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Spirited Away: A Shaman Handbook (by GelatinousOctahedron)
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<blockquote data-quote="Nibelung" data-source="post: 6709463" data-attributes="member: 74499"><p><strong>Originally posted by GelatinousOctahedron:</strong></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong><u>Hit points, healing surges, proficiencies, and bonuses</u></strong></span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Hitpoints</span>: 12 + Con (5/level) Average for a leader, but con is a common secondary stat for shamans. </p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Surges</span>: 7+con mod. You should not be hurting that much for surges compared to many other leaders since con will often be one of your higher stats.</p><p><span style="color: #800080">Armor Proficiences</span>: Cloth, leather. Shamans have the worst armor proficiencies of any leader. See the note in the cleric multiclass section for a fix that some DMs may allow. You need heavy armor if you are a world speaker or protector build or else your power riders won't be good. See below for more detail. Hide or light shields along are a possibility for int/dex builds if you have the stats for it and every shaman should spend some feats boosting their AC</p><p>Weapon/Implement Proficiencies: Simple Melee and longspears. Totems. Totems are not that good of an implement overall, but there are a few good ones out there along with some spears and maces for weapliments. A lot of shamans MC for another implement like tome, staff or holy symbol</p><p>Bonus: +1 Fortitude +1 Will Your will defense will be fine, as will either fortitude or reflex.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong><u>Features</u></strong></span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong><u>Healing Spirit:</u></strong> Your basic healing ability. 2/encounter from levels 1-15 and 3/encounter 16-30. You or an ally within 5 spends a surge and another ally next to your companion gets some surge free healing that gets larger as you level up. You are not that great a single target healer, but you get to heal more than one party member at a time and one of them does not have to spend a surge. Unlike other leaders the range on this basic healing power does not increase as you level, but on the other hand you can always heal a second party member up to 20 squares away.</p><p></p><p><strong><u>Speak with Spirits:</u></strong> Depending on how often you face skill challenges this can be very nice. A wisdom modifier bonus to one skill check per encounter. This kind of makes up for the few skills you get and with a feat you can transfer this bonus to an ally.</p><p></p><p><u><strong>Companion Spirit</strong></u>: This the heart of your class and which one you pick will have a major impact on the rest of your character in several ways: secondary stats (and armor), feats, powers, paragon path and strategy. You can summon your spirit as a minor at will action within 20 squares and it does not go away until dispelled or you dismiss it. Whenever you take a move action you can move it your speed as well and there are other powers that can move it around the field as well. It uses your defenses and can be targetting by melee and ranged attacks and if it takes damage equal to 10 + 1/2 your level then it is dispelled and you take damage equal to 5 + 1/2 your level. If it take less than that it is fine and does not take any other effects like ongoing damage, which means that most of the time it will work as a damage soak if your DM decides to attack it. </p><p></p><p>Your spirit is the main way you make opportunity actions (sort of like OA's for your SC), at will attacks and encounter attacks, it occasionally is the focus of utiltiy and daily powers, and as it provides surge free healing through healing spirit and potentially other bonuses as well. You generally will want it to be next to as many allies and enemies at the same time as possible, but which one to prioritize varies with each spirit. It takes up a square and allies can move through it, while enemies can not. Errata makes it clear you can only have 1 spirit at a time, barring special exceptions like powers that specifically summon a second spirit. See below for a FAQ on spirit companion rules questions.</p><p></p><p>There are five spirits to pick from at character creation and they each give you a different at will opportunity action attack power and an at will attack power. They can benefit from riders from various encounter powers and grant you access to specific feats and paragon paths. Each one also gives you a "spirit boon" which is an extra bonus of some type that can be triggered when an ally (or enemy in the case of watchers) is next to your spirit companion.</p><p></p><p><u><strong>The Five Spirits/Builds:</strong></u></p><p></p><p>There is broad charop consensus that you should normally go for an int build, either animist or stalker, with watcher being a good choice only if you have multiple ranged PCs in your party. The con shaman builds have a lot of issues with stats and AC and they don't enable allies' attacks nearly as well as the other 3 builds, though you can make a good enough worldspeaker build in heroic and paragon that treats con as tertiary stat and goes with int as your secondary stat. For hybrid shamans your best choices are animist or watcher depending on party makeup since stalker hybrid builds can't get good at will enabling.</p><p> </p><p>I am broadly rating them compared to other leaders based on a variant of what LordDuskBlade uses in his warlord handbook: <strong>Healing</strong>, <strong>Saving throws</strong> (condition removing), <strong>Buffing</strong> (Temp Hitpoints, Buffing Attacks, Buffing Defenses) <strong>Debuffing Enemies </strong>(Attacks, Debuffing Enemies Defenses) <strong>Enabling</strong> (Ally Movement, Ally Extra Attacks) Your vast selection of powers can increase of decrease the effectiveness of any of these 5 criteria. <span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span></p><p><span style="color: #008000"></span><strong><span style="color: #800080">Bear/Protector</span><span style="color: #008000">:</span></strong> Healing/protection focus and spirit boon heals allies extra when you use a healing power or they use their second wind. Constitution second stat and it is hard to get around that, which causes AC issues. You focus on powers that protect and heal your allies. You generally try to keep your SC close to your allies so that they can benefit from powers that heal or give them a defensive bonus. This is the most defenderish of the builds. My least favorite of all the builds and the weakest of the 5 builds for most charopped parties, though it does have a handful of good powers and options. Your encounter powers focus on healing or defense and some of them can mark enemies. <span style="color: #0000ff"><strong>Healing</strong></span></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"></span><strong>Saving throws <strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Buffing</span></strong></strong></p><p><strong><strong><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Debuffing Enemies</span> Enabling</strong></strong></strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Panther/Stalker</strong><span style="color: #008000">:</span> Damage focus and allies do extra damage to bloodied oppenents with your spirit boon. Intelligence second stat. You focus on powers that do extra damage and help your allies to hit and do more damage. You generally want to keep your SC close to bloodied enemies and try to isolate them or flank for allies. This is the most strikerish of the builds since your encounter powers are sometimes multiattacks and deal relatively high damage. <strong>Healing</strong></p><p><strong>Saving throws <strong><span style="color: #00ccff">Buffing</span></strong></strong></p><p><strong><strong><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Debuffing Enemies</span></strong></strong></strong></p><p><strong><strong><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Enabling</span></strong></strong></strong></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #008000">Eagle/Watcher:</span> Allied ranged attack focus and spirit boon denies enemy cover from other enemies and allies can treat enemy adjacent to your SC as if they were closest enemy. Dexterity second stat. You focus on powers that help ranged allies, sort of like a warlord for ranged PCs. You generally try to keep your SC close to enemies your ranged allies want to attack. This is in some ways the most party dependent leader build since you really need at least one ally with a ranged basic attack to be effective and it helps to have multiple allies with RBAs. If you have a party with multiple <strong><span style="color: #0000ff">allies with RBAs</span></strong> this is a good choice, but you always need at least one RBA ally. Your encounter powers often move allies or enemies. <strong>Healing</strong></p><p><strong>Saving throws <strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Buffing</span></strong></strong></p><p><strong><strong><strong>Debuffing Enemies <span