Draw Steel's Summoner

 Well, it's official: the Summoner is out, adding Draw Steel's first new class since the game launched earlier this year.

I... still haven't had a chance to play it. But I'm still excited. I'm also daunted, because The Summoner is the game's first Master class. It's more complex than other classes, and they recommend that you try the game out with one of the 9 core classes first before trying this one on for size.

Here's why:

The Summoner is not joking around about its name. You will be summoning hordes, legions, swarms, whatever word you want to use for "a shit-ton" of minions. This is also going to be your primary source of damage in combat.

Minions are easy-come, easy-go. They're almost like a second Heroic Resource for you to consider. You will also have a standard Heroic resource (it's actually Essence, like the Elementalist, though you will be spending it on entirely different things) but among the main ways you'll be spending heroic resources is summoning more minions.

There are four subclasses for the Summoner, each a "Circle" of Summoners. The oldest tradition is the Circle of the Grave, or Necromancers, who summon Undead minions. But there are other circles/subclasses that will give you Demon, Elemental, and Fey minions.

While the Undead and Demon versions are obviously a little dark-themed (demonologists of the Circle of Blight especially) you can still play this class with a pretty neutral or even heroic-coded aesthetic. (I love a good-aligned - not that that's a thing in Draw Steel - Necromancer though. Kind of like a Diablo-style Necromancer, which I suspect was a big inspiration for this design and also the key art).

Draw Steel classes are a little front-loaded, with their first levels generally among the most complex. This takes it to a new level.

From your subclass, you'll pick two (of three available) Signature Minions, which are kind of like picking your Signature abilities on other classes. You'll also get some 3-Essence minions and then some 5-Essence abilities (don't worry, at later levels you'll be picking up more expensive minions).

I would basically treat the stat blocks for these minions like abilities on your character sheet (or make cards).

You can command up to two squads of minions. Like the minions the Director controls, squads pool their Stamina together as one big mass. So, if you have four Ensnarer demon minions (a signature for the demon subclass) in a squad together, the individuals only have 2 Stamina, so the squad has 8. When any minion in a squad takes damage, the whole pool is depleted by the damage they take, and for every amount equal to the minions' individual Stamina they lose, one minion dies (starting with the one that directly took the damage). So, again, let's say that a monster hits one of my Ensnarers for 5 damage, and I have a squad of four at their full 8 Stamina, two of them will die and the new total will be 3 Stamina. Note also that if any damage carries over after wiping out a squad, you take the excess, so you're highly incentivized to keep those squads full of troops.

As a special exception, AoE damage can only kill minions that are in the area. So if a monster uses an ability that's, say, a 3-cube that hits two of my four Ensnarers, at most, the squad's Stamina pool can lose 4 Stamina, while the two minions outside of the area are unaffected. (Again, like minions that your Director is running).

And yes, those Ensnarers are pretty fragile. But the good news is that you immediately get 2 Signature minions at the start of combat, and then up to three more at the start of your turn, so in your very first fight at level 1, you could have 5 minions out.

Each squad can have up to 8 minions, and you can command up to two squads (though some other choices allow you to alter some of these rules - if we have the energy, we'll get into Formations). Unless otherwise specified, you can't summon beyond your maximum, though minions die often enough that you'll probably be working to replace them often.

Most minions (I think maybe all Signature minions?) don't actually have combat abilities, so to attack with them, you'll just be using their free strikes. They get to do this on your turn (they can either, as squads, take a maneuver and a movement, a main action and a movement, or two movements). I... might need to do a more careful reading of this, but you also get a free triggered action called Strike For Me, which lets you replace your own signature ability (though I don't think we have any? Maybe from an ancestry?) or our Free Strike (which, like the Talent and Elementalist, has a replacement version called Summoner's Strike) that lets you roll to see how many of your minions get to take free strikes (I think in addition to their own regular strikes if they take a main action?)

Ok, so, to add it all up, if we had our 5 Ensnarers on our first turn in our first combat, I think we could send them all to attack targets for 2 (their Free Strike value) for 10 damage, and then we could swap in Strike for Me in place of our own Summoner's Strike to let 3, 5, or 7 (well, not 7 because we don't have that many yet) to deal another 6 or 10 damage.

Like regular minions, if your minions use an ability (rather than just a free strike,) any additional minions targeting the same target only add their free strike damage, rather than doing the ability's damage on top of the first one.

