[3.X] Fivefold Paths of Magic - Heed my call, o' spirits! Grant me thy power!

[Rizban]

The Fivefold Paths of Magic - Shamanism



Table of Contents

• Introduction
  
  • The Fivefold Paths
• The Classes
  
  • Shaman
    
• Skills and Feats
  • New Uses for Skills
    
  • Feat Descriptions
• Spirits of Shamanism
  • Spirit Descriptions
    
  • The Spirits

Introduction

I have been playing D&D for several years and made a fair amount of homebrew in that time. One of my most ambitious projects, which is still being worked on, is "Rizban's E6 Compendium". In some ways, that project inspired this one, though they have very little in common. Another large inspiration for this project was the Aldhaven: Vicious Betrayals game run on this site continuously for three years. It was a fairly massive game with around 10 active DMs and nearly 70 active players at the height of its popularity. Many aspects of that game got me thinking and brainstorming about how I would want to create a new world if I ever started a new game.

As it so happens, I'm working on producing a new setting for a game in real life that departs fairly strongly from the traditional generic Greyhawk setting of Dungeons & Dragons. In this game world, magic is a bit more varied and does not function in the traditional sense. Along with leaving all non-magical classes in the dust, the traditional 3rd edition casters just don't fit thematically with the world I want to create. While I could just change the fluff and call it good enough, that falls short of my vision for what could be. This project is meant as a full replacement for the traditional Vancian magic of D&D. If you are familiar with the various alternate magic systems in different source books, you're certain to see some familiar elements. I definitely draw inspiration from the official material and work to make content that feels like D&D without feeling like just a simple skin forced on top of a generic vancian spellcaster.



The Fivefold Paths

Magic. The very word brings forth visions of miracles and pestilence, healing and destruction, blasts of conjured flame, summoned monstrosities from the darkest pits, and anything that the mind can imagine. To the layman, this is all simply "magic." To the learned, however, there is far more than any one person can hope to learn in a lifetime of study.

Though there are many methods to the madness, there are five distinct paths to power known as the Fivefold Paths. Each manipulates the energies of the world in a unique manner, accomplishing feats that the other paths are simply unable to mimic. These paths are Alchemy, the mathematical magic of transmutation and enchantment; Asceticism, the magic of self, the mind and soul, power drawn from within through meditation and physical training; Invocation, the making of pacts with powerful beings and calling upon their power; Shamanism, calling forth beings from the spirit world into magic charms, called totems, to harness their power; and Theurgy, those chosen by the gods to channel their power into the world and enact their will.

[Rizban]

Shaman"By a thousand lights from a thousand souls, we navigate our way through the darkness. Look up to the heavens, for within ourselves, we mirror the stars."

– Serhan Tilki, human shaman

Img © Kiliii Fish. Licensed for use under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

From the depths of time immemorial, the spirits have lived. Between the spirit world and our own are many paths winding back and forth across creation. Armed only with beads, rattles, charms, and prayer, the shaman wends his way through hidden paths by his ritual dance as he utters mystic chants to call the spirits to his aid. As many and varied as the stars above, so are the spirits; and as like calls to like, the spirits and shaman draw unto one another, sharing their presence and their power between them. As the shaman navigates the inscrutable landscape of the spirit world, he draws ever closer to true understanding.

Making a Shaman

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A shaman can expect to serve any role necessary to support his community or his adventuring party. Fortunately, he is able to change his abilities each day by calling forth different spirits to himself each morning.

Abilities: Wisdom and Constitution are a shaman's most important ability scores. Constitution determines the maximum number of spirits a shaman may call to his aid at once while Wisdom increases his save DCs and affects many of his other abilities. The importance of his other ability scores is determined by what spirits he chooses to call. If a shaman summons spirits that aid in melee combat, a high Strength score may also be important.

Races: Shamans tend to most often come from more primitive races, such as orcs and goblins; however, there are a number of shamans throughout many races who seek to stay in touch with their spirituality, notably humans and elves.

Alignment: Shamans may be of any alignment, though they usually tend towards one extreme or another. Spirits tend to be more extreme in alignment, and they usually respond more favorably to shamans of their own alignment. However, there are numerous spirits, and shamans are able to find allies in the spirit world regardless of alignment.

Starting Gold: 5d4×10 (125 gp).

Starting Age: As cleric.

	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special		Called Spirits	Ephemera
1st	+0	+0	+0	+2	Aura, spirits of healing and harming		2	1
2nd	+1	+0	+0	+3	Totem binding, 1st totem		3	2
3rd	+1	+1	+1	+3	Spirit sight		3	3
4th	+2	+1	+1	+4	Spirit's favor		4	4
5th	+2	+1	+1	+4	2nd Totem		4	5
6th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Rapid calling 1/day		4	6
7th	+3	+2	+2	+5	Dual totem bind		5	7
8th	+4	+2	+2	+6	3rd Totem		5	7
9th	+4	+3	+3	+6	Greater ephemera capacity +1		5	8
10th	+5	+3	+3	+7	-		6	9
11th	+5	+3	+3	+7	4th Totem		6	10
12th	+6/+1	+4	+4	+8	Rapid calling 2/day		6	11
13th	+6/+1	+4	+4	+8	Triple totem bind		7	12
14th	+7/+2	+4	+4	+9	5th Totem		7	13
15th	+7/+2	+5	+5	+9	Greater ephemera capacity +2		7	13
16th	+8/+3	+5	+5	+10	-		8	14
17th	+8/+3	+5	+5	+10	6th Totem		8	15
18th	+9/+4	+6	+6	+11	Rapid calling 3/day		8	16
19th	+9/+4	+6	+6	+11	Dual totem bind		9	17
20th	+10/+5	+6	+6	+12	Spirit walker, 7th totem		9	18

Hit Die: d6
Class Skills (4 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level): Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Heal (Wis), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), and Spellcraft (Int).