style="color: #00ffff">Enabling</span></strong></strong></strong></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #008000">Worldspeaker:</span></strong> Control focus and allies get bonus to defenses against opportunity attacks through spirit boon when entering or leaving square adjacent to your SC. Constitution second stat by default which causes AC issues, but you can use Int as your secondary without much problem in heroic and paragon if you want to which solves that and potentially helps your enabling some. You focus on powers that hinder your enemies, especially ones that control movement. You generally want to keep your SC close to enemies to try to control what they do or close to allies trying to avoid OAs. This is the most controllerish build with the SC also acts like a sticky companion. Your encounter powers focus on applying conditions like immobilized or slowed and it has the only way to get a consistently large SC in paragon. Its not that strong in charop terms as far as enabling goes, but I think its spirit is the most fun to use. <strong>Healing</strong></p><p><strong>Saving throws <strong>Buffing <strong><span style="color: #00ccff">Debuffing Enemies</span></strong></strong></strong></p><p><strong><strong><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Enabling</span></strong></strong></strong></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="color: #00ccff">Animist</span><span style="color: #008000">:</span></strong> This build is in Dark Sun and is one the most melee enabling focused of the builds with excellent at-will enabling. It is an int focused build with a boon that gives a bonus to saving throws, its opportunity action targets reflex and does damage/grants CA, and its at will lets an ally attack with a bonus to hit and damage and causes your SC to vanish. Its powers focus on ally buffing and enabling and always cause the spirit to dissappear. It can summon the SC as a free action during its turn if, at the start of its turn, the SC is not present. Generally this is what I would consider the strongest shaman build if you have a party with good MBAs. <strong>Healing</strong></p><p><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Saving throws</span></strong></p><p><strong><strong><span style="color: #0000ff">Buffing</span></strong></strong></p><p><strong><strong><strong>Debuffing Enemies <span style="color: #00ccff">Enabling</span></strong></strong></strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong></strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong><u>Basic Job of a Shaman</u></strong></span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>All leaders have a set of main functions that revolve around providing direct help to their allies: Healing, buffing (providing bonuses to hit, damage, AC, resistances, temp hitpoints etc.), granting saves, granting extra attacks, and movement. What functions shamans are good at depends mostly on their spirit companion (SC) and what powers they select. Most can be good at several of those functions depending on build, although shamans tend to be better at multitarget healing than they are at single target healing. Shamans also tend to be decent to great at ally movement because they have many powers, as well as paragon paths, that grant or enhance ally movement. That makes Agile Opportunist a very good feat for melee allies in paragon if you take some of the ally sliding powers.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Your SC is what makes you unique among leaders since it acts as your primary source of attacks and buffs and works as a tactical control option forcing enemies to react to its presence, punishing them in some way if they to move away from it without shifting. Your SC also gives you far greater range than any other leader since you can consistently effect enemies/allies 21 squares away starting at level 1, while most leaders are limited to melee range to 5-10 sqaures for most of their powers. Some bow builds can compete, but even then they generally don't start out with your buffing/healing range. Your SC also acts as damage soak, taking attacks that otherwise would have damaged/hindered you or an ally. Even if your SC is damaged enough to be destroyed, you take less damage than if you had taken the hit directly. Your other job is to damage and hinder enemies, which like your other abilities, varies to a wide extent on your SC choice and power selection.</p><p></p><p>Shamans are a tricky class to play because of the spirit companion. You and your allies will have to function as a team for them to get the full benefit of what you have to offer them. They will need to be aware of where your spirit companion is and try to use it as both a shield from enemies when they need it and as a source of boosts from your spirit boon and other class features. And you will need to position it where it can be as much benefit to your party as possible. This is harder to do than with leaders like a lazer cleric or taclord where positioning is not usually as important, but when you pull it off correctly it also provides benefits that other leaders are unable to provide. You can lead from a great distance (your barbarian decides to charge the enemy 20 squares away from you, but you can still heal him and grant him an attack that round, etc.) and the DM is forced to deal not only with PCs, but with the SC as well (the DM is forced to waste his attack on your SC instead of the barbarian because you put the SC in between the two of them).</p><p></p><p>Related to this, you might see the term "Lazy" in reference to many shaman powers and builds. Lazy means that the power lets an ally attack in place of the shaman. Powers like claws of the eagle and spirit infusion are good examples of this. It is now possible to make a shaman that never makes any attacks on its own if you want to, which instead lets your allies make a lot more attacks. Every shaman wants at least some of these since enabling is a key part of a leader job.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong></strong></span></p> <p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong><u>Ability Scores</u></strong></span></p><p></p><p>The basics for a shaman are that you need to shoot for these stats post racial adjustments: at least 18 wisdom, at least 16 in your secondary stat (con, dex, or int), and a 13 in strength if you are a con shaman who wants chain mail. Only some lazy shaman builds (animist or eagle) can afford a starting 16 wisdom post racials. Stat recommendations below are pre racial adjustments.</p><p></p><p>Strength: Contributes to one skill and you do not make melee weapon attacks yourself. Alas you need a 13 str to get chain proficiency so Bear and Worldspeakers can't dump it if they want chian mail. Con should be equal or preferably higher. (protector/world speaker 11-13, others 8-13)</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Constitution</span>: You need this for better armor proficiency and Protectors and World Speakers have their riders based on this and Bear shamans for sure need it to be at all worth playing. It also boosts HP and Surges. (protector/world speaker 14-16, others 11-13)</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Dexterity</span>: Watcher builds need this for AC and riders. Does not contribute to any class skills, but does effect initiative. Non watchers should probably dump dex unless they get a racial boost to it and boost int since int effects some utilty power riders and your enabling damage. (watchers 14-16, others 8-12)</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Intelligence</span>: Stalker spirits and Animists need this high since it helps both AC and various riders. World speakers can use this as a secondary stat as well. It also helps with a couple of class skills and powers that anyone can take. Generally con shamans should take int over dex because of skills and if they want the at will Spirit Infusion, but this is not an absolute (stalkers/animist/sometimes worldspeakers 14-16, others 10-13)</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff">Wisdom</span>: Always needs to be high since you need to hit for your riders to go off most of the time. I think 18 post racial is the sweetspot since that still lets almost any race have at least a 16 in their secondary stat. Lazy shamans can get away with a 16 post racial if they must, but worldspeakers, protectors, and stalkers need a post racial wisdom of at least 18. If you have racial boosts to wis and int/dex, then you should consider a postracial 20 (16-18 for any build).</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Charisma</span>: Does not contribute to skills and wisdom buffs your will defense. Only make this 11 if you have a racial boost since you then qualify for some feats you might want. (8-11)</p><p></p><p><strong>Suggested Point Buys:</strong></p><p></p><p>My preferred basic point buy for a con shaman or a dex/int shaman that wants better AC and NADs (especially if you are using a race with a wisdom bonus) is 16 16 13 11 10 8, with the 16s going into wisdom and your secondary stat. The 13 can go into strength if you need it for armor, or you can use the 11 for that if you have a strength bump. The 13 or 11 not used for strength should go to con for dex/int shamans or dex/int for con shamans. Int/dex shamans can go with a 16 16 12 12 10 8 and put the 12s in con and something else depending on the desire for better AC eventually or other feat prereqs. Worldspeakers have con as a their default secondary stat, but it isn't that important pre-epic since it only effects a handful of powers and your spirit boon and they can use int as a secondary stat if they want to.