Shaman Class: Chants and More

[Bonfire]

Firstly, I've been having a great time playing shaman. Dealing with what magic means when dealing with groups, fitting into society, trying to tap into the more spiritual side of things.
I do have some suggestions for some things that I feel seem a little neglected when it comes to them as a class, after reviewing and thinking and planning for the future of the character.

Shamans can be a whole many things to a whole many people. Like being not just a spiritual guide but also being a pillar of a community. Ceremonies, peace-talks, Whipping warriors into a war frenzy, taking the sick/injured through cleansing rituals. Being a guardian of the elements, making sure others respect the great waves of the sea, the winds of spring time, or even the smallest flame as it can spring into the largest fire. Or just being that Hermit or Witch that's someone can go to when they want a secret magical boon or remedy or fortune telling.

Can shamans already RP this out? Sure they can, if they have a fitting spell in their list that for the situation. But giving a bit more chants could allow for more flavor and utility for the class. It can also fit into the Shaman Paths as well.
Mechanically something similar to bard songs. Instead of the purge the soul/favored by spirits/ancestor chant class feat at 4/10/15, give a shaman bonus feat to pick a chant - tie it into the Perform skill as well since you are doing a ritual dance to request/inspire/invoke something related to your patron spirit.
Something like a War Fervor, that grants bonuses to fighting such as to hit/damage, saves vs fear, damage reduction/resistance during the duration
Restorative Trance that's can't be done in combat, regen saves vs poison/disease, more regen and saves vs poison/disease level 10/so on
Elemental Beseechment that requests aid from the elemental beings beings to protect or empower for the duration
Keep it that "This ability may be used once every 30 minutes. Duration is 5 rounds + 1 round / CHA modifier."

Could also throw in additional shaman feats to pick instead of other chants. Such as extending chant duration or shaman path powers, or similar to the bard's practiced prowess but more community related Bluff - Diplomacy - Intimidate - Sense Motive and a +3 to perform to add to that ritual leader vibe

I only really suggest all this because I feel like the path feats sort of allude to these things and anything in the realm of what I suggested would simply build more on those paths and help a player tailor what they want their shaman to embody.

 

[Danuvis]

A rather late reply, but in short unless we happen to find abundant amounts of capable coders in the future, changes like these - additions of variety and extra flavour - will be unlikely to happen. I sympathise with the want for more mechanical tools to reflect parts of one's RP, of course - yet the reality is that this a bottomless well to get lost in, as virtually any and all classes could always use more RP centric options. I won't say it's outright impossible that someone might take to improving classes in the future in the described manner, however the odds aren't exactly high either.

If you're interested in a more detailed explanation, though:

There will always be priorities well above optional additions to classes, and in the event we do find the bandwidth and opportunity to devote time to adding bells and whistles to classes, Shaman frankly isn't going to be up there, again, in terms of priority. They've received more love than most classes (with Paladin arguably being at the very top of overhauls and reworks) - it's likely we'd first look at other ones, which in turn could mean that there never will be time to look at every class, particularly the ones already deemed to be in a good place (or at least better off than other options). Even in the very best case scenario, this is probable to be a matter of gradual work, of years, like in most PWs.

As always, balance must also be kept in mind; variety and diversity can't come at the cost of needless problems or extensive overhauls for that matter. Players shouldn't be exposed to their class identity being changed to any significant / drastic degree after they've already created the character and played them a good while. But back to my point. NWN (DnD itself really) - and TDN is no exception here - revolves around "rock, paper, scissors" esque balance design by virtue of how saves and other stats function, and as mechanics inevitably inform and influence RP (and vice versa), this means classes have very specific themes - strengths and weaknesses - that are essential parts of both their narrative and mechanical design.

You can't keep adding options forever to a singular class in that regard, if you can afford to do so at all in the first place, because variety in itself can already add to the power of a class or even completely remove intended drawbacks and weaknesses. So that's another factor to keep in mind. This can make any kind of extra additions even harder to consider, let alone to implement - it's already likely to be the case that Shaman is overtuned through sheer options in their class kit, as well.

We appreciate the ideas regardless, and I hope they might be of some inspiration and use some day, but I also don't want to promise anything or give false hope when it comes to feedback and suggestions. I hope you still enjoy the class and its current kit, both mechanically and narratively, regardless of what the future may or may not bring.