Steve Schrader's Blog

Environment:
SEA

Advantages:

* +4d SEA spirits
* +2d HEALTH spells

Character:
Whale is the great Record-Keeper, and as such tends to keep a long memory– it is said that the legends of whales date back to the civilizations of Lemuria, Mu, and Atlantis. The life of Whale is steeped in sound, as well; many Whale shamans get themselves wired for increased hearing and sub/ultrasonic hearing to bring themselves closer to their totem (this is one of the only commonly-found cybermods among shamans).

Disadvantages:
Whale’s great memory often leads to a tendency to dwell in the past, and also often creates a rather irritating love of the trivial. Whale is always pointing out little coincidences, irrelevant things, or stupid stuff. Whale shamans also tend to enjoy loud sound– the less like human sound, the more they enjoy it.

Environment:
FOREST

Advantages:

* +2d FOREST spirits
* +4d ILLUSION spells

Character:
Weasel is thought of by many as the archetypal thief, but in reality that’s Raccoon. Weasel is just the master of stealth and evasion. He uses his skill at disguising appearances to help in in his hunting. Weasel shamans take great delight in confusing, confounding, and ditching people for the fun of it. Weasel shamans also tend to run at high levels of energy, bouncing off walls if contained or bottled up for long.

Disadvantages:
Weasel shamans tend to be loners. They’ve also gained a rather undeserved reputation as thieves and back-stabbers, which is not necessarily true. Their reputation as incessant pranksters with weird and often sick senses of humor IS true, however. Weasel shamans also have a subconscious tendency to lie, or at least exaggerate– to others, and to themselves. It’s not like they mean to.

Environment:
ANYWHERE

Advantages:

* +4d WIND spirits
* +2d MANIPULATION spells (HEALTH spells for BEE)

Character:
Wasp is arrogant and elitist, even among other insects. Wasp thinks of itself as the top of the evolutionary chain, because in-sects are (of course) far better than any other class of lifeform on the planet, and Wasp is the best insect because it can fly and defend itself. Hornet and Yellowjacket are less common, but there are far too many Wasp and Bee shamans for comfort. Of those two, Wasp shamans are more capable of independent thought; Bee is much more hive-oriented, although Wasp uses hive organization as well.

Disadvantages:
The problem here is the same as with all insect totems– eventually, they’ll take over and use you as host, eggsac, or food. Male Wasp/Bee shamans will become drones or eggsacs (depending on the Queen’s needs) and female shamans become inhabited by warrior spirits. Also, Wasp is among the least patient and least subtle insect forms– they favor Blitzkrieg tactics and overkill.

Environment:
DESERT

Advantages:

* +3d DESERT spirits
* +3d DETECTION spells

Character:
Vulture is a scavenger. Vulture shamans are always picking over rubble, debris, trash, corpses, etc. looking for something that might be useful. They take weapons, armor, money– nothing is sacred. Vulture shamans make superior thieves, but they are usually unwilling to take risks. They’d rather let others do the work and then follow along behind, picking through the leftovers.

Disadvantages:
Vulture shamans are rather cowardly– or, like Rabbit, they act cowardly. It is rare that a Vulture shaman will volunteer to do ANYTHING. Ask if anyone wants to go scout ahead, or guard the rear, or watch the prisoner, and Vulture will keeep his mouth shut. On the other hand, Vulture rarely says no if directly commanded or asked to do something, because he dislikes making waves that might draw attention to himself.

Environment:
RIVERS, LAKES

Advantages:

* +3d RIVER and LAKE spirits

Character:
Turtle is wise but slow, small but well-protected. Turtle shamans are very quite and introverted, and they take everything at the same leisurely pace. But some are snappers, and can bite you pretty bad (metaphorically speaking) if you push them too far. Most Turtle shamans are low in all the physical areas but fairly high in the mental ones.

Disadvantages:
Slooooow. Also, Turtle’s dislike (or inability) for social interaction creates problems when information-gathering is the task at hand (+1 penalty on any Etiquette and Negotiation types of tests). Finally, when confronted with trouble, Turtle’s first response is usually to pull into the shell and ignore it– his shamans are into escapism, be it through drugs, booze, simsense, or just normal vid.