Shaman

Brandishing his spiritual weapon and enchanting
it with the power of the elements, a young dwarf
engages battle against his ancestral foes.

With a quick gesture, the old elf in tribal garb
summons a totem, and uses it to protect her allies
against the attacking hobgoblin hordes.

After their leader was slain in battle, an old orc
communes with the spirits of his ancestors to
learn the fate of his tribe, and who is to be their
new chief.

Shamans are oracles and warriors, in contact
with the spirits of the world around them. It is
through these spirits that shamans gain access
to magical effects both subtle and spectacular.
Drawing on the ancient knowledge of their
forebears, they guide their people into the
unknowns of tomorrow.

Speaker for the Spirits

Shamans are speakers for the spirits, oracles, and
the connection between the departed and the living.
They are called by spirits of different aspects of
the world around. This calling is something each
shaman must feel and can not be forced. Usually, the
spirits have a purpose in mind, that the shaman must
fulfill. Other times, they just want to guide their former
community and see their heritage protected.

Heeding the Call

Once a person has felt a calling of a particular spirit, she must answer them and take up her place as shaman for that spiritual aspect. Answering the call is usually done through rituals and meditation, and the shaman will know when the spirit has heard the answer.

Most often, the spirits grant the shaman magical powers to fulfill their purpose, though the shaman has some choice in the kind of powers they want to wield. Be it brutal strength, elemental magic or the power to receive a glimpse of things yet to come.

Creating a Shaman

Think about the spirits that called you, and your spirit guide. Who were they, why did they have need of a shaman, and why did they choose you? Did a long dead ancestor reach through the veil to contact you, or was it the lingering spirit of someone recently deceased, that could not find peace? Or even an elemental spirit, embodying one of the fundamentals of natural order. Did you already have a connection to the spiritual, or were you surprised, and maybe even hesitant when you felt the calling?

Work with your DM to determine how big a part your spirit guide will play in your character's adventuring career. Your spirit guide might have a task or quest for you to fulfill, or they might not. They might contact you frequently or leave it to you to commune with them.

Quick Build

You can make a shaman quickly by following these suggestions. First. Charisma should be your highest ability score, followed by Constitution. Second, choose the outlander background. Third. Choose the guidance and shocking grasp cantrips, along with the 1st-level spells cure wounds and thunderwave.

Class Features

As a shaman, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

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• Hit Dice: 1d8 per shaman level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per shaman level after 1st

Proficiencies

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• Armor: Light armor, medium armor, shields
• Weapons: All simple weapons
• Tools: Herbalism kit

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• Saving Throws: Wisdom, Charisma
• Skills: Choose two skills from Animal Handling, Insight, Medicine, Nature, Perception, Religion, and Survival.

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) a wooden shield or (b) any simple weapon
• Any simple melee weapon
• Leather armor, an explorer's pack, and a ritual totem

Spirit Guide

At 1st level, you have felt the calling of a spiritual aspect of your choice: the ancestors, the spirits of nature, or the elements, each of which is detailed at the end of the class description. Your choice grants you features at 1st level and again at 6th, 10th, and 14th level.

Spirit Magic

Through your ritualistic communion with the spirits, you can cast spells to influence the world around you. See chapter 10 of the Player's Handbook for the general rules of spellcasting and the section at the end of the class description for the shaman spell list.

Cantrips

You know two cantrips of your choice from the shaman spell list. You learn additional shaman cantrips of your choice at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Shaman table.

Spell Slots

The Shaman table shows how many spell slots you have. The table also shows what the level of those slots is; all of your spell slots are the same level. To cast one of your shaman spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend a spell slot. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a short or long rest.

For example, when you are 5th level, you have two 3rd-level spell slots. To cast the 1st-level spell thunderwave, you must spend one of those slots, and you cast it as a 3rd-level spell.

Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

At 1st level, you know two 1st-level spells of your choice from the shaman spell list. The Spells Known column of the Shaman table shows when you learn more shaman spells of your choice of lst level and higher. A spell you choose must be of a level no higher than what's shown in the table's Slot Level column for your level. When you reach 6th level, for example, you learn a new shaman spell, which can be 1st, 2nd, or 3rd level.

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the shaman spells you know and replace it with another spell from the shaman spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

Spellcasting Ability

Charisma is your spellcasting ability for your shaman spells, so you use your Charisma whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Charisma modifier when setting the saving throw DC of a shaman spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier

Ritual Casting

You can cast any shaman spell you know as a ritual if that spell has the ritual tag.

