Surviving as a Shaman

[fba827]

if you're more concerned about AC than 'to hit' then make Int your "better" score.
(i.e. if you started with 16, 16, 12, 12, 10, 8 instead of giving your human +2 to wis, give it +2 to Int). This will give you a comparative +1 to AC and to stalker-specific effects in your powers. Of course, the expense is at a -1 to hit and other wis-based effects (compared to if you were to give the extra ability points to wisdom).

 

[boar]

Shamans have standard non-defender hitpoints (12 + con, 5 per level) and better than baseline surges (7), so I assume that your concern over their squishiness has to do with their AC. Is that correct?

If so, how much AC would you need in order to feel good about the character? The 12-12-16-16 array is a good suggestion. With Hide and Light Shield Proficiency, your base AC is 17, which is typical non-defender territory.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Even AC 15 is not too squishy. 16 is average. Chain shirt and nothing more. Everything above is good. AC 15 with a defender next to you means AC 17. Some strikers which are supposed to be in melee have not much better AC (melee ranger have 16 at best)

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Even AC 15 is not too squishy. 16 is average. Chain shirt and nothing more. Everything above is good. AC 15 with a defender next to you means AC 17. Some strikers which are supposed to be in melee have not much better AC (melee ranger have 16 at best)

Well, at level 1 yeah, a 15 on a leader that doesn't get in the front line is not too uncommon. Its still about as bad as you can start out at practically speaking with any character.

AC26 or so at level 13, not too bad and quite within reach without major compromise for your type of character. At least he'll avoid some serious damage. The worst thing you have to worry about is FORT, but it is less critical than ref and will for PCs luckily. Maybe pick up some kind of defensive arms slot item or neck slot item. Personally I can't think of any reason whatsoever for a shaman to ever pick up a weapon. If you feel exceptionally naked without one then pick up a spiked shield, its marginally better than using your fist to do an OA, even without proficiency.

Really you're no worse off than most wizards defensively. They have the option of the Shield spell, which helps, but at least you can heal yourself in a pinch.

Depending on the composition of the party you might consider going with Eagle Shaman. It has NO secondary stat at all, which means you're free to spread your points around a lot and consequently you can optimize for defense and even build yourself as a fairly good melee capable leader decked out in chain and shield or Hide plus shield and hide expertise. In that case the totem-weapons become appealing. Of course this build is really only going to be ideal if you have bow rangers and warlocks in the party.

 

[yesnomu]

Eagle encounter powers are based on dex, some pretty heavily. Don't tank it if you go that way.

Don't really have any experience with a Stalker Shaman, but I've played a Wizard, which has roughly equivalent AC. Staying back, as mentioned, will be important. Antipathy Gloves can help, and maybe Boots of Eagerness as well, for an extra move every encounter.

Also, while healing is not your priority, a Healer's Brooch and Mace of Healing can be very handy, as they'll boost the healing for both targets of Healing Spirit. Vigorous Spirit and Strengthening Spirit can both be nice as well. And don't forget Stalker Spirit Adept, that free shift can save the squishies' lives.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Eagle encounter powers are based on dex, some pretty heavily. Don't tank it if you go that way.

Don't really have any experience with a Stalker Shaman, but I've played a Wizard, which has roughly equivalent AC. Staying back, as mentioned, will be important. Antipathy Gloves can help, and maybe Boots of Eagerness as well, for an extra move every encounter.

Also, while healing is not your priority, a Healer's Brooch and Mace of Healing can be very handy, as they'll boost the healing for both targets of Healing Spirit. Vigorous Spirit and Strengthening Spirit can both be nice as well. And don't forget Stalker Spirit Adept, that free shift can save the squishies' lives.

I see next to nothing in terms of dex based secondary use in Eagle Shaman. There are a few and they are probably decent ones to have, but without actually building one out I wouldn't say at first look that dex is that big a deal. OTOH a WIS/DEX build is perfectly sensible and you might even get some decent use out of a ranged weapon with some clever MCing. Given the very limited amount of experience people have with PP builds its still a bit hard to tell what is optimal. Just thought it might be an interesting option that should definitely manage a higher AC than Stalker but still seems mostly offensive.

 

[Felon]

First off, thanks for all the advice.

As to what I would deem an acceptable AC, here's the situation: the party has a fighter, a dual-weapon ranger, and a wizard, plus a paladin with less-than-reliable attendance. The ranger and fighter have feated themselves up to be wearing plate, and the wizard has an "unseen mage" or somesuch PP, so He's milking invisibility pretty consistently. Usually that leaves me a prime candidate for the "whipping-boy" position when there's ranged attackers who can shoot past the front line.

So here's what I've got at the moment:

AC: 26 Fort: 25 Reflex: 25 Will: 27
HP: 95 Surges: 8 Surge Value: 23

FEATS
Human: Human Nature Lore (retrained to Armor Proficiency (Hide) at Level 11)
Level 1: Resilient Spirit
Level 2: Toughness
Level 4: Implement Expertise (totem)
Level 6: Durable (retrained to Shield Proficiency (Light) at Level 12)
Level 8: Action Surge
Level 10: Sudden Call
Level 11: Combat Anticipation
Level 12: Paragon Defenses

ITEMS
Cloak of Distortion +3, Light Shield, Earthhide Armor of Resistance +3, Totemic Warclub Club +3

 

[chitzk0i]

This is a good example of why purely tactical advice is a crapshoot, because it's so heavily governed by personal experiences that other people can't make bank on. Your perception that monsters usually only attack the nearest target is based on observing the tactics of the DM's you've played with. The DM I'll be playing with believes (as I do) that a ranged attacker should consider all targets within its range to be fair game.

Ranged attackers are going to do what they're going to do and the only solution to them is tactical advice for the other members of the party. There's not all that much you can do about them other than say, "I'm giving buffs to people who attack the archer."

In our games, the monsters rarely just pick someone and pound on them for no reason. Monsters that can pick their targets choose the character that seems the most threatening and shamans just aren't that threatening. Our defenders and strikers go for big damage, which means the artillery usually try to focus them down.

As a shaman, your healing is split between two targets. This has the curious side effect of not grabbing as much attention. Your main heal grants a flat surge or most of a free surge which isn't going to make a huge difference in the tank's condition. If you were a cleric, you'd probably toss him a surge+3d6+5, enough that monsters will catch on and say, "There's an awesome healer keeping him up, we better take that guy out!"

So I guess it does come to to factors in my gaming experience. If your defenders and strikers can't put out enough damage to grab attention and your controller can't put control on the artillery, yeah, you're basically screwed.

 

[Turtlejay]

How about magic item advice? The cloak of distortion is still really good for you, even after the nerf. You should usually be far enough away for it to kick in.

Jay

 

[chitzk0i]

details

Ohhh. Hmm. The simplest thing you can do is buddy up with your fighter friend and get cover from him. The next step would be to talk the ranger into using his mobility to threaten the ranged attackers. Another possibility is to talk to the wizard and see if he has or can take some powers to debuff the artillery or slide them closer to the fighter. In any case, the claws of the eagle power can help the fighter finish off the monsters' front line, help the wizard magic missile the artillery, or help the ranger deal damage to it.

As for powers, look for some buffing zones to help your some defenses. Stone root spirit (D1), Shield of the Immortal Forest (U10), Spirits of the Shadowed Moon (U10)+stealth, Howling Gust (E13) look useful here.