Summoning

This article is about the summoning skill. For information on training summoning, see summoning training.

Summoning

Release date	15 January 2008 (Update)
Members only	Yes
Minimum level for Hiscores	15 as of 17 November 2012 - update
Players with 99	37,627 as of 17 November 2012 - update
Players with 200M XP	7 as of 17 November 2012 - update

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A detailed image of the Summoning icon

Summoning level up (link)

noicon

A player summons a Void Ravager familiar with the Summoning skill.

Summoning is a members-only skill which was released on 15 January 2008 and expanded on 31 March 2008. Wolf Whistle acts as an introduction to the skill, even though it is not required to start the skill. It teaches players to infuse the essence of a variety of creatures into Summoning pouches, then summon these creatures, called familiars. Each familiar has a unique ability that requires a Summoning scroll, made from a corresponding pouch, to use. Summoning familiars and creating scrolls gives very little experience, so players must create pouches in order to gain experience effectively, and, even then, it is a slow skill to train. Although Summoning is a slow skill to train, it is one of the most useful skills, not only to help you last longer at bosses, but also to help in training certain skills like Hunter or Runecrafting.

The current minimum requirement to be ranked (at approximately rank 670,747) on the hiscores for Summoning is level 15. As of 17 November 2012, there are 37,627 current members that have achieved level 99 in Summoning.

The Summoning skill has the same procedure as Prayer in the way that Summoning points are drained when a familiar is summoned; Much like if a prayer was activated. If a familiar has a special ability, points are also drained when that ability is used. (See the Familiars section or Summoning points for more details). Like prayer points, summoning points do not automatically recharge, so they must be recharged at a Summoning Obelisk or Small Obelisk, or by drinking a Summoning potion or a Super restore.

Summoning affects a player's combat level. Previously, the maximum combat level a player could reach was 126. When Summoning was added to the game, the maximum combat level was raised to 138.

Players who have a familiar with them, or a pouch in their inventory, have their combat level shown as the following: (combat level without Summoning) + (combat levels gained from Summoning) while in the Wilderness. The reason for this is so that player-killers are not discouraged from training Summoning.

Getting started

A good option is to start by doing the Wolf Whistle quest since you will reach a summoning level of 4 after it. However, you can start training summoning without completing the quest.

“	For many centuries now, the druids of Taverley and some of the ogre shamans of Gu'Tanoth have been bringing various familiars from other realms to help them with a variety of their tasks. Of course, the druids being peaceful and the ogres being more 'business-like', they traditionally summon entirely different familiars - what would a druid want with a rune minotaur, for example? What would an ogre do with a unicorn stallion? Having realised how useful this skill is to the adventurers of RuneScape, they have released the secret of their powers, and now you can enjoy the curious advantages that come with learning the art of Summoning. Summoning works by 'infusing' the essence of a creature from a strange realm into a type of pouch. When the Summoning pouch is opened, a portal is briefly activated to pull the familiar through to the world of RuneScape, where it is bound to serve its master for a period of time before the portal closes and it is pulled back.	”
	— Summoning: The Basics, Game Guide

It has been revealed by Pikkupstix, when you reach Level 99 Summoning, that the place where your Familiars hail from has never been part of Gielinor, yet is nevertheless part of our lives every day. Familiarisation allows you to access this realm, known as the Spirit Plane, for limited amounts of time, where you and a Familiar can hunt for raw shards. Other races than the druids, ogres, and now the humans, appear to possess some knowledge of Summoning; for instance, the Elf Warrior drops charms, hinting that the art is known to the Elven race as well.

Familiars

A moss titan.

Familiars are creatures that players may summon to help them with various tasks. The familiars have many different abilities, from boosting skills to aiding you in combat. All familiars have a special move which can be activated with Summoning scrolls. Only one familiar can be summoned at a time, and must be dismissed before another can be summoned.