Spellcasting Focus

You can use a ritual totem as a spellcasting focus for your shaman spells.

Shamanistic Invocations

In your dealings with spirits, you have been granted shamanistic invocations, fragments of ancient knowledge that imbue you with abiding magical ability.

At 2nd level, you gain two shamanistic invocations of your choice. Your invocation options are detailed at the end of the class description. When you gain certain shaman levels, you gain additional invocations of your choice, as shown in the Invocations Known column of the Shaman table.

Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the invocations you know and replace it with another invocation that you could learn at that level.

Gift from the Spirits

At 3rd level, your spirit guide bestows a gift upon you, to mark your calling. You gain one of the following features of your choice.

Gift of Savagery

You can use your action to create a spirit weapon in your empty hand. You can choose the form that this melee weapon takes each time you create it, from a wooden club to a ghostly claw. It deals 1d8 damage and your choice of shape determines whether it is bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage. Your spirit weapon has the light property, you are proficient with it while you wield it and you can use it as your spellcasting focus. It counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Your spirit weapon disappears if it is more than 5 feet away from you for 1 minute or more. It also disappears if you use this feature again, if you dismiss the weapon (no action required), or you die.

Gift of Soothsaying

When you finish a long rest, roll two d20s and record the numbers rolled. You can replace any attack roll, saving throw, or ability check made by you or a creature that you can see with one of these foretelling rolls. You must choose to do so before the roll, and you can replace a roll in this way only once per turn.

Each foretelling roll can be used only once. When you finish a long rest, you lose any unused foretelling rolls.

Additionally, you learn the find familiar spell, which doesn't count against your number of spells known.

Gift of Storms

You learn the acid splash, fire bolt, frostbite, and thunderclap cantrips and can cast them at will. They count as shaman cantrips for you and they don't count against your number of cantrips known.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2 or two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase any score above 20 with this feature.

Ancestral Knowledge

At 11th level, your spirit guide bestows upon you a piece of forgotten knowledge. Choose one 6th-level spell from the shaman spell list as this ancestral knowledge.

You can cast your ancestral knowledge spell once without expending a spell slot. You must finish a long rest before you can do so again.

At higher levels, you gain more shaman spells of your choice that can be cast in this way: one 7th-level spell at 13th level, one 8th-level spell at 15th level, and one 9th level spell at 17th level. You regain all uses of your Ancestral Knowledge when you finish a long rest.

Spiritual Master

At 20th level, you can draw on your inner reserve of spiritual power while beseeching your spirit guide to regain expended spell slots. You can spend 1 minute beseeching your spirit guide for aid to regain all your expended spell slots from your Spirit Magic feature. Once you regain spell slots with this feature, you must finish a long rest before you can do so again.

Spirit Guides

The beings that call shamans and serve as their spirit guides can be local, wild spirits, lingering ancestors, or inhabitants of other planes of existence. Various callings give shamans access to different powers and invocations, and the spirits don't always expect something in return. Some spirits might need a specific task completed, perhaps something they did not finish before departing. Others might simply want to protect their descendants or successors, and guide them on their way.

The Ancestors

Your spirit guide is the lingering spirit of one of your forebears. Whether long dead or recently departed, they must have a reason for calling you. Your spirit guide grants you the following features.

Expanded Spell List

The Ancestors let you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a shaman spell. The following spells are added to the shaman spell list for you.

Spell Level	Spells
1st	inflict wounds, unseen servant
2rd	blindness/deafness, gentle repose
3th	feign death, magic circle
4th	banishment, blight
5th	antilife shell, legend lore

Call of the Ancestors

Starting at 1st level, you walk among your ancestors as equal. You learn the spare the dying cantrip, which counts as a shaman cantrip for you, but doesn't count against your number of cantrips known. You also have advantage on saving throws against any disease.

Additionally, undead have difficulty harming you. If an undead targets you directly with an attack or a harmful spell, that creature must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC (an undead needn't make the save when it includes you in an area effect, such as the explosion of fireball). On a failed save, the creature must choose a new target or forfeit targeting someone instead of you, potentially wasting the attack or spell. On a successful save, the creature is immune to this effect for 24 hours. An undead is also immune to this effect for 24 hours if you target it with an attack or a harmful spell.

