WoW Shaman

[thedanster7000]

One of my players wants to make his Orc shaman from World of Warcraft. My initial thought was Druid but he doesn't want wildshape. Then I thought fighter/tempest sorcerer for a nature-themed non-wildshape caster/tribal warrior. It just doesn't have a shaman feel to me though, so are there any better builds?

[JNAProductions]

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?387903-5e-DnD-Warcraft-Inspired-Shaman

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?415252-Custom-Shaman-Class-for-5th-edition

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?420933-Shaman-(Class)

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?423789-5th-Edition-Homebrew-Class-Shaman

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?425577-5th-edition-Shaman-Class

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?427455-A-Shaman-Homebew!

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?458327-Shaman-Base-Class-for-5th-Edition

A few shaman classes I found on these here forums.

[Zejety]

One of my players wants to make his Orc shaman from World of Warcraft. My initial thought was Druid but he doesn't want wildshape. Then I thought fighter/tempest sorcerer for a nature-themed non-wildshape caster/tribal warrior. It just doesn't have a shaman feel to me though, so are there any better builds?

Have you considered Nature Cleric?
Do you know his Shaman's specialization?

[CursedRhubarb]

That would depend heavily on what spec they play in WoW. Land Druid may be best if they play elemental, Life Cleric for restoration, and Four Elements Monk would work well for enhancement. Some multiclassing may be wanted between those.

[thedanster7000]

Have you considered Nature Cleric?
Do you know his Shaman's specialization?

Didn't want cleric because no deity.

@JNA
Wow, that's a lot of links very fast. Wanted homebrew as a last resort because I can't judge balance massively well. I don't suppose you've looked any of these over and approved?

@Rhubarb
Didn't want Druid.

[Theodoxus]

One of my players wants to make his Orc shaman from World of Warcraft. My initial thought was Druid but he doesn't want wildshape. Then I thought fighter/tempest sorcerer for a nature-themed non-wildshape caster/tribal warrior. It just doesn't have a shaman feel to me though, so are there any better builds?

What spec does he play primarily? It'd be difficult to recreate all three in one character, but if he's looking at a specific spec, it'd be easier.

For Elemental (which is what it sounds like, from your description), I'd go Tempest Cleric/Storm Sorcerer; Gives heavy armor (chainmail) and any weapon he'd want to use... Lots of thunder/lightning synergy, though it lacks the primal feel on the surface, doesn't mean you can't refluff it a bit... pick up Booming Blade if he's looking at melee at all.

For Enhancement, I'd do something a bit weird - start totem (wolf) barbarian (with TWF) and roll into Tempest Cleric at some point. This would give the melee feel of enhancement while still having a lightning theme. Might pick up Magic Initiate for Booming Blade fun. Definitely would want Dual Wielder feat at 4th level to use maces/hammers. Might grab a level of fighter for TWF style to add off hand damage as well, depends on how much he feels he needs to emulate the strikes from the WoW Shaman. The bonus is, Totem Barbs are pretty much defacto shaman (traditional, not WoW), so there's less refluffling required to make them feel the same.

For Restoration, hmm.. Nothing really encompasses the water elemental theme of Resto in 5E. Could definitely refluff the spells, if you'd like. I haven't played the 7.0 patch Resto, so I don't know what's changed (guess I could peek at that this evening) - nothing replicates the earthen ward... Aid, I suppose could be refluffed to do it... Ablative HPs?

Anyway, hope that helps as a primer...

ETA (since I got massively ninja'd) - I get the not wanting to be cleric for the no-god part. However, WoW Shaman worship the elements and elementals, they get their power primarily from the elemental aspects the Titans left as wardens. I don't know your campaign, if it's homebrew or a published setting, but, FR for instance has elemental gods. Your shaman could easily worship one (or all) and not have to really be overt about it. Outside of turning dead (not a shaman thing, so could easily be ignored), there's not a lot of 'Thrust forth your holy symbol and call upon your god' type abilities...

[JNAProductions]

Didn't want cleric because no deity.

@JNA
Wow, that's a lot of links very fast. Wanted homebrew as a last resort because I can't judge balance massively well. I don't suppose you've looked any of these over and approved?

@Rhubarb
Didn't want Druid.

Le sigh. Yeah, I'll look 'em over.