The next key ability we get is Call Forth. This lets us spend 1 or more Essence. For each essence we spend, we can summon one Signature Minion (though not beyond our cap) or we can summon groups of "Heroic Minions." For example, spending 3 Essence as a demonologist would let us bring in two Fanged Musilexes. These guys are tougher and hit harder (they're actually described as being formed out of Ensnarers twisting their bodies together to form a bigger demon).

This is going to be our main way of getting minions on the board. It'll be an interesting question of mathing out how efficient it is to summon more signature abilities or getting the more expensive ones (I'd suspect the latter).

Then, finally, we'll pick our Formation. For Directors, these terms will be familiar: there are Horde, Platoon, Elite, and Leader formations. You pick one of these options.

Horde formations let you summon 4 more minions and you get one more free signature minion at the start of your turn.

Platoon formations lets you add your Reason to the damage that one of your squads deals with an ability.

Elite formations adds 3 Stamina and 1 Stability to all of your minions (this more than doubles many Signature minions' Stamina).

Leader formations prevents you from taking any damage in excess of a squad's Stamina if they're wiped out, but you can also choose to take the damage a minion would take if they're within your Summoner's Range (which is a thing - I think 5 plus your Reason squares). You can also use light armor treasures and light weapon treasures even if you don't have a kit.

Each subclass gets some other features, like a Necromancer gets the ability to speak with the dead or turn enemy minions that are slain into their own signature minions.

All Summoners get a maneuver called Minion Bridge, which lets you basically crowd-surf on a contiguous line of minions, shifting the entire length, and you can spend an essence to take a friend with you. (I heard someone in the playtest flavor this as one of their demon minions swallowing them and then another spitting them out elsewhere, which was such a cool idea).

You do also get some genuine 5-Essence abilities that aren't just summoning minions, though they tend to be affected by having minions around.

Finally, at level 1 (yes, this is still level 1) you get your choice of Quick Command, which includes various triggered actions.

I think a key way to approach this class is to treat your minions as your abilities. You are going to be constantly calling them forth, and letting them do the mechanically interesting stuff, so pick your minions carefully (at least so far, you'll generally get more of the options from your subclass than you're missing out on, though of course you can only pick minions from your subclass).

Level 2:

(Boy, are we going to do a whole class review? This is already a substantial post. We'll see the degree to which the class itself gets more complicated.)

At level 2, you can now summon a subclass-specific fortification as a maneuver once per encounter, though you can spend an Essence to move it as a free maneuver. Each fortification gets upgrades at higher levels.

Demonologists get The Boil, a mass of bubbling energy that taunts enemies to attack it until it bursts, dousing them in acid.

Elemental Summoners (we can't call them Elementalists, can we?) summon a Primordial Crystal that pulls enemies to it and can extend the reach of your allies' ranged abilities.

Fey Summoners (Fairiers? Ferriers?) can summon a Glade Pond, whose waters energize you and your non-minion allies with extra speed when they pass by it, and also automatically hides your fey minions that end within the extensive overgrowth radiating from it.

Necromancers summon Barrow Gates, which can frighten nearby enemies that start their turn near them, and gives your undead minions some damage immunity.

Each subclass now also gains new 5-Essence minions (which each come in groups of 3).

Level 3:

You get a Summoner's Kit, which gives you a few enhancements to Summoner's Strike, and you get to pick between four different Wards. These are actually quite different from other Wards other classes have.

You also get some 7-Essence abilities.

Level 4:

In addition to the standard 2nd Echelon characteristic increase, you get Minion Improvement, which boosts your minions' Stamina (by 1 for Signature minions, 3 for 3-essence minions, and 2 for 5-essence minions). They also get higher characteristics (which is primarily used for determining their ability to resist potencies).

You get some standard upgrades for this level, like more Essence when a minion dies, a skill, and  a perk.

You also get Minion Chain, which does several things.

First, when you use Minion Bridge, minions of yours within your Summoner's Range can shift up to their speed if it lets them get adjacent to another minion, so you can more easily get your desired line.

Also, they can now form vertical connections, shifting to act like ladders or hanging ropes, and then potentially they can allow themselves to fall forward to make an actual bridge across a gap. So, you know, kind of delightful (though far more whimsical with Fey, and possibly horrifying with demons or undead).

Level 5:

Each circle gets two new features.

Then, you get to pick a new 7-Essence minion from your portfolio. You get two of these for 7 Essence (with some exceptions, like the Undead Zombie Titan, which is size 4 and has 40 Stamina), and they start to look a fair bit beefier and hit harder.

Level 6:

First, you get a perk and you can pick an additional Ward for your Summoner's Kit. Also, if you reduce an enemy to 0 Stamina with a Summoner's Strike, you can Call Forth as a free maneuver, though the minions summoned with this can't act this turn.

You also get 2 additional followers, and can summon and recruit an artisan follower and a sage follower of your minion's type.

Return to the Source allows you to teleport yourself and your allies to a space within the manifold (plane) that your minions come from when you take a respite. While the denizens will treat you as a native resident, your allies might be seen as intruders. (In the default cosmology, demons are from the Abyssal Wastes, undead are from the Necropolitan Ruins, which is a place in the Abyssal Wastes, Fey are from Arcadia, and Elementals are from Quintessence).

You also get a 9-Essence ability.

Level 7:

You get the usual bonuses for hitting 3rd Echelon, including characteristic increases, more Essence at the start of your turns, and a skill.

You get a new minion improvement, which further boosts the Stamina of your minions (in addition to the stamina of your 7-Essence minions,) and you get another free Signature minion at the start of your turn. Likewise, as before, each minion has a +1 bonus to characteristics for the purpose of resisting potencies.

Finally, Their Life for Mine lets you sacrifice all of your minions and Essence (minimum 1 of each) to bring either you or an ally within your Summoner's Range who has just died as a free triggered action, giving them Stamina equal to the total number of minions and essence sacrificed. This is a limited-use ability, which you can't use again until you level up again or spend 3 Eidos (the Epic Resource at level 10).

Level 8:

You get a perk, and you also get a new feature for your subclass.

Additionally, you can now summon your Portfolio Champion, a special super-powerful 9-Essence minion. There are various special rules for the champion, which you can only have one of out at once, and which has its own squad. These are basically your "super-minions" (and refuse to be referred to as minions) and get to ignore a lot of the restrictions on your other minions. They have Stamina equal to your own, and can do things like use your recoveries to heal.

Each also gets upgraded at level 10, with an ability that can be used once per encounter that is a bit like a Villain Action and costs 1 Eidos.

Demon summoners get the Demon Lord's Aspect, which can pull two targets with its signature ability.

Elemental summoners get the Dragon's Portent, which uses a tail swipe to push around up to two creatures as its signature ability.

Fey summoners summon a Celestial Attendant, whose signature ability slide its targets around.

Undead summoners get an Avatar of Death, with a signature ability that can inflict bleeding.

Level 9:

First, you get a Kit Improvement, adding a Ward and improving your Summoner's Strike further.

You also get Steward of Two Worlds, which increases the Patience of denizens of your circle's source manifold by 2 when you're in a Negotiation.

You also now get an 11-Essence ability.

Level 10:

As usual, you get your characteristic increase (Reason is now 5). You also get another Minion Improvement, which now adds more free minions at the start of an encounter, getting two more for every two victories you have (on top of the normal two). And as usual, your minions get more Stamina and higher characteristics.

Also, a new perk and a new skill.

Your Epic Resource is Eidos. You can spend it as if it were essence, and when you do, you get two bonus signature minions when you spend it on either minions or abilities. Again, Eidos can be spent on new abilities your Champions have, though only once per encounter.

No Matter the Cost lets you reduce the cost of summoning new minions or using heroic abilities by the number of minions sacrificed (rather than a flat 1).

And Among Our Ranks lets you summon a willing, non-restrained NPC or player ally to you regardless of where they are in the Timescape to join your party until your next Respite or until they are killed, at which point they are sent back to the place from which they were summoned.

    So there you have it. Boy this was long.

This class is going to for sure be more complicated than, say, a Shadow. In some ways, you'll be kind of playing a war game against the Director while the other players are playing a TTRPG. But even if there's a lot to internalize, I do think that if you can get the hang of it, this could be a ton of fun.

This does feel like the "GM's PC" class. I'd honestly want to get a bit of running the game as a Director under my belt before trying it out, because I really think this is a class that will appeal the most to people who like that GM/Director role of controlling lots of little dudes.

They'll come and go so fast, that you'll really want to have a solid plan for where you need minions (here I think Draw Steel's less rigid initiative might actually make things easier - you can talk with your friends about where they could use the support best). The Summoner's Range is relatively generous, so you'll be able to position minions pretty trivially into advantageous positions - just make sure to make room for your allies.

I will say that there are a couple of clarifications I could use on how this all actually works - like, a table specifically of how many minions I can have out at once and how many squads I can organize them into at every level. Can I mix minions in squads?

These are questions whose answers might feel obvious with a bit more experience with the game, but I'm still somewhat in a theoretical space with it.

But I will say one thing: if the goal of this class design was to let you have a ton of minions, oh boy was it a success.