Animal Shamen O.C.C.
Author Unknown - mail me if you
are the author!!
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The Animal Shamen is an almost forgotten form of magic user. Only a few have been seen
or recorded on Rifts® Earth. A few were documented in pre- rifts times. Animal Shamen,
almost as a rule, have little to do with the rest of society, but a few have been known
to associate with animal loving groups, like the native Americans of old Earth. They are
secretive, and often loners - distant from civilization. They draw their magic from the
forest and the animals in it and have a symbiosis with nature itself. Animal Shamens are
Extremely powerfull but not necessarily dangerous. Animal Shamens have much potential but
no moivation - they do not have any material desires or human connections. Their only love
is nature and animals around them. They invariably despise technology and its destructive
power. They defend animals at all costs and often value animal life over human life. They
will be agressive towards humans who destroy animals of any kind, or who destroy nature
of the forest. Animal magic is similar to biomancy but much more rare. Only a few people
are so in tune with nature that they can become true Animal Shamen. Animal Shamens can
NEVER teach animal magic to any one, since all the spells are learnt intuitively (nor
would they want to if they could). At best they will use THEIR powers to defend or help
those who have the same respect for animals and nature that they do. Animal Shamen usually
live in the wild and live a very simple life. They prowl the forest in search of people or
things that seek to destroy it. They are mostly nomadic, and never make a house or even a
shelter against the elements. At best they will use a tree or a cave for shelter. They will
camp at night and hunt for food. They will eat animals, but never use excessive methods of
hunting and never hurt an animal unecessarily. Even when they kill an animal for food, they
will perform a ceremony to wish it well in the next life. Any one can be an Animal Shamen,
provided they have the same respect for nature and animals. Animal Shamens who do not have
their power from birth usually spend years in the forest alone before their abilities
manifest themselves. The power of the shamen is passed on from generation to generation,
but seeing as few shamens commune with the rest of society, few shamens ever procreate.
Shamens will wonder all their lives from forest to forest, but never stray far from dense
vegetation or into a barren urban area. They must be near nature and the wild to absorb
their energy or they will feel weak and depressed. They sometimes span continents in search
of defilers of the wild, provided their path never leads them away from the wild.
Life of the Shamen:
The shamen leads a fairly rudimentary life, even boring to some. Their existence
comprises of wandering around, seemingly aimlessly, hunting, observing, watching and
playing with animals. They forsake technology and will never use anything as high tech as
a fork. They clothe themselves in furs, skins, and mud, almost as if they WANT to look
dirty. ( as an insult to their human brethren who consider cleanliness to be next to
godliness) They usually have no personal possesions save for ONE artifact. This is
traditional among shamens because severing the contact with man and completely becoming
wild is not healthy, and it is good to remember that Humans are animals too. Most shamens
have an artifact that reminds them of their human brothers or their previous lifestyles,
usually a picture or a toy or a trinket...of no value save for sentimentality. They will
never part with their artifact and covet it agressively.
Special Powers of the Shamen:
The shamen travels with many animals. Every shamen radiates an aura of peace that all
animals can see. It attracts them to the shamen and fills them with harmony and peace. You
will sometimes see predator and prey walking side by side next to the shamen, because once
inside his aura, no animal will harm another. Outside his aura is a field of attraction that
simply makes all animals within the radius aware of the shamens presence. A calling card if
you will. Most animals will be attracted to the source of the field and have the desire to
commune with the shamen. His bond with nature is such that all animals feel a raport with
him, and will be playfull with him and consider him one of their own. When the shamen enters
an area, many animals will throng to him. If he wishes to move on and leave, many animals
will instinctively want to accompany the shamen and follow him on his journeys, as long as
environment or terrain permits. The shamen can instruct an animal to stay or leave,
depending on whether he is needed or wanted, or if there is something that requires the
animal to remain sedentary, like familly.
The shamen will usually travel with five to ten animals (apprentices), no less than
three, no more than twenty, regardless or exp. level. (not counting familiars.) He will
always travel with at least ONE familiar, an usually as many as level will allow.
- Aura of Peace: Has a radius of 100ft per level of experience. It affects all
animals, Earth and D-Bee, but not humans or other intelligent beings.
- Aura of Attraction: This also has a 100ft radius per level of experience. It
attracts most animals with a success rate of 20% + 3% per level of experience for
individual animal attraction. It makes all animals in the area of effect aware of
shamen's presence.
- Familiars: The animal always travels with a certain number of animals as an
"escort". He will have two kinds of animals. "Apprentices", who are normal animals who
he picked up along the way and are along for the ride, and "familiars", which are special
animals whom he has given special powers to so that they may accompany him on his journey.
