How do you RP a Shaman?

Argent Dawn
21

I will preface by saying that Tand is not precisely a shaman, but a geomancer. It is a more primitive practice of shamanism and has more to do with appeasing the elemental spirits with offerings, dances, songs, and runes, rather than the shaman’s way of ‘‘verbal’’ communication.

Tand has elemental preferences borne out of the traditions that his birth tribe clings to. His tribe, the Mudtail, has a deep connection to the earth itself, and the water. They have lived in Dustwallow for generations, which has led to their competency with the spirits of Water and Earth.

He is still untrained, and he has been cut off from his teachings, so he does not know how to efficiently gain the favor of Fire, Air nor Spirit.

He does not keep totems on him, no. However! Tand follows the teachings of his birth tribe, and they have their own way of dealing with elemental powers. Whilst Tand and his tribesmen can control the elements around them in the conventional sense, they also make use of elemental crystals. We see in-game that there is solidified, or crystalline elemental essence stored within rocks and crystals. This is very much a thing he utilizes in his geomancy. He activates the latent powers within these crystals he has gathered and then uses said crystals for the appropriate task.

I am positive that Tand will never become strong enough to raise someone by his lonesome, with the exception if they are recently deceased, and their spirit still lingers around their corpse. For now, though, he is still untrained within the art itself, and a task such as this is too much.

Ever since Tand found his spiritual calling, at a very young age, he came to be bothered by night terrors and strange whispers. After many years of trying to put an end to it, even having tried to go down the road of the monk as well to seek serenity, it finally stopped after a visit to the spirit realm. It was a very taxing thing to do, and the Spirit Wolves had to tend to his lifeless comatose body for a while.

But after that spiritual journey, and having found out that the whispers and dreams were his ancestors trying to reach out to him, he hasn’t been in contact with them since. Partly because of the request to send them away was issued by his tribal leaders, in the Spirit Wolves.

1 Like
22

I’m sorry to highjack the thread to ask this, but as it’s the same topic I felt it’d be better to ask here instead of making a new thread and clogging the forums.

Can the elements work in other ways besides their intended purpose? To elaborate a little, the spirits of water are used for healing primarily but can they also be used offensively? Like to slip up an enemy giving chase or to capture in a water prison.

The same question could be asked for fire, air and earth; Can you make a defensive wall from fire as well as using it for attacks. Can you form a gale force wind to knock enemies back as well as use it to speed you up. Can you entomb someone with rocks as well as use it as armor, ect. I guess if I had to put a name on it, a “jack of all trades” kinda deal.

I’ve always liked Shamans and I’d love to get the chance to fully play one sometime though I’m wary as to how it would be perceived if I played along with “using the elements in various ways” as opposed to the one thing they’re designed to be used for… if that makes -any- sense at all.

Thanks and sorry again for the highjack!

2 Likes
23

Frost Shock is exactly this, if you want an in-game example. As is Icefury.

But yeah, all of the cases you talked about are perfectly reasonable. Be as creative as you want. And feel free to steal ideas from other sources (such as Avatar).

2 Likes
24

Absolutely! The great thing with the elements is that you’re limited pretty much only by your imagination and knowledge of physics when it comes to what they can do. If you need inspiration, look at spells and abilities used by elemental and shaman npcs. Especially single-element elemental npcs often use their powers in more unusual ways.

2 Likes
25

A skilled shaman can basically do almost everything every other ‘class’ can. They’re capable of doing so much, and to use water offensively is not rare nor questionable. But, as it is for all elements, it has its counters. A wall of fire cannot block shards of earth, but it can melt icicles.

There is no ‘intended’ purpose, I say. It’s just us generalizing their usage. Water is extremely versatile. It can created deadly shards of ice, as offense, and create a wall of ice, too, as defense. Healing, of course, as well, and it can work as a speed-up if you are traveling down a slope and want to go for a quick ski ride!

The limits of a skilled shaman are few. They can pretty much do all things other ‘classes’ can to. A lot of people just focus on the conventional spells out there, like Lava Burst and Healing Rain but there is so much more out there to draw inspiration from. Like: Spiritwalkers’ Grace, Astral Recall, Bloodlust and Spirit Link Totem!

3 Likes
26

Thankyou all for your quick and very helpful replies!

I wasn’t aware the level of versatility Shamans had. This feedback is definately being taken into account for if/when I return.

It’s probably a little cliché to say but I’ve always been a fan of spellcasters that use a variety of spells/elements rather than mastery of just one (like Frost or Fire mages), like Black Mage from Final Fantasy as an example and I never really found a class that matched that in WoW.

I’ve got a couple ideas in mind on how to progress a Shaman character now. Thanks again for the feedback and answers!

1 Like
27

Yes.

FROST SHOCK!

28

This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.