Summoner

A battlefield controller who overwhelms encounters by commanding squads of summoned minions. They trade personal action economy for control, attrition, and denial — shaping the map with bodies, formations, and forced responses. You rarely deal damage yourself; your army does it for you.

Heroic Resource: Essence

• Gain Essence equal to your Victories at the start of combat, and 2 more each turn.
• Gain 1 more the first time each round that a minion dies within your Summoner's Range — yours or the enemy's.
• Sacrifice your own minions to reduce the cost of summoning and abilities. Losses aren't a setback; they're fuel.
• Essence resets at the end of the encounter.

Core Mechanics

• Control up to 8 minions, organised into two squads, and command them within your Summoner's Range.
• Issue orders per squad, not per minion. Minions block space, absorb hits, redirect damage, and set up your allies.
• You're expected to lose minions — their deaths feed your engine — and can let them strike in your place. Formations and quick commands reshape the flow of the fight.

Subclasses (Circles)

• Demon — aggressive pressure and self-destruction; corruption and punishment for getting close.
• Undead — attrition, durability, and zone denial, with triggers on death.
• Fey — mobility, forced movement, and swarms; positional control.
• Elemental — terrain effects, area control, and elemental punishment.