So, I know Pathbuilder isn't official software or anything, but I did notice something interesting that I wanted to confirm.
Shaman class progression indicates that they get the major effect from their spirit at 20. However, the effect is actually under the Spirit itself (making the Level 20 note redundant/confusing). According to the app... you can just choose a capstone and lose nothing as a Shaman - just like a Wizard or Cleric - as the only actual thing gained at 20 is actually a byproduct of (and contained within) an earlier scaling ability.
Is that correct? Most people think Shaman need all the help they can get, and it looks like this is how it works, so I'm cautiously optimistic.
Most people think Shaman need all the help they can get
Since... when?
Anyways,
as the only actual thing gained at 20 is actually a byproduct of (and contained within) an earlier scaling ability.
Not actually true for the Shaman. Manifestation is a separate class feature that just happens to be defined by your choice of Spirit (as is the Spirit Magic class feature). If you look at the Spirit class feature, it only describes the process of selecting a Spirit, adding its hexes to your list, and then the 1, 8, and 16th level spirit features.
The main gripe seems to be with their spell lists.
Needless to say - I don't agree. I love the class!
What you said is what I was thinking originally.
As this game will likely go to 20, I need to decide - should I reach that point - whether I want the Life Spirit's cap or an alternate. Hmm.
Thanks!
The shaman could have used another design pass for sure, but it’s more complicated than needing a buff.
The shaman spell list is pretty bad and its class abilities are mostly subpar. But a handful of the spirits are good enough. And you can use the human FCB and the lore spirit to pad out the spells available. So, this leaves a handful of builds rather strong, while leaving most of the class fairly lackluster.