JBurz's page

Serious thread necromancy, but I intend to update this guide to current errata and with all options. Shaman are still great :)

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With the second special, I had an amazing table, the (Ad)Venture Capitalists. If anyone else played with them or has any idea who they are, let me know. We were trying to get together again for the Sunday slot, but it wasn't meant to be.

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Keith, I was the Paladin of Abadar at that table. The entire crew was talking about that game all weekend and we are very happy to see you enjoyed it as well.

Thank you for giving our Cleric of Asmodeus an undead copy of the iconic rogue to order around using Command Undead. I'd also like to thank you for your incredible portrayal of an annoyed Gelugon who was evidently not interested in stopping a world-ending time-paradox cataclysm.

We will endeavour to prevent the disruption of lawful and wholesome commerce wherever it is threatened. Maybe we can meet up next year?

Blessings of Abadar be with you!

Jon Cary wrote:

JBurz wrote:

Negative Feedback

I'm wondering if four specials is almost too many.

My understanding is that the decision to have 4 Specials this year was driven by Gen Con, based on the number of seats filled in previous years. I expect we'll see multiple Specials in the future because that sells more tickets.

While this is the correct context, and Gen Con did ask us to experiment with a "special" every day, their desires are not the only factors in our decision-making process. Four specials certainly put a strain on our editorial operation that led to judges getting their adventures a bit later than we would have preferred, so when we're making our plans for next year, we're certainly going to take all factors into account before making programming decisions.

Erik,

Thanks for the response. My feedback stems mostly from the fact that it makes for a few too many late nights, but also that I could see that all of these scenarios were great - even if they didn't always live up to that potential.

A huge thanks to everyone who spent time organizing, mustering and running the event. I had a lot of fun, and this was easily, all things considered, my favourite Gen Con yet.

Negative Feedback

We had issues - but they were primarily with individual GMs.

Our GM for the Thursday night special greeted us at the table by asking us to "choose the form of the destructor" and pick his dice, then responded with "Oh, those haven't tasted blood yet." No one laughed. Moments later, he flashed his GM stars - all four of them.

It was a strange and pointedly hostile start, but we rolled with it. He had an overall solid knowledge of rules, which was good. About two hours into the slot he said aloud, to the entire table, "I just want this to be over." He said he was tired and had started hallucinating.

Things basically got worse from there. We all wanted to play the slot, but playing the slot was also a lot more painful than it should have been. We powered through and left politely at the end of the session, but it was a real grind that could have been entirely mitigated by the GM adopting a more positive attitude.

If you can't even bring yourself to pretend to want to be there, then you probably shouldn't be there. And this was on Thursday: the first day of the con. If this had been a new player's introduction to PFS, they would never have come back.

For the Saturday evening special: I just felt that, given when the GMs got the scenarios, it would have been difficult to prep the middle section of the module with the amount of time it really needed. That section dragged heavily and made it so that the GM had to rush through the end of the scenario (the actual interesting part) with little to no description. I have no doubt that this scenario would be gold with the right amount of prep time, but given that the GMs received the scenarios the Friday prior (from what I heard), I'm not certain this one really got the love it deserved.

I'm wondering if four specials is almost too many. I loved all of them, but the late-night slots are pretty rough for those of us who love PFS and are unwilling to skip them ;)

Positive Feedback

The GMs for the other two specials were great. A huge shoutout to Keith from Minnesota who was our GM for Friday evening - he did a great job of challenging our party and providing interesting encounters for our party composition. He was everything you'd expect from an excellent GM: great roleplay, rules knowledge and pacing.

Our Sunday GM was also good, and the scenario itself was a ton of fun.

The setup for Phantom Phenomena was great. Please, please, for the future of this game, do this every year. The first year we discovered PFS, it was because we managed to get into a We Be Goblins! game with generics. This year's setup lets new players get a taste for the game without too much commitment. I managed to make time for four of the six quests, playing the new Occult pregens, and it was a ton of fun.

The overall quality of the scenarios was high. I'm hoping to see more stuff like Serpent's Rise in the future.

I'd be interested in access - thanks!

