More Thoughts on Summoning

From a file at Risustalk by Stefan Shirley aka Peregrine Brightmeadow

Risus Summoner

Summoner

A Summoner (actual Cliché may vary) uses elaborate rituals to call forth creatures from other dimensions to assist him and his compatriots. This Cliché can be bought as a Double-Pump, but doesn’t need to be.

Tools of the Trade

Proper tools are extremely important to the Summoner. Specific rituals for different types of creatures are required. Depending on the setting specific circles and wards may be required as well. Then there are sacrifices and offerings, what material all this stuff is made from, possible priceless ancient grimoires, and all the ritual paraphernalia. I’m thinking of incense, athames, rods, staffs, and wands, and ritual garb. The utility and power of the Summoner will depend on how strict and specific a GM wants to be.

Procedure for Summoning

The Preparation Roll

This roll acts to aid The Summoning Roll. Sixes are added to the next roll much like the "Teaming Up" rules. Note that this will not always be possible, and the GM decides when it is both appropriate and possible.

The Summoning Roll (Now also the Binding, Control, and Dismissal Roll!)

The Summoner decides what kind of creature (or creatures) they want to summon. If the GM approves it the creature is built with the "Sidekicks and Shield-Mates" rules (1:3) and a number of dice equal to the Summoner’s Cliché (if the Summoning Roll is pumped then the number if dice equals the pumped total). All of these dice need not be spent.

The Summoning Roll is a Risus Combat. If the Summoner wins, the creature performs as intended. If the creature wins… Fear the merciless GM. Attempts can be made by the Summoner to gain control of their summoned creature or dismiss it, but these rolls will be at the Cliché total after the pump.

I can see attempts to banish a demon prone to gambling using an "Inappropriate Cliché." Summoners often form teams to summon powerful creatures, but only the Team Leader’s dice count towards the creatures construction. In this case a team member might not even be able to summon, but still have an appropriate Cliché. " Mad Cultist Sorcerer" and "Fanatical Cultists" forming a Team to summon their "Blasphemous God."

Bonus Dice

A generous GM may award bonus dice for having exceptional Tools (+1d) to work with or the Creature’s True Name (+2d). Not that this is a two way street, too. Summoners do not want the creatures they summon to discover their own true name!

Example Character

Lieutenant Augustus Hadley, AKA Wilbur B. Skite New Englander Summoner (4), Reluctant Confederate Officer (3), Grifter Masquerading as a Southern Gentleman Gambler (3) Questing Dice (avoiding vengeful pursuers) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Sidekick: Sgt. Tom Salt; soldier, secretary, Yankee Spy?! (3)

Hook: On the run from the real gentleman, his family, his neighbors, their families, and the gentleman’s daughter who still hasn’t quite figured out what is going on…

Tale: Lt. Hadley (whose real name is Wilbur B. Skite) never wanted to be an officer, let alone actually be involved in this dreadful war. However, he was able to convince some officers that he was part of their unit to escape pursuit, but now he can’t quite figure a way out of this new mess. The gentleman and his friends and family won’t dare move against him in the military for fear of the publicity it might attract, but poor "August" is stuck in a situation where he has to keep writing "his darling belle" and keeping up appearances or he’ll be hung as a spy. The alternative... Well at least his secretive secretary has expressed no desire to send him to battle or hang him from a magnolia tree!

Wilbur’s summoned creatures are of three types: homing pigeons (usually eaten, but never very filling), sea devils (at least that’s what Wilbur calls them), and spectral headless horsemen (usually used as a distraction). He learned his arcane art an upstart college in Massachusetts…

Wilbur has not yet caught on that Sgt. Salt is actually more of an ally than he realizes…

(forgive me; I’ve been reading a lot of Twain this semester. Augustus has been adjusted for this new iteration.)