Summon Monster is allows you to summon a wide variety of extraplanar creatures capable of filling a variety of functions. While Summon Monster is most commonly viewed as a way to summon a pet fighter, Summon Monster is capable of doing much more than that.
Because Summon Monster gains an alignment tag when summoning a creature with non-neutral alignment, divine spellcasters like Cleric and Oracles may not be able to summon every creature available.
The creatures summoned by Summon Monster are usually outsiders, and the easiest way to command them is to share a language with them. Outsiders like celestials and demons typically speak Common, but if you want to command things like elementals you may want to invest a few skill ranks in Linguistics.
Each level of Summon Monster is addressed below. The tables serve as a reference for the available summon options, a compilation of links to the creatures’ stat blocks, and a quick reference for the creature’s type and subtypes.
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Easily overlooked because it’s the same level as Summon Monster I, Summon Minor Monster is a decent spell with a lot of potential. The ability to summon any tiny animal means that Pathfinder’s large collection of animals offers an impressively long list of potential summons. However, 1d3 creatures means that you’ll occasionally summon 1 creature of a type too weak to summon with Summon Monster I.
If you’re looking for combat threats, you’ll find few here. Tiny creatures must move into their target’s space to attack, which provokes an attack of opportunity, and if they survive that attack nothing available deals more than one damage per attack. Because they don’t have a threatened area, they can’t flank and can’t make attacks of opportunity. You’re also limited to summoning animals which won’t be able to understand complex instructions, so the best you can hope for is to throw a bunch of weak animals at your enemies or to use Handle Animal checks to herd them into traps or something.
Hawk is faster, gets more attacks, and does more damage.
Decent speed and poison which deals Strength damage.
Flight and blindsense make this a surprisingly good option for locating invisible foes. Summon 1d3 bats, set them loose to attack your enemies, and watch wherever they stop to bite stuff.
It’s a long-standing joke that house cats can kill an adult human in 3rd Edition/Pathfinder, and the cat’s three attacks are the root of that math. Even at 1 damage each, three attacks makes it likely that the cat will hit at least once.
Basically a bat, but worse.
Basically an Archaeopteryx, but it can’t fly upward.
One of the few options which can do more than 1 damage, but at +1 to hit it’s never going to hit.
+3 to hit with Constitution damage poison.
Flight with excellent fly speed, two attacks at +5 each, and they can do a whopping 2 damage each.
It has a climb speed, but so does the Monkey, and the Monkey is faster.
Opposable thumbs are a big temptation, but because the monkey isn’t smart enough to understand speech and won’t know any “tricks” from Animal Handling, you’ll have a hard time getting the monkeys to do anything other than attack stuff.
One of very few options with a swim speed.
Almost identical to the Hawk, but it trades a significant Perception bonus for a Stealth bonus.
Poison, but it only deals 1 point of nonlethal damage.
The Porcupine’s attack bonus is poor, but it deals a full 1d3 damage, which is impressive compared to other options. But the real appeal is that you can force enemies to take damage when they attack or grapple the porcupine.
Despite a relatively high CR, the Raccoon’s stats are unimpressive.
Swim and climb speeds allow rats to get around easily, but they can’t actually do anything significant in combat. They might be useful in social situations, like summoning rats in a restaurant, but they’re clearly not a combat option.
Hawk and Owl are better options.
I have no idea why this is CR 1/2 compared to the Hawk CR 1/3.
2 shots of Musk can nauseate/sicken enemies in a fight long enough to make a difference. The targets are still sickened if they pass the save, so this remains a useful option at high levels when enemies will nearly always pass the save. Quick Summon Minor Ally/Monster to summon 1d3 skunks, have the skunks use Musk to sicken a target, then hit it with a save-or-suck spell while their saves are reduced.
Absolute garbage. -1 to attacks. How is this not CR 1/8?
A weasel with a slightly worse attack bonus.
Poison which deals Constitution damage. The viper’s DC is lower than the Poison Frog’s, but its attack bonus is higher. You’re probably hoping for the target to roll a 1 anyway, so I would go for the viper over the frog.
Attach is neat. The weasel can hang around dealing 1 point of damage per round, forcing Concentration checks on spellcasters, but otherwise not drawing enough attention for enemies to waste their turn detaching the weasel.