I've got the new Ancestors spirit (from Cohorts and Companions) up in the guide. I like this one a lot more than the Wood spirit :)

An update: Wood Spirit has been added, feats are coming along, and I'm working on getting those new spells added.

Rycaut wrote:

you realize that Spiritual Ally isn't on the Shaman's spell list? (which makes Spirit Guardian a somewhat strange feat - but it is a nice small boost to Spiritual Weapon.)

Personally I would suggest many other feats ahead of Combat Casting - as a Shaman you probably aren't combat focused - if you want to be there are many other feats that will likely e more important for you early on - and remember that hexes unlike spells generally don't provoke when you cast them.

Shaman's only get simple weapons and have a familiar (spirit animal) - to be effective in close combat isn't impossible (you are a 3/4 BAB class w/spells that could boost you) but especially in the lower levels I would probably suggest a basic feat such as Toughness over Combat Casting. For a Shaman the feat Tribal Scars from People of the North might be a very solid alternative (gives 6 HP plus a bonus based on the tribe you choose - over 20 levels that's less HP than Toughness would give you but early on it is a very significant boost and the tribe specific boosts are all pretty nice - it is also flavorful for a Shaman in a way that Combat Casting isn't).

(and remember that since your familiar's HP is based on your HP any class with a familiar like the Shaman really benefits from boosting HP - especially if you plan on being in close range)

I would also note that Toppling Spell + Spirit Guardian is a pretty heft feat investment for a trick you will only be able to do a few times a day (a nice trick to be sure). Especially since even with your caster level + casting stat the BAB of your toppling spells won't scale as well as either a dedicated trip specialist's BAB would or at higher levels your enemies like CMDs (if they can even been tripped).

You may want to focus on a reach weapon and either take some trip focused feats or feats that would synergize with a tripped opponent to really maximize the impact. Combat Casting would be best for someone who will be casting a lot of touch spells in combat all of

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Plus you could always get it with your FCB at 9th, if you really wanted.

Dear Jburz,

Do you plan on adding the Wood Spirit to the list of available of spirits?

Yep! Haven't looked at it in-depth yet, but I like that Black Tentacles greater spirit ability.

Kiqjaq wrote:

Hit level 3 on my latest Shaman, so I've noticed a few level 2 spells you're missing. :x

Burdened Thoughts, Raven's Flight, Vine Strike, and Wild Instinct by my count.
Mostly useless stuff, although Raven's Flight could be exceptionally handy at times. Turning Tiny has its moments.

He probably missed them because those last 3 are from source material published in the last month or so, lol.

That swift action Raven's Flight does sound potentially handy.

Yeah, they were added before my first pass at spells and will be added later. Vine Strike made me want to make a really annoying Hex Striker.

Battlefield positioning is key if you're running a primary debuffer role, since 30 ft is the standard range for all of your non-amplified hexes anyway. (Which is why Fly/Airwalk end up being so key to a lot of builds) So you should be in position to make good use of Divine Interference most of the time. But you're right, being deep in melee means you probably have more potential targets to use it on.

I don't see how any melee shaman could ever have enough actions to make Chant+Misfortune worthwhile. Evil Eye could still be useful if they fail their save, or as a 1 round softener for your allies. But having to use your move action every round to Chant for Misfortune means you're never going to be full attacking. Which, if you're going melee shaman, seems to be pretty counter-intuitive.

As a debuffer shaman though i don't know how you do NOT run the Trinity Hexes. Misfortune+Chant is just so amazingly good at shutting down an enemy. Throw Evil Eye into the mix and you've made it even worse for the DM. Throw in Divine Interference and it feels almost a bit unfair.

I'll be honest in that, while I've not played a melee shaman long-term, I've built a few. And I feel that the decision to give up debuffing entirely for more damage is partially dependent on your group composition. Building for some kind of Standard Action attack could let you continue to do damage while Chanting.

But yeah, you definitely need some kind of plan for your melee shaman in terms of how much (or how little) debuffing they plan to do.

"Kiqjaq wrote:

The biggest thing I see that you could get from not using many spells is gratuitous use of Divine Interference

Wow. That is a solid feat! Especially on a caster style shaman. We have so many extra spells slots we could use this all the time. I'm definitely putting that on my short list for lvl 11.

