Shugenja

The Pros and Cons of a Shugenja

The shugenja's wide range of spells makes him among the most versatile spellcasters in the game.

Shugenja Assets

When you choose a shugenja, you gain access to a wide range of spells that are both powerful and useful. When chosen with care, a shugenja's spells can deal with nearly any challenge. However, the character also has a variety of other resources available. Below are several assets you have going for you when you play a shugenja.

• • Winning Ways: A shugenja needs a high Charisma score because that ability governs his spellcasting, but it also gives him an edge in negotiations.

• • Good Will Saving Throws: A shugenja uses the best save progression in the game for Will saves. This natural mental strength helps him resist most effects that fool his mind or assault his spirit -- including charms, compulsions, illusions, fear effects, and even inflict wounds spells.

• Spells: The shugenja's spell list includes a wide variety of spells for attack, defense, utility, healing, and travel.

• • Spontaneous Spellcasting: A shugenja doesn't have a spellbook; instead, he chooses a personal repertoire of spells that he can cast anytime. He does have a daily limit on the number of spells of each level he can cast, but he can freely cast any spell he knows until he reaches that limit. So he doesn't have to guess ahead of time which spells to prepare - if he needs to cast a particular spell several times in the same day, he can do so.

• • Elemental Abilities: Every spell on the shugenja's spell list is associated with an element (air, earth, fire, or water), even if it doesn't have an elemental descriptor. Upon creating a shugenja character, you must choose a favored element for him, and he gains the benefit of the Spell Focus feat when he casts a spell associated with that element. He also gains the spell-like ability to sense elements and locate their sources.

• • Good Skill Points: At four skill points per level, the shugenja can gain ranks in a decent collection of skills. And if he has a good Intelligence score, he gains even more skill points.

• • Fair Weapon Selection: The shugenja is proficient only with simple weaponry, plus the short sword. Though simple weapons aren't the most deadly ones available, the fact that the shugenja has access to the whole category plus one martial weapon gives him lots of options, and that versatility can be a lifesaver if his spells happen to fail him.

Shugenja Weaknesses

As with any other character, the shugenja's advantages come at a price. Here are a few of the disadvantages you should keep in mind if you're considering a shugenja character.

Fairly Low Hit Points: The shugenja's 6-sided Hit Dice give him a fairly good hit point total for a character with his spellcasting ability. However, he's still pretty vulnerable in a fight.

• • Fairly Low Hit Points: The shugenja's 6-sided Hit Dice give him a fairly good hit point total for a character with his spellcasting ability. However, he's still pretty vulnerable in a fight.

  • Poor Armor Class: Because the shugenja has no proficiency with any kind of armor or shield, he generally has a low Armor Class. The combination of only fair hit points and low Armor Class makes him vulnerable in physical combat, especially melee. He can use spells and magic items to improve his defense, but doing so makes them less available for other purposes.

• Poor Attack Bonus: A shugenja's base attack bonus is +1 per two shugenja levels, which is the worst in the game. Some shugenjas can dish out lots of damage with their spells, but they don't do well with weapons.

  • Poor Reflex and Fortitude Saving Throws: Shugenjas have the worst progression for Fortitude and Reflex saves in the game (see Table 3-1 in the Player's Handbook). Thus, they aren't so great at getting out of the way when the situation gets rough, nor can they withstand many assaults on their bodies.

• Limited Spell Choices: Once a shugenja chooses spells, his selection remains more or less fixed, except for new additions as he attains higher levels. He has a limited ability to change his repertoire, but for the most part, he is stuck with whatever spells he has chosen. In addition, he cannot choose spells associated with an element that opposes the one he favors. For example, if he has chosen fire as his element, he cannot use water spells. He must also choose an order, and that choice obliges him to select certain spells whenever he gains access to a higher spell level.