Shaman
While the new druid concept is tied to planets and environments, the shaman is tied to elements.
This class is part of the general d20 revamp, as well as the Force revamp.
The mechanics for this class are inspired by the bending system developed here.
This class is still under construction.
The Shaman Seeds Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Known 1 +0 +0 +0 +2 Elemental Initiate 4 2 +1 +0 +0 +3 5 3 +2 +1 +1 +3 Elemental Focus 7 4 +3 +1 +1 +4 8 5 +3 +1 +1 +4 Elemental Focus 10 6 +4 +2 +2 +5 11 7 +5 +2 +2 +5 Elemental Focus 13 8 +6/+1 +2 +2 +6 14 9 +6/+1 +3 +3 +6 Elemental Focus 16 10 +7/+2 +3 +3 +7 17 11 +8/+3 +3 +3 +7 Elemental Expertise 19 12 +9/+4 +4 +4 +8 20 13 +9/+4 +4 +4 +8 Elemental Expertise 22 14 +10/+5 +4 +4 +9 23 15 +11/+6/+1 +5 +5 +9 Elemental Expertise 25 16 +12/+7/+2 +5 +5 +10 26 17 +12/+7/+2 +5 +5 +10 Elemental Expertise 28 18 +13/+8/+3 +6 +6 +11 30 19 +14/+9/+4 +6 +6 +11 32 20 +15/+10/+5 +6 +6 +12 Elemental Mastery 36
Contents
Shaman
- "In the storm that is the elements, I am the calm in the center."
The druid's province is the environment; he concerns himself with each part of the world in turn, attuning himself to the various natural places of the planet. The shaman takes a much different approach to Nature, however: rather than attune herself to a specific land, she attunes herself to a pair of opposed elements. This universal approach allows her to access the power of Nature wherever she may go, but she requires her chosen elements to work with.
For the shaman, the concept of balance is pantamount. Whereas other Natural classes tend towards variety and versatility, the shaman's abilities are incredibly focused; while a creative shaman can attain versatility, she will always be restricted to her chosen elements. A shaman's choice of elemental pairs speaks a good deal about her personality, as well as the method in which she uses them; oftentimes younger shamans will favor one element over the other in each pair, while older shamans often seek to combine two if not all four of their chosen elements in achieving their goals.
Adventures: Shamans seek challenges that require them to use the elements in different ways, allowing them to experiment with new combinations, as well as challenging them to gain a more thorough understanding of the elements. Some shamans seek to share their beliefs about balance with others, and one of the best ways to show the strength of elemental balance is via adventuring.
Characteristics: The shaman is a powerful Force-user, if her chosen elements are available; while other Force-users are limited in some fashion, a shaman can continue to use her abilities - known as bending - again and again. However, this power comes at a price: a shaman without access to her elements is next to useless. Shamans have a keen understanding of the elements and how they interact, and are often knowledgeable of the other Forces in their Trinity (Divine and Void).
Religion: As part of the Trinity of Philosophy (in which resides Divine), shamans often actively refuse to worship a deity. They acknowledge Nature as the more powerful force in the world, an impartial creator that demands nothing and gives nothing in return. Shamans may choose to follow Eidolons; most choose to follow Drachyus, while others follow an Eidolon that is more in-tune with their own personality.
Background: Shamans often come from more primal backgrounds, as cultures that have developed complex social or technological advances often lose touch with the natural world. Shamans may come from such complicated lands, though these shaman are often distraught and feel a need to return to a simpler time and world. Shamans may be attracted to more civilized lands by the lure of possibly teaching new people about the elements, or simply to reach an understanding with such people.
Races: Any race with a natural connection to Nature is an excellent fit for the shaman, and races that tend towards tribal or loose groupings (such as halflings or orcs), as well as those that dwell in wilderness rather than in cities, may produce shamans. Races and nations that have well-developed or complicated social settings or technological advances may lack the primal understanding necessary to produce shamans.
