This review has been sponsored by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

Support my work by using my affiliate links and pledging via Patreon.

Designed by: Dragonix Books

From the designer of the incredible Monster Manual Expanded series comes a class supplement that adds a new level 1-20 class, along with 13 subclasses. The Shaman is a full caster that uses unique spirit totems and ancestral powers to support allies and increase the potency of their spells.

The Shaman convenes with spirits and the spirit world similar to a Druid and nature. They’re typically found away from the densest clusters of society, where tribes of folk are more in tune with their ancestors, and their connection to each other.

Mechanically, the Shaman is a combination Druid and Cleric, and borrows a bit from Barbarian with Ancestral Awakening.

The Shaman is a full, Wisdom-based caster with d6 hit die and light armor. Spell progression is equal to Druids, Clerics, Wizards, etc, though they must prepare spells before casting them.

The class is defined by two primary abilities: Totemic Spirit, and Ancestral Awakening.

Totemic Spirit is unlocked at 1st level. Once per long rest, the Shaman can summon their spirit, which has its own statblock, and activate it using a bonus action. The actions the spirit can take depend on the Spirit Aspect (subclass), also chosen at 1st level.

Dragon totems can spew breath weapons and grant resistance, fey totems can teleport allies or knock foes temporarily unconscious, and infernal totems gain hellish rebuke and extra fire damage.

The totems are super squishy, however. They have an AC of 10, +0 to saves, and hit points equal to five times the Shaman’s level. They do have resistances to a lot of damage, but still susceptible to AoE spells. They can only move if the Shaman spends a full action moving them.

As cool and thematic as the totems are, I’m super bummed that they’re limited to once per long rest. And that never seems to change as the Shaman levels.

shaman winter

At level two the Shaman gains Ancestral Awakening, which is what happens if you apply a Barbarian’s signature rage mode to a full caster. When the Shaman activates this ability as a bonus action, all their Shaman spells are upcasted one level for free, and they can concentrate on an additional spell — wow!

The effect only lasts a single round unless you attack, force a saving throw, use a bonus action (after being attacked or targeted by a spell) or you heal someone with a class action (such as a totem). In other words, pretty darn close to rage, and should probably last for an entire encounter.

Now the bad news: when you activate the awakening, your totem goes away. I actually like this restriction, as thematically, you’re drawing all the spirit power into yourself!

But on top of that, you have very few uses. Until 5th level, you have only a single use per long rest, then two uses until 14th level, where you top out at three.

I would love to see either of these abilities recharge on a short rest, or perhaps increase their uses but share the same resource.

I know different groups have different adventuring days, but I picture the poor Shaman without their signature class abilities for a long time in my games (or denying themselves so they can save them for the inevitable boss fight).

Also at 1st level, each Shaman gains a Spirit Guide, which is a re-themed find familiar, tied to your chosen Spirit Aspect. Some of the subclasses really buff up the guide, such as Aspect of the Dragon (pseudodragon) or Aspect of the Abyss (Quasit). Others can combo and enhance your spells, like the Aspect of the Storm’s Amplifying Spirit extending the range of your lighting and thunder spells. Assuming you can keep the little bugger alive.

At first I was disappointed that 12 of the 13 subclasses are essentially the same, just palette-swapped with different skins and themes. But when viewed through the same lens as Cleric Domains, it makes a lot more sense (the 13th subclass is Aspect of War, giving the Shaman lots of great frontline fighter perks).

There are a ton of themes to re-flavor your Spirit Guide, Totemic Spirit, and awakenings, whether through elements like Frost, Earth, or Dragon, or otherworldly sources such as Abyss, Celestial, and Infernal.

Later Shaman abilities include a form of Turn Undead (for spirit creatures) and a form of Arcane Recovery, though both use those precious few Ancestral Awakening uses.

The more I read about the Shaman, the more I saw its pieces fitting together, going well beyond a support class thanks to its powerful spell list and burst damage potential. A worthy candidate for a 14th class.

Pros:

  • Totemic Spirits draw inspiration from World of Warcraft‘s shaman totems.
  • Utilize Totemic Spirits, or enter a super-casting mode through Ancestral Awakening.
  • 13 subclasses offer a huge amount of theming and customization.
  • Professional layout and design.

Cons:

  • Both signature class abilities have extremely limited number of uses per adventuring day.

The Verdict: The Shaman makes a strong case for its existence in a crowded field as a customizable, thematic, full caster with unique abilities based around totems and spirits.

A review copy of “The Shaman” was provided by the publisher. Find more DMs Guild Reviews on my website and YouTube channel.

Support my work by using my affiliate links and pledging via Patreon.