For a new game, i've made my first shaman, with the life spirit as its main bond.
Aside from some adventuring gear, a wand, a few scrolls, i'm still left with a budget of roughly 27k. I was considering a phylactery of positive channeling, and that takes a chunk out of the budget. (11k) Or a headband of mental prowess. (+2 Wis and Cha)
What do my fellow shamans buy for an adventure?
We start at level 8 off the bat.
The big items, generally speaking. Items to boost saving throws, armor class, etc, etc.
I've played more than a handful of shamans. If you want to share more of what role you are taking and specifics on the other ability choices, I might be able to offer more specific advice.
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Popular items I always try to grab:
Handy Haversack
Boots of the cat.
Traveller's anytool
Between the two headband items, I'd go with the mental prowess. An extra channel from charisma will give about as much healing over an adventuring day. And the extra wisdom should give you an extra spell of some kind.
A +2 light shield should be helpful. You don't have proficiency, but the armor check penalty is 0, so it doesn't really matter.
Standard magic items you are basically expected to have:
Weapon
Armor/Shield
Ability Score Headband/Belt
Cloak of Resistance
Ring of Protection
Amulet of Natural Armor
Wand of Cure Light Wounds
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Shamans typically dump Str, so I'd get a Bag of Holding or Handy Haversack. Ring of Spell Storing is also really handy, keep a Get Out of Jail Free spell in it so you always have an ace up your sleeve. If you have a friendly neighborhood wiz/sorc/bard in the party, dimension door, gaseous form, greater invisibility, or freedom of movement are great spells to keep in your Ring of Spell Storing for emergencies. Frigid Touch or Frostbite in Spell Storing Armor is also a nice defense mechanism.
Reach Metamagic Rod is really handy, because most of your core healing spells are touch range, and sometimes that can force you down AoO Alley to get to your near-dead compatriot-- turning a touch-range Cure Wounds spell into a close-range spell 3x day can save your own life as well as your ally's life, and it's only 3,000gp. Alternatively, use an offensive Touch spell from close-range so you don't have to wade into melee. An absolute bargain if I ever sawed one.
Persistent Metamagic Rods are nice for your Save or Die spells.
Ring of Protection, Amulet of Natural Armor, and Cloak of Resistance are always welcome for shoring up defense. Headband of Wisdom is also nice for offense and extra spell slots.
Shamans have a diverse, fantastic spell list and some spells you'll definitely want to cast more than once but don't want to prep two of the same spells, so Pearls of Power can really come in handy. Runestones of Power can help you with your spontaneous spell slots.
Rather than spending gold on flying (like a magic carpet or flying broom), I would definitely take the Wings Hex (x2 @ lvl 8). That's 16 minutes of flying per day right out of the gate at level 8, so you can stay out of range of melee enemies every encounter of the day plus have roughly 8-12ish minutes left for utility/scouting. This can save you quite a bit of money.
Since you're Wisdom-based, Gloves of Reconnaissance and Eyes of the Eagle is a nice little combo for 1) nailing all your perc checks, and 2) making perc checks through doors and walls up to 5ft thick. Perception is the most rolled skill in the game and knowledge is power, so you might as well capitalize on Wis being your primary ability score.
Quick Runner's Shirt is handy to have for the times you need to use Chant Hex and still perform a Move Action.
Amulet of the Spirits (Life) is 12,000gp but it's worth every penny for a Life Shaman, because when you Life Link you'll be taking damage almost every single battle.
Besides gear, have you considered the feat Fey Foundling? And it's recommended to apply the protector archetype to your familiar since it has fast healing 1 from life spirit
Amulet of the Spirits (Life) is 12,000gp but it's worth every penny for a Life Shaman, because when you Life Link you'll be taking damage almost every single battle.
It's not really...
... If a creature that already has the associated mystery or spirit wears the amulet, that wearer does not gain the abilities listed below; instead, the effective level of her mystery or spirit powers increases by 2. ...
It is just about pointless for a Shaman with the Life spirit to wear the amulet unless they REALLY want the +2 effective level.
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... If a creature that already has the associated mystery or spirit wears the amulet, that wearer does not gain the abilities listed below; instead, the effective level of her mystery or spirit powers increases by 2. ...It is just about pointless for a Shaman with the Life spirit to wear the amulet unless they REALLY want the +2 effective level.
That's an extra 1d6 per channel. It's not terrible, but I'd rather have an amulet of natural amor in in that slot.
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That's an extra 1d6 per channel. It's not terrible, but I'd rather have an amulet of natural amor in in that slot.
Agreed, but not worth the 12k price tag.
If you want to share more of what role you are taking and specifics on the other ability choices, I might be able to offer more specific advice.
Healer, and debuffer on the side if needed.
Besides gear, have you considered the feat Fey Foundling? And it's recommended to apply the protector archetype to your familiar since it has fast healing 1 from life spirit
A familiar would need to make a melee attack against the attacking enemy, to make use of those feats, wouldn't they? A 0 reach familiar.....
While i agree Fey foundling works, i'm hesistant, as the PC is modeled after the concept of a native american shaman.
Whenever i see other PCs with fey foundling, i see it nowhere in their backstory, nor does it ever come up.
metamagic rod suggestions
Neat, i'll have to look into those.
Besides gear, have you considered the feat Fey Foundling? And it's recommended to apply the protector archetype to your familiar since it has fast healing 1 from life spiritA familiar would need to make a melee attack against the attacking enemy, to make use of those feats, wouldn't they? A 0 reach familiar.....
The range isn't a problem
Loyal Bodyguard (Ex): A protector gains Bodyguard and Combat Reflexes as bonus feats. If the familiar is sharing its master’s square, it can use Bodyguard to aid another to improve its master’s AC even if it doesn’t threaten the attacking foe, though it still needs line of effect to its master and the attacker.But the great part is this:
At 5th level, whenever a protector or its master takes hit point damage, as long as the protector and its master are touching, its master can split the damage evenly between them as if under the effects of shield other.
So, it can take half of your damage, and then fast heal it away in time to do it again for the next fight. And if anyone should try focusing down the familiar to spite you, then you can split the damage the other way and keep you both up with your channels.
While i agree Fey foundling works, i'm hesistant, as the PC is modeled after the concept of a native american shaman.
Whenever i see other PCs with fey foundling, i see it nowhere in their backstory, nor does it ever come up.
That's fair. Just wanted you to know about it if you didn't.