What if there is no overarching pantheon of gods, instead there are hundreds of unique, tranquil, odd holy sites based on natural locations each containing its own divine spirit. (I'm looking at including this world view as part of Kaidan: a Japanese Ghost Story setting.)
There might not even be a need to differentiate monsters from spirits. A blighted grove of trees for instance could 'summon/create' an owlbear to retaliate to those around it. In game its just an owlbear, but in reality it has been actuated by the gods and is not biological at all.
My problem it seems is that Cleric doesn't easily identify with, nor access his divine spells and powers in an animistic world view. The Druid, for a number of reasons doesn't fit either - I don't want shape-changers as a class, as there is a defined shape-changer PC race available.
An oracle fits better, but the setting already includes one Oracle (Miko Shrine Maiden), would another Oracle be the type to fit better?
Would creating a shaman like class better fit this motif? I personally don't care for the term 'shaman' as it makes think of a primitive witch doctor or something. And something akin to Japanese shinto priests seem more refined than a shaman, though 'spirit-talkers' like those needed for an animistic world might be better applied to a shaman class.
Tonight I will do some work designing a possible Shaman class.
My questions are would it be better to hammer the cleric/druid to serve this role, choose a second oracle for the setting, or design a completely new class?
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I'm actually doing a Japanese setting for my group's homebrew world, and the question has come up- how would the divine casters work in a world without deities per se, but ancestor worship and a myriad of divine spirits?
The cleric, I'm handling like this: Pick two domains (you cannot have Good and Evil at the same time, or Law and Chaos), and you get Martial Weapon Proficiency (Wakizashi) for free as a member of the noble caste (to replace proficiency with your deity's favored weapon).
Take a look at the Urban Druid option from the APG, it grant more community-based abilities at the expense of an animal companion and limits on wild-shaping.
That's a good idea. For most of the other classes of Kaidan I am relying on archetypes from the APG, but not existing archetypes, but new ones that I am building specifically for use in a Japan-inspired horror setting. I really wanted to stick with archetypes and avoid building any new classes. A few prestige classes I think need to be made, but not overmuch.
Cleric definitely doesn't fit the Kannushi idea.
I had thought Druid as a poor fit, but I hadn't thought of archetyping it, as I do think the nature venerating aspects of the druid are closer than what a cleric would do to fit. Too often when I hear 'druid' I think shifter and the Celtic type druid. The urban druid breaking the mold open is probably the smart way to go.
I'll give it a shot tonight - thanks!
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