Shadowrun!/Totem
from Shadowrun 4th ed:
Bear[edit | edit source]
Bear is a totem found in cultures wherever bears are
known, from North America to Europe and Asia. He is powerful,
but gentle and wise. He tends to be slow-moving and easygoing
unless he has to move fast. Bear is slow to anger, but terrifying
in battle. Bear shamans tend to be calm, cool and collected.
They are healers and protectors of the natural world as
they see it. A Bear shaman cannot turn down someone who
needs healing without good reason.
Environment: Forest
Advantages: +2 dice for health spells, +2 dice for forest
spirits
Disadvantages: Bear shamans can go berserk when
wounded. Whenever a Bear shaman takes physical damage in
combat, the player makes a Willpower (4) Test. The shaman
goes berserk for 3 turns, minus 1 turn per success. Three or
more successes avert the berserk rage entirely. A berserk
shaman will attack the closest living thing, friend or foe, using
the most powerful weapons available (mundane or magical). If
the shaman incapacitates a target before the time is up, the
berserk fury dissipates.
Buffalo[edit | edit source]
Buffalo is a uniquely North American totem. She knows
much medicine, which she uses to aid her people. She is kind
and giving, strong and tireless in her work. The people take
from Buffalo and honor her spirit for the bounty she provides.
Buffalo shamans are healers and protectors; they cannot turn
down an honest request for aid from anyone who needs it. A
Buffalo shaman will lay down her life for a true friend or ally in
need and will often take great risks to help others.
Environment: Plains
Advantages: +2 dice for health spells, +2 dice for prairie
spirits
Disadvantages: –1 die for illusion spells
Cat[edit | edit source]
Cat is honored in cultures around the world. She is
stealthy, sly and rather vain. Cat knows many secrets, but
shares few of them. Cat shamans tend to be loners who keep
their own council. They are fastidiously clean and presentable
whenever possible. Cat shamans generally toy with their opponents—
threatening, taunting and confusing—rather than going
directly for the kill.
Environment: Urban
Advantages: +2 dice for illusion spells, +2 dice for city
spirits
Disadvantages: +1 to all Mental target numbers if dirty or
unkempt. An unwounded Cat shaman must make a Willpower
(6) Test when casting a damaging spell. If the test fails, the
shaman must cast her least-damaging spell (at its minimum
damage level, for a variable damage spell, and at 1/2 Force). If
the shaman is wounded, all this playing around stops.
Coyote[edit | edit source]
Coyote the Trickster is a uniquely North American totem.
He is unpredictable and ever-changing; bold one minute, cowardly
the next. Old Man Coyote can be a friend or a deceiver.
He is intensely curious and fond of taking risks just for the fun
of it. Coyote shamans are independent and refuse to be bound
by anything other than their word. They live by their own rules,
surviving on wit and charm.
Environment: Anywhere on land
Advantages/Disadvantages: None
Dog[edit | edit source]
Dog is a loyal friend honored by shamans around the
world. He fights ferociously to defend his home and those
under his protection. Dog shamans protect people from harmful
magic and dangerous spirits. They are loyal, generous and
helpful to those who show them kindness and loyalty in return.
They are single-minded, often to the point of stubbornness.
Environment: Urban
Advantages: +2 dice for detection spells, +2 dice for field
and hearth spirits
Disadvantages: A Dog shaman must make a Willpower (6)
Test to change a declared course of action. The test requires a
Complex Action as Dog struggles to change his mind.
Dolphin[edit | edit source]
Dolphin is the free spirit of the sea, dancer on the waves.
She is wise, yet playful, and a friend of man. Dolphin helps people
against the threats of the sea (like Shark). Dolphin shamans
are staunch protectors and helpers. They cannot turn down a
deserving person who needs their help and must fight against
evil that threatens people or nature.
Environment: On or by the sea
Advantages: +2 dice for detection spells, +2 dice for sea
spirits.
Disadvantages: –1 die for combat spells
Eagle[edit | edit source]
Eagle is the highest-flying bird in the sky, considered the
most noble by shamans in North America, Central America and
Europe. He is proud and solitary, and sees everything happening
in the world he soars over. Eagle shamans are proud and
noble defenders of the purity of nature. They are intolerant of
those who do not share their views, and have a strong distrust
of technology and its tools. Those who damage nature are
Eagle’s enemies, and Eagle shamans brave great danger to
defeat polluters and other evildoers.
Environment: Mountains
Advantages: +2 dice for detection spells, +2 dice for all
spirits of the sky
Disadvantages: Double the Essence loss caused by adding
cyberware because of the psychological impact this has on the
Eagle shaman.
Gator[edit | edit source]
Found among shamans living near swamps and rivers,
Gator also flourishes among urban shamans, since legend has
it that he dwells in the sewers and storm drains of the city. He
is ill-tempered and lazy, a strong fighter and a big eater. Gator
shamans like big payoffs that allow them to take it easy for a
while. It can take a hefty argument to talk a Gator shaman into
any unnecessary exertion, but once a Gator shaman decides to
do something, it is just as difficult to talk him out of it.
Environment: Swamp, river or urban
Advantages: +2 dice for combat and detection spells. As
a wilderness totem +2 dice for swamp, lake or river spirits
(shaman’s choice). As an urban totem, +2 dice for city spirits.
