Becoming a Shaman

Shamans are found largely among the nomad tribes and the smaller, family cults. Shamans concentrate on the manipulation of the spirit plane.

A character wishing to become a shaman must first spend an apprenticeship of at least one year with a shaman. A shaman will only accept members of his own tribe or cult as apprentices.

During apprenticeship, the character devotes all his time to the service of the shaman. The character learns the rituals and rules governing the behavior of shamans within his tribe or cult. Among the rituals he learns are those for walking in the spirit plane and storing POW there. This training is sufficiently long and complex that he will have no time for any other type of training.

At the end of a year of training, a character, if deemed worthy by the shaman, may attempt to gain a fetch. A fetch is the counterpart of the shaman's soul on the spirit plane. If the character decides not to attempt to obtain a fetch, fails in the attempt, or is deemed unworthy by the shaman, he may either leave forever and return to normal life, or serve the shaman for another year and try again.

To gain a fetch, the character accompanies the shaman to a holy place of the tribe or cult. There the shaman summons a spirit and the apprentice attempts to ally it.

Benefits of Becoming a Shaman

  1. Possession of a Fetch
    1. The fetch will inhabit the shaman's body as he goes into the spirit world. While in the shaman's body, the fetch acts in all ways as the shaman, except that spells cast by the fetch have the POW of the fetch behind them instead of the POW of the shaman. If the POW of the fetch exceeds the species maximum of the shaman, the spells will be cast with only the species maximum POW. The fetch inhabiting the body of the shaman will do its utmost to prevent the body from dying or being killed while the shaman is gone.
    2. The disembodied fetch can cast spells into the physical world by using the shaman's senses to direct the spell.
    3. The fetch can attack other beings in spirit combat, either at the direction of the shaman or of its own volition.
    4. The INT of the fetch can be used to store knowledge of spells and the POW can be used to cast spells, as with bound spirits.
  2. Storing Power
    As a result of his familiarity with the spirit world, a shaman can store excess POW in the spirit plane, using it in spirit combat and control. By sitting and meditating, he may use this stored POW to replace POW from his body supply at 1 point per 5 minutes.
    Thus, a POW 21 shaman with 3 POW points stored in the spirit plane may cast spells with a POW of 21 and draw POW out of the spirit plane to replace the POW used. Alternately, he could engage in spirit combat with a POW of 24.
    This POW stored in the spirit plane is regained at the same rate as POW in the shaman's body. Thus, a 32 point total POW shaman would regain 8 points every 6 hours. The POW will return first to his body and then to the spirit plane.
    POW stored in the spirit plane does not count towards enhancing the shaman's hit points or other abilities.
  3. Power Increase
    To increase in POW, a shaman must only make a roll of (25 minus (current POW)) X 5 or less on D100 (if human) rather than the normal roll. POW stored in the spirit world is included in the above roll.
  4. Curing Disease
    With laying of hands on a diseased being and performance of the appropriate rituals a shaman may be able to cure the disease. The chance of a cure is his current POW X 5, including POW in the spirit world. As always, a roll of 96-00 is failure. If the shaman fails, he may have been exposed to the disease.
  5. Return From the Dead
    Within one hour of death, a shaman can use the spell of Healing, if he knows it, to bring his body back to positive hit points if he so desires. The body will be reinhabited by his spirit and will rise from the dead. Of course, the shaman must know the spell. All points of POW used in such healing are lost permanently. They do not come back normally.
    While dead, the shaman can cast no other spell than the Healing spell upon himself and cannot animate his body to defend or attack. If the body is burned, eaten, or otherwise destroyed, no resurrection is possible.
  6. Controlled Spirits
    Shamans may gain control of disembodied spirits by bargaining with them, exchanging POW for service. To find spirits to control, the shaman uses his fetch to inhabit his body while he goes out into the spirit world. The ritual to enter the spirit plane is complex, and should not even be attempted by one untrained.
    Once a spirit is contacted, the shaman must decide whether or not he will approach it to bargain with it. Normally, the risk is not great since spirits have little interest in fighting with each other unless there is an obvious gain for them.
    If contact is made with a non-hostile spirit, the shaman may bargain with it. The normal deal is for the shaman to give to the spirit 1 point of POW per 10 points of POW the spirit possesses. These points of POW are lost permanently, exactly has in sacrifice for Rune Magic spells. In return for the loss of POW, which goes to the spirit, the spirit, if it accepts the offering, will serve the shaman as extra eyes on the spirit plane, as a reservoir of POW for casting spells, and in spirit combat, when required. The spirit will not, however, memorize or cast spells. The bargain will last until the spirit's POW is reduced to 5 points less than its opponent's in spirit combat or its current POW is 3 or less, in any case, through either spirit combat or spell use.
    A shaman may have pacts of any nature with no more spirits at one time than he normally has POW points stored in the spirit plane. The POW of the spirits has no bearing on this, just the number of them. The POW sacrificed to contracts with spirits cannot count in this because it is gone.
    Thus, a shaman with 5 points of POW stored in the spirit plane cannot use all of them to sacrifice to a spirit because he must at least 1 point left on the spirit plane for a spirit to identify him him with. If he was already controlling another spirit, he would only have 3 points of stored POW free to sacrifice for a new pact. He could, of course, use additional POW from his own resources.
    When a shaman dies and uses his stored POW to heal himself from death, he may, of course, have to release some of his spirits from their bargains. In such a case, the spirits to go will be determined by the referee.
  7. Tribal/Cult Support
    Shamans are fully supported by their tribes or cults and normally receive the best of everything, after the tribe chief. If captured by foes, their tribe will spend every reasonable effort to rescue or ransom them, depending on how many shamans are still with the tribe.

Disadvantages of Becoming a Shaman

  1. Obligations to Tribe or Cult
    A shaman's first obligation is to his tribe or cult. This takes precedence over any and all other obligations. A shaman will only adventure when it is necessary to his tribe or cult. If a shaman fails in his obligations to his tribe or cult, the deity or deities involved may remove his fetch and his stored POW. In such cases, only superhuman efforts on behalf of the tribe or cult will regain them.
  2. Dexterity-Based Skills
    Due to his duties, a shaman has no time to practice combat skills, or other DEX-based skills, and cannot increase in ability with them, except by successful experience checks. Any ability in them past (DEX X 5) goes away due to lack of practice.
  3. Increase of Characteristics
    A shaman cannot increase any characteristics except POW and CHA, due to lack of time for a training program.
  4. Visibility
    By their very nature shamans are conspicuous. The paraphenalia of their rituals and aura of power that hangs around them make them easy to distinguish at all times.
  5. Commitment
    There is no leave of absence from being a shaman. Once tied into the spirit world, there is no leaving -- ever -- except by being cast from the tribe or cult. The normal action in such cases is suicide.