Because it shares a level with Summon Minor Monster, it’s easy to draw comparisons between the two. There is some overlap between the lists of options, and in those cases it’s best to use Summon Minor to get 1d3 creatures instead of just 1. With the exception of the Eagle and Dolphin, Summon Minor is a better option.
Small, quick, with decent AC for its CR and both swim and climb speeds. Dire rats can get around easily to scout and retrieve things, but with only +1 to hit it’s never doing to hit anything.
Largely the same as the dire rat, but it gives up the movement types for Scent.
Excellent swim speed and spectacular blindsight. The only aquatic option at this level.
Basically a bigger hawk. It has worse attack bonuses than the Hawk, but does more damage, and without the limitations of tiny size the Eagle will probably be more effective because it won’t immediately die when it moves close enough to an enemy to attack it.
Terrible at combat and isn’t subject to Handle Animal. Fire beetles are only interesting because they glow. Torches cost a copper piece. Go buy one.
Use Summon Minor to get 1d3 instead.
Cast Mount instead.
Use Summon Minor to get 1d3 instead.
Summon II brings creatures up to CR 1, but that’s a tiny increase. The options here aren’t significantly better than those of Summon Nature’s Ally I, so your best bet will frequently be to summon 1d3 creatures from the Nature’s Ally I list.
Impressive 50 ft. speed, grab, and poison that deals Strength damage. This is a good option to lock down physically weak enemies like wizards, but remember that the range on Summon Monster is short, so don’t accidentally send your ant charging out of range.
Elementals tend to be weak for their CR unless they’re in a situation which very specifically caters to them. Air Elementals are better in the air, for example. At this level, earth elementals are a surprisingly good option. Their attack bonus and damage are respectable, provided that their target is also on the ground, so if you need a no-frills pet fighter, the small earth elemental is a solid choice. Don’t forget that they have power attack. Their stat block doesn’t apply Power Attack by default, so you need to command them to use it. Because small elementals only have one natural weapon attack, it works like a two-handed weapon so they get the extra 50% damage from Power Attack.
Bite with a poison that deals Dexterity damage. You’ll have better results using Summon Minor to summon vipers.
The giant frog’s tongue is its big draw. Initiating a grapple at a distance is great for a creature that’s going to be summoned to compete with creatures of much higher CR. Even at high levels this can be a great way to counter small troublesome enemies like pixies and vargouilles.
Poor attack bonus, bad damage, weak poison. Summon vipers instead.
Basically the same the Dog on Summon Monster I, but with Allergic Reaction.
Cast Mount instead.
Bite with a passable attack bonus and Trip.
Terrible stats, and all of the animal options will have similar DR and resistances with the Celestial/Fiendish/Whatever templates.
The better of the two aquatic options. Grab and disappointing poison.
A bigger, worse octopus.
The Wolf is almost perfectly identical to the Hyena, but with worse stats.
Summon III increases the CR of creatures to CR 2. At this stage the options start to become more diverse and interesting, and they become more useful as actual combat threats.
When you first get Summon III, the Crocodile and Leopard are decent combat options. However, as their attack bonuses fall behind the Lantern Archon remains a fantastic and reliable option in a variety of situations.
Adding poison doesn’t do enough to make the giant ant a meaningful combat threat. Worker ants weren’t scary with Summon Nature’s Ally II, and their attack bonuses don’t change when they become a soldier ant, so they will face additional challenges trying to hit enemies which are now stronger and more resilient.
Despite their size and strength, apes are weak. Their attack bonus is just +3, and their CMB is worse than that of the Giant Frog. They have the advantage of human-like hands, but if you need something with hands you’ll be better served by 1d4+1 mites.
Aurochs are good because of Trample. That is all that you need from them.
Boars are dangerous because of their Ferocity trait, but combining their negative hit points with their normal hit point pool makes them only slightly more durable than the options on the Summon Monster I list. Their attacks and AC are both weak, so the boar won’t even work as a passable combat threat.
Fast with three attacks and trip. Not a terrible option, but summoning 1d3 hyenas may be more likely to trip foes simply because they can make more CMB attempts.
Slow, but with both climb and swim speeds. Constrictor snakes are good grapplers, and their constrict damage is threatening. However, if you don’t need the climb speed a crocodile has better numbers for similar tricks.
Crocodiles are great at grabbing one foe and locking them down. Their attack bonus is good and their damage is decent, and with Grab and Death Roll they can really take control of a grapple and keep enemies from escaping.