</p><p></p><p>The other good stat array is mainly for those without a wisdom bonus: 18 14 11 10 10 8. The 18 goes to wisdom, the 14 to your secondary stat (which hopefully has a racial boost since your wisdom did not) and the 11 for strength if you are a con shaman (and hopefully if you are a con shaman you at least got a racial strength boost) or con if you are playing a dex/int shaman. If you are playing a con shaman without a wisdom or a strength bump then 18 13 13 10 10 8 is your best bet since you need your spirit to hit. </p><p></p><p>Stalkers can go with a starting 20 wisdom easier than most other builds if they also get an int bonus since they tend to not have many lazy powers so they will get the most out of a 20 and don't need strength for armor. Bear and Worldspeakers can also get away with a 20 wis 13 str and 15 con if you are playing a race like dwarf or starting in paragon/epic and can lower you strength to a 13 in paragon/epic. Worldspeakers can also go starting 20 wis 16 int 13 con and be fine. In epic that might be frustrating if you want the buffs from the epic tier worldspeaker powers, but before then it will be fine and most PCs never make it that far. Bear shamans need a good con to be at all interesting, which is one reason I don't really like them.</p><p></p><p>Animists with an int bonus, but no wisdom bonus can get away with a starting 18 int/16 wis post racial bumps depending on power choices. Shamans have enough "lazy" powers and powers where hitting is not essential that this can work fine and the int bonus has a lot of good benefits. You can even probably push it to starting 20 int, but the lower your wisdom the less of a threat your spirit will be off turn and the more restrictive your power choices.</p><p></p><p><strong>Shaman's and AC:</strong></p><p></p><p>See the note about a major fix for this in the cleric MC section and ask you DM if he allows mc clerics to get battle clerics lore. I personally don't think this works RAI, but many other do so ask your DM. Also hybrid cleric works great for this without losing that much if you go watcher or animist. You can't get at will enabling if you go stalker/bear/worldspeaker hybrid however.</p><p></p><p><strong>A long note about Shamans, Abilities Scores, and AC</strong></p><p>[sblock]</p><p>By default many shamans have some of the lowest AC in the game for a leader and your spirit companion has the same AC as you so all shamans should at least spend one feat on improving their AC. Shamans are the only leader that does not get hide or chain proficiency. If you are playing a shaman with int/dex as your secondary stat then your main question is whether or not you want to spend a feat and stat points on hide armor or light shield proficiency and then hide armor or shield specialization later on. Shield specialization is probably out of reach for stalkers/animists who most likely won't have the dex for it and if you have any other feats that give you a feat bonus to reflex shield specialization will only boost your AC. World speakers should seriously consider going int secondary to address this issue.</p><p></p><p>Shield proficiency requires str of 13 just like hide/chain and shields also mean you can not wield a second totem. You can still hold an implement in your off hand while using a light shield and gain its properties according to the <a href="http://wizards.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wizards.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1396" target="_blank">official FAQ</a>. If you have a decent strength then light shield proficieny is not a bad choice if you really want to buff your defenses and have a free hand and free feat. Another option is to spend a feat for weapon proficiency parrying dagger (AV1) or cutting wheel (EPG) which will boost your AC by 1. Getting a Rythm blade enchantment (AV2 and if your dm allows it) will up that by another 1. This option does not have any stat prereqs, but you also can not hold a second totem in that hand and there are several great offhand totems like the totemic spear. Hafted Defense from PHB3 works if you use a longspear for your totem or mc for a staff implement. Small PCs should consider multiclassing fighter to pick up Small Warrior's Defense if they are going to use a versatile totemic spear.</p><p></p><p>If you are playing a shaman with Con as your second stat then you have a problem since your AC will lag behind with only leather armor, leaving you and your SC vulnerable to more damage. So you have two basic choices: You can do nothing and accept that you and your SC will have low AC or poor riders or you can start with a 13 strength and spend 1 feat to get chain proficiency. For scale it takes 2 feats and you will probably not be able to get the specialization feats since your dex will probably be too low.</p><p></p><p>If you hybrid with a class that lets you pick up a shield or heavy armor proficiency you should consider taking that hybrid talent feat since you do not need to have the strength to qualify for the feat.</p><p></p><p>Lots of stat arrays can qualify for a 13 str without too much trouble, but my favorite for most shaman builds is a 16 16 13 11 10 8, with the 13 in strength if you are not from a str boosting race or the 11 in str if you are from a str boosting race. Aside from armor/shield proficiencies the shaman does not need more than 13 post racials in strength. For watcher/stalkers a starting array of 12/12 for strength and con lets you qualify for hide/shield at paragon and if you start your campaign in paragon or epic dump your strength so that you only have a 13 when you start. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I used to have a big chart and paragraph here about the value of hide armor expertise and second skin. But post errata con shamans should just get heavy armor.</p><p></p><p>[/sblock]</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong><u>Spirit Companion FAQ</u></strong></span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><p>Is it a conjuration? Is it an ally? Does it have to be a bear or can I make mine a giant otter? There is disagreement and some people get confused about just how the spirit companion works so this will be a compiled list of common questions, with my answers and reasoning. There is now a rules Q&A thread based on this FAQ here and I tend to keep it a bit more up to date than what follows.</p><p></p><p><strong>Q & A</strong></p><p>[sblock]</p><p></p><p>Here is a link to a <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dnd/downloads/dragon/387/387_Shaman_Basics.pdf" target="_blank">dragon article 387</a>about shamans for DDI subscribers which has statements on spirit companion rules that I mention below several times.</p><p></p><p>SC=Spirit companion, PHB=Players Handbook, PP=primal power DS=Dark Sun OA=opportunity attack RAW=rules as written RAI=Rules as intended</p><p></p><p><strong>Q; Where are the rules about conjurations?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: Page 120 of the PHB2 has the SC companion rules. Page 219 and 220 in PHB2 have updated conjuration rules and they slightly expand on the rules in PHB1 page 59.</p><p></p><p><strong>Q: What does the spirit keyword mean?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: From Page 220 of PHB2: "You can use a spirit power only if your spirit companion is present in the encounter. If a spirit power includes “spirit” in its range, you determine line of sight and line of effect from your spirit companion’s space, which is the power’s origin square."</p><p></p><p><strong>Q: Does my SC occupy a square? Who can move through it?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: Yes it does occupy a square, unlike most conjurations. Your allies can move through it, but can not end their turn in the same square. You enemies can not move through it. See PHB2 p 120.</p><p></p><p><strong>Q: Does my SC provoke OA?</strong> </p><p></p><p>A: No. The <a href="http://wizards.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wizards.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1695" target="_blank">PHB2 FAQ</a>says it does not provoke OA. The reasoning is that only creatures provoke OA and your SC is not a creature.</p><p></p><p><strong>Q: When does my SC get to make an OA?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: Technically your SC never makes an OA. He has an attack that functions as an opportunity action. He gets to make that attack only when an enemy moves away from it without shifting. Note that "Forced movement does not provoke opportunity attacks or other opportunity actions" according to page 285 of the PHB. The updated rules say teleportation does not provoke. Ranged powers also do not provoke attacks from SCs. Remember that it is always you making the attack and that the SC is a proxy or a puppet that you are attacking through, so if you are stunned, dazed etc. you don't get to take the opportunity action.