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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Greybird" data-source="post: 7677181" data-attributes="member: 84152">I agree that it should be its own class, but I really don't want to see 5E get bogged down with dozens of classes.  Class options, yes. Anyway, 'shaman' is actually nearly as abused as 'witch doctor.'  Technically only the people of one culture (native to the northern Asia/Siberia area) are shaman.  If you want to see someone ticked off, call a Native American medicine man a 'shaman', even though what they do falls within the anthropological category of 'shamanistic.'Part of the reasoning behind my suggesting Warlock is that in many shamanistic cultures, the practitioner is A) chosen by the spirits rather than choosing the path, and B) while some spirits are seen as allies to the shaman, others are antagonistic, forced into service through willpower and skill.  There are lots of examples of spirit allies who only serve the shaman after he dominates them.  It is a very powerful give-and-take between two forces - the shaman and the spirits.  Likewise, there are certain roles that the cultural shaman typically fulfills.  He is a counselor, advising the people.  He is a healer and a protector.  He is also often an aggressive opponent, cursing, sickening, and even killing other shaman and members of opposing tribes.  As an aside, he is also often a showman, conducting elaborate rituals purely for the psychological impact on the subject (although this isn't often mentioned openly.)  Some traditional shaman have basically said (paraphrasing) that a lot of what they do is by tricking the sick person into healing themselves, ie triggering the placebo effect.  While I shaman may be wise, it is his personality that keeps things going.  That tells me charisma.  I considered sorcerer (and it would certainly be a decent option), but chose warlock simply because of the more aggressive options combined with the theme of working with external entity with its own agenda that may or may not agree with the caster's.  The fact that they can stand on their own in combat fits, too.</blockquote>

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