The Tribal Shaman (SB)

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: When you are shaman, you will know one thing from another, and tell all what those things are. You will say when the dead are dead and when the living are trespassing against their spirits, you will say who might rightly marry whom, and who owes allegiance to which clan; in this you have power over all men, for only you, a Shaman, can make it clear who is who and what is what.
: —Ryambe, tribal shaman
The tribal shaman is the intermediary between the people of his tribe and the spirits. He is a religious functionary (offering sacrifice to the spirits), an oracle (determining the spirits' wills), a lore master and an advisor to the tribe. He is respected by all and expected to provide moral guidance by example and word.
Depending on the nature of the tribe and the spirits they worship, the tribal shaman may be part of a rigid hierarchy, may be alone or a member of a small group of shamans at a shrine or village, or may wander from settlement to settlement.
Requirements: Tribal shamans must have a minimum Wisdom of 12, must match the overall alignment of their culture.
Role: Tribal shamans are sources of moral and religious authority, sources of explanation, and guardians of the tribe's traditions and status quo. He is also the one who conveys the will of the spirits to the tribe.
The spirits with which a shaman deals are invariably the spirits of his or her tribe, and each tribe has a different array of spirits which they traditionally venerate. In some tribes, spirits are seen as being everywhere—in trees and streams, rocks and beasts, in the air and the earth. Other tribes do not venerate nature spirits, but the tribe's forebears. Some tribes worship a small number of greater spirits, each associated with specific elements—for example water and fire.
In most tribal religions, the spirits are seen as the causes of all hardship and good fortune. If crops are abundant, and the people are in good health, then thanks are given to the spirits. If there is a bad harvest, if a woman is barren, or a son is ill, the spirits are considered to be responsible, and the people need to know why the spirits have struck them down.
It is their role as mediators between the spirits and the people that makes the shamans important, for often it is only through them can the cause of misfortune be identified and the suffering alleviated. Moreover, some shamans are believed to be able to call down the spirits' wrath on the wicked.
In this way, the spirits (and thus the shamans) maintain the tribe's social order. The spirits demand that the people behave in certain ways. The shamans then must instruct the people as to what is right and what is wrong.
Restrictions: There are no racial restrictions on the tribal shaman; any PC race permitted by the DM, and who comes from an appropriate background, may become a tribal shaman. (NPC shamans can be of virtually any intelligent species.) The sex of a tribal shaman is generally dictated by tribal tradition. The DM must decide whether to limit tribal shamans from a given tribe to males, females, or allow either sex to serve. (For example, the Que-Shu in the DRAGONLANCE® setting allow priests and shamans of either sex, while the wandering Vistani tribes of the RAVENLOFT® demiplane would only tolerate female shamans.) Tribal shamans only use weapons that have everyday-life functions as well as the ability to inflict harm; these include daggers, staves, and hand axes. Tribal shamans may not wear armor, and do not use shields.
Special Benefits: The tribal shaman is trained from childhood in dealing with the spirits that help or hinder his tribe. For this reason, at first level he already knows the Shamanic Ritual nonweapon proficiency (without needing to devote one of his starting slots to it), as well as two rituals that may be used to facilitate dealings with the spirits.
The ritual of contact: This ritual allows the shaman to speak with the spirits, and can only be used in sacred areas. He may specify which spirit they wish to speak with (especially wise if malign spirits might be nearby), or may attempt to contact any available spirit. The shaman performs a dance, beats a drum, sings a chant, or performs some other function to attract the spirits' attentions, usually beginning energetically, and slipping into a light slumber if the spirit comes to speak with him or her. The ritual takes 1 turn to complete.
The conversation takes place telepathically. The shaman see himself, as if in a dream, standing with the spirit in the spirit world, talking as normal. There are no dramatics, no levitating objects, and no oozing ectoplasm. Often the interaction is both informal and public, with friends and assistants of the shaman loitering nearby. The shaman usually mutters as if talking in his or her sleep, but the spirit's side of the conversation remains inaudible to spectators.
The ritual of introduction: This rite is usually performed at the edge of one tribe's lands, when entering the territory of another. The shaman buries at least one day's worth of food and drink and entreats the spirits of the area to accept the offering and believe that he or she has no ill intent.
All spirits of the area thereafter react to the shaman more favorably. Suspicious or hostile spirits tolerate the stranger, and indifferent spirits become friendly. However, if the shaman betrays the promise and attacks or harms the people or spirits of the area, all of the territory's spirits immediately become hostile, and any subsequent ritual of introductions fail to appease them.
The ritual affects all spirits linked with the territory entered, such as ancestors, hero spirits, and any other spirit traditionally worshipped by the people) and any spirits bound to the area (tree and animal spirits, etc.). It has no effect on spirits who are incidental inhabitants of the area.
Special Disadvantages: Aside from being overly conservative (see "Roleplaying" in this section), the tribal shaman has no special disadvantages.
Class Background: Each tribe has its own procedures for selecting and training shamans, and these methods are firmly rooted in longstanding tradition. The process is the same from generation to generation, and often originates from laws given to the tribe by the spirits. A typical selection process might be as follows:
A child is first chosen according to an omen a sacred bird lands on the roof of his or her hut on a certain holy day, for example). The boy or girl is taken to live with the shamans on the edge of the village, where he or she works as a servant for them, helps with ceremonies, and so on. When the child reaches puberty, he or she is sent to a sacred cave, with water but no food, and must stay there until the spirits come and accept the new shaman and bestowing a new name upon him or her.
Roleplaying: Many tribal shamans are severe, humorless sorts, acutely aware of the great responsibility which they bear. They have been trained to safeguard the tribe, both its morals and its actual safety, and cannot take this lightly.
The role of the tribed shamans demands that they must/speak out boldly for what is right, and yet when dealing with important members of the tribe they must learn tact and control. Committed to serving ancient spirits and maintaining tribal traditions, they are usually extremely conservative, fiercely resisting any sort of religious or social change.
They are not by nature questioners, as they have taken on trust what their elders taught them. Now, they expect others to accept the same teachings on trust from them.
Most try to make themselves paragons of moral respectability, strictly adhering to the standards that the spirits demand the tribe follows. Few are so strong willed that they have no human failings, but their tribes usually expect them to live exemplary lives and may cease to respect them if they do not. More importantly, the spirits themselves are often determined that the shamans should live blamelessly and may punish those who stray.
Followers and Strongholds: On reaching 9th level, the tribal shaman receives a number of followers (in addition to any henchmen he or she may already have gained). These are: 1d8 1st-level fighters and 1d4-1 1st-level tribal shamans. The tribal shaman does not automatically receive a stronghold, although at any time he or she may set up a shrine or other permanent base and fortify it.