Ancestral Guidance

Starting at 6th level, you can call on your forebears to guide you in your endeavours. When you make an ability check or a saving throw, you can use this feature to add a d10 to your roll. You can do so after seeing the initial roll but before any of the roll's effects occur.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Spiritwalker's Fortitude

At 10th level, your spirit guide grants you a protective blessing. You gain advantage on death saving throws, immunity to the frightened condition, and resistance to necrotic damage.

Reincarnation

Starting at 14th level, your ancestors allow you to resurrect yourself if you correctly foretell your own death. When you finish a long rest, you may state a specific creature or set of circumstances that you expect will be responsible for, or involved in your death within the next 24 hours.

If you die within 24 hours of your statement and the circumstances of your death are similar enough to your foretelling (DM's discretion), then you are resurrected, as per the resurrection spell, one minute after your death.

You can't benefit from this feature again until you finish a long rest, at which point you must foretell your death again.

The Spirits of Nature

Your spirit guide is a protective spirit of nature. They might have called you to protect a sacred site, an aspect of nature or to cure someone of importance to the natural order of things. Your spirit guide grants you the following features.

Expanded Spell List

The Spirits of Nature let you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a shaman spell. The following spells are added to the shaman spell list for you.

Spell Level	Spells
1st	goodberry, healing word
2rd	barkskin, spike growth
3th	plant growth, protection from energy
4th	dominate beast, grasping vine
5th	insect plague, tree stride

Totemic Protection

Starting at 1st level, your spirit guide has gifted you magical totems, enchanted with protective magic. You have one totem at 1st level. You gain an additional totem at 9th and another at 18th level. You regain expended totems when you finish a short or long rest.

As an action, you can place a totem in an unoccupied space that you can see within 30 feet of you. The totem lasts for 1 minute, until you place another totem, or until it reaches 0 hit points. Its AC is equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier and it has hit points equal to your shaman level. Additionally, it is immune to psychic and poison damage and damage from attacks that do not specifically target it.

On each of your turns while the totem is alive, you can use your bonus action to cause it to give one creature within 30 feet of it temporary hit point equal to 1d4 + half your shaman level (rounded up).

Astral Shift

Starting at 6th level, you can briefly shift into the Astral Plane to protect yourself against harm. When you would take damage, you can use your reaction to gain resistance to all types of damage until the start of your next turn. At the start of your next 3 turns, you recover hit points equal to half your shaman level (rounded down).

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

To Walk the Ashes

Starting at 10th level, the natural spirits sustain you. You don't require food or water, and you are immune to disease and poison.

In addition, you age at a slower rate. For every 10 years that pass, your body ages only 1 year, and you are immune to being magically aged.

Natural Rejuvenation

Starting at 14th level, your spirit guide grants you the ability to hasten nature's renewal. As a bonus action, you can touch a creature and heal it. With each touch, the creature regains from 1d6 to 5d6 hit points (your choice). You have a total pool of 15d6 you can expend. Subtract the dice you use with each touch from that total.

You regain all expended dice from your pool when you finish a long rest.

The Elements

Your spirit guide is a primordial spirit of the elemental forces itself. Whether a local spirit or an aspect from one of the elemental planes, they need you to enact their will, by force if necessary. Your spirit guide grants you the following features.

Expanded Spell List

The Elements let you choose from an expanded list of spells when you learn a shaman spell. The following spells are added to the shaman spell list for you.

Spell Level	Spells
1st	absorb elements, earth tremor
2rd	gust of wind, scorching ray
3th	erupting earth, lightning bolt
4th	elemental bane, ice storm
5th	immolation, maelstrom

Call of the Elements

Starting at 1st level, once on each of your turns when you deal acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage, you gain temporary hit points equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1) until the start of your next turn.

In addition, you can use your action to briefly control elemental forces nearby, causing one of the following effects of your choice:

• Create a harmless, instantaneous sensory effect related to air, earth, fire, or water, such as a shower of sparks, a puff of wind, a spray of light mist, or a gentle rumbling of stone.
• Instantaneously light or snuff out a candle, a torch, or a small campfire.
• Chill or warm up to 1 pound of nonliving material for up to 1 hour.
• Cause earth, fire, water, or mist that can fit within a 1-foot cube to shape itself into a crude form you designate for 1 minute.

Primordial Resistance

Starting at 6th level, when you finish a short or long rest, you can choose one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder. You gain resistance to that damage type until you choose a different one with this feature. Damage from magical weapons or silver weapons ignores this resistance.

