Shaman (Dungeons & Dragons)
| A Dungeons & Dragons character class | |
|---|---|
| Publication history | |
| First appearance | The Golden Khan of Ethengar |
| Editions | 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3.5, 4th |
| (as an alternate class) | 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3.5, 4th |
| Based on | Shaman |
The shaman is an alternate playable character class in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. The shaman has been published or republished many distinct forms over the decades. There are two main shaman concepts in D&D: monsters who cast clerical or druidic spells, and a human or demi-human PC class. The spell-casting monsters are generally treated as primitive or unsophisticated clerics or clerics of uncivilized or inhuman deities. For those iterations that treat the shaman as something other than a priest of uncivilized deities, the shaman gains power from animistic spirits instead of, or in addition to, a deity, force, or philosophy. These spirits may be ancestors, animal spirits, or spirits of the land.
The PC versions of the shaman class generally present it as a priest of an animistic or spirit-based religion on-par with the deity-based religions found elsewhere in D&D.
The basic D&D shaman (The Golden Khan of Ethengar) and shamani (The Atruaghin Clans), three second edition shaman classes (Shaman; Complete Barbarian's Handbook; Spells and Magic or Faith and Avatars), two third edition shaman classes (3.0 Oriental Adventures; 3.5 Spirit Shaman in Complete Divine) and one fourth edition shaman (Players Handbook II) are all fully implemented Shaman classes meant for PC use in the game.
The shaman in D&D covers two sides of the notion of Shamanism. The first is as a primitive magician or priest, opposed to a more civilized European priest viewed through the lenses of the Catholic Church of Greco-Roman Paganism. The Druid was meant to represent other types of pagan priests, such as a Celtic priest. This version of the shaman is applied to monsters in the basic D&D game, as well as the first and second edition games. Remnants of this point of view can be seen in later edition monsters, which have spellcasting variants labeled shamans.
The second notion of the shaman is as a priest of an animistic religion. In this interpretation, the Shaman is seen as an optional PC class who performs many of the functions of the cleric: healing, divination or oracles, ceremonies, etc. Rather than venerating a deity from the D&D pantheon, however, shamans deal with spirits of nature, ancestors, elemental spirits, animal spirits, and the like.
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