Blindsense will allow the dire bat to locate invisible foes, which might be helpful, but otherwise it’s unremarkable.
Poor speed and mediocre attacks. The energy resistances and DR look tempting, but summoned animals will get similar protections from the alignment template granted by the spell. Dretches are intelligent and speak languages, which allows you to give them verbal commands if you speak the right languages, but they can’t do much other than move, attack, and carry stuff around.
Even in the water this is terrible.
Comparable to the crocodile, but it gets two chances to grab rather than one. I think the crocodile’s better damage output is the better of the two options.
Giant Crab is notably exclusive to Summon Nature’s Ally, so everyone else using Summon Monster can’t summon giant crabs. You should feel special.
Lantern archons have several amazing things going for them.
First, lantern archons are maneuverable. With 60 ft. fly speed, perfect maneuverability, and small size, they can get around easily in tight areas. With just 1 Strength and no hands that’s not always helpful, but you can easily squeeze a bunch of lantern archons into crowded dungeons and other small spaces.
Second, from a purely martial standpoint, lantern archons are a reliable source of damage output. They get two touch attack rays which deal 1d6 typeless damage. At +3 to hit they can hit the average touch AC at any CR about 50% of the time at the absolute worst, so you can reasonably expect that a lantern archon can deal 1d6 damage every turn. This means that lantern archons are a reliable combat option in nearly any encounter, making them an excellent option when you can summon 1d3 or 1d4+1 of them with higher-level summon spells. These attacks are made at range, allowing your summons to attack enemies well beyond the spells range without putting the archon directly in harms way and therefore at risk of being unsummoned.
Third, lantern archons have Truespeech, so they can speak and understand any language. That makes lantern archons a perfect translator, replacing the need for spells like Comprehend Languages and Tongues for the brief duration of Summon Monster. You can also issue commands to the lantern archon in any languages.
Fourth, Aura of Menace. Sure, the DC is only 12 but if you summon a bunch of them, your enemies need to save against each aura separately. Even after the spell’s duration expires, the effect lasts 24 hours.
Finally, the lantern archon’s Spell-like Abilities, all of which are usable at will. Detect Evil is situational, and Summon Monster specifically prohibits both teleportation, and spell-like abilities with expensive material components (like Continual Flame) but that leaves Aid. You can use Aid to buff your party and have a lantern archon run around in combat continuously refreshing everyone’s temporary hit points whenever they take damage.
Look at all that text. The Lantern Archon is so good that my assessment of why its great took up more text than every other summon option at this tier.
If you just want to kill something, the leopard is your best bet at this level. Three attacks, pounce, and rake will produce impressive damage output.
The poison isn’t meaningful because of the long onset, and crocodiles will do better at grappling.
Decent damage, but that’s about it. 1d3 squids will do comparable damage and can easily grapple foes to keep them from counter-attacking.
Decent damage once rage starts, but the leopard does comparable damage without needing to take damage first.
For the first time since Summon I, there is some variation in the CR of your summon options. At this level, Summon Monster and Summon Nature’s Ally beginning to deviate more significantly in their summon options, with Summon Monster introducing more outsiders and Summon Nature’s Ally getting a few more exclusive animal options in addition to magical beasts and fey.
Summon IV brings several very viable combat options. Giant Scorpion and Grizzly Bear are both great for locking down single targets, but if you just need a pet fighter your best bet is the Hound Archon.
Adding flight and improved stats makes the giant ant a decent threat. The combination of grab and flight means that it can lift enemies into the air and drop them, or fly over other enemies to reach vulnerable foes fighting at a distance.
Much like the aurochs, bison are good for their Trample ability. The DC is 3 higher than that of the Aurochs, and it’s unlikely that enemies have increased their save bonuses by 3 in the levels it took you to go from Summon Nature’s Ally III to IV.
With four attacks and pounce, the deinonychus is a decent combat options. However, the Griffon has similar damage output, better attack bonuses, and can fly, making the deinonychus redundant.
Three decent attacks, large size, rend, and a climb speed. A good option to throw between you an something scary, though their AC is poor so their hit points will drop quickly.
A big pile of hit points, especially when supplemented by Ferocity. At large size with one big attack, the Dire Boar is a good tank and their opportunity attacks are decent. However, their AC is poor and all that they can do offensively is damage so they’re not versatile in the slightest.