</p><p></p><p><strong>Q: How fast does my SC move? Can it Shift? What happens when I am slowed? What happens if I am immobilized? What about difficult terrain?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: It moves up to your move speed when you take a move action. It can not shift, but for the most part that does not matter since it does not provoke OA. If you are slowed, you movement drops to 2 and therefore your SC can only move 2. Immobilization does not cause you to loose your move actions and technically does not reduce your speed, so you should be able to move it, but ask your DM. Page 220 of PHB2 says conjurations are not effected by difficult terrain.</p><p></p><p><strong>Q: Can my SC be pushed, pulled, slid, slowed, stunned, dazed, blinded, deafened, petrified, or take ongoing damage?</strong></p><p></p><p>A; No. It can only be damaged and only you can move it according to the rules on page 120</p><p>of PHB2. If it takes 10 + 1/2 your level in damage then it is dismissed and you take damage equal to 5 +1/2 your level </p><p></p><p><strong>Q: Is my spirit an ally?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: No. Conjurations are not allies, but some powers and feats may let it do things normally only allies can do like flank or provide cover.</p><p></p><p><strong>Q: If I have combat advantage against an enemy does the +2 bonus apply to attacks I make through my spirit companion?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: Yes. For instance if the shaman is flanking an enemy he gets a +2 bonus to all attacks against that enemy. That includes attacks from conjurations since the rules provide for no exception to this. See pages 279 and 285 in the PHB for the relevant rules: "You gain a +2 bonus to your attack roll when you have combat advantage against a target". </p><p></p><p><strong>Q: If I am being flanked or if someone has combat advantage against me for another reason does the bonus also apply to the companion?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: No. The bonus applies to attack rolls against that particular target. It does not lower your defenses and the spirit companion is a different target.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Q: I know my SC can’t be effected by conditions but what happens to my SC if my shaman is effected by one of these conditions?</strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>conditions</strong></p><p>[sblock]</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Blind: This does effect the spirit like blinded normally does, because the SC has no senses of its own. So if the shaman is blind and enemies succeed with stealth checks against his passive perception (-10) and that effects his spirit attacks equally. The attacks still have -5 for total concealment, because the shaman actually makes the attack. The rules say nothing about the SC being able to make perception checks on its own.</p><p></p><p> Dazed: Works as normal. You can take only one action. Though if it is a move action, you both can move. This is why sudden call/nimble spirit are such good feats.</p><p> Immobilized: You can't move, but you can still take move actions, which means you can move your SC.</p><p> Marked: Works as normal. Even if you attack through your SC, it would still be -2 to hit a target other than the one that marked you. And since the PC is one marked if the PC attacks a target other than the one that marked it any mark punishment will be directed against the PC.</p><p> Dying/Petrified/Unconscious: Your SC is dismissed since you must be conscious for it to remain summoned</p><p> Prone: While prone you get a -2 to all attacks, including spirit attacks. The shaman grants CA to melee attacks, but the spirit can’t grant CA. The SC gets a +2 bonus to defenses against all ranged attacks from enemies not adjacent to the shaman since the shaman gets that bonus. Some DMs may rule otherwise on that last point, since that sounds a bit weird, but I think the SC gets all conditional defensive bonuses that the shaman gets.</p><p> Restrained: Same as immobilized, but you get a -2 to attack through your spirit too.</p><p> Slowed: Your SC has your movement speed, so you both can only move 2.</p><p></p><p>Stunned: Nothing happens to the SC, but you can’t move it or attack with it.</p><p></p><p>Weakened: Your SC attacks do half damage.</p><p></p><p>[/sblock]</p><p></p><p>[/sblock]</p><p><strong>Q: How many SCs can I have active at a time?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: One, unless you have a specific power or ability that lets you summon a second one. The October 2010 errata confirmed this.</p><p></p><p><strong><strong>Q: Can I dismiss my SC and then bring it back the same round in some other location?</strong></strong></p><p></p><p>A: Yes. Normally that requires 2 minor actions unless you have one of the feats mentioned below that let you summon it as a free action or you are an animist. (The march 2010 Errata makes it so that you can dismiss and then recall the SC as one action. Then they undid the march 2010 errata in the October 2010 errata so it is back to 2 minor actions)</p><p></p><p><strong>Q: So what's the deal with the feats Sudden Call (PP) and Nimble Spirit (PHB2)?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: They used to be pretty much the same, but they issued errata to make sudden call work only 1/encounter, so you should retrain it to nimble spirit in paragon. See page 267 of the PHBs for a full explanation of free actions. And you can only summon your SC during your turn with or without these feats. The other main difference is that mc shamans can't take nimble spirit, while hybrid and pure shamans can take both nimble spirit or sudden call.</p><p></p><p><strong>Q: When can I summon my SC?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: Only during your turn. Either it takes a minor action which has to be on your turn or it if you have a feats like sudden call or nimble spirit, it is a free action on your turn. Animists can summon it as a free action during their turn if it was not present at the beginning of the turn. You can also ready an action to summon it on a trigger, but that will be the only action you can do since readying an action only grants you one action. MC shamans always need a standard action to summon the spirit unless they take sudden call.</p><p></p><p><strong>Q: When does my SC disappear with powers like Spirit Infusion (DS)? Can I bring it back in the middle of the attack with a free action if I have a feat like Nimble Spirit?</strong></p><p></p><p>This is up to your DM (free actions can always be limited by the DM) and it depends on the power. For most them it looks like the first thing that happens with the power is the the spirit disappears right away since it is the first line in the effect. That means that your boosts to allies do not apply if they require your SC to be adjacent to them, so allies would not get any additional boosts when making a Spirit Infusion triggered basic attack. The rules do not say you can't use a free action in the middle of an attack, but again some DMs may not allow it and in general the answer to this question is ask your DM.</p><p></p><p><strong>Q; Can my SC fly?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: Maybe. It can float and does not need to be supported by a solid surface. But no rules say it can fly and customer service has been pretty consistent in saying it can't. However, Dragon 387 article on shamans states: "<span style="color: #202123">[SIZE=x-small][SIZE=x-small][SIZE=x-small]This means when it moves, it ignores difficult terrain and can move vertically and horizontally." [/SIZE]</span>[/SIZE][/SIZE]</p><p></p><p><strong>Q; How far away can my SC go and still be sustained?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: It needs to be within 20 squares of you at the end of your turn for you to sustain it. There has been a lot of debate about this, but the new rules compendium clarified it with this comment on page 120: "A close power's range rarely matters. If it is ever relevant, the number given for the size also functions as the range" This used to be the biggest rules argument about shamans before the rules compendium came out.</p><p></p><p><strong>Q: Do I need line of sight or line of effect when using spirit powers?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: Normally with conjurations you need line of sight to use a power, but with SCs it is different and you use your SC to determine line of sight. You determine also line of effect from your SC. See page 220 of PHB2</p><p></p><p><strong>Q: Can my SC be damaged by area/close attacks or zones?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: No. According to page 120 in PHB2 it can only be damaged by ranged or melee attacks. And you only have to worry about damage from one attack at a time.</p><p></p><p><strong>Q: Can my SC flank?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: Not normally. Some powers like stalker's strike let it flank, which implies that it normally can't flank.