In order to summon a familiar, players must use the "Summon" option on a Summoning pouch. Summoning familiars costs summoning points (similar again to Prayer points). While a familiar is out, summoning points will be slowly drained until they reach 0, again similar to prayer. The familiar does not disappear when the points reach 0, but any right-click abilities will be unavailable until the summoning points are recharged. Summoning points must be recharged at a Summoning Obelisk or by using Summoning potions or Super restore potions.

Players can talk to their familiars if they have at least 10 or more summoning levels above the required level to summon that familiar, (e.g. a spirit wolf can be understood at level 11) with some exceptions, such as minotaurs. Because the level cap at 99 and various other reasons, some familiars cannot be understood. (all summoning familars requiring level 90+ summoning)

The Chocatrice that could be commanded during the 2008 Easter event is one of the only three creatures that could be controlled by non-member players.

Eek! the spider, which could be obtained by doing the 2009 Halloween event, can also be controlled by a non-member.

Non-members can also summon a squirrel using the squirrel ears obtained during the 2010 Easter event.

Special abilities

Each familiar has a different special ability that they are able to use. Some are accessed by talking, using the familiar's special button, right clicking a familiar for another option, or simply summoning them.

Abilities	Description
Fighter	These familiars will fight alongside a player, and have combat levels similar to regular creatures. Until a recent update, a player had to be actively fighting and taking damage for his or her familiar to fight; but now it is possible to safespot with Ranged or Magic, and still have your familiar fight. Familiars will only fight in multi-combat areas.
Light enhancer	Some familiars can see well in the dark and will make any light source a player carries brighter.
Skill Booster	These familiars can either temporarily raise your level in a given skill, or provide an 'invisible' boost that is always active. If that stat has already been raised by a potion the skill boost will not work. Note that invisible skills boosts do not allow the player to perform an activity above their level; they simply help the player in increasing the efficiency of their activity at their current level.
Remote view	These familiars can fly into the air and allow the player to see through their eyes, giving the player the ability to see things much further away.
Beast of Burden	A beast of burden or BoB can carry a varying number of items. Certain familiars can only carry specific items, and only abyssal familiars can carry rune essence and pure essence. Beasts of burden will not carry items that have an individual value over 50k, but they will carry untradeable potions and flasks.
Healer	These familiars can heal a player's life points at a given rate. For example, the Bunyip heals a player twenty Life Points every 15 seconds.
Forager	A forager will find certain items from time to time, and can carry up to 30 of a specific type of item. Players are only able to withdraw items from these familiars, not deposit items in them.
Teleporter	These enable the summoner to teleport to a specific place when talked to. Examples are Spirit Kyatt and Arctic Bear.

It is possible for a Summoning pure/skiller to use summoned creatures to attack others without the risk of raising Constitution experience. For example, if the player had a Desert Wyrm summoned, he could use the Electric Lash scroll to deal damage without having to worry about gaining experience in Constitution.

Forbidden areas for familiars

File:Forbidden familiar message.png

This is the message that a player will get when they try to enter a non-familiar area.

There are certain places where you cannot summon familiars or bring them into:

• Falador Party Room.
• Familiars can't be summoned at a big Summoning Obelisk, although those that are already summoned can be brought to one.
• Familiars can't be summoned at the Nature Grotto in Mort Myre Swamp, although those that are already summoned can be brought here.
• You cannot bring a familiar into a Player Owned House in building mode.
• Many locations related to quests.
• Entrana - The monks will not allow your familiar or scrolls on Entrana;
• Keldagrim and Dorgesh-Kaan stations;
• The Elemental Workshop;
• Some activities:
  • The Barrows activity area;
  • The Mage Training Arena;
  • Pest Control - Familiars cannot enter the Void Knight boats;
  • Barbarian Assault - Whilst playing, familiars are not allowed;
  • Stealing Creation - Can summon Clay beings inside the activity;
  • The Tzhaar Fight Caves;
  • The Sawmill Training Area - Cannot bring in Beaver for the +2 Woodcutting level boost;
  • Under Daemonheim - You can summon special familiars from the Gorajo tribes.
• For most transportation methods, familiars will automatically follow you. Familiars, however, cannot be taken on some types of transportation, including:
  • The Broomstick teleporting you to the Sorceress's Garden;
  • The Dorgesh-Kaan - Keldagrim Train System.
  • The Ancient Cavern pier entrance. You cannot jump off the pier if a familiar is summoned. Familiars are allowed inside the cavern itself, and players can summon them there or bring them with them when using the fairy ring network or teleporting to Kuradal using a Ferocious ring.
• Golrie's Strongroom.
• The Brimhaven Agility Dungeon.