I was really hoping that the Dire Wolf would be a decent way to trip stuff, but with just +8 CMB they’re not especially reliable. You also need to hit with the dire wolf’s single mediocre attack to trigger Trip. Overall you’re getting very little damage with an unreliable chance of tripping things.
At this level elementals’ abilities have a decent DC which some creatures might actually fail. Air elements can use their Whirlwind to lift enemies into the air and drop them, while fire elementals can inflict ongoing damage with Burn.
Giant scorpions are horrifying combat monsters. Two claw attacks with a good CMB being Grab, and their poison DC is high enough to actually matter. The Strength damage will reduce enemies’ CMB and CMD, which means that the scorpion will gradually overcome enemies in a grapple as their Strength gradually fails.
Despite its better sting damage and higher poison DC, the giant wasp is actually worse than the giant ant drone.
Thanks to grab, the grizzly bear mostly competes with the Giant Scorpion in terms of their combat function. Their stat lines are so similar that I can’t figure out why Grizzly Bear is CR 4 but the Giant Scorpion is only CR 3. For your purposes, the question becomes whether you want the base numerical advantage of the bear (+1 CMB compared to the scorpion and 5 more hit points) of you want the poison damage on the scorpion’s sting.
Basically a dog with a terrible breath weapon and a little extra fire damage.
A solid all-around option. Aura of Menace is a good debuff, Circle of Protection is a great defensive buff for you and your allies, the hound archon’s attacks are decent with good damage and better attack bonuses than anything else at this level, and you can communicate with the Hound Archon using truespeech. If you want spell-like abilities it’s easier to use 1d3 Lantern Archons because they can fly around to deliver the effects, but the Hound Archon is likely a better option if you need a summoned fighter.
Basically just a worse version of the tiger.
Mephits are mostly terrible. Their breath weapons are weak, and their fast healing won’t matter because the duration of Summon Nature’s Ally is so short. The big draw of Mephits is their spell-like abilities, which can get you access to some useful spells which you may not have prepared or which aren’t on your spell list. Unfortunately these spells tend to be at most 2nd-level, so buying some scrolls is probably a better choice.
I have no idea how these are CR 3. They’re terrible.
You’ll get better damage out of a charge from a tiger or griffon, and after the charge your tiger or griffon will continue to be scary.
Summon V adds an unusually large number of evil outsiders.
On land, Ankylosaurus is an unbeatable tank. If you need damage output, summon multiple options from lower-level spells. In the water, the Giant Moray Eel is terrifying. If you want to lock down a single physically weak target like a spellcaster, the Salamaber is an excellent grappler.
A single attack with a good attack bonus and decent damage, but the real appeal of the ankylosaurus is as crowd control. Their Stun ability (which dazes foes rather than stunning them) is devastating. It’s as effective as Power Word Stun and has a startling high DC of 23. And they can do it on every attack, including attacks of opportunity. At huge size with 15 ft. reach they can lock down huge sections of a battlefield and keep at least one enemy dazed perpetually until you get around to killing it. On top of all of that, the ankylosaurus has a decent AC and a big pool of hit points so it can keep on fighting for a long time.
The biggest appeal of the Babau is its ability to dispel magic at will. Rather than wasting a bunch of spell slots to dispel a pesky magical obstacle, summon a Babau and make it dispel repeatedly until it succeeds.
A passable combat option, but Ankylosaurus is considerably better. The wounding effect is tempting, but it’s too small compared to the Ankylosaurus’s ability to daze enemies.
The Bralania is a weird mix of abilities. It has some spell-like abilities, and both ranged and melee weapons. The spell-like abilities include the ability to cast Cure Serious Wounds, so be sure to use that before Summon Monster’s duration expires. Unfortunately, the bralani’s diverse skillset means that it’s also not good at any single thing. When you can always summon a creature specialized to the situation, a generalist is a poor choice.
A linear improvement on the lion and the tiger, dire lion doesn’t add much additonal damage, but adds a bunch of extra attack bonus and hit points.
120 ft. blindsight is great for finding hidden foes, but orcas are aquatic, their attacks are mediocre, and they don’t speak, so at best they can find a hidden enemy and chomp at them impotently until you decide what else to do about them.
Large elementals gain a second slam attack, making fire elementals a considerably more useful option because they now have twice as much opportunity to trigger Burn for ongoing damage against difficult foes. Air elementals remain the most relevant option for their ability to use Whirlwind to lift enemies into the air and drop them.