Other Forces: Shamans get along well with any Natural class, and they tend to detest any Divine or Void class. Shamans also tend towards a dislike of Technology, though there certainly are shamans keenly interested in such gadgets; those who show an interest in Technology often espouse the philosophy that both Nature and Technology seek to reinforce the natural laws of the world. Magic and Psionics, however, are often seen as "cheating" the world. Time, Blue, and Chaos are often left unconsidered by most shaman; some are intrigued by Time's abilities, while others despise it as the worst sort of manipulation of the natural world. Blue is often seen as a useful tool to show that a primal understanding of the elements was once common to most people, while Chaos is often simply ignored due to its nature.
Role: The shaman is a Force-user, and that usually means that she will be in the back of an adventuring party, using her Force abilities. Her ability to use her bending at will, with no limits, can be incredibly useful, but the requirement that her elements be present may make her unreliable. A shaman's abilities are also greatly influenced by which elements she chooses.
Game Rule Information
Shamans have the following game statistics.
Force Alignment: Nature.
Force Resistances: DI 5 + level, VI 5 + level.
Abilities: (Uncertain at this time.)
Hit Die: d6 (?).
Class Skills: The Shaman’s class skills are...?
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int. (?)
Alignment: Any neutral.
Starting Age: Simple.
Starting Gold: 3d4 x 10gp.
Favored By: None.
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the shaman.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Shamans are proficient with all simple weapons and light armor, but not shields.
Elements: Each shaman chooses to focus on two pairs of elements, with each pair consisting of opposed elements. In this manner, the shaman can better achieve balance: by understanding opposing natural elements, she is better able to understand their roles in relation to each other, as well as reach a point at which she understands how to combine the two.
A shaman chooses two element combinations from the list below.
Air and Earth Water and Fire Ice and Lightning Light and Shadow
Once this choice is made, the shaman cannot change it later; in addition, a character cannot multiclass into shaman again and choose a different combination of elements.
Shamans can only learn seeds from their chosen elements and the nonelemental seeds; she can never learn seeds of the other four elements.
Seeds (Na): The shaman's manipulation of her Force is the usage of seeds. A seed is similar to a spell, but requires a (class skill check) to be used; in addition, using a seed usually requires that an amount of the seed's element is available.
In situations when two of the shaman’s known seeds are compatible with each other, they can be executed simultaneously or in conjunction with the shaman’s other abilities; doing so uses the activation time of the longest seed and uses the seeds’ combined (casting) DCs + 4.
Elemental Mastery: At 20th level, your understanding of one of your chosen elements has reached its pinnacle; your understanding of that element is complete.
Choose one of the following abilities. You must meet all of its prerequisites.
- Lightning Overload (Na): Whenever you make a Bending check to produce an effect based on Lightning seeds, also roll a d%. If the result of the d% is less than your Wisdom score, you produce the effect again (regardless of how many seeds are involved), but at half-strength. If the effect deals damage, the duplicate effect deals half damage; otherwise, the saving throw DC is halved. If neither of these effects apply, then this ability has no effect. (Prerequisites: At least 9 Lightning seeds known.)
Seeds
Seeds are not sorted by level, but are instead sorted by element.
Note: All elements must have at least 18 seeds, and no more than 20.
Air
SEED NAME DC Description Air Blast 5 Focus air currents around you into a jetstream, forcefully pushing objects. Deflect Attack 5 Deflect ranged attacks with air. Particles 10 By kicking up dust and sand, you can obscure vision and blind opponents. Run as the Wind 10 Manipulate the air to allow you to run faster or up walls. Palm Bow +10 Create a windtunnel in your hands, allowing you to throw projectiles faster. (Template) Air Burst +10 A larger amount of air results in a larger affected area. (Template) Leap 15 You can use the wind to assist your jumps. Windsphere 15 You can compress air into a whirling sphere. Acoustics 15 You can manipulate air to muffle or amplify sound. Aerial Strikes 15 Manipulate air to cause your attacks to hit faster and harder. Elemental 15 You can form an air elemental that you control. Deep Breath +15 Manipulate the element of air without somatic components. (Template) Levitate 20 Manipulate the air around you to allow you to hover. Air Scythe 20 Compress air into a powerful scythe. Stormwind 20 Conjure winds of storm-like intensity. Air Shield 25 Surround yourself in a shield of air. Engulfing Wind 25 Use air to create a windtunnel that makes movement difficult. Tornado 30 Manipulate the air into creating a tornado.