Elemental Affinity

Starting at 10th level, when you deal damage of the same type as your current Primordial Resistance, you may add your Charisma modifier to the damage.

Elements Unleashed

Starting at 14th level, you can unleash the fury of the elements. Choose one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder. As a bonus action, you can unleash a blast of that damage type. Each creature in a 10-foot-radius sphere centered on you must make a Dexterity saving throw against your shaman spell save DC. A creature takes damage of the chosen type equal to 1d12 + your shaman level on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

You can use this feature three times. You regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Shamanistic Invocations

If a shamanistic invocation has prerequisites, you must meet them to learn it. You can learn the invocation at the same time that you meet its prerequisites.

A level prerequisite in an invocation refers to shaman level, not character level.

Black Feathers and Sage

Prerequisite: 15th level
You can cast fly as a 5th-level spell once without expending a spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Bloodlust

Prerequisite: 17th level
You can empower your allies with the fury of the spirits. As an action, you may grant the effects of the haste spell to up to six creatures you can see, including yourself, within 30 feet of you. This effect lasts for 3 rounds, and requires concentration as a spell would. When the effect ends, affected creatures do not lose their action.

Once you use this ability, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest, and affected creatures can't benefit from this ability again until they finish a short or long rest.

Child of the Mist

Prerequisite: 5th level
You can cast misty step once without expending a spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

Cleansing Ritual

You can cast purify food and drink as a ritual.

Cloud Shaping

Prerequisite: 5th level
You can cast skywrite as a ritual.

Echoes of Battle

Prerequisite: 5th level, The Ancestors guide
You can cast spiritual weapon once at your spell slot level + 1, without expending a spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

Elemental Calling

Prerequisite: 9th level, The Elements guide
You can cast conjure elemental once using a shaman spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Elemental Enhancement

Prerequisite: 7th level, Gift of Savagery feature
You can cast elemental weapon on your spirit weapon using a shaman spell slot. You can maintain concentration on that elemental weapon spell until you take a short or long rest, and you have advantage on saving throws to avoid breaking your concentration on elemental weapon.

Eyes of the Beast

Prerequisite: 5th level
You can cast animal friendship and beast sense as rituals.

Eyes of the Runekeeper

You can read all writing.

Far Sight

Prerequisite: 9th level
You can cast scrying once using a shaman spell slot, without expending material components. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Feast of the Fallen

Prerequisite: 5th level, The Ancestors guide
You can cast create food and water once using a shaman spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Forgotten Knowledge

Prerequisite: The Ancestors guide
Whenever you finish a long rest, you have learned some secrets of the past from your spirit guide. Pick one friendly creature within 30 feet of you. Pick one skill or tool, that neither of you are proficient with. Both of you can add your proficiency bonus to checks made with the chosen skill or tool until you finish a long rest.

Green Spirit's Gift

Prerequisite: The Spirits of Nature guide
Your soul is linked to the spirits of nature. Whenever you regain hit points, you treat any dice rolled to determine the hit points you regain as having rolled their maximum value.

Green Worlds

Prerequisite: 9th level, The Spirits of Nature guide
You can cast mass healing word using a shaman spell slot.

Heritage of the Natural Realm

Prerequisite: 5th level
You can cast speak with animals and speak with plants at will, without expending spell slots.

Invocation of the Owl

Prerequisite: Gift of Soothsaying feature
Whenever you use your familiar to deliver a spell with a range of touch, you may add your Charisma modifier to all rolls you make as part of casting the spell.

Last of Kin

Prerequisite: 5th level, The Spirits of Nature guide
You can cast revivify once using a shaman spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Lesser Elemental Calling

Prerequisite: 7th level, The Elements guide
You can cast conjure minor elementals using a shaman spell slot.

Mask of Many Faces

You can cast disguise self at will, without expending a spell slot.

Master of Myriad Forms

Prerequisite: 15th level
You can cast alter self at will, without expending a spell slot.

Merciless Gale

Prerequisite: Gift of Storms feature
You can add your Charisma modifier to the damage you deal with any shaman cantrip.

Moonpath

Prerequisite: 12th level, Gift of Soothsaying feature
You can cast find the path once, without expending a spell slot or material components. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Northwind's Ire

Prerequisite: 9th level, The Elements guide
You can cast cone of cold once using a shaman spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Pale Host

Prerequisite: 9th level, The Ancestors guide
You can cast animate dead once at your spell slot level, without expending a spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Presage

Prerequisite: 5th level, Gift of Soothsaying feature
You can cast augury as a ritual.

