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Beriogelir · 03-22-2018, 09:56 AM

I would like to introduce something like the shaman profession from DF9 into my DFRPG game. (Is that redundant? Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game game?)

Here are my general goals:

I don't want to introduce too many advantages that would be new to the DFRPG (e.g., Allies, Channeling, Contact Group, Medium, etc.).
I don't want to force any of my players to create a whole bunch of spirits.
I'd prefer not to have to create a whole bunch of spirits for the players.
I don't want to introduce too many spells that aren't in the DFRPG.

I don't know whether this is an essentially impossible task given those goals, but I'd still like to try.

Here are my vague thoughts on this project:

All of the professions have new advantages of some sort, and a shaman without Channeling or Medium seems silly, so I suppose that it would be OK to include those advantages. Along that vein, maybe shamanism versions of Oracle, Resistant to Spirit Powers, and See Invisible (Spirits) could be introduced. Maybe even introduce extremely limited forms of Allies or Contact Group, not unlike the druid's Beast Flight ability as an extremely limited form of Shapeshifting.
. . . Ooh, what about Clairvoyance with Projection?
If I am creating new advantages, how many should there be? How many are too many/too few for a profession?
Perhaps the cleric profession could be modified in some ways, with a changed spell list and an increased emphasis on social skills . . . especially influence skills. (Spirit Empathy would be a required advantage for the template.) In a way, isn't a shaman just a coercive cleric with a more direct and equal relationship with the gods?
Can I just model the abilities that the spirits grant the shaman with buff spells (e.g., Alterness, Grace, Resist Pain, etc.)? Are there other colleges that lend themselves particularly well to emulating spirit-granted abilities? Some spells from the Animal, Communication and Empathy, Knowledge, Mind Control, Protection and Warning, and Weather colleges, that sort of thing?
If I give the shaman spells to replicate spirit-granted abilities, and those include some Animal and Weather spells, is that going to infringe on the druid's niche? Will buff spells infringe on the cleric's niche? How do I prevent that?
If I have to create spirits, as opposed to, or in conjunction with, modeling the spirits' abilities with spells, what are the primary spirit archetypes? Maybe I could just create a handful - Animal Spirit, Plant Spirit, War Spirit, Weather Spirit, that sort of thing.
If the shaman ends up just summoning spirits all of the time, how do I make sure that a shaman PC has agency, and isn't just a spirit-delivery system?
How do I model mana levels/sanctity/Nature's strength for a shaman? Presumably, it would have something to do with the prevalence of spirits in an area, but some kind of system would be nice.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Has anyone already done this, and successfully brought the shaman profession into the DFRPG?

03-22-2018, 09:56 AM	#1
Beriogelir Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: Maryland	[DF] Shaman Profession in DFRPG I would like to introduce something like the shaman profession from *DF9* into my DFRPG game. (Is that redundant? Dungeon Fantasy Roleplaying Game game?) Here are my general goals: I don't want to introduce too many advantages that would be new to the *DFRPG* (e.g., Allies, Channeling, Contact Group, Medium, etc.). I don't want to force any of my players to create a whole bunch of spirits. I'd prefer not to have to create a whole bunch of spirits for the players. I don't want to introduce too many spells that aren't in the DFRPG. I don't know whether this is an essentially impossible task given those goals, but I'd still like to try. Here are my vague thoughts on this project: All of the professions have new advantages of some sort, and a shaman without Channeling or Medium seems silly, so I suppose that it would be OK to include those advantages. Along that vein, maybe shamanism versions of Oracle, Resistant to Spirit Powers, and See Invisible (Spirits) could be introduced. Maybe even introduce extremely limited forms of Allies or Contact Group, not unlike the druid's Beast Flight ability as an extremely limited form of Shapeshifting. . . . Ooh, what about Clairvoyance with Projection? If I am creating new advantages, how many should there be? How many are too many/too few for a profession? Perhaps the cleric profession could be modified in some ways, with a changed spell list and an increased emphasis on social skills . . . especially influence skills. (Spirit Empathy would be a required advantage for the template.) In a way, isn't a shaman just a coercive cleric with a more direct and equal relationship with the gods? Can I just model the abilities that the spirits grant the shaman with buff spells (e.g., Alterness, Grace, Resist Pain, etc.)? Are there other colleges that lend themselves particularly well to emulating spirit-granted abilities? Some spells from the Animal, Communication and Empathy, Knowledge, Mind Control, Protection and Warning, and Weather colleges, that sort of thing? If I give the shaman spells to replicate spirit-granted abilities, and those include some Animal and Weather spells, is that going to infringe on the druid's niche? Will buff spells infringe on the cleric's niche? How do I prevent that? If I have to create spirits, as opposed to, or in conjunction with, modeling the spirits' abilities with spells, what are the primary spirit archetypes? Maybe I could just create a handful - Animal Spirit, Plant Spirit, War Spirit, Weather Spirit, that sort of thing. If the shaman ends up just summoning spirits all of the time, how do I make sure that a shaman PC has agency, and isn't just a spirit-delivery system? How do I model mana levels/sanctity/Nature's strength for a shaman? Presumably, it would have something to do with the prevalence of spirits in an area, but some kind of system would be nice. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Has anyone already done this, and successfully brought the shaman profession into the DFRPG?