e-Spaceshot's page

I came into the Advanced Players Guide playtest expecting shaman, a combination of my favourite class (oracle) and a class that combined with it felt like it'd go somewhere awesome (witch) and expect something unique.

I Opened up the playtest, jumped to Shaman and what I saw was a cleric caster with a familiar and slightly altered revelation system. I do not understand why there was a need for another full progression caster with a good spell list. There is already Sorc/Wizard/Witch/Cleric/Oracle/Druid/Arcanist, why another?

I was looking forward to a shamanistic, primal visage of pure nature who commands spirits with their totem and curses/hexes those who are against the shaman. A 1-4 caster or not a caster at all, who gained curses/hexes from a general list, and totemic powers for a specific chosen list, most likely chosen from a list of animals like most shamans devote themselves too. They would be strong enough to be front-line if needed, but wouldn't out pummel the melee warriors (fighter/barbarian/cavalier/paladin, not including those added in this book or alternatives).

I'll review what I saw, expecting them not to change the core class concept entirely just on one person's (but I doubt I'm the only one who dislikes the shaman as it is) preference and I understand that.

The spell list is good, why? because the cleric spell list is a really strong spell list. They also get the similar bonus spells that clerics get from their domains with their spirit list. I see why they chose cleric list because the oracle gets it, but a personalized spell list for the class would have been better, yet I doubt they wanted to deal with another new spell list, as that is probably why they haven't made one this whole book/playtest.

The class stats (skill/day, hit dice, saves, BAB, profs) are all acceptable for the sort of concept/role the shaman portrays. The shaman can be in the front for a few rounds, but wouldn't want to stay there the whole fight due to the lack of shields and heavy armour. The skill ranks are good, even if the list is low because the class is MAD (as others have stated and disliked) and would doubtfully have any more than 12 int.

The familiar is expected because it's one of the witch's major abilities. It's interesting that the familiar gets a buff, chosen based on the spirit you decide upon. I doubt this was needed, but seeing as the buffs aren't that strong it's good and they work with the spirit choice (flame spirit familiar is immune to fire, allowing you to fireball directly on it and not worry).

The hexes are the main issue I have with it, they don't feel like hexes. They feel more like oracle revelation abilities that weren't seen as strong enough to be spirit abilities. Some of the hexes are literally taken from the revelation the spirit is copying and are word for word, even those which are offensive the only difference is that it gets the hex limitation of 1/24hrs per target.

The spirit abilities are either clones of oracle revelations (such as the channel for life spirit or touch of flame for flame spirit) or close enough.

Not much of the class was new except for new wording for cloned abilities/keywords.

I can see the class as being good and because it's so close to oracle it's basically choose which one is better out of the 2 for the spirit/mystery (battle is better for oracle because they get martial weapon and heavy armour prof, whilst life would be better as a shaman because they get a familiar to cast cure spells through). The shaman doesn't look nor feel like an oracle/witch, to me it's an oracle who decided to exchange the curse for a familiar (because that's an equal trade...) and somehow speed up the spell progression one level by doing so.

I can see people playing it and I can also see people going "Why ever play this if I can choose an oracle" or "Why ever play an oracle if I can choose this".

This review/critique might sound harsh, but good feedback isn't feedback that's just all good, it's feedback that is straight to the point and expresses your unsugar-coated views. To me I can see myself playing the shaman as it is, but I'd play it as an oracle archetype, not a shaman, which I doubt is the intent they wanted to get out of this class.

I've gone over the heritages in blood of fiends a bit and found that they're quite interesting (more so than just getting the stats I want).

I have a few questions about them though.

1) If I choose a heritage do I gain the racial traits at the bottom of each of the entries, in addition to the alternate stats/spell-like/skills? EDIT: thanks for the answer, thought it was a racial trait, not a race trait.

2) If I do gain the race traits from the the heritage, do I gain them for free or do I have to replace current tiefling race traits with them, at one heritage race trait replacing one tiefling race trait? EDIT: again, confusion of race v racial.

3) Am I able to choose alternate racial traits that replace the spell-like or the skilled traits EDIT: if I have a heritage which gains an alternate spell-like and different skill bonuses (forgot to add that part in the first time)?

4) This is just a flavour/appearance question, but can (or even must) a rakshasa-spawn (beastbrood) tiefling have reversed palms/hands like rakshasa do?

These questions may have been answered already before, but my google-fu/search-fu have failed me if it be true.

I know this should be asked in the rules board, but I'd like to get a strict PFS ruling, rather than the usual "up to GM discretion" answer.

If a synthesist summoner gets the skilled evolution in a skill in which they can make a day job roll do they get the +8 bonus to the day job roll?

Lets say a synthesist summoner chose +8 in craft(alchemy), do they get get to make an awesome day job roll or does that +8 only work in session like most other abilities that could give a non-permanent bonus to the day job roll (crafter's fortune, eagle splendor, mutagen/rage/cognagen for skills where necessary) they don't give a bonus.

Tyrale