Shaman Taboos

[Qizilbashwoman]

5 hours ago, Shiningbrow said:

Is KL the chief deity of darkness gods for darkness shamans? (Presumably for troll shamans, but then how do the other gods fit in - if at all?)

I'm not sure what a darkness shaman is but KL available to pantheons that have darkness spirits unless she hates them, like Lightbringers. Shamans typically approach an ancestral figure like Horned Man, Daka Fal, or Aldrya or a first shaman figure like Jakaboom; only some deities have shaman roles directly.

The Lunar College of Magic ("Loonies") and the Sartar Magical Union are cutting-edge lunatics that mashed up every kind of magic they could find experimentally to make nuclear weapons. We know the Sartarites used Draconic illumination, Lunar illumination, Arkati illumination, Solar illumination, and Jernotian illumination to create a wyter that was effectively a kaiju, all to counter the terrifying power that the Loonies had cooked up using all kinds of wild magic based in Lunar mixed with Zistorite and other heresies with a very large seasoning of Chaos. Thankfully, the kaiju won, barely.

They are not a good example of how shamans typically work. Shamans are like your clan spirit tender, keeping the sheep healthy and the wolves at bay. The Loonies and SMU are like mad scientists in an arms race cannibalising and traumatising the most dangerous ideas ever invented without understanding them and using them like empire states building clubs to hit each other with. there's no use to it, it's just brutality. it's not what shamans do.

[David Scott]

8 hours ago, Shiningbrow said:

Anyway, slightly away from my point/query... How similar is accepting Gifts/abilities to an actual initiation? Any reason a Golden Bow shaman couldn't travel to Hell and pick up some Rune Spells/gifts/abilities from Kygor Litor (as an extreme example)?

A Golden Bow shaman contacting Yelm for a shamanic ability, is not the same as HeroQuesting to Hell to gain Darkness HeroQuest abilities. In the rules, the abilities might be identical, but he method of obtaining them not.

8 hours ago, Shiningbrow said:

(I'd also presume there are lesser entities that are also capable of giving shamanic abilities, though perhaps not as powerful... Would KL be ok with a shaman accepting abilities from a lesser Fire entity?)

The shamanic abilities are very specific, lesser entities could give other abilities appropriate to their kind, that's what rune spells are. A Troll shaman could adventure to Amanstan's cave and receive fire powers, but not without a sacrifice of some kind, perhaps having to go through Hell Roar.  In this case the shaman could start a spirit cult based around the spirit to receive the rune magic (still at double cost). However this would likely cause some consternation among the Zorak Zorani and potential conflict.

[FlamingCatOfDeath]

On 4/24/2021 at 11:07 PM, Qizilbashwoman said:

The Lunar College of Magic ("Loonies") and the Sartar Magical Union are cutting-edge lunatics that mashed up every kind of magic they could find experimentally to make nuclear weapons. We know the Sartarites used Draconic illumination, Lunar illumination, Arkati illumination, Solar illumination, and Jernotian illumination to create a wyter that was effectively a kaiju, all to counter the terrifying power that the Loonies had cooked up using all kinds of wild magic based in Lunar mixed with Zistorite and other heresies with a very large seasoning of Chaos. Thankfully, the kaiju won, barely.

As a setting noob may I ask which battle this happened in and what the name of the kaju and chaos monster were?