Shaman Totems

Shaman Totems

Bear

Bear is a mentor found in cultures wherever bears are known, from North America to Europe and Asia. He is powerful, but gentle and wise. He tends to be slow-moving and easygoing unless urgency requires speed. Bear is slow to anger, but terrible in battle. Bear tends to be calm, cool, and collected. He is the healer and protector of the natural world. Bear cannot turn down someone who needs healing without good reason.

Advantages: +2 dice for Health spells, +2 dice for resisting Physical damage.
Disadvantages: Bear magicians can go berserk when wounded (taking Physical damage) in combat or if someone under their care is badly injured. Make a Willpower + Charisma Test (wound modifiers apply). The character goes berserk for 3 turns, minus 1 turn per hit; 3 or more hits avert the berserk rage entirely. A berserk magician will go after the attacker(s) without regard for her own safety. If the magician incapacitates a target before the time is up, the berserk fury dissipates.
 
Cat

Cat is honored in cultures around the world. Cat is often seen as the guardian of mystical secrets, often involving the afterlife. She certainly knows many secrets, but rarely decides to share them, and never with anyone less than worthy. She is stealthy, sly, and arrogant. Cat toys with her prey—threatening, taunting, and confusing—rather than going directly for the kill.

Advantages: +2 dice for Illusion spells, +2 dice to either Gymnastics or Infiltration Tests (character must choose one).
Disadvantages: Cat magicians toy with their prey. Unless the Cat magician makes a Willpower + Charisma (3) Test, she cannot make an attack that will incapacitate her target (i.e., a Combat spell must be cast with a Force/damage level that will not disable). If the magician is wounded, all this playing around stops.

Dark King

The grim ruler of the Land of the Dead dwells in his kingdom deep beneath the Earth. He has dominion over the spirits of the dead and knows many of the secrets that lie hidden beneath the Earth.
 
Advantages: +2 dice for Perception and Assensing Tests, +2 dice for spirits of man.
Disadvantages: –1 die to resist Physical damage.
 
Dog
 
Dog is a loyal friend. He fights ferociously to defend his home and those under his protection. Dog protects people from harmful magic and dangerous spirits. Dog is loyal, generous, and helpful to those who show him kindness. He is single-minded, often to the point of stubbornness.

Advantages: +2 dice for Detection spells, +2 dice for spirits of man.
Disadvantages: A Dog magician is stubbornly loyal. She can never leave someone behind, betray her comrades, or let another sacrifice themselves in her place without making a successful Willpower + Charisma (3) Test.

                                                   Dragonslayer

This most heroic of mentor spirits is also the most fun-loving. Though he fights to protect his own against all dangers, he loves a good party even more. He is a big brother who takes a friendly interest in everything his family does. Though sometimes naive, he makes a staunch friend and a deadly enemy. The dragons he slays have changed with the times. In addition to the literal dragons of legend, Dragonslayer also fights such modern-day monsters as crime, pollution, and corruption. Dragonslayer fights hard and plays hard. Once he has given his oath, he never breaks it. A Dragonslayer magician must behave with honor and respect, and demands the same from those around him.

Advantages: +2 dice for Combat spells, +2 dice for tests with one Social skill of choice.
Disadvantages: If a Dragonslayer magician breaks a promise, whether by choice or by accident, she takes –1 die to all actions until she fulfills the promise or otherwise atones for her error.
 
Eagle

Eagle is the highest-flying bird in the sky, considered the most noble by cultures in North America, Central America, and Europe. He is proud and solitary, and sees everything happening in the world below. Eagles are noble defenders of the purity of nature. They are intolerant of those who do not share their views and have a strong distrust of technology and its tools. Those who damage nature are Eagle’s enemies, and Eagle will brave great danger to defeat polluters and other evildoers.
 
Advantages: +2 dice for Detection spells, +2 dice for air spirits.
Disadvantages: Eagle magicians receive the Allergy (pollutants, mild) negative quality (p. 94; they do not receive bonus BP).
 
Fire-Bringer

The Fire-Bringer stole the secret of fire from the heavens and gave it to metahumanity as a gift and a tool. He is a figure of kindness and concern, but his good intentions sometimes get him into trouble and his plans sometimes fail to work out the way he envisions them. He is a shaper and a creator, forming new things from the primal clay and breathing the fiery spark of life into them. Fire-Bringers devote themselves to the betterment of others, even at their own expense. Most Fire-Bringer magicians devote themselves to a particular cause they follow with great zeal.
 
Advantages: +2 dice for Manipulation spells, +2 dice for fire spirits.
Disadvantages: –1 die for Illusion spells.
 
Moon Maiden

The Moon Maiden is the embodiment of the night sky. Moody, changeable, emotional, mysterious, sometimes gentle and pleasant and other times wild and uninhibited, she represents the triumph of woman’s nurturing ways over man’s destructive impulses. Not surprisingly, she is most venerated by women.
 
Advantages: +2 dice to Illusion spells, +2 dice to Negotiation Tests.
Disadvantages: –1 die for Combat spells.
 
Mountain
 

Mountain is rooted in the very heart of the Earth but reaches toward lofty heights. He has limitless strength and endurance, but Mountain’s inflexible nature limits him. Mountain is a stubborn and unyielding force, and Mountain magicians are difficult to persuade once they have made up their minds about something.
 
Advantages: +2 dice for Counterspelling Tests, +2 dice for earth spirits.
Disadvantages: When a Mountain magician makes a plan, she sticks to it. The magician must make a Willpower + Charisma (3) Test to abandon a planned course of action in favor of a new one. If she fails, she will endeavor to continue with her original plan, even if it means going on alone.