Purify Spirit

Prerequisite: 9th level, The Spirits of Nature guide
You can cast greater restoration once using a shaman spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Rising Tide

Prerequisite: 12th level, Gift of Storms feature
When a creature succeeds on a saving throw against one of your shaman cantrips, the creature takes half the cantrip's damage (if any) but suffers no additional effect from the cantrip.

Shepherd of Spirits

Prerequisite: 9th level
You can cast reincarnate once using a shaman spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Sight beyond the Veil

Prerequisite: 12th level, Gift of Soothsaying feature
You roll three d20s for your Gift of Soothsaying, rather than two.

Sign of Ill Omen

Prerequisite: 5th level, Gift of Soothsaying feature
You can cast bestow curse once using a shaman spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Soaring into Earth

Prerequisite: The Elements guide
You can use your action to gain a burrowing speed of 30 feet for 10 minutes. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Spirit Sight

Prerequisite: Gift of Soothsaying feature
You can cast detect magic at will, without expending a spell slot.

Spiritspeaker

Prerequisite: 12th level
You understand all spoken languages. Moreover, any creature that can understand a language can understand what you say.

Storm before Calm

Prerequisite: Gift of Storms feature
When you score a critical hit with a shaman cantrip, pick yourself or an ally you can see within 30 feet of you. The chosen creature can immediately expend a Hit Die to regain hit points equal to the roll + the creature’s Constitution modifier (minimum of 1 hit point).

Storm's Reach

Prerequisite: Gift of Storms feature
When you cast a shaman cantrip, its range or radius is doubled.

Stormstrike

Prerequisite: Gift of Savagery feature, Shocking Grasp cantrip
When you make the melee spell attack as part of casting the shocking grasp cantrip, you can instead make a single attack with your spirit weapon. If the attack hits, it inflicts the damage of the attack + the damage of shocking grasp + your shaman level as lightning damage.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Sworn to Waves

Prerequisite: 5th level
You can cast water breathing and water walk as rituals.

Thought and Memory

Prerequisite: Gift of Soothsaying feature
You can communicate telepathically with your familiar and perceive through your familiar's senses as long as you are on the same plane of existence. Additionally, while perceiving through your familiar's senses, you can also speak through your familiar in your own voice, even if your familiar is normally incapable of speech.

Towards the Dusk

Prerequisite: 5th level
You can see normally in darkness, both magical and nonmagical, to a distance of 120 feet.

Unbound Savagery

Prerequisite: 5th level, Gift of Savagery feature
You can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Undying Senses

Prerequisite: 7th level
You cannot be blinded or deafened unless you are seeing or hearing through another source. In addition, you can sense the presence of invisible creatures or objects within 10 feet of you that are within line of sight, though you cannot see them.

Vision Seeker

Prerequisite: 9th level, Gift of Soothsaying feature
You can cast divination as a ritual.

Voices from Beyond

Prerequisite: 7th level, The Ancestors guide
You can cast speak with dead at will, without expending a spell slot.

Wild Autumn Wind

Prerequisite: 9th level, The Elements guide
You can cast control winds once using a shaman spell slot. You can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Wildflowers

Prerequisite: The Spirits of Nature guide
Your totems sprout flowers around them while active. When one of your totems expires or dies, all friendly creatures within 10 feet of it regain hit points equal to your Charisma modifier.

Wind Fury

Prerequisite: 12th level, Gift of Savagery feature
When you use the Attack action on your turn with your spirit weapon, you can make one weapon attack against the same target as a bonus action.

When you use your bonus action to attack with your spirit weapon, you can use your reaction to make another attack with it against the same target.

Witch Sight

Prerequisite: 15th level
You can see the true form of any shapechanger or creature concealed by illusion or transmutation magic while the creature is within 30 feet of you and within line of sight.

Shaman Spells

Art credits (in order of appearance):

Fantasy art shaman: Source unknown :(
Forest: Robh Ruppel
Engraved runic stones: Wizards of the Coast
Stone monolith: Dragon Magazine 403
Deep in the Woods: Andreas Rocha
Orc Shaman: Denman Rooke
Torrent Elemental: James Paick
Orc Shaman: Mark Molchan
Stains and background: Aeron Drake