Poll of the Day > What skills and abilities should the class "Shaman" have?

(+) Yeah! (+)

There's several schools of thought here...

The first is all nature stuff, making them essentially the Geomancer... earthquakes, tornadoes/whirlwinds, lightning strikes

The second is animal stuff; Shapeshifting, feral companions, phantasmal familiars and so on

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The third is that video games are dumb and Shaman is a contrivance from the get go to conflate a bunch of disparate ideas that don't hold enough water on their own...

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The ability to turn ghosts into little spirit balls and put them in stuff

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Some level of healing abilities for sure
Some kind of representation of psychoactive compounds found in nature
Seer abilities, maybe something involving remote viewing
and of course buffs in the form of passing on enlightened perspectives

and obviously they wield a staff

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I have a shamn in elder scrolls online and he is part hunter with a bow and part medicine man with alchemy. He can control the weather too. For anyone who plays ESO he is a stamina sorcerer.

Well when a typical real world Shaman comes to mind they remind you about the Druid by another name, so most of the time it feels like the same thing, unless you go for an African-type Shaman that aesthetically stands out. Pathfinder has Shamans that are the child class of Oracle and Witch.

What you should be thinking is, "Is there a Druid already in the game?" and "what other classes are there?" to determine a good place for the Shaman. Personally I like the idea of summoning not animal companions, but spirit companions in a much more limited but powerful manner.

or you could go the JRPG route and have a Shaman class that does nothing that reminds you of a shaman.

Cruddy_horse posted...

Shaman class that does nothing that reminds you of a shaman

You mean like in Fire Emblem.
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EclairReturns posted...

You mean like in Fire Emblem.

I was speaking more of a general term since lots of JRPGs do that but yes.

Lokarin posted...

The first is all nature stuff, making them essentially the Geomancer... earthquakes, tornadoes/whirlwinds, lightning strikes

isn't a geomancer specifically earth, not wind/lightning?

I guess the answer is that they should have a "spiritual connection with nature", though that seems like a strange concept being simultaneously natural and super-natural. it should vary by setting, since it will depend on the rules of the universe they are in.

also it must be made distinct with druids. as you say, shaman will generally have elemental powers, whereas druids will be more "leafy"/plant-based. both are related to animals, both summoning and maybe shapeshifting, though a shaman will do so spiritually and a druid more physically. a shaman would summon a spirit animal; a druid would actually draw a real animal from the forest. a shaman would transform into a spirit animal; a druid would actually shapeshift into a real physical merging of themselves and an animal.

the distinction I guess is that druids are "one with nature" whereas shaman use spiritual means as a conduit to nature (or maybe, a super-natural realm of nature).

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Sounds like spirit magic.

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Completely side question:

What's the difference IRL between a Shaman, a Priest and a Guru?

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Dark Magic.

Yeah, I honestly have no idea of the actual real-life usage of the word and only the Fire Emblem Shaman comes to mind.

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In some games Shaman are encouraged to use only blunt weapons since "blood" is dirty... so in a weird way they are also Paladins.


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Astral project, speak with dead, cast out spirits, various forms of fortune telling, and make potions.

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Hello? Moonriver speaking.

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Lokarin posted...

Completely side question:

What's the difference IRL between a Shaman, a Priest and a Guru?

a shaman has a spiritual connection with nature
a priest has a direct connection to a deity
a guru... seems to just be a teacher or guide or mentor. the degree of supernatural ability seems hard to pin down.

(well, noticing you say IRL; in IRL these are all the _idea_ but of course each of these is pure BS IRL.)

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Lokarin posted...

Completely side question:

What's the difference IRL between a Shaman, a Priest and a Guru?

A Shaman communes with local spirits using local herbs/drugs whatever, mostly tribalistic use.

A priest is a person officially ordained by an established religion to perform rites and give spiritual aid according to said religion.

A Guru just seems like a wiseman.

Sahuagin posted...

but of course each of these is pure BS IRL.)

ya, I was thinking more the etymology or whatever

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The skill to be delusional and belive in fairy tales.

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Conner4REAL posted...

The skill to be delusional and belive in fairy tales.

Then all 3 are interchangable... that doesn't seem to be the case

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The ability to be exceptionally soft on ones behind.

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Did you pick the Shaman in Diablo III Lokarin?

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blackhrt posted...

Did you pick the Shaman in Diablo III Lokarin?

I don't remember a Shaman in Diablo 3... I remember Barbarian, Arcanist/Wizard, Demon Huntress, Monk and I haven't played since before Necromancer was added

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Lokarin posted...

I don't remember a Shaman in Diablo 3... I remember Barbarian, Arcanist/Wizard, Demon Huntress, Monk and I haven't played since before Necromancer was added

blackhrt posted...

Did you pick the Shaman in Diablo III Lokarin?

yeah you are thinking of the Witch Doctor I think

which has a problematic character design I have been told and its just been a meh class for most of the history of the game. It has a funny build that centers on you using an ability that turns you into a charging highspeed self destructing chicken, but its more silly than it is good

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Lokarin posted...

The first is all nature stuff, making them essentially the Geomancer... earthquakes, tornadoes/whirlwinds, lightning strikes

The second is animal stuff; Shapeshifting, feral companions, phantasmal familiars and so on

The second one is a "druid" most of the time. Similar, related, but not the same. The first is arguably more of an elemental sorcerer.

Shaman tends to come with really strong implications of spirit magic. You're not controlling nature as much as you're communicating with the spirits of nature and either convincing or compelling them into helping you.

For me, the difference between the two is this:

http://whitewolf.fandom.com/wiki/Dreamspeakers_(MTAs)
http://whitewolf.fandom.com/wiki/Verbena
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Lokarin posted...

There's several schools of thought here...

The first is all nature stuff, making them essentially the Geomancer... earthquakes, tornadoes/whirlwinds, lightning strikes

The second is animal stuff; Shapeshifting, feral companions, phantasmal familiars and so on

The third is healing powers too, isn't it?

In my eyes I'd say a shaman would be like a cross between a Cleric, Druid and a Witchdoctor / Voodoo (that you do so well)

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