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Grogmir
2010-11-01, 11:20 AM
He guys, Got a shaman in my camp at the moment

Just wondering if there's been any advice on how to 'interact' with these.

Do monsters know there are a spirit companion?
Do you target the SC normally treating it as an extra PC?
Does it incur usual penalities for difficult terrain etc?
What about status effects etc? If the SC gets 'slowed' can it get slowed? - What if gets hit for over the threashold - it gets dismissed - does any status effect the original PC in this case?

is it just me but they bring up a lot of questions.

Ta

Kurald Galain
2010-11-01, 11:36 AM
Do monsters know there are a spirit companion?
DM's choice of either (1) it depends on the intelligence of the monster, and (2) RAW states that whenever anyone is affected by something, they know how it works.


Do you target the SC normally treating it as an extra PC?
Again, DM's choice of either (1) depends on the character of the monster, or (2) whenever it's tactically sound to do so.


Does it incur usual penalities for difficult terrain etc?
No, because it's a conjuration, and conjurations aren't affected by terrain.


What about status effects etc? If the SC gets 'slowed' can it get slowed?
No, because the power specifies that it is immune to any and all effects except for damage over its threshold.


What if gets hit for over the threashold - it gets dismissed - does any status effect the original PC in this case?
No, because nothing in the rulebook specifies that this should happen. The key to remember here is that no power has any effect beyond what is explicitly stated in the power description. The power never says that conditions transfer over, therefore they do not.

valadil
2010-11-01, 11:42 AM
Do monsters know there are a spirit companion?
Do you target the SC normally treating it as an extra PC?


I treat it as half a PC. Smart enemies know what it is. I figure that most humanoids are familiar with basic class features. Monsters can hit the spirit, but usually don't because it's less of a threat than other combatants.

Grogmir
2010-11-01, 11:48 AM
Cheers for the quick replies.

Thats pretty much how I've been ruling it - glad to get a firm on the conjuration. I throw a lot of dt into my maps so my shaman will be pleased to hear that.

Conditions is a little strange but at least I know the rule. Seems to just protect them all conditions - and very hurts the low damage - lots of effects - type monsters I tend to use.

Oh well have to have the brute focus on it now and then.

Thanks again.
Grog

Mando Knight
2010-11-01, 11:52 AM
Oh well have to have the brute focus on it now and then.

Not Brutes. Soldiers. Artillery. Controllers attacking the Shaman. In fact, it may be more advantageous to pay no attention to the puppet and instead focus on the man behind the curtain: the spirit companion isn't a threat if the Shaman is locked down, but trying to lock down the spirit is generally worthless, especially since the Shaman takes relatively little damage for losing the spirit.

tcrudisi
2010-11-01, 12:41 PM
Required reading for anyone playing or DMing a shaman:
http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/21836709/Spirited_Away_A_Shaman_Handbook

Scroll down a bit and there's a section called Spirit Companion FAQ. You'll notice there's a lot of questions which have been answered all per RAW.

Urpriest
2010-11-01, 01:00 PM
Not Brutes. Soldiers. Artillery. Controllers attacking the Shaman. In fact, it may be more advantageous to pay no attention to the puppet and instead focus on the man behind the curtain: the spirit companion isn't a threat if the Shaman is locked down, but trying to lock down the spirit is generally worthless, especially since the Shaman takes relatively little damage for losing the spirit.

To add to this, remember that anything the spirit companion does is actually the shaman's action. If the shaman is dazed, stunned, etc., the spirit companion can't take as many actions. If the shaman is blind, attacks through the spirit companion still take -5. Etc.

cdrcjsn
2010-11-01, 02:01 PM
Why did he pick beaver as his spirit companion by the way?

Don't know why, but I can't help but think that there's an interesting story there.

Grogmir
2010-11-02, 01:35 PM
Thanks again for all the help - great link.

Eh everyone at our table that has a animal companion, real or otherwise. partly as we have a beaver model. Party cause, well, Beaver's can be funny no? :smalltongue: