Greetings!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3213[/ATTACH]

Well, in one of my campaigns, there is an expanding human empire that has encountered a primitive race of humanoids, known as the Domnoi. The Domnoi have several small tentacles at the back of their heads, which typically blend in easily enough with their long hair. The Domnoi usually have a green to teal coloured skin, pointed ears, and athletic, graceful physiques. They are however, typically also mutated, with a broad variety of mutations, some of which are obvious--like extra arms, horns, or an extra pair of eyes--or they may be otherwise hidden, like superior intellect, regeneration, or stretchy, extendable arms, for example. The race is deeply attuned to nature, and are led by a warrior caste, and also powerful shamans. The race worships a variety of nature deities, as well as strange, primordial gods and goddesses. The Domnoi are a primitive culture, living in simple buildings of wood, leaves and thatch. Many tribes are nomadic, and rove about from one seasonal location to another, in a seasonal circuit. Other tribes, however, embrace permanent settlements, and practice gathering, hunting, herding, and simple farming. The Domnoi tribes do not mine the earth for stone or metal to any significant degree, and have very little smithing skills or technology. The Domnoi also befriend various kinds of prehistoric Pliestocene animals, from river-dwelling furry hippos, to short-necked giraffes, mammoths, giant boars, and savage panthers.

The human empire that has been establishing settlements throughout the wild frontier are far more advanced than the Domnoi tribes. The humans have been capturing the primitive Domnoi, and as the Domnoi are seen as mutants, of a different race, and embracing a Pagan religion, as well as what the advanced humans view as evil traditions of witchcraft, the Domnoi have been systematically broken to the yoke of slavery. The humans from the advanced empire are also gaining immense wealth from having the primitive Domnoi peoples shipped off to distant foreign slave markets, where they are sold for outstanding profits. Besides the great financial benefits of having the Domnoi as slaves, the humans are also gaining new, pristine lands for settlement, and opening up whole new resources in timber, precious gems, furs, silver and gold.

The adventurers in the group are about to embark upon a mission of exploration deeper into the strange wilderness, in search of fabled treasures and mythical creatures. In considering this adventure, the party is no doubt going to encounter wild tribes of primitive Domnoi. I'm thinking that the Druid spell listings would be fine, however, also embracing the creature's mystical religious and magical traditions, what other spells would be good for them?

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

For Primitive Magic, I believe Divination Magic is appropriate.  It's also extremely useful too.

Divination, flora and fauna, (primitive) warfare, weather, plus a bunch of prestidigitation. Some elementalist-type spells, maybe

Storm King's Thunder for 5e includes spells for the shaman of each of the various Barbarian tribes. In my campaign I developed Barbarian tribes each with their own abilities / spells, worked out very well.

You could throw in simplified versions of Oaths of the Ancients, Warlocks, Rangers, etc, mix things up that way.

Quote from: Razor 007;1076832For Primitive Magic, I believe Divination Magic is appropriate.  It's also extremely useful too.

Greetings!

Hey Razor! Divination magic certainly has a lot of good uses, huh? There's things in Divination that are significantly different from the Druidic magic.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

Quote from: Motorskills;1076842Divination, flora and fauna, (primitive) warfare, weather, plus a bunch of prestidigitation. Some elementalist-type spells, maybe

Storm King's Thunder for 5e includes spells for the shaman of each of the various Barbarian tribes. In my campaign I developed Barbarian tribes each with their own abilities / spells, worked out very well.

You could throw in simplified versions of Oaths of the Ancients, Warlocks, Rangers, etc, mix things up that way.

Greetings!

Nice ideas, Motorskills. Good food for thought. I like them!

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

The elemental magic from Princes of the Aocalypse reproduced in Xanathar's seems like a good fit.

Quote from: S'mon;1076907The elemental magic from Princes of the Aocalypse reproduced in Xanathar's seems like a good fit.

Greetings!

That's an excellent suggestion, S'mon! I like creating different *Feels* for different traditions of magic and spellcasting, so that it doesn't seem generic.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

I'd suggest giving them the PoTA elemental spells - the ones in https://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/EE_PlayersCompanion.pdf - while denying them access to standard stuff like Fireball & Lightning Bolt. So they're using decently powerful magic like Aganazzar's scorcher, but feel very different.

Not a D&D expert but maybe animist spells and practices? Like, communing with or conjuring spirits of nature, ancestors, doing dream-journeys, etc?

The characteristic powers for real world shamans would be:

Spirit travel, as suggested above, something akin to astral projection maybe;

Clairaudience, clairvoyance and long-distance spying/communication in general with distant allies or rival shamans;

Transformation into animals, generally not ordinary animals but ones with supernatural powers like flight (flying bears, flying jaguars etc.);

Ps in a transformed state like this, shamans can also visit or  communicate directly with higher-order supernatural beings, normally Animal Masters, but could be deities or demons in an rpg, possibly also communicate with ordinary animals; and

Healing rituals.

All of these powers may be partly activated by something that encourages a delirious or trance-like state. Could be hallucinogens if available, or extreme heat or cold, self-mutilation and physical pain etc.

So a mix of cleric, magic-user and druid spells.

See the PM I sent you. You crazy dingbat.

Quote from: Zirunel;1081101The characteristic powers for real world shamans would be:

Spirit travel, as suggested above, something akin to astral projection maybe;

Clairaudience, clairvoyance and long-distance spying/communication in general with distant allies or rival shamans;

Transformation into animals, generally not ordinary animals but ones with supernatural powers like flight (flying bears, flying jaguars etc.);

Ps in a transformed state like this, shamans can also visit or  communicate directly with higher-order supernatural beings, normally Animal Masters, but could be deities or demons in an rpg, possibly also communicate with ordinary animals; and

Healing rituals.

All of these powers may be partly activated by something that encourages a delirious or trance-like state. Could be hallucinogens if available, or extreme heat or cold, self-mutilation and physical pain etc.

So a mix of cleric, magic-user and druid spells.

And now that I think about it, a bit of an extrapolation, but potions. Everything to do with preparation and use.

Even some bard abilities. Not based directly on their powers, just on the  general prestige and charisma that shamans enjoy. They are influential, and they are also performers.

Agree with @Zirunel, make them mysterious, even if their effects are just re-skins of established spells / spell-like abilities.