Disadvantages: –1 die for illusion spells. It takes a
Willpower (6) Test for a Gator shaman to break off a fight,
chase or other direct action.
Lion[edit | edit source]
Lion is followed by shamans from the veldts of Africa to
the plains of Europe. He is a brave and powerful warrior, who
protects his family with his life. Lion prefers to work from surprise
or ambush, but will take the direct approach when necessary.
Lion shamans demand the best from themselves. They
also demand respect from those around them. A Lion shaman
makes a loyal friend and a deadly enemy.
Environment: Prairie
Advantages: +2 dice for combat spells, +2 dice for prairie
spirits
Disadvantages: –1 die for health spells
Mouse[edit | edit source]
Mouse knows just where to find the right thing for every
situation. She is clever and resourceful; her wisdom often helps
fierce and proud totems like Lion and Wolf out of trouble, showing
them the common sense they might otherwise miss. Mouse
is no one’s enemy and, if she has a flaw, it is that curiosity sometimes
gets the better of her. Mouse shamans tend to be hoarders,
collecting all manner of junk along with useless information
and trivia, storing everything away “for a rainy day.”
Environment: Urban or fields
Advantages: +2 dice for detection and health spells, +2
dice for hearth and field spirits.
Disadvantages: –2 dice for combat spells
Owl[edit | edit source]
Owl is wise and sees all. She rules the night sky and what
she hunts, she finds. By day, she is nearly helpless. Owl is honored
by cultures around the world, although some consider her
appearance a bad omen. Owl shamans are nocturnal loners
well-suited for life in the shadows. Their magic is weaker during
the day, and owl shamans tend to remain in the shadows
even during daytime.
Environment: Anywhere
Advantages: +2 dice for any Sorcery or Conjuring at night
Disadvantages: +2 to all magical target numbers during
the daytime.
Raccoon[edit | edit source]
Raccoon is a cunning bandit who can break into any trap
and steal the bait. He fights when he must, but prefers strategy
and trickery. Raccoon shamans are intensely curious, which
often leads them into danger. They can be greedy (Raccoon is
a thief totem) and many steal only the very best. Petty thefts
and violent robberies are beneath a Raccoon shaman’s dignity.
Environment: Anywhere but the desert
Advantages: +2 dice for manipulation spells, +2 dice for
city spirits
Disadvantages: –1 die for combat spells
Rat[edit | edit source]
Rat is found wherever humans are, for who else’s bounty
can sustain him? Rat is a stealthy thief too selfish to share anything.
He is a coward who would rather run than fight. Rat
shamans tend to be dirty and unkempt. They dislike working
out in the open, preferring to stick to the shadows. Rat
shamans avoid fights whenever they can. When they must
fight, they fight to kill.
Environment: Urban
Advantages: +2 dice for detection and illusion spells, +2
dice for city spirits
Disadvantages: –1 die for combat spells
Raven[edit | edit source]
Raven is a harbinger of trouble in cultures world-wide. He
is a trickster, dark and devious, and a transformer, responsible
for changes. Raven thrives off the bounty of carnage and chaos,
but does not cause them. He merely knows an opportunity
when he sees one. Raven shamans love to eat, and rarely
refuse an offer of food.
Environment: Anywhere under the open sky
Advantages: +2 dice for manipulation spells, +2 dice for
sky spirits
Disadvantages: +1 to all magical target numbers while not
under the open sky
Shark[edit | edit source]
Shark is a cold and relentless hunter. When Shark strikes,
he does so without mercy, driven into a frenzy by the blood of
his prey. Shark shamans tend to be wanderers, always on the
move. They are fierce and deadly warriors. A Shark shaman
believes the only good enemy is a dead enemy. If challenged,
they do not waste time with threats or boasts, but strike to kill.
Environment: On or by the sea
Advantages: +2 dice for combat and detection spells, +2
dice for sea spirits
Disadvantages: Shark shamans can go berserk in combat
similar to Bear shamans, when they are wounded or when they
kill an opponent (see p. 163). A berserk Shark shaman may,
instead of attacking a living target, continue to attack the body
of his last victim, if the player chooses.
Snake[edit | edit source]
Snake is wise and knows many secrets. She is a good
councilor, but always exacts a price for her advice. Snake
shamans are pacifists; they only fight to protect themselves
and others. Snake shamans are obsessed with learning secrets
and take great risks in order to do so. They trade their knowledge
to others for whatever they can get in exchange.
Environment: Anywhere on land
Advantages: +2 dice for detection, health and illusion
spells. As a wilderness totem, +2 dice for any one spirit of the
land (shaman’s choice). As an urban totem, +2 dice for any one
spirit of man (shaman’s choice).
Disadvantages: –1 die for all spells cast during combat.
Wolf[edit | edit source]
Wolf is recognized as a hunter and warrior worldwide. He
is fiercely loyal to the other members of his pack. As the
ancient saying goes, Wolf wins every fight but one, and in that
one, he dies. Wolf shamans are loyal to friends and family unto
death. They do not show cowardice in battle and their word is
their bond.
Environment: Forest, prairie or mountains
Advantages: +2 dice for combat and detection spells, +2
dice for forest, prairie or mountain spirits (shaman’s choice)
Disadvantages: Wolf shamans can go berserk in combat,
similar to Bear shamans (p. 163).