</p><p></p><p><strong>Q: Can the spirit companion be flanked?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: No. This is a bit of complicated reasoning, but to be flanked the target needs to be a creature as defined by the PHB 57. Your SC is not a creature and therefore can not be flanked.</p><p></p><p><strong>Q: If I use healing spirit on two allies who are both next to my bear spirit companion, do both get the additional hp from my spirit boon or does only one get it?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: Yes. WOTC has not answered the question with a FAQ, but customer servicesays yes pretty consistently. The players stragtegy guide says yes as well (I believe in chapter 3, but I don't own the book myself).</p><p></p><p><strong>Q: What if I have the feat Vigorous Spirit (PP) and heal 1 ally and a second ally adjacent to my SC? Do both get the extra healing from my wisdom modifier?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: No. That feat says "the target regains additional hitpoints". The only target of healing spirit is "you or one ally in burst", the second character adjacent to your SC who gets the extra d6s of healing is not a target.</p><p></p><p><strong>Q: Can my spirit companion make skill checks? Can it be stealthy or notice things with perception?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: Ask your DM, but the rules are pretty silent on this from what I can tell. My first RAW answer is no since it does not have any ability scores and is not a creature. It uses your ability scores for determining the outcome of attacks, but it does not mention on page 59 of the PHB or 220 in the PHB2 that it uses your scores for skill checks. But for things like stealth and passive perception checks you can argue that RAI it is reasonable for it to make some checks using your skills since you can get line of site from it.</p><p></p><p><strong>Q: Does it have to be a bear or can I make mine a giant otter?</strong></p><p></p><p>A: Make it whatever animal you want. </p><p> </p><p></p><p>[/sblock]</p><p> </p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nibelung, post: 6709463, member: 74499"] [b]Originally posted by GelatinousOctahedron:[/b] [CENTER][Size=4][b][u]Hit points, healing surges, proficiencies, and bonuses[/u][/b][/size][/CENTER] [COLOR=#0000ff]Hitpoints[/COLOR]: 12 + Con (5/level) Average for a leader, but con is a common secondary stat for shamans. [COLOR=#0000ff]Surges[/COLOR]: 7+con mod. You should not be hurting that much for surges compared to many other leaders since con will often be one of your higher stats. [COLOR=#800080]Armor Proficiences[/COLOR]: Cloth, leather. Shamans have the worst armor proficiencies of any leader. See the note in the cleric multiclass section for a fix that some DMs may allow. You need heavy armor if you are a world speaker or protector build or else your power riders won't be good. See below for more detail. Hide or light shields along are a possibility for int/dex builds if you have the stats for it and every shaman should spend some feats boosting their AC Weapon/Implement Proficiencies: Simple Melee and longspears. Totems. Totems are not that good of an implement overall, but there are a few good ones out there along with some spears and maces for weapliments. A lot of shamans MC for another implement like tome, staff or holy symbol Bonus: +1 Fortitude +1 Will Your will defense will be fine, as will either fortitude or reflex. [CENTER][Size=4][b][u]Features[/u][/b][/size][/CENTER] [b][u]Healing Spirit:[/u][/b] Your basic healing ability. 2/encounter from levels 1-15 and 3/encounter 16-30. You or an ally within 5 spends a surge and another ally next to your companion gets some surge free healing that gets larger as you level up. You are not that great a single target healer, but you get to heal more than one party member at a time and one of them does not have to spend a surge. Unlike other leaders the range on this basic healing power does not increase as you level, but on the other hand you can always heal a second party member up to 20 squares away. [b][u]Speak with Spirits:[/u][/b] Depending on how often you face skill challenges this can be very nice. A wisdom modifier bonus to one skill check per encounter. This kind of makes up for the few skills you get and with a feat you can transfer this bonus to an ally. [u][b]Companion Spirit[/b][/u]: This the heart of your class and which one you pick will have a major impact on the rest of your character in several ways: secondary stats (and armor), feats, powers, paragon path and strategy. You can summon your spirit as a minor at will action within 20 squares and it does not go away until dispelled or you dismiss it. Whenever you take a move action you can move it your speed as well and there are other powers that can move it around the field as well. It uses your defenses and can be targetting by melee and ranged attacks and if it takes damage equal to 10 + 1/2 your level then it is dispelled and you take damage equal to 5 + 1/2 your level. If it take less than that it is fine and does not take any other effects like ongoing damage, which means that most of the time it will work as a damage soak if your DM decides to attack it. Your spirit is the main way you make opportunity actions (sort of like OA's for your SC), at will attacks and encounter attacks, it occasionally is the focus of utiltiy and daily powers, and as it provides surge free healing through healing spirit and potentially other bonuses as well. You generally will want it to be next to as many allies and enemies at the same time as possible, but which one to prioritize varies with each spirit. It takes up a square and allies can move through it, while enemies can not. Errata makes it clear you can only have 1 spirit at a time, barring special exceptions like powers that specifically summon a second spirit. See below for a FAQ on spirit companion rules questions. There are five spirits to pick from at character creation and they each give you a different at will opportunity action attack power and an at will attack power. They can benefit from riders from various encounter powers and grant you access to specific feats and paragon paths. Each one also gives you a "spirit boon" which is an extra bonus of some type that can be triggered when an ally (or enemy in the case of watchers) is next to your spirit companion. [u][b]The Five Spirits/Builds:[/b][/u] There is broad charop consensus that you should normally go for an int build, either animist or stalker, with watcher being a good choice only if you have multiple ranged PCs in your party. The con shaman builds have a lot of issues with stats and AC and they don't enable allies' attacks nearly as well as the other 3 builds, though you can make a good enough worldspeaker build in heroic and paragon that treats con as tertiary stat and goes with int as your secondary stat. For hybrid shamans your best choices are animist or watcher depending on party makeup since stalker hybrid builds can't get good at will enabling. I am broadly rating them compared to other leaders based on a variant of what LordDuskBlade uses in his warlord handbook: [b]Healing[/b], [b]Saving throws[/b] (condition removing), [b]Buffing[/b] (Temp Hitpoints, Buffing Attacks, Buffing Defenses) [b]Debuffing Enemies [/b](Attacks, Debuffing Enemies Defenses) [b]Enabling[/b] (Ally Movement, Ally Extra Attacks) Your vast selection of powers can increase of decrease the effectiveness of any of these 5 criteria. [COLOR=#008000] [b][/b][/COLOR][b][COLOR=#800080]Bear/Protector[/COLOR][COLOR=#008000]:[/COLOR][/b][COLOR=#008000][/COLOR] Healing/protection focus and spirit boon heals allies extra when you use a healing power or they use their second wind. Constitution second stat and it is hard to get around that, which causes AC issues. You focus on powers that protect and heal your allies. You generally try to keep your SC close to your allies so that they can benefit from powers that heal or give them a defensive bonus. This is the most defenderish of the builds. My least favorite of all the builds and the weakest of the 5 builds for most charopped parties, though it does have a handful of good powers and options. Your encounter powers focus on healing or defense and some of them can mark enemies. [COLOR=#0000ff][b]Healing[/b] [/COLOR][b]Saving throws [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Buffing[/COLOR] [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Debuffing Enemies[/COLOR] Enabling[/b][/b][/b] [b]Panther/Stalker[/b][COLOR=#008000]:[/COLOR] Damage focus and allies do extra damage to bloodied oppenents with your spirit boon. Intelligence second stat. You focus on powers that do extra damage and help your allies to hit and do more damage. You generally want to keep your SC close to bloodied enemies and try to isolate them or flank for allies. This is the most strikerish of the builds since your encounter powers are sometimes multiattacks and deal relatively high damage. [b]Healing[/b] [b]Saving throws [b][COLOR=#00ccff]Buffing[/COLOR] [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Debuffing