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Shaman.

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Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A shaman is proficient with all simple weapons and with light armor.

Called Spirits: A shaman's primary ability is to call upon helpful spirits to aid him. These spirits are often ancestral spirits, animal spirits, or spirits of the land. He may call upon any spirit from the list Spirits of Shamanism list.
The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a shaman's called spirit is 10 + number of points of ephemera invested in the called spirit + his Wisdom modifier + 2 if the spirit has any bound totems.

A shaman may call only a certain number of spirits to his aid each day. His base number is given on the class table; however, calling spirits into the physical world and serving as their temporary home is very taxing on the shaman's body. A shaman may call a maximum number of spirits equal to his Constitution score minus 10 or the number given on the class table, whichever is lower. At 1st level, a shaman can call two spirits at a time, assuming he has a Constitution score of at least 12.

A shaman must have a good night's rest and perform a 1 hour long ritual meditation to call his spirits for the day.

Ephemera: At 1st level, a shaman accesses his own spiritual energy called ephemera. He can temporarily invest his energy into the spirits he calls to increase their power. The total amount of ephemera a shaman can access at each level is shown on the class table.
The maximum ephemera capacity for any one called spirit is determined by the shaman's character level, rather than his class level, as shown on the Ephemera Capacity table in the Shamanism and Called Spirits chapter.
A shaman can invest his ephemera and shift it from one spirit to another as a swift action, reallocating any or all of his ephemera as he chooses.

Aura (Ex): Only spirits with the same alignment as the shaman respond to his calls. This gives a shaman of a chaotic, evil, good, or lawful alignment a particularly powerful aura corresponding to his alignment.

Spirits of Healing and Harming (Su): Shamans can harness the energy of the spirits around them to directly affect the spirits of others. The energy a shaman draws from the spirits easily obeys his command, and he can dispense it with a simple touch. This energy directly affects the soul of his target, allowing him to heal injuries by empowering the target's soul or cause injury by disrupting the target's soul. This healing or damage bypasses most resistances, but it can only affect creatures with a soul, with no effect on soulless creatures, such as undead and constructs.

A shaman may draw energy from the spirit world each day equal to 5 × (1 + his shaman level) hit points, after this number is expended, his attending spirits are temporarily drained of their extra energies. This gives him 10 points at 1st level, 15 at 2nd, and 5 more points at each additional level. A shaman can use this energy with a melee touch attack, expending as much or as little of it at a time as he wishes. This energy automatically replenishes each morning.

Totem binding: Beginning at 2nd level, a shaman learns to fashion small trinkets and charms known as totems. By binding the totem to a called spirit, the shaman grants it a physical presence in the world, unlocking new, stronger powers. Binding totems to spirits is done when the shaman calls his spirits each morning.

Binding a totem to a spirit transforms the normally mundane object into a magic item. In order to gain the benefits of a bound totem, a shaman must wear the totem on his body. Each totem must be worn as a magic item in one of the shaman's twelve magic item slots, preventing the shaman from wearing any other magic item in that item slot. Spirits without a bound totem do not close off any magic item slots.

At 2nd level, a shaman can only craft one totem, gaining the expertise to craft additional totems every three levels after 2nd to a max of 7 totems at 20th level.

The save DC of any ability of a called spirit with a bound totem is increased by +2.

Spirit Sight (Su): A shaman of 3rd level can see ethereal creatures as easily as he sees material creatures and objects. The shaman can easily distinguish between ethereal creatures and material ones, because ethereal creatures usually appear translucent and indistinct.

Spirit's Favor (Su): A shaman of 4th level or higher applies his Wisdom modifier (if positive) as a bonus on all saving throws.

Rapid Calling (Su): As the shaman's ability to call forth spirits grows, he learns to call forth a small number of spirits almost instantly. Starting at 6th level, once per day, a shaman can dismiss one of his called spirits and immediately call forth a different spirit. This takes a full-round action and provokes attacks of opportunity. A shaman can not bind a totem to the newly called spirit, even if the dismissed spirit possessed a bound totem.

A shaman can use this ability twice per day at 12th level and three times per day at 18th.

Dual Totem Bind: At 7th level, a shaman can more fully call a single spirit into the physical world. By allowing the spirit to claim two different totems, the shaman unlocks far greater abilities from that spirit. All totems bound to the same spirit may be worn in a single magic item slot.

Regardless of the number of totems a shaman has available, he may only bind multiple totems to a single spirit. No other spirit he has called by be bound to more than one totem.

The shaman can, beginning at 19th level, bind two totems to a second spirit. This allows him to have two dual totem binds. He may still only have a single totem bound to any of his other called spirits.

Greater Ephemera Capacity (Ex): When calling spirits for the day, a shaman chooses a single spirit he has called. Until the shaman calls spirits again, the ephemera capacity for that spirit is increased by 1. Each time the shaman calls spirits, he may change which spirit benefits from this ability. Only one spirit may benefit from this ability at a time.
At 15th level, the chosen spirit's ephemera capacity is instead increased by 2.

Triple Totem Bind: At 13th level, a shaman can offer a third totems to a spirit he has given a dual totem bind, unlocking the greatest potential that spirit has to offer him. This still counts as the shaman's dual totem bind.

When the shaman gains the ability to dual totem bind a second spirit at 19th level, he may still use only one of those two spirits for his triple bind, giving him one spirit with 3 totems, one spirit with 2 totems, and the rest with 1 or no totems.

Spirit Walker (Su): At 20th level, a shaman transcends the physical world to walk the spiritual paths in person. As a standard action, the shaman becomes ethereal and shifts from the Material Plane to the Ethereal Plane and may shift back at any time as a move action. He can remain on the Ethereal Plane a number of rounds per day equal to twice his Wisdom score.