There are so many good feats. I swear a new one pops up every day! I'm going to have to sit down with the srd some night and just start going through them one by one I guess, lol.

I actually would really like this on a melee shaman since I could see spells going unused (especially if combat starts unexpectedly and there was no chance to pre-buff).

JBurz wrote:

666bender wrote:

for me, "Overland Flight" is super blue.

yes, hexs can make you fly, but - they require action to start.
with 1 spell, especially later as you can extend it, you are peter pan,

I think the duration is argument enough for making it green, but since you can get the same effect with a lesser duration with either a hex, or a lower-level spell, I don't personally consider it blue. Add to that the fact that the hexes add the value of being able to reapply the effect in the event of Dispels...

true. but i fond i cant spare actions.

combats last about 4 rounds - tops.
round 1 is a blink casting so i can survive.
than apply the hex \ cast \ buff .
no time to use the flight.

now, with overland flight, i use cast > move action to fly to safety.
some fights there's no need for the blink defense.

I see the argument. I guess another factor is how often you see Dispel Magic thrown around - I see enemies using it rarely in PFS so far, whereas in my home game the enemies use it very liberally.

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Although the Shaman's Life Link has some questionable text, "if the bonded creature’s hit points are reduced to –5 or fewer". This makes it sound as if the bonded's hit points have to be -5 or lower total to benefit from Life Link.

As mentioned in the guide, the Shaman version of Life Link is worded differently and, as written, only functions at negative HP (the creature is usually dying).

Like so much of this book, it is unclear. But given that they could have easily done a copy/paste to get the original Oracle text but, instead, we got this version of the hex... I'm pretty sure they intended to change it.

Any timetable for when the next update will hit?

I'm writing a one-shot for the wife's birthday, but I'm still hoping to get some work done on it in the coming weeks. I feel kinda bogged down with the familiar section, and may just move on to feats for the moment.

for me, "Overland Flight" is super blue.

yes, hexs can make you fly, but - they require action to start.
with 1 spell, especially later as you can extend it, you are peter pan,

I think the duration is argument enough for making it green, but since you can get the same effect with a lesser duration with either a hex, or a lower-level spell, I don't personally consider it blue. Add to that the fact that the hexes add the value of being able to reapply the effect in the event of Dispels...

I've been playing a Heavens shaman in Carrion Crown for the last few months. Just hit 9th level last night. Wanted to throw out some thoughts around Feats while you're still working out that section.

Extra Hex: is a solid fallback if you can't think of anything at a particular level. It's importance can vary wildly depending on your build of course. Based on the new shaman clause on this feat, i was taking it to pick up my spirit hexes while picking up my base hexes on the normal progression levels. Based on EvilTwinSkippy's post though, this application may not be necessary.

Flexible Hex: Hey we heard you like flexibility. Let's give you some more.

Accursed Hex: It sucks if the big bad guy saves against your Misfortune. This let's your try again next round. Pretty solid in my mind.

Amplified Hex: This helps out a bit with landing that Misfortune. Slightly more attractive if your spirit spells aren't so hot for a given day. You can always burn those slots to amplify your hexes!

Spirit Talker: Ya. We all know this one. You're taking it at 7 right?

Being a human i had the same level 1 problems that folks discussed. Thankfully i was able to re-train out one of my feats for Amplified Hex. Debating re-training the other at some point as well. Spell Focus was an early option i completely forgot about for some reason. I'd really like some more discussion around this area.

Sounds like most folks are running some sort of debuffer/buffer caster at the moment. Would really like to hear if any melee shamans have been effective out in the wild or not.

I'd like to thank you for your input! I'm going to probably hit the Feat section next. Cheers!

Interesting Guide.

One point when you reference the stormbolts spell you indicate there is no way to exclude people from the area of effect. I believe this to be incorrect as the spell description says " The bolts do not harm natural vegetation or creatures in the area you wish to exclude from damage."

I missed this - thanks for the tip, it has been amended.

The reasoning for making the spell Focused Scrutiny red isn't sound.

It's a 10 min/level duration and the target of the spell is you, not the target. You don't have to designate the target when you cast the spell, you just have to pick one target at some point during its duration. And it's +10/+5 to lots of useful social skills against it, that's huge.