Earth
Earth Blast Deflect Attack Move Earth Dust Earth Wall Column Tilt Armor Tremorsense Steady Stance Create Rubble Compact Elemental Earthstride Catapult Excavate Earthquake Immobilize Metalbending (Template) Rift
Fire
Fire Blast Deflect Attack Play with Fire Fire Kick (Template) Fire Whip Explosion (Template) Blades of Fire Intensity Burning Rush Fire Sweep Fiery Soul Elemental Incandesce Break Stance (Template) Breath of the Dragon (Template) Fire Burst Wall of Fire Blue Fire (Template) Flamethrower
Water
Water Blast Deflect Attack Manipulate Melt Mist Water Whip Tentacle Healing Water Water Shield Steady Stance Water Spout Pressure (Template) Water Walk Propel Armor Wave Elemental Feel the Flow Bend Plants Bloodbending
Ice
SEED NAME DC Description Ice Blast 5 Focus nearby ice into a sharp blast. Deflect Attack 5 Deflect ranged attacks with ice. Chill 5 Allows you to produce ice from water. Permafrost + 5 Improve the duration and side-effects of your ice seeds. (Template) Ice Shards 10 Mold ice into sharp shards. Icy Soul +10 Reduce bending time and improve chance to freeze targets. (Template) Frostbite +10 Gives your ice seeds a chance to freeze targets solid. (Template) Elemental 15 You can form an ice elemental that you control. Frost Ward 15 Protect yourself from the cold. Shatter +15 Improves your chances of critically affecting frozen targets. (Template) Piercing Ice +15 Improves damage dealt by your ice seeds. (Template) Frost Armor 20 Sheath yourself in a protective layer of frost. Frost Nova 20 Causes the ice in an area to rise up around those in an area, trapping them. Freeze +20 Gives your ice seeds the ability to freeze targets solid. (Template) Cone of Cold 25 Using ice, you can produce a cone of freezing air. Ice Barrier 25 Instantly protect yourself from damage. Ice Block 25 Encase yourself in a block of ice, protecting you. Cold Snap +25 Allows you to maintain control over ice. (Template) Blizzard Var You can rapidly cool the environment in a small area, making snow or ice.
Lightning
SEED NAME DC Description Lightning Blast 5 Focus lightning into a small bolt. Deflect Attack 5 Deflect ranged attacks with lightning. Gather Static 5 Gather up static electricity around you. Arc Blade 10 Create a weapon from electricity. Bolt 10 Form electricity into a bolt of lightning. Concussion +10 Add thunder to your lightning, producing sonic effects. (Template) Fork +10 Forked lightning, but reduces effectiveness. (Template) Elemental 15 You can form a lightning elemental that you control. Lightning Shield 15 Sheath yourself in a protective field of lightning. Ride the Lightning 15 Travel as fast as lightning. Chain +15 You can cause lightning to jump from target to target. (Template) Shock +15 Your lightning effects cause residual damage. (Template) Arc Field 20 Create a field of electricity. Overload 20 Damage mechanical and technological objects. Attractor 25 Attract nearby lightning to you. Magnetism +25 Add magnetism to lightning effects, producing an electromagnet. (Template) Storm 30 Manipulate environment into producing a thunderstorm. Purple Lightning +30 Instead of normal whites and blues, your lightning is a faster, hotter purple. (Template)
Light
Light Blast Deflect Attack Manipulate Elemental
Shadow
Shadow Blast Deflect Attack Manipulate Cloak of Shadows Elemental
Nonelemental
Natural Weapon Detect Nature Repel Nature Detect Philosophy Repel Divine Repel Void Detect Reality Detect Remembrance Repel Blue Repel Chaos Repel Magic Repel Psionics Repel Technology Repel Time Ancestral Spirit