[Rizban]

[Post #3 Reserved]

[Rizban]

Skills and FeatsSkillsThis section covers the new uses for existing skills as they relate to shamanism.

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Concentration (Con)

A shaman normally can not meditate to call spirits or bind totems whenever he might potentially be distracted (by taking damage, by harsh weather, and so on). He may make concentration checks to continue meditating as normal.

Knowledge (Religion) (Int; Trained Only)

This skills covers information about spirits and totems. Though spirits are usually invisible, the effects of a spirit can be identified with a DC 20 Knowledge (religion) check. The spirit associated with any given totem can be identified with a DC 15 Knowledge (religion) check. Synergy If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (local), you get a +2 bonus on Knowledge (religion) checks to identify ancestral spirits. If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (nature), you get a +2 bonus on Knowledge (religion) checks to identify animal spirits. If you have 5 or more ranks in Knowledge (the planes), you get a +2 bonus on Knowledge (religion) checks to identify elemental spirits.

Feats

General Feats	Prerequisites	Benefit
Additional Totem	Wis 15, 1st totem	Gain an extra totem
Call Spirit	Con 11, Wis 13	Call a single spirit
Extra Ephemera	Wis 13, ability to call 2 spirits	Gain extra ephemera
Improved Ephemera Capacity	Con 15, shaman level 1st	+1 ephemera capacity for a spirit
Greater Ephemera Capacity	Con 15, Improved Ephemera Capacity, shaman level 10th	+2 ephemera capacity for a spirit

Spirit Feats	Prerequisites	Benefit
Empower Spirit Healing	Spirits of Healing and Harming	Increase daily amount of healing/harming
Rapid Totem Adjustment	Shaman level 9th, 2nd totem	Quickly swap active spirits
Spirit Focus	Ability to call a spirit	+1 on save DCs with a specific type of spirit
Greater Spirit Focus	Spirit Focus with spirit, shaman level 6th	+2 on save DCs with a specific type of spirit
Spirit Specialization	Spirit Focus with spirit, shaman level 4th	+1 on attack rolls, +2 on damage rolls with selected type of spirit
Greater Spirit Specialization	Spirit Focus with spirit, Spirit Specialization with spirit, shaman level 10th	+2 on attack rolls, +4 on damage rolls with selected type of spirit
Spiritual Blessing	Con 13, ability to turn or rebuke undead	Use turn attempts to gain ephemera
Spiritual Body	—	+2 hit points for each spirit feat you have

Feat Descriptions

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Additional Totem [General]
You are able to craft more totems than normal.
Prerequisites: Wis 15, 1st totem
Benefit: You can craft one additional totem and bind it to a spirit.


Call Spirit [General]
You gain the ability to call a single spirit to your aid.
Prerequisites: Con 11, Wis 13
Benefit: When you gain this feat, choose a spirit. You can call this spirit using the normal rules for calling spirits. Once chosen, you may not change the spirit for a different one. Your effective shaman level for this spirit is equal to one-half your Hit Dice.
If you have ephemera, you can invest it with this spirit, and its ephemera capacity is based on your total Hit Dice as normal. If you have the ability to bind totems, you can bind totems to this spirit, but you can not exceed your maximum number of totem binds.
The maximum number of spirits you can call is still limited by your Constitution score as normal.
Special: You may gain this feat multiple times. Each additional time you gain this feat, you may choose one additional spirit to call.


Empower Spirit Healing [Spirit]
By committing your own spiritual energies, you are able to increase the healing abilities of your called spirits.
Prerequisites: Spirits of Healing and Harming
Benefit: When you call spirits, you may choose to invest ephemera into this feat. Ephemera invested in this feat remains invested until the next time you call spirits. Your shaman level for determining the number of hit points available to your Spirits of Healing and Harming ability is increased by the number of ephemera invested in this feat.
For example, a 6th-level shaman invests 2 ephemera into this feat when he calls spirits for the day. His spirits can now heal a maximum of 5 × (1 + his shaman level + 2) hit points, for a total of 40 hit points.


Extra Ephemera [General]
You learn to better use your own spiritual energies.
Prerequisites: Wis 13, ability to call 2 spirits
Benefit: You gain 1 ephemera.
Special: You may gain this feat multiple times. Each additional time you gain this feat, the amount of ephemera you gain increases by 1. For example, you gain 2 ephemera if you take the feat a second time. You can gain this feat a maximum number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier.


Greater Ephemera Capacity [General]
By attuning yourself to a called spirit, you increase the amount of your personal energy you can share with that spirit.
Prerequisites: Con 15, Improved Ephemera Capacity, shaman level 10th
Benefit: The ephemera capacity of one spirit chosen as the target of your Improved Ephemera Capacity is increased by an additional +1 to a total of +2.
Special: Even if you have taken Improved Ephemera Capacity multiple times, only one spirit can gain the benefit from this feat.


Greater Spirit Focus [Spirit]
Choose a type of spirit to which you already have applied the Spirit Focus feat.
Prerequisites: Spirit Focus with selected spirit, shaman level 6th
Benefit: Add +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against abilities from the type of spirit you select. This bonus stacks with the bonus from Spirit Focus.
Special: You may gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you gain the feat, it applies to a new type of spirits to which you have already applied the Spirit Focus feat.


Greater Spirit Specialization [Spirit]
Choose one type of spirit for which you have already selected Spirit Specialization.
Prerequisites: Spirit Focus with selected spirit, Spirit Specialization with selected spirit, shaman level 10th
Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus on all attack rolls and +2 bonus on all damage rolls you make using abilities granted by the selected type of spirit. This bonus stacks with other bonuses on attack and damage rolls, including the one from Spirit Specialization.
Special: You may gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you gain the feat, it applies to a new type of spirits to which you have already applied the Spirit Focus feat.


