D&D: Five of the Best Summoning Spells
The more the merrier, especially in D&D. And nowhere is that more apparent than when you make your own friends, with magic.
Combat in D&D is, pardon the phrase, very much a numbers game. Go into most any D&D community online and you’ll start to see phrases like “the action economy” creep into the common parlance. Essentially this refers to the idea that whoever has the most efficient actions wins.
This is why you’ll see people say “oh it’s better to attack and deal damage than it is to heal” or whatever else. And this becomes especially apparent when all of a sudden your side is the one with the overwhelming advantage of numbers. Which is why spells like Animate Objects are so powerful.
But with the advent of newer books like Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything and the Book of Many Things, one category of spells has been creeping up in terms of power, and that’s summon spells. Here’s a look at some of the best ones in the game.
Conjure Animals
Let’s start with the one that is sure to cause the most headaches for the DM while also still being fun to cast. Conjure Animals, as the name suggests, summons forth a small horde of beasts, according to a particular formula, so you might get:
- One beast of challenge rating 2 or lower
- Two beasts of challenge rating 1 or lower
- Four beasts of challenge rating 1/2 or lower
- Eight beasts of challenge rating 1/4 or lower
This spell and Conjure Fey are up there in terms of both power (because you can have eight things show up all of a sudden, but even the lower options mean the poor DM has to do extra work in figuring out what stat blocks feel right for where you are. It is quite good though, since they are summoned to you with friendly intent, and will obey verbal commands that you issue to them.
Animate Objects
This one is a big time classic summoning spell. So much so that it’s not even a summoning spell. Technically Animate Objects is a 5th level transmutation spell, though. This is fine because this spell doesn’t summon the items themselves from nowhere, but rather imbues whatever happens to be nearby.
But even so, this spell embodies “the more the merrier”, getting you up to 10 tiny objects, which not only have an 18 AC and 20 hit points, they also have a +8 to hit. Meaning for one spell, you gain ten new attacks, dealing a potential 10d4+40 assuming they all hit.
Summon Celestial
Summon Celestial takes a much different tack, though. Instead of summoning a whole bunch of little things, you just call in a single angel, or whatever you decide it looks like. Celestial Spirits have a lot going for them, including the ability to make [half your spell level] number of attacks, and that’s just the start.
They hit with either a radiant bow, mace, or can deliver a powerful healing touch. But each attack also uses you, the summoner, to determine the attack bonus based on your spell attack modifier.
Summon Draconic Spirit
Introduced in Fizban’s Treasure of Dragons, this spell lets you call a dragon to your side. Sort of. A small draconic spirit is summoned by this spell. And in addition to being resistant or immune to certain types of damage or conditions, the Draconic Spirit combines a deadly multiattack (which includes using its Breath Weapon, so it’s a fine way to start a fight). And speaking of breath weapons, it can use its breath weapon as much as it wants, no “recharges but only on a 6 on a 1d6” business anymore. Get out there and have your Draconic Spirit burn it all to the ground, freeze everything, or whatever else you decide it breathes.
Summon Construct
Sometimes what you need is a robot to follow you around. Especially since this is D&D and having fantasy items like robots and rayguns is reserved for only the most deserving. Or people with the ability to cast 4th-level spells, since they can cast Summon Construct.
This calls forth the “spirit of a construct” allowing you to pull into existence a friend that either resembles a golem or a modron (your choice) made out of a material like stone, iron, or the like. Each decision grants the summoned construct a unique power, either offensive or defensive that can make this one minion-summoning spell a lot more useful than at first glance.
What are your picks for the best summoning spell?