I agree with your reasoning and I appreciate you bringing it to my attention. The duration is good enough that you could just cast it before the social function (or whatever) begins.

Cheers, and thanks for the feedback.

I enjoyed your guide but there is one thing you need to reconsider... <snip>

After seeing your argument, I agreed in principle. I sported it on my shaman for a day and I agree it is a solid choice.

I can't agree with it being blue for a couple of reasons:

1. Plenty of creatures don't rely on equipment to be dangerous. There are plenty of hexes that don't have this limitation (Evil Eye, for one).

2. It has been my experience that most GMs don't mess around with trying to sunder and destroy party equipment in order to respect WBL... but that tends to go out the window when you walk around destroying items in every combat. This is a "meta-game" thing that needs to be worked out with your GM, and I've noted that accordingly.

In PFS, I've never seen an enemy designed specifically to sunder equipment, so I don't believe it to be an issue there.

I really appreciate your feedback - it has made the guide better!

Just reading through the full Shaman spell list (because what's a prepared caster if not prepared?) and it seems like you're missing Spiked Armor and Twisted Futures from your spell list. Blame my anal-retentive nature for feeling the need to mention it. >.>

I will review these and add them accordingly. Cheers!

Why dwarf orange. Not all shamans need cha, and the saves and the combination of wis and con makes for one tough Character.

I agree that dwarf are potentially green for melee shaman and have indicated that accordingly. Thanks for your feedback.

Just a quick note that I will finally have time to work on the guide again, and will review your comments shortly!

The item should refer to the "ability to channel energy as a cleric" or something similar, but it is vaguely worded - probably so that it didn't exclude non-clerics from using it.

Unfortunately, as you've pointed out, "channelers of positive energy" is not explicitly defined anywhere.

That said, the intent seems obvious to me given that it requires Cleric levels to craft, the increased healing is expressed in D6s, and there is no allusion to Cure spells or any other sort of magical healing outside of a weak connection to descriptive text.

Your guide lists Hex Vulnerability as one round plus one per level. It is actually one per level. For a discussion on using it with the Healing Hex, see my thread:

Hex Vulnerability Healing Hex OP or not OP

For the Spirits section, I have an observation to make about Battle Spirit: Battle Ward. While not a great defense, it lasts until used or 24 hours, allowing a long lasting effect. If your party has a lot of people/creatures/whatever, it can be really nice. I am in Skull's & Shackles, and we have a ship crew. A temporary deflection bonus to the entire crew each day is a great buff, especially if there is ship to ship combat. My party is also unusually large. Seven primary characters, three cohorts, two familiars, and a ship crew is a lot of people. My Cohort gets a lot of use on his Healing Hex, and I can see a lot of use for Battle Ward also. Sure, PCs can afford better deflection, but NPCs cannot. Would a wand of Hex Vulnerability help? Probably not, but it would be in line with miscellaneous equipment to aid the entire party. I would rate it much better if you have a lot of targets to use it on.

/cevah

I was actually in the unenviable position of having to choose a Hex from that spirit the other day and decided to give Battle Ward another shot. It's weird because the benefits are quickly gone on the frontliners whereas I'm still sporting the full value one.

As you said, it is better in larger parties with animal companions, familiars, etc. I had already resolved to bump it to orange and I'm glad you reminded me. The bonus type is still the one that most people, given the choice, acquire first, so It just doesn't scale enough long-term for me to justify much more.

Also, fixed the Hex Vulnerability - not sure how I goofed on that. Thanks for the heads up.

Blueskier wrote:

Hey, I need some advice. I'm currently playing a lvl 2 human speaker for the past and I have no idea what to do with my feats. I've already grabbed spell focus and greater spell focus conj, but I have no idea what to do from lvl 3 onwards, other than divine interference at 11 and spirit talker at 7. I don't want to fight melee or ranged, and I don't have the CHA for divine protection. So, what would you recommend?

Agreed. I'd love to see way more discussion on feats, especially feats for a 1st level Shaman.