Enemies[/COLOR] [COLOR=#0000ff]Enabling[/COLOR][/b][/b][/b] [COLOR=#008000]Eagle/Watcher:[/COLOR] Allied ranged attack focus and spirit boon denies enemy cover from other enemies and allies can treat enemy adjacent to your SC as if they were closest enemy. Dexterity second stat. You focus on powers that help ranged allies, sort of like a warlord for ranged PCs. You generally try to keep your SC close to enemies your ranged allies want to attack. This is in some ways the most party dependent leader build since you really need at least one ally with a ranged basic attack to be effective and it helps to have multiple allies with RBAs. If you have a party with multiple [b][COLOR=#0000ff]allies with RBAs[/COLOR][/b] this is a good choice, but you always need at least one RBA ally. Your encounter powers often move allies or enemies. [b]Healing[/b] [b]Saving throws [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Buffing[/COLOR] [b]Debuffing Enemies [COLOR=#00ffff]Enabling[/COLOR][/b][/b][/b] [b][COLOR=#008000]Worldspeaker:[/COLOR][/b] Control focus and allies get bonus to defenses against opportunity attacks through spirit boon when entering or leaving square adjacent to your SC. Constitution second stat by default which causes AC issues, but you can use Int as your secondary without much problem in heroic and paragon if you want to which solves that and potentially helps your enabling some. You focus on powers that hinder your enemies, especially ones that control movement. You generally want to keep your SC close to enemies to try to control what they do or close to allies trying to avoid OAs. This is the most controllerish build with the SC also acts like a sticky companion. Your encounter powers focus on applying conditions like immobilized or slowed and it has the only way to get a consistently large SC in paragon. Its not that strong in charop terms as far as enabling goes, but I think its spirit is the most fun to use. [b]Healing[/b] [b]Saving throws [b]Buffing [b][COLOR=#00ccff]Debuffing Enemies[/COLOR] [COLOR=#0000ff]Enabling[/COLOR][/b][/b][/b] [b][COLOR=#00ccff]Animist[/COLOR][COLOR=#008000]:[/COLOR][/b] This build is in Dark Sun and is one the most melee enabling focused of the builds with excellent at-will enabling. It is an int focused build with a boon that gives a bonus to saving throws, its opportunity action targets reflex and does damage/grants CA, and its at will lets an ally attack with a bonus to hit and damage and causes your SC to vanish. Its powers focus on ally buffing and enabling and always cause the spirit to dissappear. It can summon the SC as a free action during its turn if, at the start of its turn, the SC is not present. Generally this is what I would consider the strongest shaman build if you have a party with good MBAs. [b]Healing[/b] [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Saving throws[/COLOR] [b][COLOR=#0000ff]Buffing[/COLOR] [b]Debuffing Enemies [COLOR=#00ccff]Enabling[/COLOR][/b][/b][/b] [CENTER][Size=4][b] [u]Basic Job of a Shaman[/u][/b][/size][/CENTER] All leaders have a set of main functions that revolve around providing direct help to their allies: Healing, buffing (providing bonuses to hit, damage, AC, resistances, temp hitpoints etc.), granting saves, granting extra attacks, and movement. What functions shamans are good at depends mostly on their spirit companion (SC) and what powers they select. Most can be good at several of those functions depending on build, although shamans tend to be better at multitarget healing than they are at single target healing. Shamans also tend to be decent to great at ally movement because they have many powers, as well as paragon paths, that grant or enhance ally movement. That makes Agile Opportunist a very good feat for melee allies in paragon if you take some of the ally sliding powers. Your SC is what makes you unique among leaders since it acts as your primary source of attacks and buffs and works as a tactical control option forcing enemies to react to its presence, punishing them in some way if they to move away from it without shifting. Your SC also gives you far greater range than any other leader since you can consistently effect enemies/allies 21 squares away starting at level 1, while most leaders are limited to melee range to 5-10 sqaures for most of their powers. Some bow builds can compete, but even then they generally don't start out with your buffing/healing range. Your SC also acts as damage soak, taking attacks that otherwise would have damaged/hindered you or an ally. Even if your SC is damaged enough to be destroyed, you take less damage than if you had taken the hit directly. Your other job is to damage and hinder enemies, which like your other abilities, varies to a wide extent on your SC choice and power selection. Shamans are a tricky class to play because of the spirit companion. You and your allies will have to function as a team for them to get the full benefit of what you have to offer them. They will need to be aware of where your spirit companion is and try to use it as both a shield from enemies when they need it and as a source of boosts from your spirit boon and other class features. And you will need to position it where it can be as much benefit to your party as possible. This is harder to do than with leaders like a lazer cleric or taclord where positioning is not usually as important, but when you pull it off correctly it also provides benefits that other leaders are unable to provide. You can lead from a great distance (your barbarian decides to charge the enemy 20 squares away from you, but you can still heal him and grant him an attack that round, etc.) and the DM is forced to deal not only with PCs, but with the SC as well (the DM is forced to waste his attack on your SC instead of the barbarian because you put the SC in between the two of them). Related to this, you might see the term "Lazy" in reference to many shaman powers and builds. Lazy means that the power lets an ally attack in place of the shaman. Powers like claws of the eagle and spirit infusion are good examples of this. It is now possible to make a shaman that never makes any attacks on its own if you want to, which instead lets your allies make a lot more attacks. Every shaman wants at least some of these since enabling is a key part of a leader job. [CENTER][Size=4][b] [u]Ability Scores[/u][/b][/size][/CENTER] The basics for a shaman are that you need to shoot for these stats post racial adjustments: at least 18 wisdom, at least 16 in your secondary stat (con, dex, or int), and a 13 in strength if you are a con shaman who wants chain mail. Only some lazy shaman builds (animist or eagle) can afford a starting 16 wisdom post racials. Stat recommendations below are pre racial adjustments. Strength: Contributes to one skill and you do not make melee weapon attacks yourself. Alas you need a 13 str to get chain proficiency so Bear and Worldspeakers can't dump it if they want chian mail. Con should be equal or preferably higher. (protector/world speaker 11-13, others 8-13) [COLOR=#0000ff]Constitution[/COLOR]: You need this for better armor proficiency and Protectors and World Speakers have their riders based on this and Bear shamans for sure need it to be at all worth playing. It also boosts HP and Surges. (protector/world speaker 14-16, others 11-13) [COLOR=#0000ff]Dexterity[/COLOR]: Watcher builds need this for AC and riders. Does not contribute to any class skills, but does effect initiative. Non watchers should probably dump dex unless they get a racial boost to it and boost int since int effects some utilty power riders and your enabling damage. (watchers 14-16, others 8-12) [COLOR=#0000ff]Intelligence[/COLOR]: Stalker spirits and Animists need this high since it helps both AC and various riders. World speakers can use this as a secondary stat as well. It also helps with a couple of class skills and powers that anyone can take. Generally con shamans should take int over dex because of skills and if they want the at will Spirit Infusion, but this is not an absolute (stalkers/animist/sometimes worldspeakers 14-16, others 10-13) [COLOR=#00ccff]Wisdom[/COLOR]: Always needs to be high since you need to hit for your riders to go off most of the time. I think 18 post racial is the sweetspot since that still lets almost any race have at least a 16 in their secondary stat. Lazy shamans can get away with a 16 post racial if they must, but worldspeakers, protectors, and stalkers need a post racial wisdom of at least 18. If you have racial boosts to wis and int/dex, then you should consider a postracial 20 (16-18 for any build). [COLOR=#ff0000]Charisma[/COLOR]: Does not contribute to skills and wisdom buffs your will defense. Only make this 11 if you have a racial boost since you then qualify for some feats you might want. (8-11) [b]Suggested Point Buys:[/b] My preferred basic point buy for a con shaman or a dex/int shaman that wants better AC and NADs (especially if you are using a race with a wisdom bonus) is 16 16 13 11 10 8, with the 16s going into wisdom and your secondary stat. The 13 can go into strength if you need it for armor, or you can use the 11 for that if you have a strength bump. The 13 or 11 not used for strength should go to con for dex/int shamans or dex/int for