Summon monster VII

Summon monster VII, also known as monster summoning VII, was a conjuration spell that called a creature to fight for the caster. The version that was more popular by the Year of Wild Magic summoned outsiders; prior, the most popular version summoned natural monsters instead. It was also the most powerful version of the summon monster series known up to that year.

Effects
Summon monster VII functioned similarly to the spell able to be cast by less experienced casters: summon monster I. However, this more powerful spell allowed the caster to summon monsters such as avorals, djinni, invisible stalkers, red slaadi, bone devil or babau. It could also summon elementals the size of elephants, celestial elephants, or fiendish monstrous scorpions the size of elephants, megaraptors and girallons. In the water, it could summon celestial baleen whales or fiendish giant octopi. It yielded one of those creatures; alternatively, it could be used to summon a greater number of monsters from a lower level spell.

The version most popular prior to summoned instead a number of monsters native to the Prime instead. The number varied between one and three in all cases, and there was a delay of a minute: the summons could be answered by basilisks, behirs or tunnel worms, bulettes, chimeras, ettins or hill giants, flesh golems, gorgons, hydras with ten heads, pyrohydras or cryohydras of eight heads, fire lizards, mummies, neo-otyughs, black puddings, ropers, shambling mounds, giant slugs, hieracosphinxes, 2-headed trolls, umber hulks or xorns. Up to two would appear.

The spell's yield in saltwater was altered to manta rays, giant sea slugs, giant sea snakes, or giant squids. In freshwater, the spell summoned giant catfishes, green hags, water nagas, or giant sea snakes.

The earlier spell could also be made to summon even stronger monsters: by increasing the delay to two minutes and allowing for only a single monster to be summoned, the creature would instead number among rhinoceros beetles, fire giants, frost giants, fomorians, stone golems, gorgimeras, 12-headed hydras or 8-headed lernaean hydras, brown puddings, remorhazes, rust monsters, will o'wisps, or even purple worms.

The increased delay, in fresh water, resulted in the summons answered by giant sea slugs, dragon turtles, kuo-toa monitors, and mottled worms. In salt water, the effect was even more drastic, and could bring forth eyes of the deep, dragon turtles, kraken, giant sharks, the largest of vodyanoi, killer whales, small herbivore whales, and mottled worms. However, the caster ran a certain risk when they summoned a kraken or a vodyanoi. Those creatures were too willful for the spell's power to control them completely, and if commanded to act against their nature, there was a slim chance they might spurn the spell's yoke on their intentions and act free-willed for as long as the summon lasted.

Descriptor note
When this was used to summon creatures of a certain type, the spell itself would be considered a spell of the creature's type.

History
The spell was attributed to Netherese arcanist Lucke in and was originally called Lucke's 7th monster summons.