Shamans are definitely gimped when compared to other divine casters at 1st level (Cleric, Druid, etc.). The problem is we don't start getting any of our juicy stuff (that is, the Hexes) until 2nd, so the Extra Hex feat is off the table at 1st. Choosing feats for a 1st level Shaman is tough. You're basically looking at:

a) Basic buff feats (i.e. Toughness, Dodge, Improved Initiative, etc.)
b) Spell Focus or Scribe Scroll

Toughness isn't a bad idea, especially if you're going to be using your FCB to poach spells off the cleric spell list.

Spell Focus doesn't hurt either, especially Spell Focus: Enchantment if you're going to be spamming Sleep and Daze spells at low levels.

The best thing I've come up with is retraining. If your GM allows it, retraining is fairly cheap at low levels. At 3rd level, for example, it only costs 150gp and 5 days downtime to retrain a feat (increased to 10 days if no trainer is available). That's not hard to do. I decided to go with Spell Focus: Enchantment at 1st level, to be retrained into an Extra Hex or Spiritual Guardian (really cool feat/ability and unique to the Shaman) down the road.

P.S. I'll add: Speaker for the Past Shamans will get more use out of Spiritual Guardian, as unlike the other Shamans, they actually have Spiritual Ally on their spell list.

I also noticed this issue, and will be part of the feats section when it is added.

The guide could use a spell poaching section, pointing out especially good cleric and wizard/sorceror spells to grab with favored class bonus and Arcane Enlightenment. You know, things like Haste, Blessing of Fervor, Black Tentacles, Planeshift, Righteous Might and Magic Jar.

Mainly because it's quite time consuming digging through several spell lists for the creme de la creme, and double-checking so you don't already have them on your list.

As mentioned in the To-Do list, I will have sections for both the Cleric spell list FCB and Arcane Enlightenment.

I noticed you mention not having Weapon Finesse under Pterosaur familiar.

Familiars don't actually need Weapon Finesse:

CRB wrote:

Attacks: Use the master's base attack bonus, as calculated from all his classes. Use the familiar's Dexterity or Strength modifier, whichever is greater, to calculate the familiar's melee attack bonus with natural weapons. Damage equals that of a normal creature of the familiar's kind.

Also, you mentioned a couple of Small familiars (Goat and Pig) as good Maulers. Because they're small sized, they don't get a Str bonus from the Mauler's ability to grow to medium. So a Compsognathus Mauler has the same Str (8+4Polymorph+2Size+1at 3rd = 15 at level 3) as a Goat (12+2Size+1at 3rd). So Goat an Pig are more useful for other familiar archetypes to get a some combat ability (or at least give some flanking bonuses.)

The Weapon Finesse part I just forgot, but I had read it before because of the whole familiar feat substitution jazz.

The polymorph size thing I just overlooked. I hate that I did that because now I have to go through everything again.

But thanks for bringing it to my attention, will fix ASAP.

I've completed the familiar section and will be adding the Improved Familiar section soon.
To-do list:

UnArcaneElection wrote:

Glad to see that a Shaman guide has arrived! Now we just have Hunter and Slayer left to finish covering the ACG/ACO classes.

Any thoughts on multiclassing/prestige-classing? Or are these just a no-no for Shamans?

You really don't want multiclass Shaman. Even more so then normal for a full caster. A one level dip or so might be ok, but really most of the stuff the Shaman does gets better with more Shaman levels.

I generally agree with Anzyr on this point. I can see a one-level dip in a martial class (honestly, probably fighter) being an option for melee shaman.

As an aside, I've had a busy end to the week and weekend, but I expect to put in some more work by mid-week.

points of interest you are missing:

Traits, non-mod related.

I have enjoyed your guide

A good point, and one I will act on. I'm not going to go too in-depth on traits, but there are a few that are a good value for shaman.

Glad you're enjoying the guide!

Are you still planning an archetypes section?

I am - I realize now that I must have removed it as I was copying/pasting that.

Here's the current to-do list:

To-do list:

JBurz wrote:

Spells, though they will likely need some tweaking, are done. Moving on to the spirit animal section.

You're a saint, you know that?

/swoon

Spells, though they will likely need some tweaking, are done. Moving on to the spirit animal section.