con shamans. Int/dex shamans can go with a 16 16 12 12 10 8 and put the 12s in con and something else depending on the desire for better AC eventually or other feat prereqs. Worldspeakers have con as a their default secondary stat, but it isn't that important pre-epic since it only effects a handful of powers and your spirit boon and they can use int as a secondary stat if they want to. The other good stat array is mainly for those without a wisdom bonus: 18 14 11 10 10 8. The 18 goes to wisdom, the 14 to your secondary stat (which hopefully has a racial boost since your wisdom did not) and the 11 for strength if you are a con shaman (and hopefully if you are a con shaman you at least got a racial strength boost) or con if you are playing a dex/int shaman. If you are playing a con shaman without a wisdom or a strength bump then 18 13 13 10 10 8 is your best bet since you need your spirit to hit. Stalkers can go with a starting 20 wisdom easier than most other builds if they also get an int bonus since they tend to not have many lazy powers so they will get the most out of a 20 and don't need strength for armor. Bear and Worldspeakers can also get away with a 20 wis 13 str and 15 con if you are playing a race like dwarf or starting in paragon/epic and can lower you strength to a 13 in paragon/epic. Worldspeakers can also go starting 20 wis 16 int 13 con and be fine. In epic that might be frustrating if you want the buffs from the epic tier worldspeaker powers, but before then it will be fine and most PCs never make it that far. Bear shamans need a good con to be at all interesting, which is one reason I don't really like them. Animists with an int bonus, but no wisdom bonus can get away with a starting 18 int/16 wis post racial bumps depending on power choices. Shamans have enough "lazy" powers and powers where hitting is not essential that this can work fine and the int bonus has a lot of good benefits. You can even probably push it to starting 20 int, but the lower your wisdom the less of a threat your spirit will be off turn and the more restrictive your power choices. [b]Shaman's and AC:[/b] See the note about a major fix for this in the cleric MC section and ask you DM if he allows mc clerics to get battle clerics lore. I personally don't think this works RAI, but many other do so ask your DM. Also hybrid cleric works great for this without losing that much if you go watcher or animist. You can't get at will enabling if you go stalker/bear/worldspeaker hybrid however. [b]A long note about Shamans, Abilities Scores, and AC[/b] [sblock] By default many shamans have some of the lowest AC in the game for a leader and your spirit companion has the same AC as you so all shamans should at least spend one feat on improving their AC. Shamans are the only leader that does not get hide or chain proficiency. If you are playing a shaman with int/dex as your secondary stat then your main question is whether or not you want to spend a feat and stat points on hide armor or light shield proficiency and then hide armor or shield specialization later on. Shield specialization is probably out of reach for stalkers/animists who most likely won't have the dex for it and if you have any other feats that give you a feat bonus to reflex shield specialization will only boost your AC. World speakers should seriously consider going int secondary to address this issue. Shield proficiency requires str of 13 just like hide/chain and shields also mean you can not wield a second totem. You can still hold an implement in your off hand while using a light shield and gain its properties according to the [URL=http://wizards.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wizards.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1396]official FAQ[/URL]. If you have a decent strength then light shield proficieny is not a bad choice if you really want to buff your defenses and have a free hand and free feat. Another option is to spend a feat for weapon proficiency parrying dagger (AV1) or cutting wheel (EPG) which will boost your AC by 1. Getting a Rythm blade enchantment (AV2 and if your dm allows it) will up that by another 1. This option does not have any stat prereqs, but you also can not hold a second totem in that hand and there are several great offhand totems like the totemic spear. Hafted Defense from PHB3 works if you use a longspear for your totem or mc for a staff implement. Small PCs should consider multiclassing fighter to pick up Small Warrior's Defense if they are going to use a versatile totemic spear. If you are playing a shaman with Con as your second stat then you have a problem since your AC will lag behind with only leather armor, leaving you and your SC vulnerable to more damage. So you have two basic choices: You can do nothing and accept that you and your SC will have low AC or poor riders or you can start with a 13 strength and spend 1 feat to get chain proficiency. For scale it takes 2 feats and you will probably not be able to get the specialization feats since your dex will probably be too low. If you hybrid with a class that lets you pick up a shield or heavy armor proficiency you should consider taking that hybrid talent feat since you do not need to have the strength to qualify for the feat. Lots of stat arrays can qualify for a 13 str without too much trouble, but my favorite for most shaman builds is a 16 16 13 11 10 8, with the 13 in strength if you are not from a str boosting race or the 11 in str if you are from a str boosting race. Aside from armor/shield proficiencies the shaman does not need more than 13 post racials in strength. For watcher/stalkers a starting array of 12/12 for strength and con lets you qualify for hide/shield at paragon and if you start your campaign in paragon or epic dump your strength so that you only have a 13 when you start. I used to have a big chart and paragraph here about the value of hide armor expertise and second skin. But post errata con shamans should just get heavy armor. [/sblock] [CENTER][Size=4][b][u]Spirit Companion FAQ[/u][/b][/size][/CENTER] Is it a conjuration? Is it an ally? Does it have to be a bear or can I make mine a giant otter? There is disagreement and some people get confused about just how the spirit companion works so this will be a compiled list of common questions, with my answers and reasoning. There is now a rules Q&A thread based on this FAQ [URL=/go/thread/view/75882/22949629/Shaman_Spirit_Companion_FAQ]here[/URL] and I tend to keep it a bit more up to date than what follows. [b]Q & A[/b] [sblock] Here is a link to a [URL=http://www.wizards.com/dnd/downloads/dragon/387/387_Shaman_Basics.pdf]dragon article 387[/URL]about shamans for DDI subscribers which has statements on spirit companion rules that I mention below several times. SC=Spirit companion, PHB=Players Handbook, PP=primal power DS=Dark Sun OA=opportunity attack RAW=rules as written RAI=Rules as intended [b]Q; Where are the rules about conjurations?[/b] A: Page 120 of the PHB2 has the SC companion rules. Page 219 and 220 in PHB2 have updated conjuration rules and they slightly expand on the rules in PHB1 page 59. [b]Q: What does the spirit keyword mean?[/b] A: From Page 220 of PHB2: "You can use a spirit power only if your spirit companion is present in the encounter. If a spirit power includes “spirit” in its range, you determine line of sight and line of effect from your spirit companion’s space, which is the power’s origin square." [b]Q: Does my SC occupy a square? Who can move through it?[/b] A: Yes it does occupy a square, unlike most conjurations. Your allies can move through it, but can not end their turn in the same square. You enemies can not move through it. See PHB2 p 120. [b]Q: Does my SC provoke OA?[/b] A: No. The [URL=http://wizards.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wizards.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1695]PHB2 FAQ[/URL]says it does not provoke OA. The reasoning is that only creatures provoke OA and your SC is not a creature. [b]Q: When does my SC get to make an OA?[/b] A: Technically your SC never makes an OA. He has an attack that functions as an opportunity action. He gets to make that attack only when an enemy moves away from it without shifting. Note that "Forced movement does not provoke opportunity attacks or other opportunity actions" according to page 285 of the PHB. The updated rules say teleportation does not provoke. Ranged powers also do not provoke attacks from SCs. Remember that it is always you making the attack and that the SC is a proxy or a puppet that you are attacking through, so if you are stunned, dazed etc. you don't get to take the opportunity action. [b]Q: How fast does my SC move? Can it Shift? What happens when I am slowed? What happens if I am immobilized? What about difficult terrain?[/b] A: It moves up to your move speed when you take a move action. It can not shift, but for the most part that does not matter since it does not provoke OA. If you are slowed, you movement drops to 2 and therefore your SC can only move 2. Immobilization does not cause you to loose your move actions and technically does not reduce your speed, so you should be able to move it, but ask your DM. Page 220 of PHB2 says conjurations are not effected by difficult terrain. [b]Q: Can my SC be pushed, pulled, slid, slowed, stunned, dazed, blinded, deafened, petrified, or take ongoing damage?