Some areas are not actually forbidden, but the familiar 'returns to the spirit plane' while the player is there. When the player leaves the area, the familiar returns. These areas include:

• The Grand Exchange.
• Every spa at Oo'glog.
• The Varrock Museum.

Pouches

frame

Summoning pouches are used to summon familiars. The creation of a pouch is relatively simple: the pouch is infused with the essence of a creature, or familiar, at a Summoning Obelisk which can then be summoned using the pouch. Infusing pouches yields experience in summoning. A pouch is used up when a familiar is summoned, and it is not restored when the familiar is dismissed.

Note that certain types of noted pouches (bloated leech, bronze minotaur, and other high shard pouches) can be sold to the ogre Bogrog to get up to 1 shard per 20 gold coins of pouch value.

Below is a table showing you what pouches to make with charms for the best xp/hr and for the lowest gp/hr used and in the order of which to make them.

Gold charm		Green charm		Crimson charm		Blue charm
Level	Familiar	Level	Familiar	Level	Familiar	Level	Familiar
4-16	Dreadfowl	18-28	Desert wyrm	19-32	Spirit scorpion	57-79	Spirit graahk
16-52	Granite Crab	28-33	Compost mound	32-46	Honey badger	79-99	Moss titan
52-66	Spirit terror bird	33-41	Beaver	46-49	Pyrelord	89-99	Geyser titan
66-99	Barker Toad	41-47	Macaw	49-64	Bloated leech
		47-56	Magpie	64-74	Stranger plant
		56-69	Ibis	74-85	Granite lobster
		69-80	Fruit bat	85-95	Swamp titan
		80-88	Hydra	95-96	Iron titan
		88-99	Unicorn stallion	96-99	Pack yak

Scrolls

Summoning scrolls are required to perform a familiar's special move. The special moves the scrolls can perform vary widely and are tied to the familiar. You must have the familiar summoned that the scrolls are tied to in order to use them. Using a scroll does not use any summoning points. Instead, it uses special move energy. You must have enough energy on the special energy bar to perform the action.

Scrolls are created by converting familiar pouches into scrolls at a Summoning obelisk. One pouch can be converted into 10 scrolls that are tied to the familiar the pouch was fused with.

Pets

Pets are animals that follow you all around RuneScape and are purely for decorative/entertainment purposes - with the exception of the broav, which plays a part in While Guthix Sleeps, the Saradomin owl and the Zamorak hawk, which both provide protection from respective factions in the God Wars Dungeon, and the platypus, which can be used to obtain caskets. They are very similar to pet cats, which can be obtained from the Gertrude's Cat quest. The differences are that you have to continue feeding your summoning pets after 100% growth, and pet cats require stroking to keep them from running away, whereas summoning pets do not.

Armour

Headdresses

• These items can only store Summoning scrolls that are used to attack.
• Combat scrolls stored in headdresses will automatically be used at random intervals when you attack with no cost to Special move points while in a multi-combat zone with your familiar summoned and when you are wearing the headdress.
• The scrolls stored in the headdress must match the familiar you have currently summoned for them to be used.
• The number of stored scrolls may be checked, by clicking on the "Commune" function of the headdress.
• By clicking "Uncharge" the scrolls will be taken out.
• The non-specific Summoning items (e.g. Adamant full helm) can be enchanted by Pikkupstix, for free, to store Summoning scrolls if you meet requirements to do so.

