My shaman just got the wandering hex class ability, and looking over the list of possible hexes, I came across Arcane Enlightenment which allows the shaman to add sorcerer/wizard spells to his spell list. The text for this hex was obviously written from the point of view that this is your chosen spirit and you are adding this hex as one of your hex choices, and not a wandering one. I found several older threads about this from 2014, and rather than necro one of those, I figured I'd ask anew what the thoughts are on this. The older threads seem to have come to no real consensus.
Arcane Enlightenment (Su): The shaman’s native intelligence grants her the ability to tap into arcane lore. The shaman can add a number of spells from the sorcerer/wizard spell list equal to her Charisma modifier (minimum 1) to the list of shaman spells she can prepare. To cast these spells she must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell’s level, but the saving throw DCs of these spells are based on her Wisdom rather than Intelligence. When she casts these spells, they are treated as divine rather than arcane. Each time the shaman gains a level after taking this hex, she can choose to replace one of these spells for a new spell on the wizard/sorcerer spell list.
Wandering Hex: At 6th level, a shaman can temporarily gain the use of one of the hexes possessed by either one of her spirits. She must make this selection each day when she prepares her spells. For the purposes of this ability, she can select any hex possessed by her spirit or wandering spirit. If she selects it from her wandering spirit, she loses the hex immediately if she bonds with another spirit, although she can then select a different hex to gain using this ability, from either her spirit or her new wandering spirit. At 14th level, a shaman can select two wandering hexes each day instead of one. This ability otherwise functions as the hex class feature.
The question is if you take this hex as a wandering hex, is the list of spells added to your spell list fixed and can only be modified once per level or since you loose this hex at the end of the day is the spell list established when you take the hex and can be modified each time you chose the wandering hex.
It is unclear, at least to me, why the list would be permanently established when you first chose to gained this as a wandering hex. As a permanent hex, sure I'm gain a permanent capability to augment my spell casting. As a temporary feature, it should be ephemeral as the spells fade at the end of the day.
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Just my opinion, but I think the consensus was that you can pick the spells each day if it's a wandering hex.
NOTE that Paizo negated this Hex for use by the Oracle Spirit Guide archetype by simply declaring that it doesn't work for the Spirit Guide. But nothing in that FAQ addresses use of the Hex by a Shaman as a Wandering Spirit Hex.
While there are several abilities out there that maintain a variable selection once chosen, wandering hex and arcane enlightenment don't have that restriction. It is a very powerful option, and makes lore as a main spirit a terrible selection, so I could see some DM's including a restriction.
While there are several abilities out there that maintain a variable selection once chosen, wandering hex and arcane enlightenment don't have that restriction. It is a very powerful option, and makes lore as a main spirit a terrible selection, so I could see some DM's including a restriction.
Yeah, it's a troublesome option. It's not so much overpowered as much as it makes the other choices feel poor by comparison, so that almost everyone's wandering spirit will be lore.
Welp, nothing in the rules would stop you from using this as a Wandering Hex. As a GM, I would have a conversation with that player and reserve the right to nerf that if it starts getting out of control or abusive. I think you should probably approach your GM about that and see what he/she thinks.
I did have the discussion with him, and he sees it that once the hex is selected, the list is frozen and may only be modified when my shaman gains a level. Thus the wandering hex acts the same as if I chose lore spirit as my primary spirit and then took the arcane enlightenment hex.
It wasn't really the answer I was looking for as I like the added flexibility that it allows on a daily basis if I have a need to access spells outside the shaman's normal list + spirit magic. With a fixed list, it is not nearly as attractive an option. It's not bad, 4 up to 3rd level spells with his stats, but it loses the versatility that I really like about this option as a wandering hex.
I think that's perfectly fair tbh.
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While there are several abilities out there that maintain a variable selection once chosen, wandering hex and arcane enlightenment don't have that restriction. It is a very powerful option, and makes lore as a main spirit a terrible selection, so I could see some DM's including a restriction.Yeah, it's a troublesome option. It's not so much overpowered as much as it makes the other choices feel poor by comparison, so that almost everyone's wandering spirit will be lore.
Well, that is exactly the definition of overpowered. When one choice is so clearly better than the others that the vast majority of the players that have the prerequisites will choose it, it is overpowered.
Overpowered is always in comparison with the other choices that have a similar cost, not against an absolute value.| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I played using it in Hell's Rebels. Admittedly our party was 3 PCs and we had no dedicated cleric/wizard, so my having the ability to dip daily was crucial.