[/b] A; No. It can only be damaged and only you can move it according to the rules on page 120 of PHB2. If it takes 10 + 1/2 your level in damage then it is dismissed and you take damage equal to 5 +1/2 your level [b]Q: Is my spirit an ally?[/b] A: No. Conjurations are not allies, but some powers and feats may let it do things normally only allies can do like flank or provide cover. [b]Q: If I have combat advantage against an enemy does the +2 bonus apply to attacks I make through my spirit companion?[/b] A: Yes. For instance if the shaman is flanking an enemy he gets a +2 bonus to all attacks against that enemy. That includes attacks from conjurations since the rules provide for no exception to this. See pages 279 and 285 in the PHB for the relevant rules: "You gain a +2 bonus to your attack roll when you have combat advantage against a target". [b]Q: If I am being flanked or if someone has combat advantage against me for another reason does the bonus also apply to the companion?[/b] A: No. The bonus applies to attack rolls against that particular target. It does not lower your defenses and the spirit companion is a different target. [b]Q: I know my SC can’t be effected by conditions but what happens to my SC if my shaman is effected by one of these conditions?[/b] [b]conditions[/b] [sblock] Blind: This does effect the spirit like blinded normally does, because the SC has no senses of its own. So if the shaman is blind and enemies succeed with stealth checks against his passive perception (-10) and that effects his spirit attacks equally. The attacks still have -5 for total concealment, because the shaman actually makes the attack. The rules say nothing about the SC being able to make perception checks on its own. Dazed: Works as normal. You can take only one action. Though if it is a move action, you both can move. This is why sudden call/nimble spirit are such good feats. Immobilized: You can't move, but you can still take move actions, which means you can move your SC. Marked: Works as normal. Even if you attack through your SC, it would still be -2 to hit a target other than the one that marked you. And since the PC is one marked if the PC attacks a target other than the one that marked it any mark punishment will be directed against the PC. Dying/Petrified/Unconscious: Your SC is dismissed since you must be conscious for it to remain summoned Prone: While prone you get a -2 to all attacks, including spirit attacks. The shaman grants CA to melee attacks, but the spirit can’t grant CA. The SC gets a +2 bonus to defenses against all ranged attacks from enemies not adjacent to the shaman since the shaman gets that bonus. Some DMs may rule otherwise on that last point, since that sounds a bit weird, but I think the SC gets all conditional defensive bonuses that the shaman gets. Restrained: Same as immobilized, but you get a -2 to attack through your spirit too. Slowed: Your SC has your movement speed, so you both can only move 2. Stunned: Nothing happens to the SC, but you can’t move it or attack with it. Weakened: Your SC attacks do half damage. [/sblock] [/sblock] [b]Q: How many SCs can I have active at a time?[/b] A: One, unless you have a specific power or ability that lets you summon a second one. The October 2010 errata confirmed this. [b][b]Q: Can I dismiss my SC and then bring it back the same round in some other location?[/b][/b] A: Yes. Normally that requires 2 minor actions unless you have one of the feats mentioned below that let you summon it as a free action or you are an animist. (The march 2010 Errata makes it so that you can dismiss and then recall the SC as one action. Then they undid the march 2010 errata in the October 2010 errata so it is back to 2 minor actions) [b]Q: So what's the deal with the feats Sudden Call (PP) and Nimble Spirit (PHB2)?[/b] A: They used to be pretty much the same, but they issued errata to make sudden call work only 1/encounter, so you should retrain it to nimble spirit in paragon. See page 267 of the PHBs for a full explanation of free actions. And you can only summon your SC during your turn with or without these feats. The other main difference is that mc shamans can't take nimble spirit, while hybrid and pure shamans can take both nimble spirit or sudden call. [b]Q: When can I summon my SC?[/b] A: Only during your turn. Either it takes a minor action which has to be on your turn or it if you have a feats like sudden call or nimble spirit, it is a free action on your turn. Animists can summon it as a free action during their turn if it was not present at the beginning of the turn. You can also ready an action to summon it on a trigger, but that will be the only action you can do since readying an action only grants you one action. MC shamans always need a standard action to summon the spirit unless they take sudden call. [b]Q: When does my SC disappear with powers like Spirit Infusion (DS)? Can I bring it back in the middle of the attack with a free action if I have a feat like Nimble Spirit?[/b] This is up to your DM (free actions can always be limited by the DM) and it depends on the power. For most them it looks like the first thing that happens with the power is the the spirit disappears right away since it is the first line in the effect. That means that your boosts to allies do not apply if they require your SC to be adjacent to them, so allies would not get any additional boosts when making a Spirit Infusion triggered basic attack. The rules do not say you can't use a free action in the middle of an attack, but again some DMs may not allow it and in general the answer to this question is ask your DM. [b]Q; Can my SC fly?[/b] A: Maybe. It can float and does not need to be supported by a solid surface. But no rules say it can fly and customer service has been pretty consistent in saying it can't. However, Dragon 387 article on shamans states: "[COLOR=#202123][SIZE=x-small][SIZE=x-small][SIZE=x-small]This means when it moves, it ignores difficult terrain and can move vertically and horizontally." [/SIZE][/COLOR][/SIZE][/SIZE] [b]Q; How far away can my SC go and still be sustained?[/b] A: It needs to be within 20 squares of you at the end of your turn for you to sustain it. There has been a lot of debate about this, but the new rules compendium clarified it with this comment on page 120: "A close power's range rarely matters. If it is ever relevant, the number given for the size also functions as the range" This used to be the biggest rules argument about shamans before the rules compendium came out. [b]Q: Do I need line of sight or line of effect when using spirit powers?[/b] A: Normally with conjurations you need line of sight to use a power, but with SCs it is different and you use your SC to determine line of sight. You determine also line of effect from your SC. See page 220 of PHB2 [b]Q: Can my SC be damaged by area/close attacks or zones?[/b] A: No. According to page 120 in PHB2 it can only be damaged by ranged or melee attacks. And you only have to worry about damage from one attack at a time. [b]Q: Can my SC flank?[/b] A: Not normally. Some powers like stalker's strike let it flank, which implies that it normally can't flank. [b]Q: Can the spirit companion be flanked?[/b] A: No. This is a bit of complicated reasoning, but to be flanked the target needs to be a creature as defined by the PHB 57. Your SC is not a creature and therefore can not be flanked. [b]Q: If I use healing spirit on two allies who are both next to my bear spirit companion, do both get the additional hp from my spirit boon or does only one get it?[/b] A: Yes. WOTC has not answered the question with a FAQ, but [URL=/go/thread/view/75882/19685882/Consolidated_Customer_Service_Answers&post_num=537#349350525]customer service[/URL]says yes pretty consistently. The players stragtegy guide says yes as well (I believe in chapter 3, but I don't own the book myself). [b]Q: What if I have the feat Vigorous Spirit (PP) and heal 1 ally and a second ally adjacent to my SC? Do both get the extra healing from my wisdom modifier?[/b] A: No. That feat says "the target regains additional hitpoints". The only target of healing spirit is "you or one ally in burst", the second character adjacent to your SC who gets the extra d6s of healing is not a target. [b]Q: Can my spirit companion make skill checks? Can it be stealthy or notice things with perception?[/b] A: Ask your DM, but the rules are pretty silent on this from what I can tell. My first RAW answer is no since it does not have any ability scores and is not a creature. It uses your ability scores for determining the outcome of attacks, but it does not mention on page 59 of the PHB or 220 in the PHB2 that it uses your scores for skill checks. But for things like stealth and passive perception checks you can argue that RAI it is reasonable for it to make some checks using your skills since you can get line of site from it. [b]Q: Does it have to be a bear or can I make mine a giant otter?[/b] A: Make it whatever animal you want. [/sblock] [/QUOTE]
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