Pikkupstix enchants a helmet for the player.

The enchantable helms thus far:

Helm	Scroll Capacity	Summoning Level To Enchant
Adamant full helm	50	20
Slayer helmet	50	20
Full slayer helmet	50	20
Snakeskin bandana	50	20
Splitbark helm	50	30
Rune full helm	60	30
Warrior helm	70	35
Berserker helm	70	35
Archer helm	70	35
Farseer helm	70	35
Helm of neitiznot	90	45
Dragon helm	110	50
Lunar helm	110	55
Armadyl helm	120	60

To have the item disenchanted, speak to Pikkupstix and he will remove the enchantment for free.

• The specific Summoning items (e.g. antlers, lizard skull, and feather headdress) are the only items that require the summoning level to wear, while also giving some other stat bonuses.
• People may use the scroll-storing ability to limit the amount of bank space used for having scrolls.
• Some armour provides Summoning defence bonuses.

Locations

Summoning shops

There are Summoning shops in Taverley, Gu'Tanoth, and the Nature Grotto wishing well.

Pet shops

Pet shops exist in Yanille and Taverley. Players can buy pets and pet food at these stores, but only certain pets (as you get a cat from Gertrude in Varrock after completing Gertrude's Cat).

Summoning obelisk

• Summoning obelisks (as opposed to mini obelisks) are fully charged with summoning energy and can be used to recharge summoning points. They can also be used to infuse pouches and scrolls. See summoning points and infuse pouches and scrolls the main article for a list of their locations.

• Mini obelisks are partially-charged with summoning energy and may be used to recharge summoning points, but not to infuse pouches or scrolls. They have many locations, such as Edgeville or even, if the player has the required construction level and materials, in a players POH. For a complete list, please go to the main article.

Acquiring charms

There are 4 types of charms:

• Crimson charms
• Blue charms
• Green charms
• Gold charms

Notice: Obsidian, abyssal, talon beast, and all Void charms are not regular summoning charms as they are for specific summoning pouches and still require a charm plus the tertiary charm to make. (Example; a Spirit Tz-Kih pouch will require 64 Spirit Shards, 1 pouch, 1 crimson charm, AND an obsidian charm.)

Notice: Click on the charm for a full list of monsters with that charm as loot.

The Chaos Tunnels are one of the best areas to obtain charms. Players should be warned that the area is multicombat: see the main article for details.

Thieving

• Dorgesh-Kaan Average Chest (requires level 52 Thieving)
• Dorgesh-Kaan Rich Chest (requires level 78 Thieving)

Soul Wars

• Soul Wars rewards

Slayer assignments

More information found on the Slayer page.

General combat

See Charm gatheringfor a list of monsters with high charm drop rates. Common monsters to kill for charms include rock lobsters, waterfiends, and cockroach soldiers.

Hunter

• Spirit Impling (requires level 54 hunter)
• Charm sprite (requires level 72 hunter)

Temporary boosts

Due to its nature, Summoning cannot be boosted in most of RuneScape. This is analogous to the Prayer skill. However, in a Clan Citadel battlefield, the Powerup (skill) tile can be configured to boost Summoning anywhere from -10 to +10, or -10% and +10%. This is the only way to obtain a visible boost for the Summoning skill. This is particularly useful for investigating Ancient effigies.

This boost is only a boost in Summoning points, and while it may be used for the purpose of investigating effigies, the player's base Summoning level is still used to determine what familiars a player may summon. This means that even with this boost, the player still cannot summon a familiar that requires a higher level than their base Summoning level.

As the number of Summoning points is determined by the player's temporary level, and Summoning points do not regenerate with time, this boost does not wear off. However, it is completely removed upon exiting the battlefield. Therefore, it cannot be used outside a battle.

