Walker between the world of the living and the dead

The Shaman

“… the Shaman character was the one specialist, the earliest professional… the person everyone could turn to who was responsible for maintaining an awareness of the resources around, and could communicate with the spirit world on which everything depended.”
Benedict Allen: Last of the Medicine Men

Attributes

Since human civilization started it have been beset by the greedy dead; the souls of the obsessed ones who come back to steal living bodies to pursue their twisted desires. A primary role in early communities was the one who could intercede between the living and the dead; the one who walked between the worlds. Not fully connected to the world that most people inhabit, these Shaman gained some understanding of the world beyond the mortal senses; the place where the demons dwell. Their unique position within their community also granted them temporal power. As one set aside from the normal power structure, they were traditionally seen as an objective voice and therefore as one who would put the good of the community as a whole above personal concerns.

The Shaman used to be one of the most powerful Archetypes as it was a common role in most tribes and groups. However over time as their societies advanced their positions started to be eroded. Firstly, Archetypes such as The Priest, The Judge, The Confessor emerged as Archetypes in their own right and took over some of the social roles of the Shaman. Then, as belief and common experience of the power of Demons and other ‘evil spirits’ decreased their most important role was lost with the remnants being taken up by Archetypes such as The Magus in the collective unconscious of the western world, leaving the Shaman as only important in the minds of the remnants of the ‘traditional’ or ‘primitive’ societies in Africa, The Americas, some part of Eastern Asia, and other ‘remote’ areas. However, since the the middle of the 19th century, there has been a resurgence in its relevance in western society, firstly with the rise of Spiritualist (by the Fox sisters in 1850’s) and then with the incorporation of the western idea of traditional shamanism into the New Age Movements.

For the Shaman to have power they must have a community; a group of people whom he protects from the unseen forces that would harm them. In modern, western societies these communities are normally communes or members of the same religious cult built up around a particular Shaman. A few Shaman base their communities on their patients if they run a New Age religious/spiritual clinic. Some Shamans base their power on the fear that they inspire in their community rather than trust. Such Shaman often use their powers to keep their subjects in line through the fear of possession.

A community must share a number of common goals that unite and define them and which marks them as a separate group within the wider social realm. In addition, the Shaman must continue to hold a position of respect (or fear) and power within the group. If, for any reason, a Shaman decides to change communities (or is forced to) he takes a drop of at least 10% from their Avatar: The Shaman skill which he must regain as normal (i.e. through spending experience points).

A Shaman can advance his Avatar: The Shaman skill to any score below his soul stat as normal. However, he is limited in his actual use of his channels by the number of people within his community (each member of the community allows the Shaman to use 1% of his Avatar Skill). If a Shaman ever looses his position in the community completely then he can no longer access any of his Avatar channels until he can find a new community to join.

Taboos
To go against the will of his community.
To place the concerns of an outsider above that of a member of his community.
To place the concerns of an individual member of the community over the good of the group as a whole.

Masks
Legba (Voodoo), Saint Gertrude of Nivelle (Saint of the recently dead) and the Saints Agrippina and Quirinus (Patrons of against evil spirits) (Catholicism).

Symbols
Drum, rattle, mask, psychoactive drugs, dance, cross dressing.

Suspected Avatars in history:
Daniel D Home, Marie Laveau (either of the two women claiming the name and title of Voodoo Queen of New Orleans)

Channels:
NOTE: each Shaman tends to have a number of rituals (the nature of which depends upon their cultural background) which they commonly perform when accessing their channels. The rituals themselves are meaningless, and any Shaman with an Avatar: The Shaman score of over 35% knows this and can dispense of them if they wish.

1% – 50% – Astral Sight
If the Shaman performs a successful Avatar: The Shaman skill they gains a modified version of Aura Sight that allows them to see all demons and other astral entities (astral parasites, entropics, carnals, thaumophage etc.) within a number of meters equal to the 10s on their roll. The sight also allows them to judge the strength of the spirits soul in comparison with there own if they make another successful skill check. This Astral Sight does not rely on actual eye sight and therefore ignores all obstacles or penalties due to darkness etc and lasts for 5 mins.

51% – 70% – Speaker with the Dead
On a successful roll the Shaman can call a Demon (use normal rules to see who arrive: UA2 book p221), but at no risk of possession (unless they roll a critical failure). If they then attempt to control the demon they can roll against their skill again and add a bonus of 1% for each number on the tens of their Soul stat.

71% – 90% – Walker between the Worlds
With this channel the Shaman can allow a spirit which they have summoned to take partial control of their body, as long as the Demon’s soul stat is below that of the Shaman. Although the Demon is in the driving seat, the Shaman has full knowledge of what is happening and has power of veto allowing them to make a Avatar: The Shaman roll at any point to eject the demon and regain full control of his body. If they fail their roll, they can not make another one for a number of minutes equal to the soul stat of the possessing demon allowing the demon free range to do what they like. however, unlike a normal possession, the Shaman still has full awareness of what their body is doing (often resulting in a number of stress checks such as Isolation and Helplessness).

91% up – Commander of Spirits
On a successful role, this channel allows the Shaman to issue one command to any one astral spirit within range of their voice. As long as the spirit’s soul stat is below 60 they are forced to obey this command to the best of their abilities. They are then immune to any other commands from that Shaman for 1 hour. If their soul stat is between 60 and the Shaman’s Avatar skill then they can make a soul check at -20% to resist the command. If they were successful then they can not be commanded again for 6 hours (24 hours for a matched or critical success). If they fail then they are forced to obey and are only immune for 1 hour. If their soul is greater than the Shaman’s skill then they are immune to this ability.