What is a "Shaman"?

[Qizilbashwoman]

1 hour ago, PhilHibbs said:

some Gloranthans are still jerks.

and also shamans are like unexploded ordinance and are inherently dangerous; there's a reason they usually live in isolation

[SDLeary]

9 minutes ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

and also shamans are like unexploded ordinance and are inherently dangerous; there's a reason they usually live in isolation

I see a Mostali use for Shaman's in this statement.

SDLeary

[Akhôrahil]

1 hour ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

and also shamans are like unexploded ordinance and are inherently dangerous; there's a reason they usually live in isolation

Sometimes having geases that make them socially non-functional is another part of it.

[Joerg]

21 minutes ago, Akhôrahil said:

Sometimes having geases that make them socially non-functional is another part of it.

This comment wouldn't be out of place in the Elmal thread, either...

 

Shamans have two sources for abnormal behavior - geases taken during the combat with the Bad Man, and taboos imposed by contracted spirits.

While there are spirits that represent a civilized culture, these are rare outside of ancestor or theist cults (and some say, rare inside these, too). Contractual demands made by spirits are usually meant to cost the contractor something.

[Richard S.]

2 hours ago, SDLeary said:

I see a Mostali use for Shaman's in this statement.

SDLeary

Obviously proper Mostali would never deal with those rebel energies called directly, controlling them through dwarf magic is the only acceptable way. However, I do wonder if some heretic sect has tried to deal with spirits more efficiently by training dwarves as shamans. The experience would probably shatter the dwarfs' minds, and once the council got wind of it it'd be recycling for the lot, but an escaped member of such a project could be an interesting character concept.

[Akhôrahil]

27 minutes ago, Richard S. said:

Obviously proper Mostali would never deal with those rebel energies called directly, controlling them through dwarf magic is the only acceptable way. However, I do wonder if some heretic sect has tried to deal with spirits more efficiently by training dwarves as shamans. The experience would probably shatter the dwarfs' minds, and once the council got wind of it it'd be recycling for the lot, but an escaped member of such a project could be an interesting character concept.

The Dwarven view of spirits in GoG is so great!

[SDLeary]

1 hour ago, Richard S. said:

Obviously proper Mostali would never deal with those rebel energies called directly, controlling them through dwarf magic is the only acceptable way. However, I do wonder if some heretic sect has tried to deal with spirits more efficiently by training dwarves as shamans. The experience would probably shatter the dwarfs' minds, and once the council got wind of it it'd be recycling for the lot, but an escaped member of such a project could be an interesting character concept.

No no no no no... The only use for a shaman, one that has been properly mind controlled and enraged, is to lob them into your opponent! 

One of the many type of ordnance used by the famed Man Mortar brigade.

SDLeary

[Qizilbashwoman]

6 hours ago, Akhôrahil said:

Sometimes having geases that make them socially non-functional is another part of it.

no water, no clothes, no cutting your hair: when you roll spectacularly shitty during character creation.

a clever shaman rapidly learns to bathe with milk or oil

[Richard S.]

11 minutes ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

no water, no clothes, no cutting your hair: when you roll spectacularly shitty during character creation.

a clever shaman rapidly learns to bathe with milk or oil

A clever shaman rapidly learns that bathing and shaving are unnecessary 😛

[Bill the barbarian]

35 minutes ago, Richard S. said:

A clever shaman rapidly learns that bathing and shaving are unnecessary 😛

The spirits don’t seem to mind.

[Qizilbashwoman]

1 hour ago, Richard S. said:

A clever shaman rapidly learns that bathing and shaving are unnecessary 😛

who cares about shaving i was worried about having four feet of absolutely wretched filth hair like a crunchy helmet of vomit

57 minutes ago, Bill the barbarian said:

The spirits don’t seem to mind.

the shaman and other humanoids mind. a lot.

Edited February 6, 2020 by Qizilbashwoman

[Shiningbrow]

12 hours ago, Darius West said:

This would be the "child raised by wolves" scenario I was referring to earlier.  Spirits might help the self-initiate, but as with wolves, they might get hungry and eat the child as well; depends on the wolf and on the child.

True, I missed the implication/comparison.

However, unless the GM is specifically going to roleplay that, them it's a bit redundant. Sure, it'd be a great "scenario" for the PCs (and I'm not sure why a few of them together wouldn't want to do it), but the outcomes could suck... (hungry wolves, no skills given). If it's not role played out, then it's simply an initiation - "you have your fetch now... How much power do you want to give it?"

