Arcane Background: Indian Shamanism

Arcane Background (Shamanism)

Requirements: Novice

Arcane Skill: Tribal Medicine (Spirit)

Starting Power Points: 15

Starting Powers: 2

Shamans are Indian holy men and women, and keepers of tribal medicine. Their power comes from bargains with the demanding spirits of the natural world. When these medicine men honor the nature spirits, they can accomplish amazing feats that make even the most doubting Thomas tremble.

Spell List:

Aim, Armor, Beast Friend, Blind, Boost/Lower Trait, Burrow, Confusion, Contact Spirit World, Darksight, Deflection, Detect/Conceal Arcana, Disguise, Dispel, Drain Power Points, Elemental Manipulation (Air and Earth only), Entangle, Environmental Protection, Exorcism, Farsighted, Fear, Greater Healing, Growth/Shrink (Growth only), Healing, Mind Rider, Protection, Pummel, Quickness, Sanctify, Shape Change, Slumber, Smite, Speak Language, Speed, Succor, Summon Ally, Teleport, Vision Quest, Wall Walker, Warrior's Gift, Wilderness Walk, Windstorm

Find all of the spell descriptions on the Arcane Powers page.

Shamans

Indians see the world a little differently than white folks. They’ve known about the spirits for hundreds—maybe thousands—of years. The most spiritual members of the tribe are called “medicine men,” but since some are female, we call them “shamans.” Mad scientists deal directly with the manitous, though most do so unwittingly. Hucksters are foolish enough, in the shamans’ opinion, to actually contact them on purpose. Shamans consider themselves far wiser in the ways of the spirits. They never deal with manitous except by accident. They rely instead on asking favors of other denizens of the Hunting Grounds, the nature spirits. Other faiths, too, call upon these spirits for supernatural aid, though they know them by different names. Voodooists call both nature spirits and the manitous by the name loa, and the kindly practitioners of that faith call on the more benevolent rada loa.

In any event, the truth is that these nature spirits are pretty ambivalent toward the affairs of humanity. They sometimes help those who know how to call upon them, but only in exchange for some sort of sacrifice or a commitment to the spirit’s ways.

The Medicine Way

Unlike the religions of the white man, the spirits of the Indians are a part of daily life in an Indian village. In addition to the favors they grant, they communicate their wishes through the shamans of a tribe, and the tribe pays respect to the spirits for their continued assistance. The life of a shaman is dedicated to the ideals of his tribe. Most are spiritual leaders and healers for their people, though some are war leaders. Some shamans are feared, but all are respected. All must set an example for their people and live a life that pleases the spirits that grant their powers. Shaman characters who do not uphold these beliefs find the spirits rarely listen to their pleas. And a shaman ignored by the spirits gets no respect from his people, and is not a shaman for long. Shamans must often perform a sacrifice of some sort to entreat the aid of the spirits. This can be anything from a period of fasting or a pledge, to a ceremonial dance, or even ritual scarring and maiming. Generally, the more time required for a ceremony or ritual, or the more permanent the effect, the more it impresses the spirits.

The Old Ways

The most significant of these ceremonies are oaths to follow certain restrictions set down by the spirits in exchange for their aid. The most powerful of these is the Old Ways Oath. To nature spirits, “natural” clothing, weapons, and other belongings made by and for particular humans have a history, and carry a bit of the maker’s soul. This is why they dislike mass produced items with no past, things so commonly used by the white man and symbolic of their ways. Shamans are also repulsed by machines that pollute and ravage the earth, such as steam-powered trains and wagons, particularly since the mad scientists who constructed them required the aid of manitous to do so (knowingly or not). Shamans believe the spirits’ disapproval of such things has weakened their relationship with the People. Many shamans are attempting to remedy this by urging their tribes to return to the Old Ways, and forgo manufactured goods and technology in favor of hand crafted items.

The Return of the Spirits

Until about fifteen years ago, the spirits only rarely answered the shamans’ calls. The various Indian tribes suffered badly at the hands of the invading white man. They were defeated again and again by the white man’s weapons, and laid low by horrific diseases brought to the Americas by the newcomers. Fifteen years ago, all of that changed. Suddenly, the nature spirits had returned to the Hunting Grounds, and once more answered the pleas of the Indians. With their aid, the tribes were able to fight the white man on roughly equal footing. Combined with the fact that the invaders began to war amongst themselves, great alliances of Indian tribes were able to carve out territories in which the white man could not trespass. Though the return of the nature spirits was welcome, their evil counterparts, the manitous, also began appearing in much greater numbers. The nature spirits told of an ancient bargain between “Old Ones”—powerful Indian shamans—and the nature spirits to battle the threat of the manitous. Hundreds of years ago, the manitous’ evil inflicted great harm upon the world. Their power had been building for centuries, and it seemed little could be done. Desperate, the Old Ones turned to the nature spirits for aid. The nature spirits agreed to lock the manitous away from this world, deep in the Hunting Grounds, but the price would be high. Not only would the nature spirits need to lock themselves away as well, but the Old Ones would be required to sacrifice their very lives to seal the bargain. Unfortunately, the Old Ones had little choice. If the manitous were allowed to continue unchecked, the world would soon be consumed in darkness and terror. They agreed, and made the ultimate sacrifice for their people. Now, however, the nature spirits claim the bargain has been undone. The manitous have returned to plague humanity with their evil.

