Totemist

Totemists were a class of magic user that channeled the powers of nature to make magical items called soulmelds, claiming them as their totems.
 
==Activities==
Totemists in their native lands were leaders of their people, being intermediaries between the mundane and spiritual worlds and living embodiments of the strength and power of magical beasts at the forefront of their forces. 
==Abilities==
In general, totemists in Faerûn derived their powers their powers from the excess raw magic from the creation of magical beasts, whether from an earthly or divine caster. When such creatures were created, a small amount of spiritual energy sometimes leaked out, and those who venerated these beasts occasionally learned how to shape the associated energy to create magical effects. This made the source of their power somewhat paradoxical, as they were primal and earthy users of energy from a process of sophisticated magical experimentation. The same effects could also be achieved by channeling other sources of primal power, however, such as nature spirits.
==Culture==
Totemists were not common anywhere in Faerûn, but were most frequently encountered in places where totems, beast gods, and nature spirits were venerated.
Certain Uthgardt tribes had small numbers of totemists who acted as tribal shamans, using soulmelds related to their totem spirits. Those from the Sky Pony tribe might use a pegasus cloak, Gray Wolf tribe a worg pelt, or Thunderbeast tribe a pair of thunderstep boots.
Totemists could also be found among beast cults. The benevolent cults typically lived in harmony with nature, giving praise and appreciation to the nobility of their totems, while the malevolent ones reveled in brutality and savagery, using their powers to enact destructive and bloody rampages. Examples included the beast cults of Lurue, Nobanion, and Malar, the former two often coming into conflict with the latter.
The totemists of Rashemen worked with the telthor, powerful nature spirits, to derive their abilities. They exulted in channeling the spirit of the land's raw and terrible beauty. They were particularly common among spirit folk who, being part spirit themselves. were more attuned to the spirits of the land. The people of Osse similarly channeled nature spirits.
It was suggested that totemists could be found among small groups of wild elves and wild dwarves, their power rarely differentiated from other forms of magic.
==Relationships==
A part of two worlds yet belonging fully in neither, totemists were outsiders even in the midst of the communities and cultures familiar with them, where they occupied a position of respect mingled with fear. Even those who viewed then positively generally did not seek to engage with them casually, preferring to offer aid but escape their presence as soon as possible. Cultures unfamiliar with totemists had no particular affinity for them, their stance being more determined by a specific totemist's origin and their general attitude towards foreigners.
==Appendix==
===References===
Category:Classes