Excellent in the water, the giant moray eel is a fantastic grappler. Grab and Gnaw provide excellent damage output while grappling, and Gnaw allows the eel to make an additional secondary bit for a little bit more damage.
Four attacks is great, especially if you have something like Inspire Courage running to boost the attacks’ damage. Unfortunately, damage is the only thing that the Kyton can do, and its attacks do surprisingly little damage.
The Salamander is the best single-target elimination option at this level. Its tail attack has both Grab and Constrict, allowing it to quickly grapple a target and burn through their hit points quickly.
Combining the benefits of the rhinoceros and the aurochs, the woolly rhinoceros does a does a file of damage on a charge, then follows it up on successive rounds by using Trample to knock foes prone and back away.
Four attacks with grab, and it can lay eggs in your enemies if you’re crazy like that. Unfortunately the damage output is poor, so the Salamander is likely a more effective grappler.
Dire tiger has all of the same attacks, but has better attack bonuses and damage, and adds pounce and rake.
Your go-to murder machine. All of the appeal of the tiger, but bigger and with more damage. However, it needs to compete with the Shadow Demon’s ability to attack with touch attacks.
A huge bag of hitpoints, but underwhelming damage. Summoning 1d3 Giant Moray Eels will almost certainly work better.
Another linear improvement to elementals. The air elemental’s whirlwind continues to be a good option, but other elementals lag behind other comparable options.
Another vehicle for Trample. The damage isn’t any better than the Woolly Rhinoceros, but the DC is better.
The Erinyes can cast Fear at will as a spell-like ability, so its best function is to spam Fear every single turn. The DC of 19 isn’t spectacular, but even if the targets succeed on saves they are still Shaken, which makes them more susceptible to the next time your Erinyes uses Fear. Just wait until you can summon 1d3/1d4+1 of them and they can all produce overlapping Fear effects. Keep doing it until it works.
A fantastic grappler, the giant octopus applies grab on 8 tentacle attacks, making it largely guaranteed that the octopus will be able to start a grapple. The octopus’s poison does Strength damage, so any protracted fight against the octopus will lead to the target gradually losing its ability to fight off the octopus’s grapple.
It’s really neat that the Invisible Stalker is invisible, but its damage is garbage and it can’t do anything except damage.
Summon a 7th-level bard! It has a handful of decent spells and spell-like abilities, and it can use Bardic Music to buff your party. If you have time, have the Lillend use its spells to heal you and your allies before your Summon Monster duration expires.
The shadow demon is incorporeal, so it can pass through walls and it takes no damage from non-magic attacks. Its attacks are all made as touch attacks, and with three attacks it can do a decent amount of damage, and it has both Pounce and Sprint so it can easily charge anything within your Summon Monster range. That alone makes it one of the best combat options at this level, but it can also cast Shadow Conjuration/Shadow Evocation three times per day, giving you access to a bunch of useful spells.
If you want to terrify enemies, the Erinyes can do a better job because its DC is higher, it can try again, and it doesn’t affect you.
Not much of a combat threat, and with Summon Monster’s limited duration a Succubus won’t be much use in a social situation, but Dominate Person is really good if you’re facing humanoids, and Profane Gift is a great way to buff party members.
A bigger, scalier version of the woolly rhinoceros, the triceratops adds more damage but uses all of the same tricks.
This levels adds nothing conceptually new, but options continue to improve.
The giant octopus outpaces the giant moray eel in the water. The stegosaurus arguably gives the ankylosaurus a run for its money, but 1d3 ankylosaurus stuns will probably be more effective than just knocking enemies prone. For straight damage, the dire tiger is nice and murdery. The Bone Devil provides some excellent utility with Wall of Ice at will.
Rot is 2 points of con damage with a DC of 23 to resist, and since it’s not poison it still works on things immune to poison. It’s especially useful against enemies in manufactured armor because it literally rips their armor off.
Wall of Ice at will. Spam Wall of Ice until it solves your problems.
Yet another trample vehicle, with a DC of 32 almost nothing is going to avoid the brachiosaurus’s trample.
Though its direct damage isn’t great for this level, the dire crocodile’s grab and impressive +30 CMB while grappling makes it a fantastic grappler.
Grab and swallow whole make a great combination. Nothing you can summon can compete with the dire shark in the water.
The air elemental continues to be useful due to Whirlwind.
The fire giant has the best straight damage output of the options available to you at this level, but the dire crocodile’s ability to grapple will likely make it a more meaningful addition to combat.