To-do list:

Arcane Enlightenment is a bit of a trap. It's crazy MAD. You need WIS for your spell DCs, INT for to get higher level spells, and a decent CHA to get more than a single use out of it. Crazy MAD. To make Arcane Enlightenment work, you pretty much have to dump everything else.

On the other hand, Shamans work just fine as a 3/4 melee type class with some witch hexes and a decent spell list. I disagree that their spell list is poor. It's a bit of a mishmash, with spells off the Cleric, Druid, and Wizard spell list, but there's plenty of juicy stuff there. You can also pull in extra spells through your Wandering Spirits and off the Cleric spell list through the human FCB. It's not hard to build a decent caster without having to bother with Arcane Enlightenment.

My personal preference is also to get spells from the cleric list rather than build around Arcane Enlightenment, but I can see the allure of taking it.

And yeah, while the Shaman list isn't as poor as some classes that are secondary casters and there are some great options on it, I can't really think of a class that is a primary spellcaster that has a list of this quality. I prefer the Witch spell list to this. Thankfully, as we both mentioned, there are easy ways to get some of the glaring omissions.

For an upcoming campaign, I'm interested in trying a melee build that uses Evil Eye/Chant and Battle Spirit's ability while focusing around standard action attacks (Eventually Vital Strike?) so that the Move remains available to keep debuffs up.

The issue I have with the melee builds I've seen so far is that, if they neglect the debuffing/buffing aspect of the class's Hexes, I start to wonder why you wouldn't just play something else. It's a big part of the class.

JBurz wrote:

In terms of Arcane Enlightenment, I need to see how annoyed with spell lists I am after finishing the Shaman list, but I'm currently thinking of selecting a number of spells that are useful options for each shaman role, as well as a few that are generally useful or have interesting interactions with other shaman spells/hexes.

Sounds like a good plan. I know I personally just read a few Wizard guides when trying to figure out what spells are worthwhile.

That said, there's always the big choice of how high to go/how much Int to take. I'm just a noobie with a penchant for research, so that judgement call was the hardest part for me.
(if the opinion of someone who would need to read your guide to know anything is worth a damn)

It's something I will definitely have to address - and your opinion is definitely valued, as I said in the OP.

I think that if you're really planning to make use of Arcane Enlightenment, you need to buy at least a 13 Int at character creation since it only costs three points (assuming point buy), and you get a LOT of value even from the first three levels of spells (especially if you get it via Wandering Hex / Spirit Talker).

Because you need Int to actually cast the spells, you only get a number of spells equal to your Cha mod, and the spells use Wis for the DC... you are already needing three stats to pull this off without even considering CON/DEX. I don't know that a standard 20-point buy can go too much higher without neglecting their HP.

If I'm understanding the way that metamagic feats interact with spell level, then using them could also get more mileage out of Arcane Enlightenment without increasing Int.

There are some great wizard guides out there, so that's definitely something for the mean time. It is definitely a planned section for the guide, though.

Bummer that you're only making this now, when I need to have my first spellcaster ever ready in a week and I've decided on Shammy. :p

What you've made all seems like sound advice, and there's plenty of helpful information. Keep up the good work!

I am curious how much more in-depth you'll go into Arcane Enlightenment though. Surely you're not doing another full spell list with comments, but I'd like to see some highlights, Wizard spells that are exceptionally good to grab.

In terms of Arcane Enlightenment, I need to see how annoyed with spell lists I am after finishing the Shaman list, but I'm currently thinking of selecting a number of spells that are useful options for each shaman role, as well as a few that are generally useful or have interesting interactions with other shaman spells/hexes.

Kiqjaq wrote:

Bummer that you're only making this now, when I need to have my first spellcaster ever ready in a week and I've decided on Shammy. :p

What you've made all seems like sound advice, and there's plenty of helpful information. Keep up the good work!

I am curious how much more in-depth you'll go into Arcane Enlightenment though. Surely you're not doing another full spell list with comments, but I'd like to see some highlights, Wizard spells that are exceptionally good to grab.

Really the trick is to grab whatever you need for a given day. Need a nice SoL like Create Pit to go with your Slumber Hex? Grab that. Got some downtime? Explosive Runes. That's why I support the default Shaman so vigorously, since it gets multiple "flex hexes", flexible spirit abilities, and a whole flexible spontaneous spell list.