[Shiningbrow]

2 hours ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

no water, no clothes, no cutting your hair: when you roll spectacularly shitty during character creation.

a clever shaman rapidly learns to bathe with milk or oil

No clothes and no touching the earth with bare feet would really suck! (The technicality of the word "clothes" could make for an interesting GM/player discussion :p)

[Shiningbrow]

1 hour ago, Bill the barbarian said:

The spirits don’t seem to mind.

The spirits aren't all on the same team either. So there's no reason two spirits couldn't request or require two opposing geasa... E.g., never cut hair v must be bald. Never eat X, only eat X (although if the X was "horse flesh", then not eating any flesh might overcome this...).

[Darius West]

4 hours ago, Shiningbrow said:

True, I missed the implication/comparison.

However, unless the GM is specifically going to roleplay that, them it's a bit redundant. Sure, it'd be a great "scenario" for the PCs (and I'm not sure why a few of them together wouldn't want to do it), but the outcomes could suck... (hungry wolves, no skills given). If it's not role played out, then it's simply an initiation - "you have your fetch now... How much power do you want to give it?"

I suspect that most self-initiating shamans don't survive long.

[Shiningbrow]

4 minutes ago, Darius West said:

I suspect that most self-initiating shamans don't survive long.

Tell the players that their character is going to die 😋

[Qizilbashwoman]

8 hours ago, Shiningbrow said:

No clothes and no touching the earth with bare feet would really suck! (The technicality of the word "clothes" could make for an interesting GM/player discussion :p)

this is an unlikely combination: no touching the earth is Solar, no clothes is not-Solar, but I guess

[g33k]

21 hours ago, Joerg said:

...

Shamans have two sources for abnormal behavior - geases taken during the combat with the Bad Man, and taboos imposed by contracted spirits.

...

Three sources:  you forgot "suddenly needing to interrupt <important Middle World social interaction> to begin blabbering in Spirit Speech and deal with <even-more-important Spirit World interaction>."

[Joerg]

41 minutes ago, g33k said:

Three sources:  you forgot "suddenly needing to interrupt <important Middle World social interaction> to begin blabbering in Spirit Speech and deal with <even-more-important Spirit World interaction>."

The curse of AT&T?

The concept of "important Middle World social interaction" may be lost on a shaman. Much like the concept of "important social interaction" may be lost on nerds.

[Bill the barbarian]

1 minute ago, Joerg said:

important social interaction

Important Smocial Indofaction? Whats that?

Hand me those dice and let’s get this game on the road.

[Shiningbrow]

9 hours ago, Joerg said:

 

The concept of "important Middle World social interaction" may be lost on a shaman. Much like the concept of "important social interaction" may be lost on nerds.

 

9 hours ago, Bill the barbarian said:

Important Smocial Indofaction? Whats that?

Hand me those dice and let’s get this game on the road.

 

I always figured gaming *is* an important social interaction...

[Qizilbashwoman]

Just now, Shiningbrow said:

I always figured gaming *is* an important social interaction...

it's how i meet my girlfriends, so i hope it counts

[Shiningbrow]

15 hours ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

this is an unlikely combination: no touching the earth is Solar, no clothes is not-Solar, but I guess

I'm not sure the spirits that the shamans are dealing with are always so partisan... 

If part of a shaman's job is getting disease spirits, it seems more likely that they'll deal and contract with whatever gets the job done... 

[Qizilbashwoman]

1 minute ago, Shiningbrow said:

I'm not sure the spirits that the shamans are dealing with are always so partisan... 

If part of a shaman's job is getting disease spirits, it seems more likely that they'll deal and contract with whatever gets the job done... 

no i meant the taboo of not touching the earth is a specifically a Solar taboo, while being naked is abhorrent to Solar spirits. Your taboos are acquired from your spirits, they're not, like, random tics you get from having a shaman's brain.

not touching water is often, but not exclusively, a Solar taboo as well.

Edited February 7, 2020 by Qizilbashwoman

[Shiningbrow]

4 minutes ago, Qizilbashwoman said:

no i meant the taboo of not touching the earth is a specifically a Solar taboo, while being naked is abhorrent to Solar spirits. Your taboos are acquired from your spirits, they're not, like, random tics you get from having a shaman's brain.

not touching water is often, but not exclusively, a Solar taboo as well.

I got what you meant.

I'm saying that a shaman might deal with a solar spirit for one thing, then an air spirit for another, and an earth spirit for a third... And thus, end up with conflicting taboos.