Shaman (Dungeons & Dragons)

The shaman concept was covered numerous times in the late 80s and early 90s for the Master Set of the basic Dungeons & Dragons game. In this line, the shaman and wiccan are options for monster classes to access cleric or magic-user spells respectively. The Orcs of Thar (1988) covers orcish shamans,[1] and this concept of the shaman is again presented as a magical option for monster classes in Top Ballista (1989) and The Shadow Elves (GAZ13, 1990).

The Golden Khan of Ethengar (GAZ12, 1989), however, includes rules for a full-fledged shaman character class,[1] which is treated as a distinct class that is unlike the use of the term for any primitive or tribal cleric. This shaman class is similar to the cleric though the spell list is different and this shaman does not have the ability to turn undead. Instead, this shaman gains a spirit guide, keen senses, the ability to speak with animals, and the ability to shapeshift into animal form.

A thematically similar, though mechanically different, class is introduced as the Shamani in The Atruaghin Clans (GAZ14, 1991). It does not gain the abilities of the Golden Khan shaman class, but instead has an ability to detect poisons and advances at a faster rate.

Dragon Magazine #141 (1989) covers the shaman as a primitive, humanoid priest for AD&D.

In 2nd edition, shaman is a term which often referred to primitively tribal or primitive priests, particularly those of the so-called savage species from The Complete Book of Humanoids. This usage is a holdover from earlier iterations of the shaman concept as NPC primitive spellcasters.

The shaman character class was introduced anew in the 2nd edition supplement, Shaman (1995). It used a nonstandard spellcasting mechanic whereby spells are not memorized each day, but can be cast multiple times until a wisdom check is failed. It was not further developed (although it was briefly mentioned as the source of power of one of the minor dark lords in the Ravenloft campaign setting). This shaman may have been affiliated with a tribe, a natural hermit, or a social outcast. The tribalist, solitary, and spiritualist had their own spell lists, though shamans could also draw spells from other shaman spell lists or the general priest list. This version of the shaman begins to distance itself from the notion of the tribal or primitive priest (worshiping savage deities instead of civilized ones), though the uncivilized origin is still viewed as an important aspect of the class.

Also in 1995, the Complete Barbarian's Handbook introduced a different shaman class. This one is much closer to priests of a specific mythos, but still represents an uncivilized or primitive priest class. This shaman gains major access to different spheres that the cleric does, and shares some features with the barbarian kit for the fighter, also presented in the book.

Another version of the shaman character class was introduced in the Player's Option: Spells & Magic (1995) supplement which resembles the standard cleric, though it draws spells from different spheres and has the ability to contact spirits for aid. In this iteration, the shaman is a subclass of the cleric, alongside the crusader, druid, monk, and mystic. These six priest classes are intended to broadly represent the priests of any D&D religion, and complement or even replace the vast multitude of specialty priest classes.

The shaman is a character class in the 3rd edition that was introduced in the Oriental Adventures campaign supplement.

The shaman in the 3rd edition of the game is a variant of the shukenja of the AD&D 1st edition Oriental Adventures. (A character class called the shugenja also appears in the 3rd edition Oriental Adventures which is a similar spellcasting class but differs because of its elemental theme.) This shaman is more akin to a shinto priest, rather than the real-world shugenja. The shaman is considered the oriental equivalent of the cleric, although it also shares abilities with the monk and druid classes. Like clerics, shamans derive their spells from divine energy in general and from powerful entities; they propitiate spirits of an animistic religious system rather than deities, forces, or philosophies (although deities may also exist as extremely powerful spirits). These spirits embody the domains from which shamans gain powers and domain spells. A few domains are identical to clerical domains listed in the Player's Handbook; some are unique to the shaman and have no direct equivalent to any clerical domain. Unlike a cleric, at higher levels a shaman can learn a third domain and prepare two domain spells per day for certain spell levels. In general, a shaman's spell list is more nature-oriented than the cleric's. Like the druid, it can gain an animal companion. Its attack progression is identical to a cleric's, while it has a variety of unarmed combat feats similar to the monk. The 3.5 update to the class found in Dragon magazine issue 318 (April 2004) improves the shaman's combat prowess, such as by granting shamans the ability to inflict extra damage with their unarmed attacks, similar to those of monks.

The vanara, a monkey-like humanoid race also published in Oriental Adventures, has shaman as its favored class.

Third edition also released two other shaman-like classes. In 3.5, the Complete Divine contains the spirit shaman class, which spontaneously casts spells, but can still change prepared spells daily. The spirit shaman also has numerous abilities which relate to spirits and incorporeal things, and as such is a much more direct successor to the Basic D&D shaman.

The dragon shaman class, however, from the Player's Handbook II is mechanically related to the marshal class from the Miniatures Handbook, rather than being a divine caster class. The dragon shaman does not have any relationship to spirits in a general sense, though it does have a dragon spirit totem. As such, it is peripheral to the shaman concept as portrayed in D&D.

The shaman is among the classes included in the 4th edition Player's Handbook 2 (March 2009).[2] The shaman class has the primal power source and the leader role, and has a clear link with the primal spirits of the earth; most of their powers call upon or otherwise make use of spirits. Continuing with this spiritual link, all shamans receive a spirit companion; the class is notable for being the first 4th edition class to have a companion as a standard feature. While the spirit companion may have any appearance the player wishes, the flavor and artwork included in the book depict it as an animal spirit, and the provided shaman builds are named after possible appearances (Panther and Bear). Additional builds were added in Primal Power and the Dark Sun campaign setting.