This is a good summary. The Shaman is incredibly flexible, and Arcane Enlightenment kicks it into overdrive.

Thank you for the guide, it made me finally read Shaman. And I must say, all the class features except spellcasting look so meh. It's almost like Paizo expects me to only play human or something with access to its FCB and have wandering spirit permalocked into Lore.

Another option to get Arcane Enlightenment is to use Spirit Talker to get it, change the spells you select every day if you want, and save your wandering spirit for whatever you'd like.

I've finished with the Waves/Wind spirits. I'm going to take aim at Spells next.

To-do list:

JBurz wrote:

Ellioti wrote:

JBurz wrote:

To-do list:

Waves/Wind Spirits

Spells

Spirit Animal suggestions

Feats

Magic Items / Equipment

Sample Builds

Add "Why Play A Shaman" section

Archetypes

I like the Speaker for the Past archetype especially

Agreed - there are some great options among the initial batch of archetypes!

Ok. No. Just no. Default Shaman is best Shaman. The other archetypes trade off way to much for way to little. Possessed Shaman is the only archetype I'd give a "maybe" and even then I'd only recommend it if you don't have a skill monkey. Especially the incredibly awful Unsworn Shaman. Losing Hex is the most tragic thing that can happen to the Shaman.

Remember, the greatest strength of the Shaman is it's incredibly flexible Wandering Spirit and Wandering Hex. Particularly it's ability to hijack the entire Sorcerer/Wizard list with Wandering Hex + Arcane Enlightenment.

I'll also back Heaven being blue, a lot of the other spirit abilities of the others spirits are pretty useless. Turning into an elemental... yawn.

The archetypes do tend to trade versatility, and I'm definitely not in favor of losing Hex - but I like some of the options some of them offer for a more focused build if you know what gap you will be called on to fill.

More on this when I get to archetypes, I guess.

I also love this class, and am running a heaven/life shaman of level 7, and concur with most what is posted, I have not played many different shaman types, or used archetypes, preferring the normal shaman.

playing a home game, I have asked if leadership and improved familiar would allow my pet to have character levels to work with.

I agree with Markov, Heaven should be Blue. Void adaptation is nice, not needing to breath!?!

I think I was really letting the spell list hold Heavens spirit back. But I agree, it's pretty great.

Thanks for posting this, looks like a good start!

Quick read through:
You should mention that Battle - Hampering Hex is strictly inferior to Evil Eye if Evil Eye isn't mind affecting.
I'd put Heavens blue overall.
I'd mention that Lore is usually better as a wandering spirit, for maximum arcane enlightenment flexibility.
I'd put Wall of Stone 2 spell levels early for Stone Spirit Blue.

I'm really curious to see how Shamans take advantage of the new Familiar Folio stuff. +2 Str on a Mauler, or Fast Healing 1 on a Protector, can make some of those spirit animal abilities quite handy.

Edit: I'd like to eventually see a short discussion of Cleric/Wizard spells for Human FCB or Arcane Enlightenment. My quick ones are: Burning Disarm, Shield Other, Remove Disease, Mirror Image, Haste. Shield other and a reach Metamagic rod are a workable replacement for Life Link.

Markov,

Thanks for the feedback.

I agree with you on Wall of Stone, I missed that initially. Thanks for the pointer.

I do plan to do a section for the Human FCB. I feel like a section on Arcane Enlightenment could almost be its own guide... but I'll keep thinking about it.

I also want to do an in-depth familiar section, but I personally see that as one of my lower-priority tasks.

Thanks again!

JBurz wrote:

To-do list:

Waves/Wind Spirits

Spells

Spirit Animal suggestions

Feats

Magic Items / Equipment

Sample Builds

Add "Why Play A Shaman" section

Archetypes

I like the Speaker for the Past archetype especially

Agreed - there are some great options among the initial batch of archetypes!

It is with much chanting, invocation, and burning of sacred incense that I wish to share my Shaman guide.

It's a work-in-progress, and is my first published guide.

(Discussion Thread)

(Guide on Google Drive)

As an aside, thanks to everyone who has helped this community by making guides. We're all better players for it!

