Shaman: Master of Conjurations and Summoner of Spirits

[username]

Homebrew Class Track - Shaman (Originally by Weredrago2)

Characteristics:Charisma, Willpower, Wisdom
Skills: Animal Ken, Arcana, Command, Common Lore, Forbidden Lore, Medicae, Scrutiny
Magic Schools:Conjuration
Level Completion:+1 to all Conjuration tests.

Dreamspeaker
Level: 1
Prerequisites: Arcana OR Forbidden Lore 2, Command 1
Feats:
Minor Magic
Conjure Spirit
Obtain Familiar OR Implement Focus
Speak Language (Any)
*Weapon Proficiency (Any)

Medium
Level: 2
Prerequisites: Arcana OR Forbidden Lore 3, Command 2, Conjuration rank 1, Conjure Spirit
Feats:
Spell Might
Spell Focus (Conjuration)
Bind Spirit
*Pure Faith
Peer (Spirits)

Conjurer
Level: 3
Prerequisites: Arcana OR Forbidden Lore 4, Command 3, Conjuration rank 2, Bind Spirit
Feats:
Daemonic Compendium
*Speak Language (Any)
Spell Specialization (Conjuration)
Spell Penetration
Strong Minded

Shaman
Level: 4
Prerequisites: Arcana OR Forbidden Lore 5, Command 4, Conjuration rank 2, Daemonic Compendium
Feats:
*Calm the Winds
Mental Fortress
Rebinding
Greater Spell Focus (Conjuration)
Good Reputation (Spirits)

Shaman King
Level: 5
Prerequisites: Arcana OR Forbidden Lore 5, Command 5, Conjuration rank 3, Rebinding
Feats:
*Speak Language (Any)
Virgil's Guidance
Expanded Knowledge
Greater Spell Penetration

NEW Feats!

Conjure Spirit
You can conjure a spirit (made with the Monster Creation rules) by spending resource points equal to spirit's level and making a full action Focus Power test (Conjuration + Willpower, Somatic, Verbal) against TN 10 + (spirit level * 5). If successful, the conjured spirit owes you a service, plus one for every raise. The spirit performs these services until all services are paid or until the next sunrise/sunset (whichever is sooner), then returns to its home plane. You have a telepathic bond with the spirit until then. Only one spirit may be conjured at a time.

Bind Spirit
You can now bind spirits. The ritual takes an hour, after which you spend the resource points and make your magic roll against the initial summoning TN + 10. If you beat the test, the spirit is bound to you, and does not leave your service until all services are paid. You can spend a half action to summon or dismiss a bound spirit. You can have a number of spirits bound equal to your Charisma, but can still only have one spirit active at a time.

Daemonic Compendium
As a free action, you may spend a resource point switch out one bound spirit you have summoned for another. This new spirit takes the place of the previous one on the initiative track, and may only perform a half action on their next turn.

Rebinding
You've figured out how to wring new favors out of spirits you've already bound. The ritual takes a number of hours equal to the spirit's Level, after which you spend resource points and make the magic roll as if you were summoning a new spirit. After a successful roll, you can add the new services to the total number of services your chosen spirit owes you.

Some information on Spirits, Summons and Services

SPOILER: Click to show

Here's some examples of things you can spend your services on.

• Ordering a spirit aid you in combat costs a service. Each individual combat encounter it participates in costs a service.
• Having a spirit to cast a non-combat spell costs a service per activation. Combat spells fall under the rules above.
• Asking a spirit to guard a person/place/thing for you costs a service. It will watch this person/place/thing until predetermined conditions are met or you summon them to your side again. Asking the spirit to do something to trespassers costs an extra service.
• A spirit can spend Essence to boost your spells (granting a +1k0 to your magic check per Essence spent), costing you a service in return. Please remember that spirits need Essence to exist. Shamans that use spirits like disposable batteries get bad reps in the Umbra.
• You can also tell a spirit to follow the orders of another person, allowing them to use services in your stead. You can revoke this authority at any time it becomes inconvenient.
• Lastly, telling a spirit to stop performing an action does not cost a service, but making it do something again does.

Once summoned, a spirit is obligated to follow their given orders to the best of their ability. Malevolent or mischievous entities might try and twist words or interpret orders in ways that they favor more, but a good Command roll should keep them in line. Try to make your orders as clear as possible; being supernatural entities with alien mindsets, some spirits will either take your orders too literally or not take them literal enough.

Generally speaking, Spirits summoned are incapable of summoning spirits or other beings of their own while they are in service to another, even if they could normally, due to their existing magical link with the summoner. There are tempting rumors of Spirits which can conjure spirits of their own which could in turn summon more spirits as well, but these are used as cautionary tales for young Dreamspeakers as these new Spirits summoned would in the best of cases have absolutely no obligation or connection to the original Shaman and at worse, the spirit doing the summoning succeeding in it implies they don't either.

For cases where the spirit truly hates the person they're bound to, the spirit can give their summoner grief by forcing them to take penalties on rolls or calling for an opposed Willpower test to escape from its bindings. These rebellions should only come up once per session. When its servitude is over, however, the spirit might not want to go home plane right away -- it might just stick around for revenge.

[ScrapyardDragon]

You should probably add a line somewhere to prevent summoned spirits from summoning their own spirits. Infinite loops are bad.

[username]

Yes, I was just reposting this and porting it with Weredrago2's permission of course, but I added a line about the idea of Spirits summoning other spirits in the information spoiler. In short, while bound or in service to another they can't do it. If you DO see one doing it then it is a bad, bad, bad thing.