Personally I like the college of spirits bard as a shaman. You can use a skull as a spellcasting focus and the entire class revolves around telling inspiring stories to buff the characters
And things like sacred drums and ritual dances are often heavily associated with shamanic practices.
Just to toss out an option that hasn't been mentioned yet, if you're leaning into the "sacred drums and ritual dances" aspect of shamanism... bladesinger wizard
There would be some spells (speak with dead) you might miss out on without a multiclass, but it's a strong fit for a caster who draws their power from both ritual and dance
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Personally I like the college of spirits bard as a shaman. You can use a skull as a spellcasting focus and the entire class revolves around telling inspiring stories to buff the characters
And things like sacred drums and ritual dances are often heavily associated with shamanic practices.
Just to toss out an option that hasn't been mentioned yet, if you're leaning into the "sacred drums and ritual dances" aspect of shamanism... bladesinger wizard
There would be some spells (speak with dead) you might miss out on without a multiclass, but it's a strong fit for a caster who draws their power from both ritual and dance
True, there's lots of different ways you could choose to go, depending on what you want the character to be able to do.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Well - I suppose it depends on how you view orcs. In my worlds, orc shamans are necromancer wizards. No, it's true. They aren't nature worshippers (although obviously that'd be true of human shamans), they're ancestor and spirit worshippers. So I build them as necromancers, and then I refluff a whole slew of spells to be necromantic, because otherwise they really aren't.
And I like it that way, it gives me a whole bunch of grey zones to play with. Orcs aren't evil - at least by no means universally - and the shamans in particularly tend mostly toward a somewhat bleak neutrality.
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
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Just to toss out an option that hasn't been mentioned yet, if you're leaning into the "sacred drums and ritual dances" aspect of shamanism... bladesinger wizard
There would be some spells (speak with dead) you might miss out on without a multiclass, but it's a strong fit for a caster who draws their power from both ritual and dance
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Shepherd Druid. Easily.
Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXVIII?
My homebrew stuff:
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
I am an Archfey, but nobody seems to notice.
Extended Signature
True, there's lots of different ways you could choose to go, depending on what you want the character to be able to do.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I would say a simple Cleric. No multi classing needed. There is enough fighter in the Cleric class for any Orc.
Just read up on the Orcs religions and add in all the extras you need like herbalist skill.
Well - I suppose it depends on how you view orcs. In my worlds, orc shamans are necromancer wizards. No, it's true. They aren't nature worshippers (although obviously that'd be true of human shamans), they're ancestor and spirit worshippers. So I build them as necromancers, and then I refluff a whole slew of spells to be necromantic, because otherwise they really aren't.
And I like it that way, it gives me a whole bunch of grey zones to play with. Orcs aren't evil - at least by no means universally - and the shamans in particularly tend mostly toward a somewhat bleak neutrality.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.