Improved Ephemera Capacity [General]
By attuning yourself to a called spirit, you increase the amount of your personal energy you can share with that spirit.
Prerequisites: Con 15, shaman level 1st
Benefit: When you call spirits, choose one of them (or another ephemera receptacle). The ephemera capacity for that spirit is increased by 1. Each time you call spirits, you may choose a different spirit to gain this bonus.
Special: You may gain this feat multiple times. Each additional time you gain this feat, you may choose one additional spirit to increase its ephemera capacity.
You can't apply the benefit of this feat to a spirit more than once, nor can you apply the benefit of this feat to a spirit that has a similar benefit, such as from the shaman class's Greater Ephemera Capacity ability.


Rapid Totem Adjustment [Spirit]
You learn to adjust your totems more rapidly in combat.
Prerequisites: Shaman level 9th, 2nd totem
Benefit: When you have more than one spirit with bound totems occupying the same magic item slot, you can adjust your totems to swap between active spirits as a move action that provokes attacks of opportunity. You gain a +4 bonus to to Armor Class against attacks of opportunity caused by this action.
Normal: Without this feat, swapping between active spirits is a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity.


Spirit Focus [Spirit]
Choose a type of spirit: Ancestral, Animal, or Elemental. Abilities granted to you from the chosen type of spirit are stronger than usual.
Prerequisites: Ability to call a spirit
Benefit: Add +1 to the Difficulty Class for all saving throws against abilities from the type of spirits you select.
Special: You may gain this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you gain the feat, it applies to a new type of spirits.


Spirit Specialization [Spirit]
Choose one type of spirit for which you have already selected the Spirit Focus feat.
Prerequisites: Spirit Focus with selected spirit, shaman level 4th
Benefit: You gain a +1 bonus on all attack rolls and +2 bonus on all damage rolls you make using abilities granted by the selected type of spirit.


Spiritual Blessing [Divine, Spirit]
By borrowing the power of the gods, you temporarily strengthen your own spirit.
Prerequisites: Con 13, ability to turn or rebuke undead
Benefit: You can spend a turn or rebuke attempt as a free action to temporarily increase your ephemera by 2. This extra ephemera vanishes after 1 round.


Spiritual Body [Spirit]
The energies of your called spirits infuse your body with greater vigor.
Benefit: When you take this feat, you gain 2 hit points for each spirit feat you have (including this one). Whenever you take a new spirit feat, you gain 2 more hit points.

[Rizban]

Spirits of ShamanismCalling SpiritsTo call spirits to his aid, a shaman must first clear his mind. This requires a good night's rest followed by an hour of meditation. During this hour, a shaman chooses which spirits to call and binds totems to them if he wishes. Any spirits from the previous day that he does not call upon again are dismissed at this time. At the end of this hour, the effects of any dismissed spirits end and the effects of the newly called spirits begin. A shaman must have enough peace and quiet to allow for proper concentration during his hour of meditation.

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Spirit Selection

A shaman can call any spirit on his class list. However, as mentioned above, a shaman can not call spirits with an alignment that do not match his own, nor can a shaman call elemental spirits with different elemental descriptors. A shaman also may not call the same spirit more than once, nor can any spirits with bound totems occupy the same magic item location. During the time he calls spirits, a shaman must decide which spirits will have bound totems, if any. A shaman has a limited number of totem binds available, based on his level. However, a shaman can place his bound totems in any magic item location he chooses. Certain spirits require their totems to be in certain locations for them to function. If a shaman chooses, he may bind totems to two different spirits that use the same magic item location. If he does this, he may only benefit from one spirit at a time. Changing out the totems to change which spirit's totems are active takes a standard action. A shaman must call all of his spirits and bind all of his totems at the same time. He can lot leave 'open slots' to call or bind later. A shaman does not need to invest ephemera into spirits when they are called, and the amount invested in each spirit can be changed each round. Some called spirits manifest in a physical manner when they have bound totems. Any manifested items can not be removed or given away. Removing the totems from their proper location causes any manifested item to vanish. Dismissing a Spirit Once called, a spirit remains with the shaman until he chooses to dismiss it in order to call a different spirit. Occasionally, there are effects that can dismiss a spirit. Once dismissed, the spirit is unavailable again until the shaman calls spirits the next morning.

Ephemera

In addition to the spirits he calls, every shaman can access his own personal spiritual energy. This energy is known as Ephemera. As a swift action, a shaman can invest any amount of ephemera he can use into any number of spirits he has called. It remains invested with those spirits until he reinvests the ephemera on a later turn. Each spirit has a maximum ephemera capacity based on the shaman's Hit Dice. By sharing his own spiritual energy with his called spirits, a shaman strengthens the abilities granted by those spirits. A shaman might also gain the ability to invest ephemera into receptacles other than his called spirits, such as class features or racial abilities. These other receptacles are treated in the same manner as spirits for the purposes of invested ephemera and maximum ephemera capacity. If a shaman loses ephemera for any reason, including an effect that deals ephemera damage, this loss is first deducted from any ephemera that has not been invested. If a shaman loses more ephemera than what can be covered in that manner, he chooses which spirits to remove ephemera from until the full damage has been taken. Healing Spiritual Injury Spiritual injury, which is any damage that causes a loss of ephemera, is always temporary. Lost ephemera is restored in the same manner as ability damage, 1 point per day or 2 points with total bed rest. Any effect which heals ability damage also heals spiritual injury/ephemera damage. Ephemera Capacity Regardless of how much ephemera a shaman can access, he is only able to invest a limited amount with each individual spirit. A shaman's Hit Dice determine the maximum limit of ephemera, or ephemera capacity, for each spirit. A shaman's base ephemera capacity is given on the table below. Some class features, feats, or items can increase a shaman's ephemera capacity as well, increasing from the numbers given below. Hit Dice Max Ephemera 1 - 5 1 6 - 10 2 11 - 15 3 16+ 4

