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Allow Spirit Shaman to Switch Spells with Unlimited Access from Mystra in Nexus
Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2026 2:28 am
by lethzeee
As per Complete Divine:
Like a sorcerer, a spirit shaman knows only a small number of spells. However, each day a spirit shaman may change the spells she knows. When a spirit shaman meditates to regain her daily allotment of spells (see below), she sends forth her spirit guide to bargain with the spirits and retrieve knowledge of the specific druid spells she will be able to use that day. She can cast any spell she has retrieved at any time, assuming she has not yet used up her spells per day for that spell level. For example, a 3rd-level spirit shaman can retrieve three 0-level, two 1st-level, and one 2nd-level druid spells. She can cast 0-level spells five times, 1st-level spells four times, and her 2nd-level spell two times in the course of the day. She might end up using the same 0-level spell five times, or one 0-level spell two times and another 0-level spell three times, or any combination that adds up to five uses of any of her 0-level spells.
So allowing Spirit Shamans to have unlimited access to the spell swapper would bring them closer to their PnP version and give them a slight edge beyond just "sorcerer but for druid" since it's already a rather underwhelming class whose class abilities are mostly useless beyond the specific maybe 3 scenarios.
Re: Allow Spirit Shaman to Switch Spells with Unlimited Access from Mystra in Nexus
Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2026 2:34 am
by lethzeee
Also I understand that due to things such as engine limitation the Spirit Shaman spellcasting works exactly as Sorcerer and Favoured Soul is a technical compromise, but it would be nice if they get a feat at level one that let them access the spell-swapper menu similar to the one from Mystra but with a cooldown per rest to simulate their unique spellcasting mechanics from PnP, if allowing them unlimited spell-swapping is considered.
Re: Allow Spirit Shaman to Switch Spells with Unlimited Access from Mystra in Nexus
Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2026 4:44 pm
by Goat
I wouldn't call them bad. In fact, most SS I know can solo most areas - they don't seem to be in a 'bad place', just to state. They're pretty capable - and I'm not sure I share the same stance at least when it comes to the class itself.
Defo not adding a unlimited spell swapper though as a feat. That kind of sounds crazy op. If we wanted that we would of just made them like wizards instead and not gone through the fluff of what it is now. Maybe a lower delay - maybe - but that depends on what devs will say.
Re: Allow Spirit Shaman to Switch Spells with Unlimited Access from Mystra in Nexus
Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2026 7:36 pm
by tankteddy
As a Spirit Shamen player, if built correctly, they are fairly well-balanced. The only changes I could honestly see made are to allow for Telthor compainion for free without having to take it as a feat. As for spells themselves, what SS loses in changing spells, I highly enjoy the amount of casting I am allowed without having to fiddle with a spell book. That being said. Yes, there are times when having the ability to swap out a spell or two would be nice. Though a lot of the spells I omit from my list could arguably be cast as Rituals with DM discretion. ((EX Commune with Nature))
Spirit shaman works well in the position of warding allies or controlling the battlefield. I find they only lack in one VS one or against large bosses, really.
Re: Allow Spirit Shaman to Switch Spells with Unlimited Access from Mystra in Nexus
Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2026 11:31 pm
by lethzeee
Goat wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2026 4:44 pm
I wouldn't call them bad. In fact, most SS I know can solo most areas - they don't seem to be in a 'bad place', just to state. They're pretty capable - and I'm not sure I share the same stance at least when it comes to the class itself.
Defo not adding a unlimited spell swapper though as a feat. That kind of sounds crazy op. If we wanted that we would of just made them like wizards instead and not gone through the fluff of what it is now. Maybe a lower delay - maybe - but that depends on what devs will say.
I don't doubt they aren't bad, no, but rather "underwhelming" comparing to their Druid counterpart (since Druid's class abilities are much more useful and versatile than Spirit Shaman's, and have more supports from feats and PrCs. Or I guess Druid is considered rather "overpowered" among the base classes).
Having the ability to access a vast list of spells while casting them spontaneously is one of the main schticks of Spirit Shaman in the PnP. I don't quite mind the mechanical handicap of it being reduced to just spontaneous spellcasting all that much but do think it limits the intended class fantasy considerably (the ability to commune with a great number of different spirits and how intertwined their spellcasting is with them). Which I will admit is a hard one between mechanical balance and RP flavour.
Re: Allow Spirit Shaman to Switch Spells with Unlimited Access from Mystra in Nexus
Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2026 7:51 pm
by wurdpass
Related: It’d be nice if Shamans (and other spontaneous?) could swap spells as they level when they get past 20 levels of spellcasting, like they can before that.
I think they should be able to from a rules perspective but since you don’t see the spell chooser page on level up you don’t get a chance.
Re: Allow Spirit Shaman to Switch Spells with Unlimited Access from Mystra in Nexus
Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2026 12:10 pm
by DaloLorn
Goat wrote: ↑Tue Mar 17, 2026 4:44 pm
Defo not adding a unlimited spell swapper though as a feat. That kind of sounds crazy op. If we wanted that we would of just made them like wizards instead and not gone through the fluff of what it is now. Maybe a lower delay - maybe - but that depends on what devs will say.
Mmm, the request is rooted in the fact that PnP shamans are... semi-spontaneous casters. Their spell slots work like a sorcerer's, with their daily casting divided into buckets of Nth-level spells instead of rigidly allotted slots, but like a wizard, they can change their selected spells every time they rest.
Pain in the neck to implement in NWN2, though.