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If you gave a shaman a totem, what would it do?

So I'm reading up and apparently Shamans often use totems, little animal carvings, in much the same way that clerics use a Holy Symbol.

So if you were to put a Totem anywhere in the series, for a Shaman to use, where would you put it and what would it do?

Comments

  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,305
    It could fix (or change the chances of) the spirits summoned by dancing.
    ChroniclerJuliusBorisov
  • ChroniclerChronicler Member Posts: 1,391
    Grond0 wrote: »
    It could fix (or change the chances of) the spirits summoned by dancing.

    How so?
  • ChroniclerChronicler Member Posts: 1,391
    I think I'd put two Totems in the game.

    One would give your dance spirits an aura that would scale with your charisma. So the more spirits you summon, the more auras they're all stacking on eachother. I hear dancing isn't very useful in ToB so this totem would rectify that. The aura would just be some generic combat bonus that only effects spirits.

    The other totem would provide a bonus effect to each of your Shaman Exclusive Spells that scales with wisdom. Like the fireball spell could get an Acid Arrow style Damage Over Time added to it, that goes 1 round for every 5 points of wisdom you have. And the resurrection could have a regeneration effect added in the same style. That sort of stuff.

    So this way the shaman would go from having no important stats, to having two potential stats to build for. You're either a Charisma Shaman or a Wisdom Shaman.

    Maybe you'd get to choose one after you rescue those dryads in Ironicus's dungeon?
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,305
    Chronicler wrote: »
    Grond0 wrote: »
    It could fix (or change the chances of) the spirits summoned by dancing.

    How so?

    If you have a bear totem for instance then all your spirits could automatically be bears - as opposed to getting a random selection. The power of the summons should also increase with levels.
    ChroniclerJuliusBorisov[Deleted User]
  • ChroniclerChronicler Member Posts: 1,391
    Grond0 wrote: »
    Chronicler wrote: »
    Grond0 wrote: »
    It could fix (or change the chances of) the spirits summoned by dancing.

    How so?

    If you have a bear totem for instance then all your spirits could automatically be bears - as opposed to getting a random selection. The power of the summons should also increase with levels.

    Ooh! That does sound fun actually! So you could capitalize on their unique effects a bit more!
    Grond0JuliusBorisov
  • MyragMyrag Member Posts: 328
    edited June 2019
    I'd add two. Not sure if OP but would definitely make shaman good enough.

    Spirit Totem
    Duration 1 round per level
    Summon ethereal totem that connects planes attempting to summon spirit once every round for the duration of the spell. This spell acts and scales in the same way as shamanistic dance.
    Totem’s presence is so strong that it stops shaman from dancing, but they can still cast spells and move. Totem will disappear if caster moves away further than 10 yards as the mental link between caster and totem is severed.
    Caster gains 1 use per day every 5 levels, starting with 1 use at level 1. Multiple totems don't stack. Totems are not counted as summons but have 2HD.

    Awakening Totem
    Duration 1 round per level
    Summon ethereal totem that enrages all celestial being in 30-yard range granting +1 hit and +1 thac0 for every 8 levels of the caster starting at level 1.
    Caster gains 1 use per day every 5 levels, starting with 1 use at level 4. Multiple totems don't stack. Totems are not counted as summons but have 2HD.
    Grond0ChroniclerJuliusBorisov[Deleted User]
  • RaduzielRaduziel Member Posts: 4,714
    There are some fine modding material taking form in this thread.
    JuliusBorisov
  • MyragMyrag Member Posts: 328
    edited June 2019
    Everlasting Spirit Totem
    (less OP version of spirit totem from my previous post).
    Duration 1 turn per level
    Summon ethereal shaman spirit which echoes shamanistic dance for 1 round per 7 levels of the caster up to maximum 4 at level 22. Shaman can cast spells and move while shaman spirit will continue to dance. Gain 1 use at level 1. Multiple totems don't stack. Totems are not counted as summons but have 2HD.

    TL;DR: Shaman dance linger for X more rounds.
  • deltagodeltago Member Posts: 7,811
    Totems could also be AoE effects (similar to bard songs) that replaces the summons.

    Minor cleric spells to them like Doom or Bless and as long as the Shaman is dancing, that spell is in effect.

    You can then increase the totems powers (or have the player select a new totem) when they level.
  • ChroniclerChronicler Member Posts: 1,391
    Maybe an Eagle Totem that alters your visual radius in some way, and as such alters the area where your spirits can travel?
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,305
    edited June 2019
    I quite like the idea suggested above of a totem allowing the effects of the dance to persist for a little while after the shaman actually stops dancing - that would follow the same logic as the item in SoD that allows the bard song to persist for a bit of time after the bard stops singing. That helps get away from the current idea that dancing is an all or nothing action - although it is possible to get round some of the restrictions by micro-management, many people don't like those and they don't really fit comfortably with the general way of playing the game that allows you to mix movement, combat and spell / item use together.
    ChroniclerMyrag
  • ChroniclerChronicler Member Posts: 1,391
    Grond0 wrote: »
    I quite like the idea suggested above of a totem allowing the effects of the dance to persist for a little while after the shaman actually stops dancing - that would follow the same logic as the item in SoD that allows the bard song to persist for a bit of time after the bard stops singing. That helps get away from the current idea that dancing is an all or nothing action - although it is possible to get round some of the restrictions by micro-management, many people don't like those and they don't really fit comfortably with the general way of playing the game that allows you to mix movement, combat and spell / item use together.

    That's kind of my biggest problem with the Shaman.

    For a jack of all trades it's important to be able to smoothly transition from one role to another, but the shaman dance builds momentum the longer you dance, which means if you stop for even an instant to do one of the shaman's other functions you have to start over again from zero.

    I suspect it's an intentional design element though. It's so thoroughly baked into how the class works, and they very specifically avoided providing any workarounds even as it was released alongside the same expansion that gave us the bard hat.
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,305
    Chronicler wrote: »
    Grond0 wrote: »
    I quite like the idea suggested above of a totem allowing the effects of the dance to persist for a little while after the shaman actually stops dancing - that would follow the same logic as the item in SoD that allows the bard song to persist for a bit of time after the bard stops singing. That helps get away from the current idea that dancing is an all or nothing action - although it is possible to get round some of the restrictions by micro-management, many people don't like those and they don't really fit comfortably with the general way of playing the game that allows you to mix movement, combat and spell / item use together.

    That's kind of my biggest problem with the Shaman.

    For a jack of all trades it's important to be able to smoothly transition from one role to another, but the shaman dance builds momentum the longer you dance, which means if you stop for even an instant to do one of the shaman's other functions you have to start over again from zero.

    I suspect it's an intentional design element though. It's so thoroughly baked into how the class works, and they very specifically avoided providing any workarounds even as it was released alongside the same expansion that gave us the bard hat.

    I agree it's an intentional design, but that doesn't mean that design can't be revisited in light of further reflection and comments from players. As I said the design doesn't fit particularly comfortably with the way other classes work, so it wouldn't seem unreasonable to do something that eased the restrictions slightly.

    Incidentally, there are a couple of work-arounds available at the moment, that do in fact make the class a lot more flexible than many people realize - though they require micro-management. You can still drink potions from your inventory while dancing and you can also move a significant distance without losing the spirits. To do the latter just wait until a dance check takes place, then pause and deactivate the dance button before moving. If you then reactivate the dance button before the once-a-round check on dancing takes place you won't lose any existing spirits.
    Chronicler
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