[Saxon]

Hmm, interesting. Let me re-phrase. It is a lottery and I have yet to win! I have yet to see the really big guys, with the exception of an Horror which ate my units. Knowing that the big guys are out there makes me more willing to keep trying. The main reason I have been put off this is that I have not gotten anything decent after spending quite a lot of time on it.

The way you break down the cost makes the price seem lower. However, spending the 150 early on does carry a higher opportunity cost than the 15 a turn would suggest, so it is still pretty weighty.

My impression is that magic items are pretty important for survivability, as both my priest and the guards are frequently all eaten. Once I got a couple of decent items, it was just the guards providing a snack and buying some time. Pendant of Luck stood out as an easy to get early item which was useful. Effectively cutting damage in half is a big plus.

One other thing, the calculation of the half life of a summoner. I think it would be more than 15 turns. The reason is that early on, when the skill is low, you get less success. As such, not every turn counts towards possible insanity, my impression is only successful attempts result in insanity. I would guess that 15 successful summons probably take until turn 30. That is the mid or end point of most games, so you probably only get one of these guys, who gets any good, each time you play. However, if you did take that into account in your calculation, it would be great to know.