You were raised by the community's previous shaman. Through prayers and sometimes painful training, you've learned to become a strong beacon for your community's ancestors.
- Skill Proficiencies: Medicine, Religion
- Tool Proficiencies: A musical instrument of your choice
- Languages: One of your choice
- Equipment: A totem from your community or a bag filled with shamanic trinkets, a winter blanket, a set of common clothes, an instrument of your choice, and 5 gp
Every shaman has a way to contact the souls connected to its community. You can work with your DM to determine the exact nature of that communication, or you can choose or roll on the table below to determine the way your ancestors can speak to you.
| d8 | Voice of the Ancestors |
|---|---|
| 1 | I can hear their voices echoe through the wind. |
| 2 | I can talk to them through flames. |
| 3 | I can read their words in bones. |
| 4 | I can feel their presence in wild beasts. |
| 5 | I retreat in deep meditation, knowing that they live within me. |
| 6 | I see them whenever I look up at the stars. |
| 7 | I keep old trinkets from when they were alive, which still contain part of their essence. |
| 8 | I can feel them when I'm covered by the blood of my enemies. |
The spiritual training that you've endured over the year has strengthened the link between you and your ancestors, allowing you to communicate with them. Although you cannot have complete and coherent conversation with them, you've learned to analyze and understand the subtle hints in the elements, as your ancestors try to give you knowledge of past or future events.
Work with your DM to determine the details of your communication and how much information you're able to get.
Suggested Characteristics
Some shaman take their role seriously, spending most of their time communicating with spirits and guiding their fellow community members, while other have strayed away from their shamanic duties. Whether they still talk to the spirits of their ancestors at every dawn and dusk, they are marked by the rough training they had to endure and the spiritual connection with the dead.
| d8 | Personality Trait |
|---|---|
| 1 | I never lead, instead I find a leader and I whisper in its ears. |
| 2 | I have the utmost respect for the dead and their resting place. |
| 3 | The leader of my community had something wise to say on every topic, and I am eager to share that wisdom. |
| 4 | I feel more empathy towards beasts than towards people. |
| 5 | I’m oblivious to etiquette and social expectations. |
| 6 | I connect everything that happens to me to a grand, cosmic plan. |
| 7 | I often get lost in my own thoughts and contemplation, becoming oblivious to my surroundings. |
| 8 | I am working on a grand philosophical theory and love sharing my ideas. |
| d6 | Ideal |
|---|---|
| 1 | Greater Good. My gifts are meant to be shared with all, not used for my own benefit. (Good) |
| 2 | Logic. Emotions must not cloud our sense of what is right and true, or our logical thinking. (Lawful) |
| 3 | Free Thinking. Inquiry and curiosity are the pillars of progress. (Chaotic) |
| 4 | Power. Solitude and contemplation are paths toward mystical or magical power. (Evil) |
| 5 | Live and Let Live. Meddling in the affairs of others only causes trouble. (Neutral) |
| 6 | Self-Knowledge. If you know yourself, there’s nothing left to know. (Any) |
| d6 | Bond |
|---|---|
| 1 | Nothing is more important than the other members of my community, tribe, or village. |
| 2 | My community was assaulted by dangerous enemies, it is my duty to eliminate the threat. |
| 3 | I can't reach the spirit of my grandfather, who hold a powerful secret necessary for my community. |
| 4 | My shamanic duties have prevented me from pursuing my one true love. |
| 5 | My mentor has made a huge mistake that might endanger our whole community. |
| 6 | My ancestors gave me great insight into a great evil that only I can destroy. |
| d6 | Flaw |
|---|---|
| 1 | I cannot take any major decision without first asking my ancestors for guidance. |
| 2 | The dead are more useful to me than the living, thus I never take prisoners and I kill as often as I can. |
| 3 | Away from my community, I put my own needs in front of everyone else. |
| 4 | I know that I am always right and I refuse to listen to contradicting opinions. |
| 5 | I’d risk too much to uncover a lost bit of knowledge. |
| 6 | I like keeping secrets and won’t share them with anyone. |
This shaman background assumes a position of worship within a small tribal community that allows room for study and prayers. If you want to play a rugged wilderness recluse who lives off the land while shunning the company of other people, look at the [background]outlander[/background] background. On the other hand, if you want to go in a more religious direction, the [background]acolyte[/background] might be what you’re looking for. Or you could even be a [background]charlatan[/background], posing as a wise and holy person and letting pious fools support you.
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