Totems

Every shaman learns to craft totems. These small charms are seldom larger than an inch in length and are crafted from whatever materials the shaman has on hand. Most totems are made from bits of wood or bone with tufts of hair, feather, or fabric tied to them. They are effectively weightless, have no real market value, and are crafted when the shaman calls spirits to himself each day, though a shaman may reuse totems he has crafted previously if he chooses. Each totem is crafted specifically to represent one particular spirit and always bears some resemblance to that spirit, whether that be a tuft of lion hair for the Golden Mane or a particularly shiny pebble for Adamant Guard or a small religious bead for The Exorcist. The spirit associated with any given totem can be identified with a DC 15 Knowledge (religion) check. Totem Binds When a shaman binds a totem to a spirit, the totem itself temporarily becomes a magical item. However, the totems only ever function for the shaman who called the spirit residing in the totem. In order to gain any benefit from the bound totems, a shaman must wear the totem in the appropriate magic item slot for the residing spirit. This is usually done by using strips of cloth or leather to simply bind the totem in place, though some shamans who frequently call the same spirit may sew the totem to an article of clothing or have it permanently affixed to another item that is easily worn. Bound totems are magic items, and as such prevent the use of any other magic items in the same magic item location. Were a shaman to wear magic gloves and have a bound totem on his hands, the spiritual energy from the totems would overwhelm and cancel any magical effect from the gloves he wears. If the totems are removed from their appropriate magic item slot, the shaman temporarily loses the benefits granted by the totem binds. Totems are always well secured, making it impossible to simply grab them with a disarm attempt. They can be snatched away when the shaman is pinned, but he gains an additional +10 circumstance bonus to resist the attempt as the spirits themselves fight to keep their totems in place. A shaman may choose bind totems to two different spirits who share an item location. however, he can only have the totems bound to a single spirit active at one time. As a standard action which provokes attacks of opportunity, a shaman may adjust his totems to change which spirit's totems are active and which spirit's benefits he gains. Spirits without bound totems don't care about item locations and function as normal, even if another spirit has bound totems in their required location.

Spirits and Magic SpellsCalling spirits does not resemble the casting of spells, though there is certainly some level of magic involved in the process. Spirits and spells interact with one another in the same way that spells interact with one another, with a few limited exceptions as detailed below.

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Spirit-Magic Transparency

Spells, spell-like abilities, magic items, and other effects that might potentially affect called spirits do so. Spell resistance is effective against any ability of a spirit that affects any creature other than the shaman. If the shaman has spell resistance, his spirits automatically overcome his own spell resistance. Dispel magic and other effects of a similar nature treat spirits as though they were magic items. If the effect targets a specific spirit or that spirit's totems, the caster makes a dispel check as normal. If successful, all of the spirit's abilities are suppressed for 1d4 rounds, just as if it were a magic item. Effects that detect magic also detect spirits. Spirits always register as a faint aura. Spellcraft can not be used to learn more about the spirits, as they have no school of magic. Unlike spirits, totems that are detected in this way have an aura strength based on the shaman's class level. Areas that suppress or negate magic, such an an antimagic field, suppress the abilities of spirits. A shaman who enters such an area loses all benefits and abilities granted by his called spirits and their totem binds while in the area, but he regains them as soon as he leaves the area. A shaman mas not reinvest ephemera while in such an area.

Multiclass ShamansShamans do well with multiclassing, their spirits offering abilities that can enhance the natural abilities of other classes. A shaman with levels in other classes requires a little bit of extra consideration.

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Non-Shamanism Classes

As mentioned above, the ephemera capacity of a shaman with levels in other classes continues to progress. Ephemera capacity is based on total Hit Dice rather than shaman level. This holds true whether or not the levels are in a class that uses shamanism.

Other Shamanism Classes

If a shaman has levels in more than one class that uses shamanism, most of the abilities of each class do not stack. The spirits that can be called, the ability to bind totems, and the number of totems available are unique to each class. Any class abilities that affect spirits or ephemera capacity are also unique to each class. The only exception is ephemera itself. All ephemera gained by the shaman goes into the same “pool”, regardless of the source. Any ephemera a shaman possesses can be invested with any spirit or other receptacle regardless of how he gained the receptacles.

Spirit DescriptionsThe description of each spirit is presented in a standard format. Each category of information is explained and defined below.

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Name - The first line of every spirit description gives the name by which the spirit is generally known. Type [Descriptors]    Type: There are three general types of spirits that can be called: ancestral, animal, and elemental. Each spirit has a different set of abilities, but spirits of the same type tend to have similar abilities. Ancestral spirits usually confer wisdom gained by past generations, animal spirits tend to provide various physical abilities, and elemental spirits often confer abilities related to the base elements of the world. Descriptors: A spirit is largely inscrutable and can not be easily categorized. However, some spirits can be grouped by similar effects. In such cases, a descriptor appears on the line following the name of the spirit. The common descriptors are acid, air, chaotic, cold, darkness, death, earth, electricity, evil, fear, fire, force, good, language-dependent, lawful, light, mind-affecting, sonic, and water. Aligned Spirits: Spirits with an alignment descriptor can only be called by a shaman of the same alignment. Certain other spirits, however, take on the alignment of the shaman. Elemental Spirits: As a general rule, elemental spirits of different descriptors can not be called simultaneously. If a shaman has called the Adamant Guard, an elemental spirit of earth, he may call other earth spirits, but the spirits of air, fire, and water will not allow themselves to be called. The first section of each spirit's entry is a brief description of the spirit and its general abilities. This is usually only one or two sentences in length. Location: Some spirits will only allow their bound totems to occupy certain item slots. In this case, the acceptable locations are listed here. If more than one location is listed, then choose only one when you bind totems to the spirit. Spirits with bound totems not in the correct location on the body function as though they had no bound totems at all! Rules Text: This portion of a spirit's description details the base abilities of the spirit, what the spirit does and how it works when it is called. The spirit's abilities can be modified or enhanced by investing ephemera or binding totems to the spirit. Ephemera: If ephemera is invested into a spirit, the effects it grants are usually improved. This subsection is where those effects are described. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Totem: Binding a totem to a spirit significantly increases its effect or grants entirely new abilities. This entry describes the additional powers granted by a spirit with a bound totem. A totem bind might also have an ephemera based effect, as described above. If so, any ephemera invested into the spirit provides the benefit listed here in addition to any and all listed benefits that the character can access. Ephemera only needs to be invested into a spirit once to obtain all of its effects. The 2nd and 3rd totem abilities describe the powers gained when a second and third totem are bound to a spirit and any enhancements gained from investing ephemera.

