Shamanism
Shaman powers do not lend themselves to flashy explosions or bolts of fire and acid, instead Shamans bind spirits who grant spells and may either be manifested physically or imbued into an item.
Shaman are capable of accessing spells granted by powerful spiritual entities, manifesting them into the physical realm, or imbuing equipment. Some shaman have a symbiotic relationship with their bound spirits, accepting voluntary service in exchange for help protecting a region or furthering the otherworldly aims of the spirits. Some shaman surround themselves with clan totem spirits, ghosts of fallen ancestors, and other spirits who offer their powers freely out of principle or long standing pact. Other cultures bind spirits forcefully to service, using them to serve their own goals. Whatever the case, a shaman is a gifted individual who can see into the Spirit World, a shadowy realm beyond and overlaying the material world. When choosing a new spirit, a shaman player has several options.
Spirit Realm
Shamanism is focused on interaction with the spirits of the dead, nature, totem animals, and elemental spirits. These beings are native to a shadowy realm overlaying the mortal realm known as the Spirit Realm. Shaman are capable of perceiving the edges of this realm as it crosses into our own. The conscious mind provides barriers to seeing fully into this world, so many shaman use hallucinogens or deep meditation to free their conscious mind and perceive the Spirit World as a layer over the material. A shaman focused in this manner might see strange trees, structures, or spiritual beings other characters are not aware of. The Benefits "Ritual: Spirit Sight" can grant this insight without relying on drugs or meditation.
Choosing a Spirit
When selecting the Shamanism Template, players may select a bound Spirit at rank 2. Additional ranks or new Spirits may be purchased at the cost of 5 experience per rank. Increasing an existing Spirit grants that Spirit new attributes and features for either Manifested or Imbued spirits, as well as granting a single spell at the new rank. When a new spirit is bound, either at Character Creation or purchased with experience, the player must decide which of the 7 spirit types they wish to bind, and if the spirit will be Manifested or Imbued.
Additionally the player may choose to have the spirit give up some of its spell-casting ability to add improved manifest statistics or improved imbue bonuses. If this option is chosen the spirit loses access to its highest available restricted spell slot, but Manifested spirits use the Improved variant statistics of their chosen spirit type at each rank and Imbued spirits gain their imbue effects one rank early and the Rank 2 imbue bonus offers +Rank enhancement instead of +1/+2/+3. If at a later time the player wishes to change the choices for a particular spirit, they may purchase Ritual: Alter Spirit from the Player Benefits list for 12 GXP, however this ritual cannot change the type of spirit chosen.
Manifest Spirit
The shaman may expand mana to allow a bound spirit to manifest in the physical world. This is a full round action, that costs 1 mana and lasts for 1 hour. The spirit appears within reach of the caster and may immediately move and act. A manifested spirit still grants spells, but can also attack or manipulate physical objects. Spirit stats are found in the Monster Guide - Spirits. If a manifested spirit is destroyed, it is forced back into the Spirit Realm and it may not be manifested again until the following day. It regains Health at a rate of Rank per day. Only one spirit may be manifested at a time. If the caster loses consciousness the manifestation fails, and the spirit is drawn back into the Spirit Realm.
Imbue Spirit
The shaman may transfer a bound spirit into an item such as a weapon, shield, or suit of armor. The bound spirit may still provide access to its selected spells, however it may not be Manifested. Instead the bound spirit applies bonuses which increase with rank to the imbued item. The bonuses are determined by the type of spirit.
Spells
Shaman are granted access to spells by their bound spirits, however they must spend mana to power the spells. Each type of spirit is different and will have access to a restricted list of spells as well as a list of Shared Shaman Spells. When a spirit gains a rank you may select one spell from that spirits restricted list or the list of shared spells.
A shaman may buy additional spells for a spirit later for 2 GXP per rank, however each may only have a maximum of 1 spell from the restricted list and 1 spell from the shared list for each rank.
Example: Hruldor begins play with a Rank 2 Ghost spirit and selects the Wraith Blade spell from the restricted list. He then chooses to spend 4 GXP (2 x Rank) to purchase the Spirit Armor spell from the shared list. This ghost spirit may not learn any more Rank 2 spells, so if he wants to gain any more Rank 2 spells from either the restricted list or the shared list, he would need to raise another Ghost to rank 2.
All spirits have access to certain spells.