That said, as a DM I'd allow it in a heartbeat. There's a difference between powerful and flexible. Yes, flexibility allows having the right tool at the right time, which feels like it increases power. But this - in practice - was more like the difference between a sorcerer and a wizard.
If used best, IMHO, your player would be adding utility spells to get things done rather than blasty spells. Helping move the narrative along because the right spell to do so is available is useful.
Being in the original sourcebook doesn't make something well thought out. Eidolons got easy pounce in their original sourcebook.
The Shaman class has some terrible design elements. In addition to the enlightenment hex being the too obvious choice for your wandering hex, the human favored class bonus makes playing as anything non-human feel lacking. A class's balance should not be based around a few niche options, especially when those are options within other options. Besides that, the level 1 play experience on a shaman is terrible, as they don't get their first hex till level 2, and excluding the life spirit they all have rather weak and boring first level powers.
I really don't think there's much about the shaman that could be considered "well thought out". It feels more like dumb luck that the class is interesting.
From my perspective the shaman is a poor mix of abilities. The other hybrids try to blend the two classes but here you can do witch kinds of things or oracle kinds of things but not both. I'm playing a life spirit shaman and chose aasimar as my race. In retrospect, human would really have been a better choice. I'm finding the shaman spell list a very eclectic mixture of spells, and spirit magic is a limited expansion of choices based on the available spirit. The wandering hex looks like a great addition but action economy is hampered by most hexes beign standard actions, and no real swift actions. I'm planning on my next hex (8th level) will be chant to get a way to do hex things better. His role as party healer if fine with life spirit. I was just looking for a way to improve spell choices for planned encounters.
I think it's an extremely important feature of the Shaman class, and you would be remiss to not take advantage of it.
Having a handful of spells that can be chosen/changed daily is huge. Combined with the Human FCB, it makes the Shaman an excellent choice for a party with only one caster.
It allows them to always be useful, adding tremendous utility to the class, but not necessarily overpowered in any real way.
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I have set to see a good 20 point build with arcane enlightenment; the int and cha requirements consume too many stat points for my liking. The alternative, the Speaker for the Past archetype, also gives you revelations, which are very good. A Speaker for the Past can Haste the party on the enemy surprise round (Speed or Slow Time, Temporal Cererity).
If you can change the spell list daily, then I agree. My DM however sees this as something that is fixed upon taking the hex. From that point onward until you level, the list is the same on any subsequent day. So for my shaman that is 4 arcane spells between 0-3rd level that I can add to my shaman spell list. I can change one spell from that list when he levels up.
It's not a bad feature, just not how I interpreted the rules as written. I thought that it would be a new list each day.
Haven't we already argued this out before?
Wandering Hex
At 6th level, a shaman can temporarily gain the use of one of the hexes possessed by either one of her spirits. She must make this selection EACH DAY when she prepares her spells. For the purposes of this ability, she can select any hex possessed by her spirit or wandering spirit. If she selects it from her wandering spirit, she loses the hex immediately if she bonds with another spirit, although she can then select a different hex to gain using this ability, from either her spirit or her new wandering spirit. At 14th level, a shaman can select two wandering hexes each day instead of one. This ability otherwise functions as the hex class feature.
Arcane Enlightenment (Su): The shaman’s native intelligence grants her the ability to tap into arcane lore. The shaman can add a number of spells from the sorcerer/wizard spell list equal to her Charisma modifier (minimum 1) to the list of shaman spells she can prepare. To cast these spells she must have an Intelligence score equal to at least 10 + the spell’s level, but the saving throw DCs of these spells are based on her Wisdom rather than Intelligence. When she casts these spells, they are treated as divine rather than arcane. Each time the shaman gains a level after taking this hex, she can choose to replace one of these spells for a new spell on the wizard/sorcerer spell list.
As written, you renew your Arcane Enlightenment hex EACH DAY you select it, as per the Wandering Hex rules, which specifically outrule the general rule of the Arcane Enlightenment hex being per level.
It's a completely new Arcane Enlightenment...EACH DAY!
I'm sure it's an oversight and not RAI, but yeah RAW switching the wandering hex every day for different spells totally works.
I can't find the extra arcane FAQ. And the paragon one seems to only be talking about using paragon surge multiple times in a given day, as opposed to using it on successive days.
No problem. Of course, my GM sees the paragon surge as an example of why the hex should be a fixed list. He seems to think that paragon is equally static, which makes no sense to me as that is not what the FAQ is talking about at all. It is only static for the day, not forever.