Edit: Actually, because I REALLY don't feel like looking over over a half-dozen classes, why don't you tell me which ones seem good to you, and I'll double check them for you?

[thedanster7000]

@Theo
I have no idea what type he is in WoW, elemental sounds right and I know he puts down totems if that helps.
Originally thought barbarian but can't cast while raging, is there a way around this? Just because he said he didn't want to rage then not cast.

@JNA
Thanks, your judgement as a seasoned semi-official Lord of homebrew is appreciated.

The first one looks ideal, actually.

[Theodoxus]

@Theo
I have no idea what type he is in WoW, elemental sounds right and I know he puts down totems if that helps.
Originally thought barbarian but can't cast while raging, is there a way around this? Just because he said he didn't want to rage then not cast.

Raging and casting are definitely on the opposite ends of the action economy spectrum, offering no way to legitimately combine them. You can cast pre-combat non-concentration buffs, and then wade into combat... Aid, Warding Bond are a couple of good ones. Even Spiritual Weapon, if he doesn't have another use for a Bonus Action (like, rage)...

However, you could almost do an Elemental/Enhancement hybrid by going the barbarian/caster route; wade into combat with rage and go to town, once your daily allotment of rages are gone (should happen often if you're running 4-8 encounters between long rests), then he can pull out his elemental blasting card. If he doesn't care at all about healing, you could definitely swap out Tempest Cleric for Storm Sorcerer - personally I don't think it's quite as much fun, as Tempest gets a bit more ribbons that enhance the flavor of the character than Storm does, but that's just my opinion.

It's almost a switchhitter type character, using either rage and melee if that's called for, or ranged and spells if that makes it easier. A little wasteful if you try to do both in the same combat, but it would have a LOT of nova potential if its the last fight of the day...

[Tanarii]

WoW Sorcerer "magic" is all about elemental instant attacks, elemental weapon buffing, and AoE totems.

Sounds like Cleric (Nature) 14 / Sorcerer 6 to me. MAD if you don't use Shillelagh, need Str / Wis / Cha. Nature Cleric 8 (and later 14) gives you elemental weapon damage. Sorcerer gives you 4 cantrips, you need fire, earth, lightning and frost. Even though they wouldn't map range-wise, I'd go with Firebolt, Shocking Grasp, Ray of Frost. Not sure how to do Earth, maybe find something from EE? In fact, that'd be a pretty good resource overall for the Sorcerer side of things.

[N810]

You could do Land Druid / Totem Barbarian ? :wink:

[brainface]

One of my players wants to make his Orc shaman from World of Warcraft. My initial thought was Druid but he doesn't want wildshape. Then I thought fighter/tempest sorcerer for a nature-themed non-wildshape caster/tribal warrior. It just doesn't have a shaman feel to me though, so are there any better builds?

For classes you've already dismissed:
As cleric, his deity could absolutely be whatever nature/animal/ancestor spirits wow shamans call upon.
As a land druid, his wildshape wouldn't be that great and would definitely play second fiddle to spellcasting.

The favoured soul may make the sorcerer fit better:
http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/modifying-classes

He could pick tempest, nature, or healing for a domain (really, sorcerer's going to already have lightning spells) and he gets a litttttle bit of melee oomf. Ignore whatever fluff and replace it with wow shamany fluff. ^^

[TheProfessor85]

ETA (since I got massively ninja'd) - I get the not wanting to be cleric for the no-god part. However, WoW Shaman worship the elements and elementals, they get their power primarily from the elemental aspects the Titans left as wardens. I don't know your campaign, if it's homebrew or a published setting, but, FR for instance has elemental gods. Your shaman could easily worship one (or all) and not have to really be overt about it. Outside of turning dead (not a shaman thing, so could easily be ignored), there's not a lot of 'Thrust forth your holy symbol and call upon your god' type abilities...

Clerics in the Dark Sun setting also worship the elements, rather than gods

[hymer]

Didn't want cleric because no deity.

If this is all that's stopping you, you could have this particular cleric be an elemental animist. It'd be a minor refluff, from one major god to a pantheon of lesser ones.

[Biggstick]

I definitely agree with most of the above posters in that a Tempest Cleric definitely hits spot on for an Elemental Shaman. Being able to maximize damage a couple times per short rest post level 6 absolutely makes you feel the burst that is a defining feature of the Shaman. I'll also echo what others have said in that there are elemental deities and the PC's worship of said deity doesn't have to be something they play up, just that they worship "the spirits, mon."

