Rewriting the Primal classes

[kieza]

I'm working on a rewrite of the Primal power source, and I've hit on a stumbling block.

I'm trying to make the primal classes' interaction with spirits much more visible. The idea is that each class has a selection of spirits that they choose from at character creation, which gives them both a passive ability (e.g. the Skinwalker can choose the Bear spirit, which grants a Fortitude bonus and Toughness, or the Stag spirit, which grants bonuses to speed and charge attacks, or a couple of others.) and gives them a daily power.

Anyways, I want each class to have a theme to the spirits they can choose from. I've got three of them planned out:

-The Skinwalker (striker) invokes animal spirits and takes on their physical traits. His daily power strengthens these traits and augments powers associated with his spirit.
-The Totemist (defender) invokes spirits of the land (such as mountains, forests, etc.) and alters the battlefield in a small aura around him. His daily power expands the aura and grants an additional at-will power.
-The Druid (controller, name may change) invokes elemental spirits (fire, earth, water air) as minions: they cause penalties to adjacent enemies, and when killed they "explode" as an attack. His daily power grants him abilities appropriate to his choice of element, and lets him summon a spirit from that element for free once per turn as minor action.

The one I'm stuck on is the Shaman (leader, name may change). Right now I'm leaning towards having him work like the existing Shaman, in that he summons spirits, but I'd like them to be ancestor spirits (the honored dead) instead of animals. Trouble is, I can't think of four-ish different, useful, and thematic ancestor spirits. My idea for the daily powers is that they would attach the spirit companion to the Shaman or a nearby ally, granting the target some appropriate abilities, ongoing healing, and treating him as the origin of spirit companion powers.

Anyways, I'd appreciate thoughts on what kinds of spirit the Shaman might invoke; I'm still in the brainstorming phase, so if you have an idea for a different theme, I'm open to it. At one point I thought of having the Shaman invoke spirits of the four seasons, but I had trouble coming up with an appropriate way to do it.

[Sorcerer Blob]

Ideas for Shaman spirits, since you are going the ancestral spirit route (which seems much cooler than the animal spirit one):

Ancestral Spirit of War: Gives bonuses to damage rolls. There is a mechanic precedent for this.

Ancestral Spirit of Mercy: Extra heals to your party. The more leadery of the options.

Ancestral Spirit of Knowledge: Gives bonuses to attack rolls. Fluff is that knowledge is power and knowing your enemy helps you defeat it.

Ancestral Spirit of Courage: Boosts defenses, either straight AC or other. For Primal, I could see AC and Reflex making sense here.

I, too, am having trouble coming up with more than two. This seems like it should be a simple thought exorcise, but I'm coming up blank!

[ArcturusV]

Four Ancestral Spirits eh... Sounds nice.

How about something like:

(Proper Name of Ancestor) The Cursed: Channels the spirit of an ancestor who was known for the poor role fate dished out to him/her. Even in death his/her ill fate clings to the spirit, and manifesting it will spread misfortune in it's wake.
Debuff style stuff, adjacent enemies grant CA, penalties to attack, etc, that are typical predator spirit stuff.

(Proper Name of Ancestor) The Ascendant: Channels the spirit of an ancestor who was known for the ability to overcome long odds and do so in a righteous manner that left all awe inspired by his/her actions. In death the exalted nature of the spirit can be manifested to bring forth grace, determination, and fortitude to those who it finds favor in.
Spirit which manifests a lot of defensive powers, boosting defenses, healing, providing reactions to attacks like short range shifting/teleporting (After damage is dealt).

(Proper Name of Ancestor) The Wise: Channels the spirit of an ancestor who was known for their studious nature, calm, collected demeanor, and invaluable advice. In death his/her understanding of things has only grown as the spirit has witnessed generations of mortals live, learn, grow, and die.
Spirit which manifests situational bonus stuff. This would be a lot of the normal "Make a _____ d20 roll with a _____ insight bonus" and such. Should also be something that gives allies near the spirit Opportunity Actions due to his/her council.

(Proper Name of Ancestor) The Warrior: Channels the spirit of an ancestor who was known for their battlefield exploits and tactical expertise. In death his/her spirit not only retains their own knowledge and skills, but has met with and spoken to great leaders from across time, vastly increasing their knowledge.
Spirit which manifests manipulation powers. This would be a lot of Shifting, Movement, giving allies extra actions, etc, in the leader category.