Hello there!
Just asking about shamans and how they can use the four elements.I really got in to shamans after watching Avatar The Last Airbender and just want to know if shamans can use the elements like that (eg shooting a ball of fire or throwing a boulder or can they straight up bend the elements?)Looking forward to some answers!
Thank You!
Vugashi
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A normal shaman does not control the elements directly as they would in Avatar, but the end result would probably be visually similar. Every time you see them flinging rocks, making it rain or creating gusts of wind etc they are beseeching the elements to do it for them, as they in turn work for the elements to maintain their balance in the world. The more in tune a shaman is with the elements, the easier this is accomplished for them, but the elements can just as easily choose not to answer the call for any number of reasons. This bargain can vary wildly in how it is accomplished; goblin shamans for example quite literally bargain with the elements like they would haggle over goods at a market. Some shaman stray from this path and force the elements to do it for them by torturing them, which is a path that is usually ascribed to a dark shaman.
https://wow.gamepedia.com/Shaman
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And, in the Horde, is highly illegal.
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Pretty much how Fentonius summed it up that the races of the Horde and Alliance pretty much āāaskāā for aid from the elements and by that gain their powers.
Tho if you RP more of a villain character there are nothing wrong in the āāDark Shamanāā approach as seen by Garroshās forces, the ogres, Taunka and several more races can be included here as well that pretty much enslave elements and take their powers.
Okay this comes from the biggest shaman RP nerd of this server (Telaryn) I have consulted him and this is what the sage had to say:
"They bind their spirit to the elemental spirits in their trials to become a shaman, effectively making them as one, and when you call upon their aid you must do it with their consent. A shaman never wields power of their own (unless they take it a la dark shamanism, but that requires constant concentration or theyāll turn on you as we see in Untamed Valley), but instead theyāre like the conductor of an orchestra telling them what to do.
We see in the vanilla shaman quests + Lord of the Clans that the shaman effectively becomes one with the world around them on a spiritual level
Their bond is symbiotic. You defend the elements, and they defend you in turn (within reason. DrekāThar tried to wipe out a human settlement and was denied it because while there were enemy fighters living there, the settlement was also home to innocents and spirit of life didnāt like collateral damage like that)"
Edit: My own thoughts:
Can you essentially ābendā the elements the way they do in ATLA? Well, we donāt exactly see that happen in WoW, but shamans can influence elements- Itās less of molding the elements to suit your needs and more of asking the elements to mess up somebody who is evil.
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Elements can be wily too if the natural order is out of balance, as seen in the Firelands trailer where Thrall tries to commune with the elements of the world, but the only one who answers is Ragnaros the Firelord to taunt him with visions of Kalimdor burning to ash.
https://youtu.be/HsXglDs81FU
The relationship between elements and a shaman are that of respect. Shaman commune with the elements, strengtheting their connection with them, and some are even so attuned to them, that they literally feel the pain that the land itself is experiencing. Instead of simply ābendingā the elements, shaman call upon them like they would call upon the spirits, so with respect; as my previous posters have said, itās sort of mutual, elements are more fond of a shaman if they protect the land and the elements. Dark shaman on the other hand use void magics to force the elements into submission, which I imagine would be frowned upon after Garroshās reign.
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So like:
Shamans probably canāt do stuff like this (as cool as itād be, tbh):
Itās more likeā¦They can probably ask the water on a river to suddenly swell and flood onto an enemy- But they canāt just order it to go from water to ice to steam and shape it as they want. Or at least we havenāt seen that. Or well, we KIND of haveā¦
ā¦Where thrall causes the earth to form into a gripping hand that grabs Garrosh. Muln earthfury also hurls boulders at Deathwing in a vision, much like Toph does in ATLA. But he canāt for example turn the earth into different shapes and molds.
So its less bending as I said, and more like applying whatās already there. But the line is blurry.
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I want to elaborate on this topic a little bit, if you donāt mind.
A Shaman will usually commune with the elements, beseech them for aid in exchange for their individual aid, and subsequently have their request denied or granted. Itās very much on the lines of borrowed power.
The elements can be manipulated more forcefully, however; a Dark Shaman (in the vein as the Siege of Orgrimmar encounter) use the element of Decay to twist and corrupt the elements into shadowy versions of themselves. This, as others have said, is extremely frowned upon if not outright forbidden amongst the Horde, but there is a little bit of wiggle room.
Thereās a less drastic form of servitude practised by the Blackrock Clan, where they use an enslaved elemental (with Primal Elemental Shaman NPCs to restrain it when it breaks out), though the lore on that remains somewhat murky. There is also the often cited example of the Taunka, who force the elements to their will. Both of these examples are technically a form of dark shamanism, as the relationship is not one of mutual service, but are nonetheless tolerated amongst the Horde to varying extents.
Mages actually do something similar to Dark Shamanism, sans corruption; there are passages in Tides of War (thanks Teralyn, best lore goblin xoxo) where Thrall attempts to wrestle control of Jainaās spells, as the source of a mageās fire and frost spells are essentially enslaved elements, though done using the arcane.
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If youāre a taunka you arm wrestle the elements and then flex on them while pushing them into lockers so they do your homework for you.
Itās not dark shamanism though, itās just pure muscle.
Also I have two more questions if thatās ok^^
Firstly how do I rp a troll shaman?
Secondly say if the elements refuse to help a shaman are they powerless and have to rely on melee? And if thatās the case are they gonna be at a great disadvantage?
Ty again:D
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Most likely, yes - Itād be rather impractical to enter a lengthy debate with the Elements mid-combat to convince them to grant you their aid.
Theyād be left at the power level of a normal warrior, so that depends on how much they rely on the Elements to fight and how much they can hold their own in a fight.
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Trolls usually make bargains with the loa for their powers. The Darkspear specifically might bargain with Shango, the Loa of Storms, or Lukou, the Loa of Healing. The Zandalari, likewise, might bargain with Akunda, Paāku, Gral, or other Loa for their elemental powers.
āLoaā, however, is a very vague term (Trolls use it to describe anything from Bwonsamdi to Wisps), and might realistically encompass fire/earth elementals, even if the Trolls would say otherwise.
They would rely on whatever skills they have outside of Shamanism, yes.
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Thanks a lot!
Thereās working with them/asking, thereās torturing them into submission and then thereās a middle-way of just forcing them to do what you want.
In Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm, Fire was going crazy in Orgrimmar, Thrall asked the flames to cease only to be told āā lol no " and he just snuffed out the fire forcefully.
I wouldnāt consider this Dark Shamanism as thatās a more brutal way of doing business.
Right, isnāt the element of fire pretty volatile in general? As in, all fire wants is to consume. I feel that is a pretty good thing to think about as well, since elementals are very often portrayed as hostile in general. Though, in most of those cases the nature of the specific area has been disrupted, which riles the elements up. Fire is probably a notable exception since fire elementals are appropriately just pyromaniacs, but Iād be interested in hearing what people with a bit more in depth knowledge have to say about the elements āpersonalitiesā. Fire is pretty easy, but I can very easily see something like water as both tranquil like a lake and raging like the sea in a storm. Two sides to a coin and all that.
The really cool part about WoW shamans, which I havenāt seen many people practice for whatever reason, is how they can communicate with the dead in a variety of ways. They are the cultureās link to the ancestors of that culture.
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