Digging a little deeper though for something that might be more fitting, the PC (or you) could take a look at Valor Bard. If you ignore the whole musical instrument thing and look at EVERYTHING ELSE, Bards have a surprisingly similar list to Druids and Clerics. In fact, many of the spells actually feel like spells a Shaman should have at his/her disposal. You have access to martial weapons and medium armor/shields at level 3, a second attack at level 6, and any two 5th level spells you want at level 10.



Elemental: Tempest Cleric. Make sure you have 16 Str, max out Wis, then play from there.

Enhancement: Valor Bard. If the PC really wants heavy armor, start with a level of Fighter (careful with this though, as it delays the extra attack by another level).

Restoration: Valor or Lore bard. The PC can start with a level of Life Cleric then go 19 Bard. Lore Bard for more caster goodness (and Aura of Vitality at PC level 7) or Valor Bard for more in your face fighting.

[Tanarii]

Elemental: Tempest Cleric. Make sure you have 16 Str, max out Wis, then play from there.That doesn't make sense to me at all. A Tempest Cleric is a melee attacker with heavy armor. That's more enhancement than the Valor Bard is, and only touches on Lightning out of the Elemental attacks.

[JumboWheat01]

Didn't want cleric because no deity.


If this is all that's stopping you, you could have this particular cleric be an elemental animist. It'd be a minor refluff, from one major god to a pantheon of lesser ones.

In fact, it should be noted that you don't HAVE to have a deity to be a cleric (unless you're playing in the Forgotten Realms,) merely a strong belief in something. If you have a strong belief in natural or ancestral spirits, you can be a cleric and still channel divine magic just fine. There's even something of an example in Eberron, with the Undying Court. They're not gods, but they still lend divine power to any elven cleric who worships them.

[Biggstick]

That doesn't make sense to me at all. A Tempest Cleric is a melee attacker with heavy armor. That's more enhancement than the Valor Bard is, and only touches on Lightning out of the Elemental attacks.

Just because you have heavy armor and martial weapons doesn't mean you have to utilize them. You could just as easily use Medium armor with 14 Dex, or Light armor with xx Dex. The main point is your Call Lightning spell and Shatter spell are going to be able to do massive amounts of maxed out damage, which is very much in flavor with Elemental Shaman.

Flame Strike (spell level 5), Fire Storm (spell level 7), Control Weather and Earthquake (both spell level 8) have something to say to your only Lightning out of the Elemental Attacks.

As for the more Enhancement then Valor Bard, I'd definitely dispute that. I'm pretty sure an Enhancement Shaman would consider itself a primary martial while an Elemental Shaman would consider itself a primary caster. Having two attacks as part of the Attack action is a pretty defining part of being a primary martial (obviously Rogues being the exception). Tempest Clerics don't get that second attack, which in turn would make someone who's playing a "primary martial" feel left behind by other primary martials like a Fighter/Paladin/Barbarian/Ranger. Having the full caster progression of a Bard as well as two attacks/martial weapons/medium armor really captures the feel of an Enhancement Shaman imo.

Even more so in tune with Shaman, Bards can steal Conjure Elemental and literally summon up the Elementals that they worship! The only other class that's going to be able to summon Elementals are Druids, and that's a pretty decent part of the Shaman shtick.

Edit: more info about Bard's Magical Secrets

[thedanster7000]

He's either gonna go fighter/storm sorcerer or cleric, both work mechanically but storm sorcerer feels more elemental and shaman-y than cleric, plus the cool storm sorcerer flying and shockwaves.

[GlenSmash!]

How about an Oath of the Ancients Paladin? Possibly Multi-class into Fey Pact Warlock?

[Vogonjeltz]

One of my players wants to make his Orc shaman from World of Warcraft. My initial thought was Druid but he doesn't want wildshape. Then I thought fighter/tempest sorcerer for a nature-themed non-wildshape caster/tribal warrior. It just doesn't have a shaman feel to me though, so are there any better builds?

WoW Shaman literally turn into wolves, making the Druid the closest corrolary with Wild Shape and all.

