Patreon Backer Exclusive: the Shaman, Early Draft

Hello, Benjamin! I like the idea of certain spirit communions granting direct damage and healing spells. Also, for healing spells overall, I don't think they're too terribly broken on this class as long as the shaman doesn't get AOE heals like Mass Cure Wounds, but even Mass Healing Word is pretty okay, I think, since the healing to each individual is so miniscule. Damage is a whole different beast, and could very easily get out of hand. I also think that making it harder to switch between spirits is a good idea, and I think I may have a concept that might be nice for it. I'm just spitballing here, but, maybe, in addition to the proficiencies and blessings, the spirits give an additional benefit when you trance while communing with them. In return, though, the shaman cannot switch to a new communion while in their trance. I agree with Zack below, though, that there should be an option to stop communing altogether (perhaps as a bonus action or at any time with no action required), as each communion has a noticeable physical trait that the shaman may wish to turn off in certain scenarios. The big problem with Raging Bear is that AC is not the only problem with the Shaman taking to the front lines; it also has to contend with its pitiable d6 hit die and lack of survival tools. The only reason that the Bladesinging Arcane Tradition works is that it very clearly steers the player into using Dex by granting proficiency with Light Armor and specifying that the weapon chosen had to be one-handed (making most people think "I'll want a rapier"), and then tacks on a whole bunch of AC on top via the wizard's IntMod (with a point-buy character, the AC while in bladesong could be 17 at 2nd-level, or even higher with a rolled character), in addition to wizards also having spells like Shield and Mage Armor to help keep them alive. The Shaman doesn't get any of those or similar tools. So while a bit higher AC from the Medium Armor helps (because using a shield directly interferes with Raging Bear's Blessing), it doesn't solve the core problems of not having enough health, or spells that can be used to substitute health. The fact that Raging Bear relies on Strength-based weapons for its full use exacerbates this issue since it forces the shaman to either roll extraordinarily well or pass on more useful spellcasting/roleplaying/survivability stats to become a gish, while the Bladesinger encourages high Dexterity, Constitution, and Intelligence scores, which are all stats most wizards would probably want to have for general combat survival and spellcasting anyway. This idea may be a little off-the-wall, but what if Raging Bear also let you substitute your Wisdom for rolls that would normally use your Strength? I think that would alleviate most of the synergy and stat-spread issues that the current version is facing, since Strength would be taken out of the equation, leaving Dex, Con, and Wis to be the Shaman's primary gish stats, which are stats all shamans would probably want for general combat survival and spellcasting anyway. Oh, Ritual Casting was not immediately obvious, and it does help immensely for the exploration aspect. I really like the idea of a weapon attack enhancing cantrip, though it might not be necessary if Raging Bear becomes practical for use at lower levels. Having one, though, would definitely increase the class's early-level damage potential. Also, Green Flame Blade and Booming Blade are both extremely cool options that pretty much every gish uses now, so having more cantrips in that vein to increase the diversity of gish play would be great. And I would agree that I think proficiency in medium armor and shields would go a long way with the class in general, not just for Raging Bear. One other idea before I leave off for this reply: since you're planning to potentially add more spirits to commune with, and it might be a little crazy for shamans to be able to access them all at once, why not gate how many "relationships" a shaman can have with spirits. Maybe the shaman can start by choosing two spirits he or she can commune with, and then learn more as he or she levels up?

Thanks for getting back so quickly. If you can't think of anything for bloodletting let me suggest something that synergies well with raging bear as I can see it currently being passed over often. Maybe some thing like being within ten feet of a creature when they take slashing or piercing damage you gain temporary hit points or a potion like the estatic has that lets them rage.

Hi Ross! Wow, thanks for really diving in on this! 1.) Yeah, when we (meaning you and I!) scratched this feature from the Magus I thought it would make the most sense as a core mechanic in a spellcasting class. Of course the spell list has to accommodate that which leads to a somewhat odd situation where it can’t have any spells that become problematic if spammed. 2.) You touch on this later but you are right that the mystic trance feature means I have to dance around a lot in terms of what else the class can do. I have a few ideas about fixing that, such as having some spirits grant more direct damage or healing spells but maybe making switching between spirits harder so you can only ever be in one “mode” while in a mystic trance. Another idea is to beef up cantrips and possibly armor and weapon selection. 3.) Would your concerns about Raging Bear be alleviated if shamans had proficiency with medium armor and shields as well? 4.) Yeah, Intuitive Casting needed to be there. I think it’s also maybe not obvious but since they have ritual casting they can also cast rituals outside of combat which is also helpful. Hopefully I will be able to create enough spirits that meet the same standard set by Plotting Spider, Clever Coyote, and Wise Owl. Glad you like them. I am very happy with the way the Rite of the Ecstatic worked out too. I really like their Ecstatic feature. Rite of the Skinchanger turned out pretty good too although it was a bit more straightforward (since I literally just ripped a feature out of druid). I feel like Give Life is a good way of having healing in a cantrip since it’s still limited healing per day but not in the way that most healing spells are limited. 5.) I like your suggestions here. I think possibly the shaman could get some kind of weapon attack enhancing cantrip too? Not sure. I will be brainstorming. To broaden what all the class can do I think I might expand the armor proficiencies to medium armor and shield too.

