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 396,727) on the hiscores for Summoning is level 15. As of 5 February 2013, there are 33,391 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.