Other Spirit Information: A called spirit's ability generally has no casting or activation time and has a duration of “until the spirit is dismissed,” and many abilities affect only the character who called the spirit. For simplicity, details such as casting time, range, effect, area, targets, and duration, which are common for magic or supernatural effects, are left out of most spirit descriptions. For abilities with a specific activation action or which produce a limited duration effect, that information is noted in the main descriptive text.
A few specifics, however, are worth noting here.

• Saving Throws: Not all abilities granted by called spirits allow saving throws. When they do, the save DC is 10 + the number of invested ephemera + the character's relevant ability score modifier (usually Wisdom) + 2 if the spirit has a bound totem.
  
• “Shaman”: Whenever the text refers to a “shaman,” it is referring to the character calling the spirit, even if that character has no levels in the shaman class.
  
• Shaman Level: When a spirit's power depends on shaman level, use the character's class level that granted access to the called spirit. If a creature can call spirits as a racial ability, use the creature's total Hit Dice as its shaman level. If it acquired the ability through a feat or some other method, use half the creature's Hit Dice. If you have an effective shaman level from more than one class, the levels do not stack.
  
• Damage Values: When a spirit that grants some form of physical attack, such as a natural weapon, any damage values given for that attack are for Medium characters. Shamans larger or smaller than Medium should adjust these damage values as normal for weapons of their size as show on page 114 of the Player's Handbook.

The Spirits

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The Acrobat
Ancestral

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By calling on an agile and nimble ancestor, you claim some amount of his skill for yourself. Your legs and arms glow a faint blue when this spirit's abilities are being used, and you have difficulty standing still when it isn't active.

Location: Arms, Feet

You gain a +2 insight bonus on Balance, Climb, Jump, and Tumble checks, though you can not use Tumble checks untrained.
Ephemera: Each ephemera invested in this spirit increases the insight bonus to these skills by 2.

1st Totem: With one totem bound to the acrobat, you are able to reduce the damage you take when falling from great heights.
Ephemera: You reduce falling damage you take by 1d6 for each ephemera invested in this spirit. If you fall 40 feet and have 2invested ephemera, you take only 2d6 falling damage instead of the normal 4d6.

2nd Totem: You are no longer hindered by difficult terrain after binding a second totem to the acrobat. You are not slowed by uneven terrain, rubble, or undergrowth, moving across it at your normal speed, though you may still need to make a Balance check. You can also run and charge across such terrain.
You can not use this ability on any terrain that would require a Climb or Swim check or on any terrain that has been magically enchanted to impede movement.
Ephemera: If you have at least 2 ephemera invested in this spirit, you may make a single turn of up to 90 degrees when making a charge attack or using the run action.

3rd Totem: With a third bound totem, your speed and agility greatly increase. You gain a +10 foot insight bonus to your land speed.
As a swift action, you gain the effects of freedom of movement for a number of rounds equal to the ephemera invested with this spirit. You may use this a number of times per day equal to your Dexterity modifier.
Ephemera: For each ephemera invested in this spirit, the bonus to your land speed increases by 5 feet.

Adamant Guard
Elemental [Earth]

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Any armor you wear takes on a faint oily sheen. When totems are bound to the adamant guard, the armor instead appears to be made from a crystalline material, and your skin takes on this appearance if you do not wear armor.

Location: Shoulders, Torso

When called, the adamant guard grants the shaman light fortification, giving him a 25% chance to negate critical hits and sneak attacks.
Ephemera: You gain damage reduction X/magic equal to the number of ephemera invested.

1st Totem: The adamant guard refuses to bind with the totems of a shaman who does not wear metal armor. A shaman only gains the totem abilities of this spirit while wearing armor made mostly from metal.
With a single totem bind, the damage reduction granted by the adamant guard improves. It can no longer be overcome by anything but adamantine weapons.

2nd Totem: By binding a second totem, the negation chance granted by the shaman's fortification is increased to 50%.
Ephemera: The amount of damage reduction you gain from invested ephemera doubles. If you have invested 2 ephemera, you gain DR 4/adamantine instead of DR 2/adamantine.

3rd Totem: With three bound totems, the adamant guard grants medium fortification instead of light fortification. This increases the negate chance to 75%.
Ephemera: The amount of damage reduction you gain from invested ephemera triples. If you have invested 2 ephemera, you gain DR 6/adamantine instead of DR 2/adamantine.
Additionally, if you have at least 4 ephemera invested with this spirit, you gain Heavy Fortification instead of Medium Fortification.

Chitinous Carapace
Animal

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This spirit seems to do little without bound totems; however, once bound, it forms a thick breastplate around the shaman's torso. The gray-blue plates of armor glisten like the chitin of a living insect, and fibers of muscle bind the plates to the shaman's body.

Location: Torso

The chitinous carapace grants a +2 armor bonus to your Armor Class. This bonus does not stack with armor bonuses granted from other sources, such as actual armor. The chitinous carapace is treated as light armor and has no max Dexterity bonus, armor check penalty, or chance of spell failure.
Ephemera: Each ephemera invested in this spirit increases the armor bonus by +1.

