[crossfire] Spell path balance - Summoning

[Kevin R. Bulgrien]

First, I recall that there has been some discussion about playing
crossfire that suggests that specialization of skills is necessary
to get extremely advanced characters, and that crossing disciplines
will tend to limit how far a character can go, or how easy it is to
level up.

Second, in spite of the above, I have been playing a character that
has tended toward trying to raise several disciplines in a somewhat
consistant manner.  This approach was taken so as to be able to
more easily experience different aspects of Crossfire so as to be
able to enjoy taking a go at playing different games, but all the
while using a single character instead of multiple characters.

All that being said, a few years ago there was a concentrated effort
to enhance the concept of creating balanced spell paths.  What I am
interested in is whether or not there are players out there that
concentrate in the summoning path.  The reason is two-fold.  One is
that I wonder if I do not know "how" to play a summoner, and the
other is whether summoning is completely out-of-balance.  It seems
like it is extremely difficult to level a summoner.  What sort of
game playing style is needed to make a summoner level the same way
that the other path players can.  If killing monsters with summoned
creatures is the primary way of getting experience, then the path is
completely unbalanced as it takes eons of mind-bendingly boring
snooze, summon, attack, snooze until summoned character is dead
cycles.  Am I just missing the point of this path, or is it really
not very well balanced?