Shaman

Shamans are the “witch-doctors” and tribal priests of the more primitive civilizations such as Barbarians and Orcs. These cultures do believe in the gods and often regard one or more as their patron, but they believe it is arrogant for mortals to seek direct communication with the gods themselves. For this reason these cultures do not have clerics but instead rely on the shamans who commune and draw power, called favor, from the magic of nature and the spirits surrounding our world. These spirits may represent natural elements or animals and sometimes even ancestors and heroes of the people.

While their direct power is not necessarily as strong as a mage or cleric, and their starting spells are neither numerous nor very powerful, they have access to powers and abilities no other class possesses and the sheer number of spells available to them is unmatched. Additionally they are able to communicate with spirits and can often travel freely in and out of the spirit world.

In matters of this strange mirror of our own world, there is no better guide than a shaman. New shamans begin with the spells Light, Bless, Minor Healing and two other random spells from the starting list. Shamans buy favor at a ratio of 3 character points for 2 favor. In order to avoid fractional numbers, this must be purchased in 2 favor point increments.

Maximum Health – 22

Piety – 2 favor is gained per 3 character points spent

Skill

1-Handed Blunt

1-Handed Edged

2-Handed Blunt

2-Handed Edged

Apply Poison

Armor Field Repair

Bow

Brawling

Burst of Strength

Courage

Crafting: Armorsmith

Crafting: Blacksmith

Crafting: Brewer/Vintner

Crafting: Carpenter/Woodworker

Crafting: Chef

Crafting: Weaponsmith

Create Preservation Oil

Crossbow

Daze

Diagnose

Disable

Disarm

First Aid

Gathering: Farmer

Gathering: Fisher

Gathering: Harvesting

Gathering: Hunter

Gathering: Logger

Gathering: Miner

Gathering: Naturalist

Gathering: Scrounger

Hard Headed

Hard to Kill

Health

Health (11-14)

Health (15-18)

Health (19-22)

Killing Blow

Knockdown

Parry

Poison Craft

Poison Tolerance

Polearm/Spear

Shield

Sixth Sense

Small Weapon

Spirit’s Favor

Staff

Sweep

Thrown Weapon

Cost

Prerequisites

None

Alchemy

None

Blunt Weapon, Staff, or Brawling

None

10 Health

14 Health

18 Health

None

2-Handed Weapon

None

Staff, Spear, or Polearm

None

Self-Taught

Yes

Shamanic Magic & Spells

Shamanic magic is widely practiced in the more primitive cultures of Realms of Adventure. Shamans draw their power from the spirit world, a realm that exists parallel to our own. The magic of the shaman is channeled from this world through the natural elements, the creatures of nature and even the spirits of dead heroes and ancestors. Shamans do believe in the gods but feel it is folly to try to demand power from the gods themselves, instead shamans ask the spirits for what they need. The power that shamans ask the spirits for is called favor. When a new shaman character is made they will probably have a small amount of favor and spells to start with. As time goes on and the character grows they will be able to purchase more favor points allowing him to cast a greater amount of spells as well as open the possibility to learning spells of even greater power. This is representative of the shaman currying greater influence with the denizens of the spirit world. When a shaman character is first created they begin with the Light spell, the Minor Healing spell, the Bless spell and two random starting spells from the beginning list, determined at check in. This beginning list consists of the very basic spells available to shamans, but rest assured there are many more available. Shamans may learn additional spells including advanced and “hidden” spells by either finding a teacher in game or sometimes shamans are forced to bargain with or combat spirits to acquire new spells or receive the insight they need. Since shamans rely on oral tradition no scrolls of knowledge exist for them.

Light
Cost: 0
Incant: “I create this source of magical light.”
Effect: By using a glowstick the caster may activate it to represent a magical light spell. This spell requires no favor to cast and may be cast as many times as you have glowsticks. You may use this glowstick to light a room, mark a path or give to another individual. The spell lasts for as long as the glowstick lasts. Players must supply their own glowsticks.
Bless
Cost: 0
Incant: “I bless you/this item in the name of the great spirit.”
Effect: This spell is mainly for role-playing purposes. It has no measurable in game effect. It may however be useful or needed for certain in game situations.
Minor Healing
Cost: 1
Incant: “I heal your/my body 1 health.”
Effect: This spell restores 1 health to an injured subject. Your health may never exceed your maximum through healing.
Communication
Cost: 1
Incant: “I create a sphere of communication, 10 minutes.”
Effect: This spell allows everyone within earshot of the caster to speak and understand any spoken language for ten minutes. This will not work on creatures with no intelligence, most undead, or those speaking in gibberish.
Awaken
Cost: 1
Incant: “I wake you from your sleep.”
Effect: This spell will immediately awaken a sleeping or unconscious target. This spell works on normal and magical sleep brought upon by exhaustion, poison, venom, spell, potion, or waylay. This will not wake someone who is dying from lethal poison or during their death count from normal injuries.
Lesser Empowerment
Cost: 1
Incant: “I grant you/myself lesser empowerment, 2 magic health.”
Effect: This spell grants 2 points of magical health to the individual it is cast upon. This may not be stacked with any other magical health (i.e. Arcane Vigor) and if damaged the recipient of this spell will lose these magical health points after they lose normal armor and before they lose their normal health. These points cannot be healed.
Lesser Spirit Armor
Cost: 1
Incant: “I grant you/myself 2 magic armor.”
Effect: This spell grants 2 points of magical armor to the individual it is cast upon. This may not be stacked with any other magical armor (i.e. Barkskin, Ice armor) and if damaged the recipient of this spell will lose these magical armor points first.
Magic Dart
Cost: 1. If Magic Dart is the 1st Shamanic Dart you’ve learned, it costs 0 mana for you to cast.
Incant: “Magic dart, damage 1.”
Effect: This is a minor attack spell causing 1 point of magic damage.
Arcane Tolerance
Cost: 2
Incant: “I grant you/myself 5 spell armor”
Effect: This spell grants the target 5 spell armor that will only function against magical damage, regardless of the magic type (for example: fire, ice, etc). This will not stack with itself, but may stack with items or effects that provide a similar effect. As this spell armor only functions against damage, it will not defend you from the non-damaging effects of spells.
Speak with Spirit
Cost: 1
Incant: “I speak with Spirit.”
Effect: This spell must be cast upon a spirit and allows the caster to converse with it. Normally you may not speak to a spirit (although you can see it) without the aid of this or a similar spell.

Shaman

Shamanic Magic & Spells

Shamanic Spells