1st Totem: As the armor takes physical form, the armor bonus granted by this spirit increase from +2 to +4.

2nd Totem: Upon binding a second totem to this spirit, your skin hardens and takes on the likeness of chitin.
Ephemera: You gain a natural armor bonus to your Armor Class equal to the number of ephemera invested in this spirit. If you already have a natural armor bonus, this counts as an enhancement bonus to natural armor.

3rd Totem: 0

Cloudwalker
Elemental [Air]

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Misty vapors surround a shaman's feet when he calls this spirit. When using its abilities, the vapors coalesce into small clouds beneath the shaman's feet.

Location: Feet

With this spirit called, you gain a fly speed of 10 ft (good), propelled by the cloud surrounding your feet. Unfortunately, this spirit is fickle and will not support you for long. The clouds dissipate as you come to a stop, and you will fall if you do not end your movement on a supporting surface.
Ephemera: The fly speed granted by this spirit is increased by 10 feet for each invested ephemera.

1st Totem: By binding a totem to the cloudwalker, the spirit becomes more dedicated to the shaman. Instead of simply dropping you at the end of your movement, you are lowered more slowly.
Ephemera: You reduce falling damage you take by 1d6 for each ephemera invested in this spirit. If you fall 40 feet and have 2 invested ephemera, you take only 2d6 falling damage instead of the normal 4d6.

2nd Totem: With a second bound totem, your flight skill increases. Your maneuverability increases to perfect.

3rd Totem: You gain the effects of the Flyby Attack feat when you have a 3rd totem bound to this spirit.
Ephemera: Your fly speed increases by 15 ft per invested ephemera instead of 10 ft.

The Exorcist
Ancestral [Good]

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You call upon the power of your ancestors to destroy undead, profane mockeries of the spirits you call. The power of the exorcist disrupts the foul magics which animate undead and allow you to destroy even the most elusive ghosts.

Location: Arms, Hands

Whenever you miss an incorporeal undead due to its incorporeal nature, you may roll the miss chance a second time. The results of the second roll must be used.
Ephemera: By investing ephemera in this spirit, you are able to make a disrupting attack against undead as a standard action. Once per round as a melee touch attack, you may deal 1d6 disruption damage per invested ephemera to a single undead.

1st Totem: Binding a totem to the exorcist causes holy symbols to appear on your hands and forearms. Any weapon you wield gains the ghost touch property.

2nd Totem: When fighting undead, the second bound totem creates an aura of holy light surrounding you, offering you greater protection.
Ephemera: Against undead creatures, you gain an insight bonus to AC and saving throws equal to the ephemera invested in this spirit.

3rd Totem: By binding a third totem to the exorcist, you become able to conduct your disrupting touch attack granted by this spirit through any melee weapon you wield.
Ephemera: The disruption damage granted by this spirit increases from 1d6 to 1d8 per ephemera invested.

Eyes of the Hawk
Animal

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When calling upon this animal spirit, your eyes glint in the dark like a cat's.

Location: Face

You gain low-light vision. If you already have low-light vision, the distance you can see with it doubles.
Ephemera: You gain 10 feet of darkvision for each ephemera invested in this spirit.

1st Totem: You gain the benefits of the Blind-Fight feat as long as you have a totem bound to this spirit.
Ephemera: You gain a +2 insight bonus to Spot checks for each ephemera invested in this spirit.

2nd Totem: With a 2nd bound totem, you gain blindsense out to 10 feet.
Ephemera: The blindsense granted by this spirit is increased by 5 feet for each invested ephemera.

3rd Totem: As a standard action, you gain the benefits of true seeing for 1 round. You may use this ability a number of times per day equal to your Wisdom modifier.
Ephemera: Each ephemera invested in this ability increases the duration of the true seeing ability by 1 round.

Golden Mane
Animal

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Use of the golden mane calls upon the spirit of a great lion, filling you with bravery and the power to inflict fear in even stout foes. Your voice takes on a deep, rich quality when you have called this spirit.

Location: Throat

While calling upon the golden mane, you gain a +4 insight bonus to Intimidate checks and a +2 insight bonus to saves against fear.
Ephemera: The bonus to Intimidate increases by +2 and the bonus to saves increases by +1 for each ephemera invested with this spirit.

1st Totem: With a bound totem, the spirit appears as a golden gorget about your neck in the likeness of a lion's mane. Once every 1d4+2 rounds, you can bellow forth a dire roar as a standard action. All enemies within 15 feet of you must make a Will save or become shaken.
Ephemera: For each ephemera invested with this spirit, the range of this ability increases by 5 feet.

2nd Totem: With a second bound totem, your jaw muscles strengthen, and your teeth become long and sharp. You gain a bite attack as a natural weapon, which deals 1d8 damage.
Ephemera: You gain a +1 enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls with this bite for each ephemera invested with this spirit.

3rd Totem: You roar with ferocity as you attack your foes. When you make a melee or charge attack, you may make an Intimidate check as a swift action action before making your attack roll. This Intimidate attempt must be made against the target of your attack and affects only one creature.
Ephemera: For each invested ephemera, the will save DC for the roar granted by your 1st totem ability gains a +1 insight bonus.

Griffon Talons
Animal

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The spirit of the griffon infuses you with its hunter's instinct and forms vicious talons on your hands.

Location: Hands

The talons on your hands can be used as natural weapons. You gain two claw attacks which deal 1d4 damage plus your Strength modifier. You can still use your hands as normal, but you cannot hold an item in your hand and attack with that claw at the same time.
Ephemera: You gain a +1 enhancement bonus to attack rolls with these claws for each ephemera invested with this spirit.