[Coyote81]

Raging and casting are definitely on the opposite ends of the action economy spectrum, offering no way to legitimately combine them. You can cast pre-combat non-concentration buffs, and then wade into combat... Aid, Warding Bond are a couple of good ones. Even Spiritual Weapon, if he doesn't have another use for a Bonus Action (like, rage)...

However, you could almost do an Elemental/Enhancement hybrid by going the barbarian/caster route; wade into combat with rage and go to town, once your daily allotment of rages are gone (should happen often if you're running 4-8 encounters between long rests), then he can pull out his elemental blasting card. If he doesn't care at all about healing, you could definitely swap out Tempest Cleric for Storm Sorcerer - personally I don't think it's quite as much fun, as Tempest gets a bit more ribbons that enhance the flavor of the character than Storm does, but that's just my opinion.

It's almost a switchhitter type character, using either rage and melee if that's called for, or ranged and spells if that makes it easier. A little wasteful if you try to do both in the same combat, but it would have a LOT of nova potential if its the last fight of the day...

I think a Dex Barbarian that takes the Rune Mage Prestige class becomes very close to a shaman. He has spell like abilities, all dealing with elements. Weapon enhancements, and is primarily melee focused. I think usign the UA prestige class is the best way to make a WoW Enhancement shaman. You can even rage and still use the rune actions that give you various spell-like abilities. Example: The earth rune enhances yous weapon attacks that have bludgeoning damage to have a chance of proning the enemy if you roll max damage, it also gives you +1 to hit/damage per spell level expended to enhance your weapon. I like to call it Rockbiter.


WoW Shaman literally turn into wolves, making the Druid the closest corrolary with Wild Shape and all.

This is basically the least important part of playing a WoW Shaman. Please forget about the spiritwolf.

[thedanster7000]

Yeah, he's already got a Druid so he didn't want another. He's liking the storm sorcerer so he'll probably go with that but the rune is a good idea, I always forget about the game's *one* prestige class. I mean seriously, release more.

[CursedRhubarb]

Four Elements Monk still looks the closest to an Enhancement Shaman to me. Text for the discipline includes:

"When you focus your ki, you can align yourself with the forces of creation and bend the four elements to your will, using them as an extension of your body."

Which is the shaman's thing. Also, enhancement is all about hitting hard, hitting fast, and splashing elemental damage around. Flurry of Blows gives you the multiple attacks for Windfury and you get fire, water, earth, and wind effects you can use your ki points on.

Clerics and bards can do some of this but they lack the dual weapon effectiveness that a monk has built into it's class, which is an Enhancement shaman's fighting style.

[Mandragola]

It's probably worth pointing out that you're not going to find a totally perfect fit here. These are different game systems, after all. And different types of wow shaman are not at all similar to each other. So give up on finding an exact match and instead go with the thing that feels most right.

I think that eithe a tempest cleric or possibly a mountain land druid is most like an elemental shaman... or I guess possibly a storm sorceror. You get to zap people with assorted kinds of bad weather either way, which is kind of the shaman's thing.

As a melee shaman it's a bit harder. Dual-wield ranger maybe? That gives you options to hit things and cast nature-ey spells.

[Vogonjeltz]

This is basically the least important part of playing a WoW Shaman. Please forget about the spiritwolf.

What?! Sacrilege, heretic!!! ;p

Seriously though, Druid does pretty much everything the Shaman is known for except Totems...of course he could play the Totem Warrior Barbarian to do that and he gets a litle spellcasting on the side by doing so.

Actually come to think on it, the Totem Warrior is pretty close to the traditional idea of a Shaman rather than the Wow idea.

For emulating Wow it's still the Druid, Lightning Bolts, Tsunami, Hurricanes, all the spells they get are in there.

[Coyote81]

What?! Sacrilege, heretic!!! ;p

Seriously though, Druid does pretty much everything the Shaman is known for except Totems...of course he could play the Totem Warrior Barbarian to do that and he gets a litle spellcasting on the side by doing so.

Actually come to think on it, the Totem Warrior is pretty close to the traditional idea of a Shaman rather than the Wow idea.

For emulating Wow it's still the Druid, Lightning Bolts, Tsunami, Hurricanes, all the spells they get are in there.

I agree, totem warrior is really close, but that really only covers the physical aspect of an enhancement shaman, adding in rune scribe makes the build complete, weapon enhancements and elemental attunements. I'm currently play this exact build, it's lots of fun playing a Barbarian with utility.