Benjamin Huffman

Hi Zack! Yeah, I noticed that Rites of Passage mistake right after I posted it...Bloodletting was the original plan but couldn't think of something. I will make sure that's corrected in the next draft. Shamanic Communion does not have a cool down and, yes, as written you could use an action to cycle between different spirits. There currently is no "end this effect by using a bonus action" clause but there could be. I think when I wrote it I felt that shamans were probably always going to be in communion with one spirit or another...but maybe it's thematically odd that, under current rules, they can't choose to end it even if they want to!

Benjamin Huffman

I really like the flavor and lore of the class. Her are a few of my initial thoughts as I read the document: 1) On first seeing that the mystic trance was a 1st-level feature, I thought "My GOD that's overpowered." However, looking at the distinct dearth of damaging spells, and the distinct glut of concentration-requiring spells, the shaman has, it seems a bit more balanced. 2) My second reaction to the mystic trance was "Well, since that minute-long trance is only really ever worth using in combat except in life-or-death exploration and roleplay scenarios, what exactly will the shaman do when the minute is up?" In this, my concerns were only partially alleviated. While I love the passive bonuses when in Shamanic Communion with the spirits (especially Plotting Spider's Blessing), and I love how the Rites of Passage seem almost entirely roleplay/utility based, I still feel as though the early-level shaman suffers greatly from its only reliable damage source coming from its cantrips, only one of which uses an attack roll. While Chill Touch is a phenomenal cantrip due to its healing prevention, it feels very much like the early-level shaman just gets entirely shut down by anything that resists necrotic damage and has even decent Dexterity and Wisdom saving throws. I think another ranged spell attack cantrip could go a long way here. 3) I think my biggest area of concern, though, is the disconnect between communing with the Raging Bear and what the rest of the class does. The proficiencies with light armor, ranged weapons, and finesse weapons, coupled with a low hit die, implies that the shaman is meant to scale all of its martial potential on Dex, if only to help it stay alive. While Bear's passive bonus of proficiency with martial weapons is nice in theory, the Blessing implies that, in order to make any real use of communing with the Raging Bear, a good Strength score is required because the only two-handed and versatile weapons require Strength. And investing in Strength, in most campaigns, means that you didn't invest as highly in other stats, so you either severely hurt your survivability or worsen your spellcasting. The way things stand with the class as is, the only reason I could ever see myself communing with the Raging Bear would be to cast Enlarge/Reduce on my fighter, and then immediately switching out. 4) Now that the criticism is out of the way, let me tell you a bunch of the things I really like about your Shaman. Intuitive Casting is absolutely wonderful, and feels entirely needed. Even as only one spell per day at 3rd level, it allows the shaman to feel like it can help out with some useful spells when not in combat, and the additional uses feel really good where you've placed them. Spirit Sense is also really cool since most earlier-level parties tend to struggle very badly against invisible enemies. Clever Coyote, Plotting Spider, and Wise Owl are all really cool and have great usage cases. I mentioned this before, but I love Plotting Spider in particular because it gives the shaman something to do in combat if it has run out of mystic trances for the day and its cantrips are ineffectual against the particular enemy. I'm ecstatic about Rite of the Ecstatic. I love the high-cost, high benefit aspect of drinking one's own poison doses, especially since the natural scaling of hit points alleviates the cost as you level up, as well as the idea of using your poison doses to get one over on another creature. It has really cool combat and roleplay usages, and I'd bet the party's rogue would love to have their own personal poison factory. Rite of the Skinchanger getting what is basically Wild Shape feels cool, as the druid already uses it for a variety of exploration and roleplay purposes. I find myself very curious to see this Rite's later features. Disorient and Give Life are both really cool new cantrips, especially Give Life since so many players seem to neglect to use their hit dice, and having a cut-and-dry instant use for them is something I think every player wants. 5) So, overall, I think the class has some serious potential. The biggest obstacle I see in its development is that its biggest strength is also its biggest weakness: the mystic trance. It makes the shaman feel godly during combat, but forces basically every other part of the class to be balanced around it, which takes away from many shaman options out of combat. It also forces the shaman to have as few damage spells as possible, and make all the ones it does have require concentration, which severely limits the class's total damage output compared to other full casters. A lot of that is made up in the shaman's non-spell utility from the Spirit Communions and the Rites of Passage, but I think some extra damage in the form of another attack roll cantrip, or even 1st-level spell (it could even be an intentionally weaker homebrew spell that feels just a little bit stronger than a cantrip at early levels), would be much appreciated. I look forward to seeing how the class develops. (And also to seeing what this Rite of Bloodletting might be, unless it was a beta subclass that transformed into Rite of the Ecstatic.)

The options under the header "Rites of Passage" are bloodletting and skinchanging but the options later on are ecstatic and skinchanging. Also does Shamnic Communion have no cool down? Can I use an action to switch from raging bear to wise owl? Is there no "you can end this effect by using a bonus action" clause?