It is also possible to obtain a summoning boost during Ritual of the Mahjarrat when touching the Stone of Jas. Since Summoning points, like Prayer points, do not regenerate or wear off with time, this boost lasts even after finishing the quest until a familiar is summoned and points drain below one's Summoning level or until one's character dies.

Travelling

A player wearing a Summoning cape and performing the Skillcape emote

See Summoning obelisk trips for a guide on fast trips to and from Summoning Obelisks.

Cape of accomplishment

Once a player has mastered the skill and reached level 99, Pikkupstix (in Taverley) will sell them a Summoning cape. Refer to the Capes guide for more details. Because summoning takes many other combat skills to raise, untrimmed capes are very rare. Before the Bonus Experience Weekend, very few players had obtained an untrimmed Summoning cape, however several players managed to obtain the untrimmed cape during the event.

History

Date	Update	Description
15 January 2008	Summoning!	Summoning was released.
17 January 2008	Summoning Changes	Spirit shards halved in price from 50 coins to 25 coins, anyone who bought shards for 50 coins were given the same number of shards that they bought by talking to Pikkupstix in Taverley.
31 March 2008	Summoning 2	Second batch of Summoning familiars released, timer was changed to a set amount of time per pouch, familiar abilities were boosted, combat familiars now gave combat experience, charm drops added to more monsters, headdresses released.
7 May 2008	Perils of Ice Mountain	Bogrog will swap Summoning pouches for 70% of the spirit shards needed to make them.
15 October 2008	PvP Worlds	Summoning is separated from overall combat level.
6 January 2009	In Pyre Need	Phoenix familiars and Phoenix egglings released.
28 April 2009	Summoning Upgrade and Hairstyles	Doubled the amount of pets players can have, added familiar timer renewal feature.
8 July 2009	Mobilising armies	All functions of the Summoning interface moved to the Summoning icon near the mini-map.
18 August 2009	Familiar controls	A new screen was implemented (the one shown above). A player reaches it by right clicking on the summoning icon and choosing Follower Details. The only difference is that now a player can choose for their follower to attack a selected target. As well as being able to configure what happens when the icon is clicked.
25 May 2011	Pouch Screen	We've added a toggle option to the Summoning pouch/scroll creation interface, so you can view either all possible pouches/scrolls that can be made or only those you're currently carrying the tertiary component for. This should make things easier for those who already know what pouches/scrolls they are planning to make. The option you choose will persist between logins.

Gallery

• 

  The login page when Summoning was released in January 2008

• 

  The RuneScape banner during the release of Summoning.

Trivia

• The Run energy update on 9 June 2009 changed the summoning icon located near the mini-map to , but the next day it was changed to .
• Along with Mobilising Armies, the update on 8 July 2009 moved all the functions of the Summoning tab to the Summoning icon near the mini-map. Jagex cited the fact that it was only accessible some of the time as the reason for the change.
• During A Void Dance, if you talk to Jessika about what she studies, she will reveal that there are two types of summoning; Arcane and Druidic Summoning. Druidic Summoning is the skill players can learn, while arcane summoning is likely the branch of magic that Wizard Grayzag and Evil Dave study.
• Before the Troll Warzone update on 31 January 2012, the Wolf Whistle quest had to be completed before summoning could be trained.
• Before the graphical updates, there was a Summoning icon and what level you are even if you are F2P. This is no longer valid.
• Until 7 February 2012, BoBs were unable to carry any untradeable item, but this was changed on that date to allow them to carry untradeable potions and potion flasks.
• Depending on your Skill levels, it is possible to have a F2P combat level of 126 and have a P2P combat level of 138, being 126+12. An example of a player who is 126+12 is one who has 99 in all combat levels except one melee skill. Say you have 98 Attack, and the rest of your combat skills are 99, your combat level will be 126+12.

See also

• Quest experience rewards - Summoning
• Pouches calculator
• Scrolls calculator
• Draw order, a finer point in familiar/player appearance.
• Grand Exchange Market Watch/Summoning
• Summoning/Level up table
• Summoning training, a guide to training Summoning