1st Totem: As long as you have a totem bound to this spirit, you gain the benefits of the Weapon Finesse feat when using natural weapons.
Ephemera: You gain a +1 enhancement bonus to damage rolls with these claws for each ephemera invested with this spirit.

2nd Totem: Binding a second totem to the griffon spirit, you gain a secondary natural weapon, a rake attack which deals 1d6 damage plus half your Strength modifier. This rake attack can only be used on a full attack.
Ephemera: If you have at least 2 ephemera invested in this spirit, you gain a second rake attack.

3rd Totem: When charging an enemy, you can make a full attack with the natural weapons you gain from this spirit, including 2 claw and 2 rake attacks. You can not use any other weapons or attacks as part of this full attack.
Ephemera: When charging, the enhancement bonuses from ephemera invested with this spirit double, giving a +2 bonus for each invested ephemera.

The Magus
Ancestral

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Totems bound to the magus must be worn as a necklace or attached to a circlet about the head. These totems flare with arcane energies whenever the shaman casts a spell.

Location: Head, Throat

By calling upon the magus, you gain a +4 insight bonus to Concentration checks made when you cast a spell or spell-like ability.
Ephemera: The insight bonus to Concentration is increased by +1 for each invested ephemera.

1st Totem: Whenever you cast a spell or use a spell-like ability that deals damage, you deal 1 additional point of damage to each damaged target for each totem bound to this spirit. You deal +1 damage with 1 totem up to +3 damage with 3 bound totems. This does not affect spells that do not deal damage.
Ephemera: Spells and spell-like abilities you cast with a duration measured as 1 round/level last an additional number of rounds equal to the ephemera invested in this spirit.

2nd Totem: With two bound totems dedicated to the magus, any time you successfully target a creature with a spell, you gain a +2 insight bonus to weapon attack rolls against that creature for the current encounter. Additionally, if you successfully hit a creature with a melee attack, for the rest of the current encounter, you gain a +2 insight bonus on caster level checks to overcome that creature's spell resistance, and the save DC of any spell you cast against that creature is increased by +1.

3rd Totem: The magus reveals magical secrets to the shaman when a 3rd totem is bound to it. When calling the magus, choose a single spellcasting class that you possess. The magus is tied to that class until dismissed.
Ephemera: Your caster level for the chosen class is increased by the number of ephemera invested with this spirit. This bonus can not cause your caster level to exceed your Hit Dice.
This does not affect your spells per day, spells known, or other level dependent class features. It increases only your caster level, increasing the variable effects of your spells and helping to penetrate spell resistance.

[Rizban]

[Post #6 Reserved]

[Rizban]

Changelog

10-23-2013

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• Thread started
• Posted Introduction, Shaman class, and incomplete list of spirits

10-26-2013

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• Shaman Class:
  • Corrected Fort Save column
  • Added a second Dual Totem Bind
  • Rewrote “Dual/Triple Totem Bind” class feature to “Dual Totem Bind” and “Triple Totem Bind” class features.
  • Added Greater Ephemera Capacity ability.
• Spirit – The Acrobat: Added freedom of movement ability to 3rd totem bind.
  
• Spirit – Adamant Guard: Increased DR for 3rd totem bind. Added a Heavy Fortification ability to 3rd totem bind's ephemera ability.
  
• Spirit – Chitinous Carapace:
  • Modified 2nd totem bind ability.
  • Removed 3rd totem bind entirely. This spirit is not planned to have a 3rd totem ability at this time.
• Spirit – Cloudwalker:
  • Clarified unbound ephemera ability
  • Added 3rd totem bind ability and ephemera ability
• Spirit – Eyes of the Hawk: Added 2nd totem bind ability and ephemera ability.
  
• Spirit – Golden Mane:
  • Clarified intent of 3rd totem bind ability.
  • Added 3rd totem bind ephemera ability.
• Spirit – Griffon Talons:
  • Corrected error on 2nd totem bind ability.
  • Clarified intent of 3rd totem bind ability.
  • Added 3rd totem bind ephemera ability.
• Spirit – The Magus: Added 3rd totem bind ability and ephemera ability.
  

10-29-2013

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• Shaman Class:
  • Called Spirits: Added note of the +2 to save DC from having a bound totem.
  • Spirits of Healing and Harming: Specified as melee touch attack
• Spirits of Shamanism: Added the following sections
  • Calling Spirits
    • Spirit Selection
      
    • Ephemera
      
    • Totems
  • Spirits and Magic Spells
  • Multiclass Shamans
• Spirits of Shamanism – Spirit Descriptions:
  • Entire section reformatted
  • Saving Throws: Clarified ability “modifier.”
  • Saving Throws: Added reminder of the +2 from having a bound totem.
• Spirit – Adamant Guard: Fixed error on 3rd totem.

10-30-2013

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Changelog

• Shaman Class:
  • Added class image
  • Ephemera: Minor change to progression formula to accelerate ephemera gain at lower levels without increasing maximum amount.
• Skills and Feats: Added Concentration and Knowledge (religion) rules.
  
• Skills and Feats: Added the following feats
  • Additional Totem
    
  • Call Spirit
    
  • Empower Spirit Healing
    
  • Extra Ephemera
    
  • Greater Ephemera Capacity
    
  • Greater Spirit Focus
    
  • Greater Spirit Specialization
    
  • Improved Ephemera Capacity
    
  • Rapid Totem Adjustment
    
  • Spirit Focus
    
  • Spirit Specialization
    
  • Spiritual Blessing
    
  • Spiritual Body
• Calling Spirits: Fixed minor typos.

[Garryl]

A quick glance makes it look like Incarnum by another name, possibly with some binding and Spirit Shaman thrown into the mix. Am I close?

[Rizban]

It's largely based on incarnum, yes. It was originally farther away from incarnum than it currently is, but there was some convergent evolution of the concept. I ended up borrowing some mechanics from incarnum that just functioned more smoothly than what I had developed.