Hey all,

I've been working for some time on a Shaman guide. I love the class, I love its two "parent classes," and I currently play a Life Shaman in my weekly Pathfinder game. I was surprised to see that there was no Shaman guide already, given the class's extreme versatility.

I was also saddened to see that the iconic shaman is not likely to win many hearts and/or minds in PFS play, so I felt obligated to show some of the class's potential.

I've decided to make the current state of my guide available so that I can begin to collect feedback on the sections I've already completed as I move forward and hit the other sections.

The tone is conversational and the opinions are my own. The formatting is rough and by no means final.

This guide is currently a work-in-progress.

I value your feedback - I honestly do. These forums have been kind to me and have taught me a lot about the game. It's a heck of a community.

If you want to argue that something should be rated differently, or I've made an error, I want to hear it. I simply ask that you keep all criticism constructive!

Click here to view Spiritual Attunement: A Pathfinder Shaman Guide

To-do list:

JBurz wrote:

Exocrat wrote:

JBurz wrote:

Is the Life Link Hex still part of the Life options?

Yes. It only works on allies with below -5 hit points and transfers 5hp/round, so it can't bring them back to concious. Don't know if that's different from the playtest or not.

The playtest version worked this way:

"if the bonded creature is wounded for 5 or more hit points below its maximum hit points, it heals 5 hit points and she takes 5 hit points of damage."

It's the same phrasing as the Oracle version - so not when PCs are dying, but if they have five or more HP missing below their maximum HP (eg. 37 current HP with a max of 42).

Is the wording different now from above?

Yes. "[...] if the bonded creature’s hit points are reduced to –5 or fewer, it heals 5 hit points and the shaman takes 5 points of damage."

So it only works on dying or unconcscious things with more than 6 CON, I guess.

Wow. Brutal changes. Thanks for warning me away, at least.

JBurz wrote:

Is the Life Link Hex still part of the Life options?

Yes. It only works on allies with below -5 hit points and transfers 5hp/round, so it can't bring them back to concious. Don't know if that's different from the playtest or not.

The playtest version worked this way:

"if the bonded creature is wounded for 5 or more hit points below its maximum hit points, it heals 5 hit points and she takes 5 hit points of damage."

It's the same phrasing as the Oracle version - so not when PCs are dying, but if they have five or more HP missing below their maximum HP (eg. 37 current HP with a max of 42).

Is the wording different now from above?

JBurz wrote:

Exocrat wrote:

Sammy T wrote:

First off, kudos to the designers, my mind is whirling with character concepts.

Couple of quick questions:
1) Does Shaman use Summon Monster or Summon Nature's Ally?

2) Are there any summoning-archtypes for the Shaman?

3) Does a Nature Spirit still grant Nature's Whispers (use WIS instead of DEX)? Does this mean a Monk can dip 1 level in Shaman and get WIS (replaces DEX) + WIS (monk) to AC?

1) Unless I'm missing something, the answer is no. Just summon swarm.

2) No.

3) Don't see it on the list.

#3 alarms me - can you tell me in vague terms what the Nature spirit grants now?

You can make it rain over someone's head, then get fast healing when you're knocked out, then your spirit animal turns into an animal companion, then you get to coccoon for 8 hours to change creature type and cleanse conditions.

Notably, there's one nature hex that says you can spontaneously cast SNA spells, but it doesn't say you add those spells to your spell list. This is probably an error.

Seems like they really don't want shaman entering melee without a dip elsewhere, though I understand that the old Nature spirit made shaman a very attractive one-level dip for other classes.

Is the Life Link Hex still part of the Life options?

Sammy T wrote:

First off, kudos to the designers, my mind is whirling with character concepts.

Couple of quick questions:
1) Does Shaman use Summon Monster or Summon Nature's Ally?

2) Are there any summoning-archtypes for the Shaman?

3) Does a Nature Spirit still grant Nature's Whispers (use WIS instead of DEX)? Does this mean a Monk can dip 1 level in Shaman and get WIS (replaces DEX) + WIS (monk) to AC?

1) Unless I'm missing something, the answer is no. Just summon swarm.

2) No.

3) Don't see it on the list.

#3 alarms me - can you tell me in vague terms what the Nature spirit grants now?