Rat
 
Rat is found wherever humans are, for who else’s bounty can sustain him? Rat is a scavenger, a stealthy thief who takes what he needs to survive. He dislikes working out in the open, preferring to stick to the shadows. Rat avoids fights whenever he can—when he must fight, he fights to kill.
 
Advantages: +2 dice for Infiltration Tests, +2 dice for resisting disease and poisons
Disadvantages: A Rat magician must make a Willpower + Charisma (3) Test to not immediately flee or seek cover whenever caught in a combat situation. If there is nowhere to flee, then she is forced to fight.
 
Raven
 
Raven is a harbinger of trouble in cultures worldwide. He is a trickster and a transformer, dark and devious. Raven thrives off the bounty of carnage and chaos, but does not cause them—he merely knows an opportunity when he sees one. Raven loves to eat and rarely refuses an offer of food.
 
Advantages: +2 dice for Manipulation spells, +2 dice for air spirits.
Disadvantages: A Raven magician must make a Willpower + Charisma (3) Test to avoid exploiting someone else’s misfortune to her own advantage.
 
Sea
 
Sea is the birthplace of all living creatures. She is unfathomable and moody, tranquil and comforting one moment, fearsome and destructive the next. Though she possesses great wealth, she jealously guards what comes into her hands. Sea can be a powerful ally, but she must be courted with great care.
 
Advantages: +2 dice for water spirits, +2 dice for Swimming Tests.
Disadvantages: –1 die on Negotiations Tests. 

Seductress
 
The Seductress is the incarnation of desire. She has many whims and vices that she must frequently satisfy. She encourages jealousy and greed and seeks to inflame the wants of others. She avoids direct confrontation but gains pleasure when others fight for her attention or on her behalf. She exists to exploit weaknesses and will not hesitate to sacrifice those who get in her way.
 
Advantages: +2 dice for Illusion spells, +2 dice for Con Tests.
Disadvantages: Seductresses must succeed in a Willpower + Charisma (3) Test to avoid pursuing a vice or indulgence (drugs, BTLs, sex, and so on) when it is made available.
 
                                  Shark
 
Shark is a cold and relentless hunter. His power is known to all who live near the sea. When Shark strikes, he does so without mercy, driven into a frenzy by the blood of his prey. Shark magicians tend to be wanderers, always on the move. They are fierce and deadly warriors. A Shark magician believes the only good enemy is a dead enemy. If challenged, he does not waste time with threats or boasts but strikes to kill.

Advantages: +2 dice for Combat spells, +2 dice for water spirits.
Disadvantages: Shark magicians can go berserk in combat (similar to Bear magicians) when they are wounded or when they wound an opponent (p. 200). A berserk Shark character may continue to attack the body of her last victim instead of moving on to attack a new target, if the player chooses.



Snake
 
Snake is wise and knows many secrets. She is a good counselor, but always exacts a price for her advice. Snake characters fight only to protect themselves and others. They are obsessed with learning secrets and take great risks in order to do so. They trade their knowledge to others for whatever they can get in exchange.

Advantages: +2 dice for Detection spells, +2 to Binding Tests.
Disadvantages: –1 die for Combat spells.
 
Thunderbird

Thunderbird is a majestic creature who is storm incarnate. His wings are dark clouds, his beak and claws lightning, and his cries the clap of thunder. He is a primal force, often savage but necessary to the survival of the land and the continuation of the cycle of life. Thunderbird is a force to be respected and approached with great care, lest his anger be roused.
 
Advantages: +2 dice for air spirits, +2 dice for Intimidation Tests
Disadvantages: A Thunderbird magician must succeed in a Willpower + Charisma (3) Test to avoid responding to an insult in kind.
 
Trickster
 
The Trickster is the clever one, swift of mind and body, master of disguises and deception. He is always thinking up new pranks and ways to outwit his enemies rather than fighting them. He prefers to work in the service of others, turning and stealing behind their backs when they aren’t looking. His tricks can often backfire, resulting in trouble for everyone, but the Trickster’s cleverness always wins out in the end.
 
Advantages: +2 dice for Illusion spells, +2 dice for Con Tests.
Disadvantages: A Trickster character must make a Willpower + Charisma (3) Test to resist an opportunity to pull a clever trick or prank, even if it is to the detriment of herself or her friends.
 
Wise Warrior
 
The Wise Warrior is skilled in the art of war, for battle is an art to her, an exercise in the powers of the mind as well as the body. She studies the tactics of her foes and overcomes them through a combination of superior strategy and battle prowess. The Wise Warrior does not act out of savagery or battle-lust, but from a position of knowledge and wisdom. Wise Warriors must follow the warrior’s code of honor and conduct themselves properly or risk the loss of favor.
 
Advantages: +2 dice for Combat and Detection spells.
Disadvantages: –1 die to all tests if acting dishonorably, until the character atones for her action.
 

Wolf
 
Wolf is recognized as a hunter and warrior worldwide. He is devoted to the other members of his pack. As the ancient saying goes, Wolf wins every fight but one, and in that one, he dies. Wolf magicians are loyal to friends and family unto death. They do not show cowardice in battle and their word is their bond.

Advantages: +2 dice for Combat spells, +2 dice for beast spirits.
Disadvantages: A Wolf magician must succeed in a Willpower + Charisma (3) Test to retreat from a fight.