Shugenja questions

[Essedarius]

Hi im new to this place and D&D im playing Eberron and my friend is a Shugenja now our DM i guess gave him that as a class option now i got a few questions

1) is Shugenja mentioned anywhere other then Oriental Adventures or The Complete divine?

2) is it just me or is Shugenja just an Oriental version of the Druid if so could you technicly use the Druid class as Reference for Shugenja?

3) if there is a greater difference then explaine

4) i know that the DM can do what he wishes but would a Shugenja normal appere in Eberron hell forget normaly would he ever appere in there


ok got to run thanks!!

 

[UltimaGabe]

I could be wrong, but I believe the Shugenja is more of a Cleric than a Druid.

 

[argo]

The shugenja is closer to a divine sorcorer than anything else: 1/2 BAB, spontaneous casting and the sorcorer spells per day. It is true that they have healing spells but they also have some good blast spells. In the Rokugan setting they are the default spellcasters in the empire, shamans and wu-jen are oddities. Shugenja also have a strong elemental focus and their spell list is defined by Air, Earth, Water, Fire and Void spells. A shugenja specalizes in one element and is barred from using spells of his opposing element. The arcane/divine schism is downplayed in OA, elements and spirits are the focus instead.

The Shaman is the OA class that is closest in appearance to a Druid although you most certainly could not use the druid class progression as a refrence for it. Matter of fact it is probably never a good idea to say "you could use class ___ as a refrence for class _____" because the purpose of most base classes is usually to be rather different from most other base classes.

As to your last question, you said it yourself the DM can do what he wants. If he feels that a shugenja is ok in Eberon then a shugenja is ok in Eberon.

Hope that helps.

 

[Arkhandus]

1) No.

2) No.

3) Shugenja are elemental priests, not too much like clerics nor too much like druids. A Shugenja is a spontaneous divine spellcaster, who has a slightly different arrangement of spells known and per day compared to sorcerers. Shugenja are required to choose an Elemental Focus, either Air, Earth, Fire, or Water, and they gain free Spell Focus with their chosen element, but are banned from the opposing element. I.e. an earth Shugenja can learn and cast spells of the earth, fire, and water elements, but not of the air element. Shugenja have their own spell list. Air spells include not only air and wind stuff but also various illusions and mobility spells. Earth spells include earth elemental stuff as well as defensive, constructive, and a bit of destruction. Fire spells are generally destructive, with a few producing light, mental attacks, or combat enhancements. Water spells include water-elemental and healing magic, plus a bit of general cleric-like stuff. So a Shugenja is defined by their chosen element and the associated elements. Shugenja have no turning or rebuking ability, no domains, slightly weaker hit dice than clerics, and slightly better skills than a cleric.

4) Shugenja could potentially appear in Eberron. They're not part of the official setting, but they would probably be possible, if the DM says so. I don't know if Eberron has any animist (spirit-based rather than deity-based) religions, but even if not, Shugenja in Eberron could be devoted to relevent elemental or nature deities, i.e. fire Shugenja could be followers of a fire god, water Shugenja could be priests of a water goddess, etc. Their Spirit Tongue or Kami language could probably be replaced with Celestial, Sylvan, or one of the elemental languages (Aquan, Auran, Ignan, or Terran, as appropriate). Shugenja can be any alignment, but the spirits they utilize are inherantly neutral or indifferent for the most part, so the spirits wouldn't likely understand Abyssal or Infernal.

 

[Li Shenron]

2) is it just me or is Shugenja just an Oriental version of the Druid if so could you technicly use the Druid class as Reference for Shugenja?

3) if there is a greater difference then explaine

IMO the Shugenja is basically a highly educated magician, focused on the magic inspired by one signature element.

It is a spontaneous caster, like a sorcerer, but while (at least in OA) a sorcerer is mostly someone who learns magic by himself, and often secretly or even living as an outcast, a shugenja is trained in a traditional school and as such is closer to the idea of a wizard rather than a sorcerer.
In Rokugan (and maybe in other OA settings) it is very honorable to be a shugenja, possibly second only to be a samurai, and eventually it is seen as the highest form of magic.

The association with an element doesn't end with energy spells but goes further into more abstract connections. For example, water magic doesn't just create and control water stuff, but also grants healing powers; air magic doesn't just manipulate air and help movement but also deals with divinations, and so on... A druid's connection with elements is usually more related to their material/natural existence, rather than the phylosophical meanings.

It is said to be a divine caster, but it's very unlike a cleric. In OA religion is completely different, as it is not a matter of "which side are you on" (like it mostly is in classic D&D settings) and in fact there are no patron deities for divine casters. The whole divine/arcane separation has little meaning in OA, but of course it retains the in-game differences, most notably regarding ASF.

In conclusion, game-wise the shugenja may seem a cross between a cleric or a druid and a sorcerer, but the character concept IMHO is none of the three. If it must be compared to one core class, the closest one in concept is probably the wizard (although its in-game abilities are effectively quite different).