Learn about the Shaman class in Shadows of Doubt, including their unique spells like Spirit Ward and Writhing Fog, and Shamanic Dance ability.
- Alignment restricted to Neutral Good, True Neutral, and Neutral Evil.
Walkthrough
- 1Armor and Equipment: May only wear non-metallic armor and helmets. Can only equip bucklers.
- 2Weapon Proficiencies: Proficient in axes, spears, daggers, clubs, quarterstaffs, darts, slings, and shortbows. May take a single proficiency point in any fighting style.
- 3Spellcasting: May cast druidic spells and gains spells in the same way as a sorcerer. Gains access to one Shaman-specific spell of each level.
- 4Detect Illusions: From a base of 20%, gains 4% to Detect Illusions per level, reaching 100% at level 20.
- 5Shamanic Dance: May use Shamanic Dance at will. This ability requires the Shaman to do nothing else and suffers a -4 penalty to AC (Armor Class - a measure of how hard you are to hit). Each round danced, there is a 35% chance +2% per level (up to a maximum of 75% at level 20) that a spirit will answer the call. Summoned spirits return to the spirit plane if the Shaman stops dancing. At level 1, a maximum of two spirits can be summoned, increasing by 1 at levels 6, 12, and 18. Summoned spirits grow more powerful at these levels, but the spirits that answer are random.
- 6Hit Points (HP): Gains 8 HP per level for the first nine levels, and 2 HP per level thereafter.
Shaman Spells:
Shamans have access to an additional spell of each level, automatically added to their spellbook upon reaching the required character level. These are in addition to spells the character chooses.
- Spirit Ward (Level 1): Range: Touch. Duration: 3 rounds. Casting Time: 1. Area of Effect: 1 creature. Saving Throw: N/A. Elementals and spectral undead suffer a -2 THAC0 (To Hit Armor Class 0 - a combat mechanic) penalty when attacking the recipient. The recipient also receives a +3 save bonus against Enchantment spells.
- Writhing Fog (Level 2): Range: 30'. Duration: 1 turn. Casting Time: 2. Area of Effect: 15' radius. Saving Throw: Special. Inflicts 1-3 cold damage per round to creatures in the area. There is a 20% chance creatures will be slowed unless they make a save vs. Death.
- Spiritual Clarity (Level 3): Range: Touch. Duration: Instant. Casting Time: 9. Area of Effect: 1 creature. Saving Throw: N/A. Removes the effects of fear, charm, confusion, and feeblemind.
- Spirit Fire (Level 4): Range: 40'. Duration: Instant. Casting Time: 3. Area of Effect: 15' radius. Saving Throw: ½ (half damage). Deals 1d4 magic damage per caster level (maximum 10d4) to creatures in the area. Elementals and spectral undead take double damage. There is a 33% chance affected enemies will be affected by Doom. A successful save vs. Spell reduces damage by half and negates the Doom effect.
- Recall Spirit (Level 5): Range: Visual range of the caster. Duration: Instant. Casting Time: 9. Area of Effect: 1 creature. Saving Throw: N/A. Brings a fallen comrade to life with a single hit point. Identical to the 5th level Cleric spell Raise Dead.
- Spiritual Lock (Level 6): Range: 40'. Duration: 1 turn + 1 round / level. Casting Time: 6. Area of Effect: 1 creature. Saving Throw: Neg. (Negated). If the target creature fails its save vs. spells at -2, it will become lost in the spirit world, taking no actions. Elementals and spectral undead suffer a -4 save penalty. Same as the Mage spell Feeblemind, but not permanent.
- Ether Gate (Level 7): Range: Touch. Duration: 5 rounds. Casting Time: 3. Area of Effect: 1 creature. Saving Throw: None. Sends the target (willing or unwilling) to the Ethereal Plane for the spell's duration.
- Ethereal Retribution (Level 7+): Range: 40'. Duration: 3 rounds. Casting Time: 8. Area of Effect: 15' radius. Saving Throw: Special. Hostile creatures within the area take 3-24 points of magic damage per round. Living creatures must save vs. Spell or lose 2 points of Strength per round for 5 rounds.
Shaman Spell Progression (Spells Per Day):
- Level 1: 3 (Level 1 spells)
- Level 2: 4 (Level 1 spells)
- Level 3: 5 (Level 1 spells)
- Level 4: 6 (Level 1 spells), 3 (Level 2 spells)
- Level 5: 6 (Level 1 spells), 4 (Level 2 spells)
- Level 6: 6 (Level 1 spells), 4 (Level 2 spells)
- Level 7: 6 (Level 1 spells), 4 (Level 2 spells), 1 (Level 3 spells)
Tips
- The Shaman's ability to spam healing magic makes it the best dedicated healbot in a party.
- The Shamanic Dance's random spirit summoning can be unreliable, potentially summoning weak spirits even at higher levels.
- The save bonus against Enchantment spells from Spirit Ward is useful against enemy casters.
- Spiritual Clarity can remove nasty status effects like confusion, but its long casting time might interrupt it if the caster becomes confused.
- Recall Spirit functions identically to the Cleric's Raise Dead spell.
- Spiritual Lock is similar to the Mage spell Feeblemind but has a limited duration.
- Ether Gate can be used to temporarily remove a powerful enemy or a vulnerable ally from combat.
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