poké-esqe

Tried to make a 5th edition D&D warlock pact for Final Fantasy-esque summoning awhile back and I’m still not happy with the result. This fits more neatly into the way 5th edition classes work, leverages the large number of existing creatures in the Monster Manual, and allows for pokemon-style critter-collecting.

from tactics ogre: let us cling together

You are the student of an asura, deva, or legendary monarch in the Art of Royalty and have learned to command fealty from lesser spirits.

Starting at 1st level
You can spend your action to bind a willing or incapacitated elemental, fey, incorporeal undead, celestial, fiend, or dragon with a CR equal to or less than your warlock level divided by 3, rounded down (If your level is 1, you can bind creatures with a CR of 1 or less). You can only have 1 bound creature at a time. If you exceed this limit, you must choose a creature to release from its binding. Released creatures appear in a space adjacent to you. If they are neutral or friendly, they will simply depart. If they despise you, they will give you at least a 24 hour running start before they start trying to kill you.

You can spend an action to conjure a bound creature for 10 minutes.. The creature appears in a space adjacent to you and is friendly to you and your companions for as long as you maintain concentration.  The creature gets its own initiative and turns. It obeys all spoken commands you give it, and commanding it does not require you to spend any actions.

If your concentration is broken, the creature breaks free from your control. If it was hostile before you bound it, it again becomes hostile towards you and your companions, and may flee to cause greater mischief. If it was neutral or friendly, it might require you to convince it to enter your service again, possibly demanding a bribe. You cannot dismiss an uncontrolled creature, and uncontrolled creatures do not count towards your bound total.

The creature vanishes once the 10 minutes expire. Dismissing a controlled creature early is a free action. Bound creatures can die like any other.

You can conjure a bound creature once, and regain your use of this ability when you take a short or long rest. 

Starting at 6th level
You can bind up to three creatures.You can conjure any one of them once, and regain your use of this ability when you take a short or long rest.

Starting at 10th level
You can bind up to five creatures. You can conjure any one of them once, and regain your use of this ability when you take a short or long rest.

Starting at 14th level
You can bind up to seven creatures. You can conjure any one of them once, and regain your use of this ability when you take a short or long rest.