  We took out the head mage and eventually his flunkies as well.  A couple of the Apes were the last to fall.  At the end of the evening we started wondering whether the Apes should've disappeared when their caster was laid low.  I've just looked through a bit of PHB in the dying/death and spell durations sections and couldn't find anything on the subject, nor could I find any help in the SRD or FAQ.*




A summon monster spell is just like any other spell with a set duration. The death of the caster doesn't change anything. Some CRPGs like NWN have it so that summoned monsters disappear if their summoner dies, but that's a house rule.


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## DrSpunj (Aug 15, 2002)

*Re: Re: What happens to Summoned Monsters if caster dies?*



			
				hong said:
			
		

> *
> 
> A summon monster spell is just like any other spell with a set duration. The death of the caster doesn't change anything. Some CRPGs like NWN have it so that summoned monsters disappear if their summoner dies, but that's a house rule. *




Thanks for the replies.  This is what I thought but it was more a gut-feeling than remembering anything I'd read.  Is it actually stated anywhere directly in the rules that the spell goes on until it ends, or is it not addressed and therefore the working assumption is "since it doesn't say it stops, it must go on"?

Thanks.

DrSpunj


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## Eccles (Aug 15, 2002)

Sorry to slightly hijack the thread, but I've got a similar query that affects a druid I used to play.

The Summon Monster description mentions that at the end of the spell (or upon death) the creature summoned is thrown home again.

The Summon Creature spell doesn't have this.

So when my druid goes around summoning boars and wolves and the like and they get killed, then am I right in thinking that the bodies stay there?


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## Christian (Aug 15, 2002)

Eccles said:
			
		

> *Sorry to slightly hijack the thread, but I've got a similar query that affects a druid I used to play.
> 
> The Summon Monster description mentions that at the end of the spell (or upon death) the creature summoned is thrown home again.
> 
> ...




No. The Summon Nature's Ally spell descriptors are still Conjuration (Summoning). Per the school descriptions (this is from the SRD, but there's similar if not identical language in the PH):



> Summoning: The spell instantly brings a creature or object to a place the character designates. When the spell ends or is dispelled, a summoned creature is instantly sent back to where it came from, but a summoned object is not sent back unless the spell description specifically indicates this. A summoned creature also goes away if it is killed or dropped to 0 hit points. It is not really dead. It takes 24 hours for the creature to reform, during which time it can't be summoned again.




The statement in the Summon Monster spell is redundant, that property is already a part of the Summoning subschool.


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## dcollins (Aug 15, 2002)

*Re: Re: Re: What happens to Summoned Monsters if caster dies?*



			
				DrSpunj said:
			
		

> *Is it actually stated anywhere directly in the rules that the spell goes on until it ends...?
> *




I'm just so fond of that phrasing I thought I'd quote it.
The "caster dies" situation is not explicitly mentioned as a case anywhere in the core rules.




			
				Eccles said:
			
		

> *The Summon Creature spell doesn't have this.
> *




(a) You mean Summon Nature's Ally.
(b) Summon Nature's Ally does say "Summoned creatures act normally on the last round of the spell and disappear at the end of their turn" (PH p. 260), just like Summon Monster does.
(c) The "goes away if killed" rule on PH p. 157 is for summoning in general, and in no place restricts itself to Summon Monster as opposed to some other spell.


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## Eccles (Aug 15, 2002)

Well it's all good from the point of view of the Druid, but I did have this amusing image of an increasingly distraught holy man summoning animals to save him from the monster of the day. 

And then getting more and more horrified by the numbers of butchered animals he was directly responsible for...  

I guessed there'd be something in there somewhere, but thanks for the confirmation!


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## DrSpunj (Aug 15, 2002)

*Re: Re: Re: Re: What happens to Summoned Monsters if caster dies?*



			
				dcollins said:
			
		

> *
> I'm just so fond of that phrasing I thought I'd quote it.
> *




You're right.  That sounds really stupid!  



			
				dcollins said:
			
		

> *
> The "caster dies" situation is not explicitly mentioned as a case anywhere in the core rules.
> *




Okay, thanks. 

DrSpunj


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## dcollins (Aug 15, 2002)

*Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: What happens to Summoned Monsters if caster dies?*



			
				DrSpunj said:
			
		

> *You're right.  That sounds really stupid!
> *




We've seen a lot worse!


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