Fire giant is strictly better unless immunity to cold or fire matters.
While it’s not a bad option on its own, the dire shark is a better grappler and will do more damage than the giant squid can.
Yet another trample vehicle, but the brachiosaurus’s DC and damage are higher.
Flight and grab, combined with gargantuan size, mean that the roc can pick up enemies, carry them into the air, and drop them. Usually you want to use an air elemental to do this because they can do it to a group, but the roc may work better against small foes with good savingt throws.
The dire crocodile fills largely the same role, and the addition of Death Roll makes it a better option.
A nice mix of abilities, but the Vrock’s attack bonuses are extremely poor compared to other creatures at this level. Instead, use the Vrock’s special abilities. Spores does automatic damage, buff an ally with Heroism, stun enemies with Stunning Screech, or if you can summon multiple vrocks you can have them all do Dance of Ruin together to create a gigantic AOE.
At this level, Summon Monster and Summon Nature’s Ally completely deviate.
With just three options, Summon VIII isn’t especially interesting. Barbed Devil is great if you want a scorching ray cannon, but otherwise it will be more effective to summon multiple creatures from lower-level spells.
The Barbed Devil is a mediocre melee threat at best. Its true appeal comes from its spell-like abilities. Major Image can be useful if you’re clever, but you’re more likely to command your Barbed Devil to use Scorching Ray repeatedly to churn out reliable damage every round.
At this level you’re summoning the most powerful elementals available. Nothing about them has really changed over the course of Summon Monster’s progression exept for their numbers.
If you are facing a lawful or good-aligned outsider, the Hezrou is great because it can spam Chaos Hammer and Unholy Blight every round. Otherwise, the Hezrou is underwhelming.
Surprisingly, Summon IX has more options than Summon VIII.
If you want something to hit things, summon an Astral Deva. If you want to disable a single creature, use a Nalfeshnee. If you want a pet cleric, summon a Trumpet Archon. If your GM is crazy, use a Glabrezu to get Wish for free.
The Astral Deva is all about its Stun ability. Sure, it has spell-like abilities, but they’re strictly worse than other options at this level. Instead, you send your pet angel to hammer enemies and stun lock them for the duration of the spell.
Neat, but there are better options that fill the same roles. Trumpet Archons are better clerics, and you can get more light ray damage from a bunch of lantern archons.
Depending on your GM, you may be able to use the Glabrezu to get Wish for free. I would never allow that as a GM because I’m not insane, but maybe your GM is more fun than I am.
Cone of Cold every turn is a decent source of damage, but if you want a bunch of ice walls you should summon 1d4+1 Bone Devils from the Summon VII list instead.
Feeblemind and Unholy Aura can easily disable a wide variety of enemies, or you can summon the Nalfeshnee to cast Greater Dispel Magic at will.
Summon a pet 14th-level cleric. It can case Heal twice, on top of a handful of other staple spells from the cleric spell list. The Trumpet Archon casts spells rather than using spell-like abilities, which means that it can cast spells like Raise Dead despite the expensive material components, but you still need to provide those components.
As a 2nd-level spell, Summon Swarm is accessible early in the game. It notably requires Concentration, so instead of summoning a monster and going about your business you need to spend your standard action each turn keeping the spell going. This is a difficult commitment to make, especially once you have enough spell slots that a single 2nd-level slot isn’t a large expenditure of resources. However, swarms can be a serious threat on the battlefield, which can make Summon Swarm an excellent way to spend a spell slot. If you’re worried about action economy, consider casting Flaming Sphere before you cast Summon Swarm so that you can spend your turn doing something more exciting than thinking about your swarm to keep it around.
A Rod of Lesser Metamagic (Extend) costs less, works on other spells, and doesn’t add the ridiculous 30-foot distance limitation,
The possible combinations here are massive. It’s tragic that this only functions once per day, but there’s nothing stopping you from buying more than one except your limited funds. However, remember that you lose many of the target creature’s abilities, including Extraordinary, Supernatural, and Spell-like abilities, so the best options are typically big dumb brutes like animals.
Tyler "RPGBOT" Kamstra has been the author of RPGBOT.net since 2013. Tyler began playing tabletop RPGs with 3rd edition Dungeons and Dragons over 20 years ago. Tyler has a long-standing love for building characters and for game mechanics, and brings that enthusiasm to everything he creates.