Summoning Magic • Legacy Nature Spell

Summon Nature’s Ally V

Summon Nature’s Ally V calls one powerful natural ally or several weaker creatures to fight for the caster. The Witch archive preserves the spell at 5th level; published class access varies by edition.

Summon Nature’s Ally V at a Glance

5.5e / 2024	No spell by this name in SRD 5.2.1
5e / 2014	No core spell by this name
Pathfinder 1e	Use the Pathfinder summoning rules and class list
D&D 3.5e	Druid 5; preserved Witch archive also lists Witch 5

Spell Rules by Edition

5.5e / 20245e / 2014Pathfinder 1eD&D 3.5e

5.5e / 2024

Status: no spell by this name in SRD 5.2.1. Use the modern summoning spells appropriate to the campaign.

5e / 2014

Status: no core spell by this name.

Pathfinder 1e

School	Conjuration (Summoning) [see text]
Level	Druid 5, Hunter 5, Shaman 5 (not a default Pathfinder Witch spell)
Components	V, S, DF
Casting Time	1 round
Range	Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect	One or more summoned creatures; see below
Duration	1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw	None
Spell Resistance	No

Summon one creature from the Pathfinder 5th-level Summon Nature’s Ally list, 1d3 creatures of the same kind from the 4th-level list, or 1d4+1 creatures of the same kind from a lower-level list. Use the Pathfinder lists, not the D&D 3.5e creature table. A summoned creature obeys the normal restrictions on further summoning and planar travel.

Pathfinder source: Archives of Nethys — Summon Nature’s Ally V.

D&D 3.5e

School	Conjuration (Summoning) [see text]
Level	Druid 5; the historical Witch archive separately lists Witch 5
Components	V, S, DF
Casting Time	1 round
Range	Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect	One or more creatures, no two more than 30 ft. apart
Duration	1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw	None
Spell Resistance	No

Functions as Summon Nature’s Ally I, but calls one creature from the 5th-level 3.5e list, 1d3 creatures of the same kind from the 4th-level list, or 1d4+1 lower-level creatures of the same kind. Summoned creatures appear in legal spaces within range and act on the caster’s turn under the summoning rules.

Creatures with alignment or elemental subtypes may impart descriptors to the casting. The full 3.5e creature list is not interchangeable with Pathfinder’s list.

Rules source: D&D 3.5 SRD — Summon Nature’s Ally V.

What Changed?

Fifth edition replaced this numbered progression with different summoning spells. Pathfinder and 3.5e retain numbered Summon Nature’s Ally lists, but their available creatures and class access are edition-specific.

Using Summon Nature’s Ally V in Play

The main decision is action economy: one stronger creature for durability and abilities, or several weaker allies for space control, flanking and multiple attacks.

Counterplay and Rulings

Concentration is not the duration: use the chosen edition’s 1-round-per-level duration and spell-termination rules; do not convert to 2024 concentration.
Dispel Magic: can end a summoned creature’s ongoing magic under the edition’s dispelling rules; spell resistance and a saving throw do not apply to the summoning effect itself.
Counterspell: can stop the casting if the opponent satisfies the edition’s counterspelling requirements.
Legal placement: summoned allies need legal spaces, obey the selected list’s type restrictions and do not create endless chains of additional summons.

Mythical Context

Artemis could appear as potnia theron, the Mistress of Animals, presiding over creatures rather than treating them as mere weapons. A summoned ally can therefore carry the authority of the wild and its own instinctive nature. See the Metropolitan Museum’s image of Artemis with swans.

Historical Context

A Corinthian vase dated to around 620–590 BCE depicts the winged Artemis holding birds; this is an archaeological witness to how animal guardianship was imagined in Greek art. It does not document people summoning animals by spell. See the Metropolitan Museum’s Early Corinthian vase.