Grognard's Grimoire: Summon Protector

When the idea of the Animal Kings first occurred to me, it seemed obvious their existence would also imply the existence of animal clerics. Over the course of play, I came to realize that animals needed magic-users too. Even if I hadn't, my inclusion of the Boss of the Rats more or less required that I postulate their existence.

In the course of thinking about animal magic-users, I realized that, like their clerical counterparts, certain spells would need to be re-imagined. This in turn led me to give some more thought to the way that animals and Men interacted with one another. Thus was born the summon protector spell.

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Summon Protector
Level: 1 (Animal Only)
Duration: See Below
Range: 1 mile per level

By casting this spell, an animal magic-user can obtain a human protector. The casting takes from 1-24 hours (referee's discretion) and uses up items of value appropriate to the caster's species (e.g. meaty bones for a dog, sparkly shards of glass for a rat, etc.) that have an equivalent value of 100 gp. The materials are consumed during the ritual. The referee decides the probability that a protector will respond to the spell and which type of protector is summoned within range. It is possible that no human will respond. This spell may only be attempted one time per year.

A protector is able to grant the caster access to its own senses and is able to understand the caster's wishes in a general, non-verbal way. In addition, a protector is loyal to the caster and will do everything in its power to aid and protect the caster, provided that doing so will not bring harm upon the protector. Protectors are more intelligent than ordinary Men (+1 Intelligence); they always possess a class and 1d4 levels (i.e. no 0 Humans). A protector grants the caster additional hit points equal to one-third of the protector's maximum hit points, when the two are within 120' of one another. However, if a protector is slain, the magic-user must subtract one-quarter of the protector's maximum hit points from his own maximum hit points, permanently.

A new protector may not be summoned for one year. If a protector is located, the referee may use the following as examples:

Protector	Abilities Augmented
Cleric	+1 to armor class
Fighter	+1 to hit
Magic-User	+1 damage per die with spells
Thief	+1 saving throws

Anytime a protector is summoned, there is a 5% chance it is a special protector. The type is determined by the caster's alignment. Special protectors still have a class and level, as above, but they also have a role in human society that gives the caster a possible advantage. A potential protector is entitled to a saving throw versus spells and, if successful, the spell fails and the caster must wait 1 year before trying again.

Alignment	Type
Lawful (Good)	Paladin
Lawful	Magistrate
Lawful (Evil)	Aristocrat
Neutral	Merchant
Neutral (Balance)	Druid
Chaotic	Barbarian