Variant Channeling Access


Rules Questions


Variant Channeling wrote:
A character who has the channel energy ability from a class other than cleric may use these variant channeling rules if the class’s abilities are tied to serving a deity. For example, paladins can select alternative channeling abilities if they serve a deity, as can oracles with the Life mystery (as they serve many deities), but necromancer wizards cannot.

Two questions:

(1) Can a shaman with the life spirit use variant channeling?

I would think yes because the shaman is descended from the oracle, so it ought to get the same treatment. This does raise the same question as the Life Oracle, namely: which variant channel do they get?

(2) Can a witch who is a hex channeler use variant channeling?

This seems a little muddled to me. On the one hand, a witch is an arcane caster. On the other hand, the patron mechanic seems similar to the oracle mystery mechanic. If the Life Oracle is somehow "serv[ing] many deities" because of their mystery then witches are arguably serving a deity via their patron. It feels pretty on theme for a witch with the Plague Patron to get access to the Disease variant channel.


Well, each of the variant forms of channeled energy are associated with one of the divine domains, which is why it makes sense that only a cleric or other divine caster that worships a deity gets access to the variant domain channelings based on their god's domains.

As for the actual questions;

(1a) That one is a bit iffy. Reading the flavor text of the shaman "While some heroes speak to gods or consort with otherworldly muses, shamans commune with the spirits of the world and the energies that exist in every living thing." which specifically points out that their powers do not come from the gods. Since the only way to decide which domains one gets access to is via the god they worship and get their powers from, a lenient GM may allow the spirits to act as gods, and come up with domains appropriate to them, but I think RAW the answer is no.

(1b) As I've stated previously, variant channels are based on domains, domains are based on the god's portfolios, you have access to the domains of your chosen god. The fact that they imply that all life oracles serve many deities is weird because that never comes up in the oracles write up, so I'm inclined to ignore it as one author not paying enough attention to the work of another.

(2) RAW no, because they're not divine and because patrons aren't necessarily deitys. Again, a GM might decide that a patron can serve as a god in this function, and would then need to come up with an appropriate list of associated domains.

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