The shamen always travels with at least one familiar, and will take his familiars
everywhere he goes as a matter of pride. The shamen can create one familiar per
level of experience, and at level one already has the capability to create one familiar.
So at level one, the shamen should have two, and have three at level two, and so on. At
level four, his capability increases, and he can create one more familiar, and he will be
able to make 2 per level from then on. If a familiar dies, he must wait till the next
level to be able to make a subsitute. The death of a familiar is a traumatic experience
and often scars the shamen emotionally.
The Familiar:
The familiar is any animal who the shamen feels especially attached to, and endows with
the power. The animal automatically gains the following: +4d4 to the I.Q., +3d4 to the
M.E., P.S becomes supernatural, P.E. becomes unlimited (draws strength from nature itself),
gains 5d6 P.P.E.tm, and becomes an M.D.C.tm
creature. To calculate the M.D.C.tm, take current S.D.C.tm
and divide it by two, then take the hit points and multiply it by two. Add the S.D.C.tm
and the hit points together to gain the total M.D.C.tm
A telepathic link between the familiar and shamen exists also, with a range of 500ft per
level of the shamen. The last, and most impressive part of the link is the sharing of
knowledge. The familiar gains some humanity and becomes one with the shamen. To better
communicate over the telepathic link, the familiar learns the native tongue of the shamen,
and communicates with the shamen telepathically in that language!
Animal Shamen O.C.C.
Alignment:
Any. Most will be anarchist towards humans, but remember, the shamen has ULTIMATE respect for nature and animals.
Attribute Requirements:
None. With the transformation into a shamen, the following changes ensue: +2d4 to M.E.,
+2d6 to P.S., +3d6 to P.E., and +4d6 to Spd.! All these attribute bonuses are gained when
the shamen realizes his magic potential, or at birth.
S.D.C.tm Bonus:
4d6x10 S.D.C.tm Standard hit points, same as humans (or
whatever race the shamen is).
M.D.C.: By magic armor only. Shamen never wear body armor of any kind.
P.P.E.tm: The shamen is a resevoir of P.P.E.tm,
with 4d6x10 P.P.E.tm in addition to the P.E. attribute. He
gains an additional 5d6 per level of experience.
I.S.P.tm: None. All psionic energy is drained
and flows into nature.
Magic Knowledge: At level one knows four spells from levels 1 to 2. Gains an extra
three spells at level two, and gains an extra two spells at level three and at each
additional level of experience above that. Also see "Special Powers of the Shamen".
Skills: All skills that existed before the shamen ascended to magic are
discarded as unnecessary.
O.C.C. Skills:
Hunting (+20%%)
Tracking: Animals (+25%)
Tracking: Hunams and Monsters (+30%)
Prowl (+25%)
Wilderness Survival (+35%)
Land Navigation (+30%)
Hand to Hand: Basic (cannot be changed)
O.C.C. Related Skills:
Select two skills from the following list at level one, and select one more at levels three,
nine, and fifteen. All new skills start at level one proficiency.
Communications: None
Domestic: Dance and Sing only. (+10%)
Electrical: None
Espionage: Detect Ambush and Detect Concealment only (+5%)
Mechanical: None
Medical: Holistic Medicine only. (+5%)
Military: None
Physical: Any except Boxing, hand to hand combat, and S.C.U.B.A. (+5%)
Pilot: Horsemanship only. (+30%)
Pilot related: None
Rogue: Palming and Pick Locks only. (+5%)
Science: None
Technical: Languages, lore, and art only.
W.P.: Blunt, Archery, and Targeting only.
Wilderness: Any (+20%)
Secondary skills: The character gets to select two more skills from
the previous list, excluding those marked none. These akills do not have the benefit of
the bonus in parenthesis.
Standard Equipment: None except a personal artifact and the skins off his back.
He is a wild animal with only a shred of humanity left. In this case, that's not so bad.
Money: None, unless the artifact has worth. The shamen will never part with his
artifact and will never carry anything else other than it. It's value is only important to
those who would steal it. Unless a specific artifact is chosen and approved by the GM,
roll on the following table:
01-30% Artifact has NO value and cannot be given away.
31-40% Little value. No more than a hundred credits. A meal.
41-50% Some value: 1d6x1000 credits.
51-60% Greater value: 2d4x1000 credits
61-70% Okay value: 2d6x1000 credits.
71-80% Bingo! 1d4x10000 credits.
81-85% IRS refund! 2d4x10000 credits.
86-90% Inheritance! 2d6x10000 credits.
90-95% Wheel o' Fortune! 1d4x100000 credits.
96-98% Sweepstakes! 2d6x100000 credits.
99-00% Object has secret magical properties and is ultra rare: 1d4 million credits!
Cybernetics: Never.