While shamans are not required to take the Old Ways Oath Hindrance at character creation, those who do tend to have a more powerful connection with the spirits.

Playing a Shaman

To become a Shaman, your character must take the Arcane Background (Shamanism) Edge, which works much like Arcane Background (Miracles) from the Savage Worlds rulebook. Shamanism uses the arcane skill Tribal Medicine (which is linked to Spirit), so be sure to put a few points into that. First, decide whether to take the Old Ways Oath Hindrance to reflect the shaman’s devotion to the ways of the ancestors. For shamans, the Old Ways Oath carries extra significance, as it helps to maintain a strong connection with the spirits.

Appeasing the Spirits

Shamanic “sins” work differently from other miraculous Arcane Backgrounds. The spirits require rituals, performed daily, to appease them so they grant favors. A shamanic ritual takes four hours with a Tribal Medicine of d4. For each die type above d4, the time required is reduced by 30 minutes. Therefore, a shaman with Tribal Medicine d8 must perform rituals for three hours each day. Instead of the usual effects of a “sin,” shamans who do not regularly perform rituals suffer the penalty listed to their Tribal Medicine roll and may regain Power Points slower, as noted below. The spirits are more forgiving to those shamans who follow the Old Ways; a character with the Minor version of the Hindrance can ignore 1 point of penalties while the Major version ignores 2 points. Power Point recharging is unaffected by the Hindrance, as the spirits only forgive so much. To gain the benefit, the character has to actually follow the Old Ways—paying lip service to the spirits is not enough.

Ritual Requirements

Severity - Tribal Medicine Penalty

Minor - Has not performed a ritual within the prior day. Tribal Medicine –1.

Major - Has not performed a ritual within the prior week. Tribal Medicine –2; Power Points recharge at rate of 1/two hours.

Mortal Has not performed a ritual within the prior month. Tribal Medicine –4; Power Points recharge at rate of 1/four hours.

Shamans still begin with two powers, but they get 15 Power Points instead of the usual 10 and are able to recharge them faster than other arcane types. As long as the shaman is in the wilds, sleeps under the stars, is warmed by an open fire, or otherwise away from “civilization,” he regains Power Points at twice his usual rate (subject to the limitations imposed by his “sins,” of course).

Tribal Medicine

To use a power, the shaman must also perform some sort of ritual on the spot. At the very least this involves chanting and a Tribal Medicine roll. If the shaman cannot speak, he cannot use any powers.

Bad Medicine

If a Shaman ever rolls a 1 on his Tribal Medicine die (regardless of the result of his Wild Die), the power he was trying to summon fails and he gains a Fatigue level that can only be regained by several hours’ meditation, communing with the spirits in a sweat lodge, or suchlike.

New Hindrance

Old Ways Oath (Minor or Major)

Whether your hero is an Indian or he’s gone native, he’s decided to forego modern technology to honor the spirits. As a Minor Hindrance, he will travel in modern conveyances such as trains or steam wagons, but won’t use any modern device himself (including guns, steel knives/tomahawks, etc.). As a Major Hindrance, he won’t even passively use such devices, refusing to ride in anything more complex than a horse-drawn wagon (and unhappy to do even that).

New Edges

Fetish Creator

Requirements: Novice, Smarts d8+, Spirit d8+,Arcane Background (Shaman), Tribal Medicine d8+

This is a shamanistic version of the Gadgeteer Edge. Once per game session, the shaman can create a magic talisman and imbue it with arcane energy. The device uses any power available to the shaman (though this is still subject to Rank restrictions). It has half the creator’s Power points and once these are used up they do not recharge. The ritual to imbue the object takes 1d20 minutes. Activating the device requires a Spirit roll.

Spirits’ Favor

Requirements: Seasoned, Arcane Background (Shamanism), Tribal Medicine d8+

Normally a shaman who follows the Old Ways is proscribed from using technology under any circumstances. The shaman with this Edge may petition the spirits to allow him to use one normal technological device (no Mad Science gizmos or Infernal Devices) without offending them, in return for a surrender of personal power. Petitioning the spirits involves a ritual offering, which takes 1d10+10 minutes. This Edge may only be applied to one device at a time. For as long as the shaman makes use of the device, he has 5 less Power Points than usual. When he stops using the device these points return at the usual rate. The shaman may abandon one item and switch to another, which requires another 1d10+10 minutes. During this time the favor does not apply to either device.

Totem Spirit

Requirements: Novice, Arcane Background (Shamanism), Spirit d8+

The shaman with this Edge may choose one favored power linked to his totem (see sidebar for ideas). The favored power must be one that is available to shamans. If the shaman gets a raise when activating that power, the totem provides the energy and the base power point cost is halved (round down). The shaman must have the points to use the power in the first place. Should the shaman ever suffer a penalty to Tribal Medicine skill for failure to perform ritual offerings (as described in the Deadlands Player’s Guide), he loses access to his totem spirit for 1d6 days. A character may never have more than one totem spirit at a time; if a hero has both Knack (Spirit Touched) and Totem Spirit, both Edges apply to the same spirit.