And now I kinda want to make a Techno-Shaman Arcane Background with this as a template...
TECHNO SHAMAN
Edge: Arcane Background (Techno Shaman)
Requirements: Wild Card, Novice, Spirit d6+, Smarts d6+, Repair d4+, Binding Medicine d4+
Arcane Skill: Binding Medicine (Spirit)
Power Points: 10
Starting Powers: 1
Backlash: Techno Shamans rely on appeasing the spirits that power their devices. If someone uses a Fetish and rolls a 1 on the skill die used to activate it (regardless of Wild Die), the spirit inside the device takes offense and makes the Fetish malfunction in some way. Draw a card and compare it to the Malfunction Table in Savage Worlds. If the roll was snake eyes, draw twice, and Fate Chips cannot be spent to avoid the malfunction.
Available Powers:
Aim, armor, barrier, beast friend, blast, blind, bolt, boost/lower Trait, burrow, burst, confusion, contact spirit world, damage field, darksight, deflection, detect/conceal arcana, disguise, dispel, drain Power Points, elemental manipulation, entangle, environmental protection, farsight, fear, fly, gambler, greater healing, havoc, healing, hunch, invisibility, jury rig, light/obscure, mind rider, protection, pummel, puppet, quickness, slow, slumber, smite, speak language, speed, stun, succor, summon ally (animals only), telekinesis, teleport, trinkets, vision quest, wall walker, warrior’s gift, wilderness walk, windstorm.
Special Rules
- Fetishes: The Gizmos created by a techno shaman (called Fetishes) are always hand-made labors of love, gussied up with beads, intricate carvings, odd materials, and other such accouterments to please the spirits inside them. They crackle with weird energies when used to activate powers, which draws attention. For onlookers, a Notice roll at –2 reveals something “odd” about the Fetish, though a Persuasion roll may explain it away as New Science or some other mundane effect. With a raise on the Notice roll, an observer becomes convinced that the techno shaman's device runs on black magic!
- Madness: Mixing science and mysticism the way techno shamans do puts a strain on normal minds. Part of this is learning to think in innovative ways, and part of this is a sacrifice the techno shaman makes to the spirits, trading a bit of their sanity for their power. They gain one of the following hindrances: Arrogant, Overconfident, Curious, Delusional (Major), or Mania (Major).
- Minor Fetish Creator: Once per game session, the techno shaman can create a magic talisman and imbue it with arcane energy. The device uses any power available to the shaman (though this is still subject to Rank restrictions). It has half the creator’s Power Points and once these are used up they do not recharge. The ritual to imbue the object takes 1d20 minutes. Activating the device requires a Spirit roll.
- Mixed Background: The Techno Shaman bridges the gap between Shamanism and Weird Science. They may take the Totem Spirit, Ghost Dance and Mr. Fix-It Edges, using their Binding Medicine skill in place of Weird Science or Tribal Medicine.
- Wonder Maker: The techno shaman can also create Wonders as well as Fetishes. A Wonder must be prepared ahead of time. A techno shaman has half his normal Power Points to divide among as many Wonders as he wishes. Extra points may be put into a Wonder to maintain duration or strengthen the effect. These extra Power Points are "tied up" in a Wonder until it is used.
Making a Wonder requires certain special materials and 30 minutes per power. At the end of the binding process, the techno shaman must make a Binding Medicine roll. Failure means the Wonder is ruined. Success indicates it will work when used, and raises work as usual. Attack powers require a Throwing roll to hit (range of 3/6/12), and opposed powers require a normal success to resist (or –2 with a raise). Otherwise, no roll is needed to use a Wonder.
Playing a Techno Shaman
Techno shamans create devices to house spirits of all kinds, in order to convince them to lend their aid. These devices are like Weird Science gizmos, except that they aren't powered by manitou (usually). Instead, the techno shaman makes a pact with a spirit, providing it with a fancy, hand-created home to flatter it. The shaman then uses the fetish to create spectacular effects. Velocipedes powered by horse spirits, shirts that can repel bullets, rifles that can call forth bolts of lightning...all of these and more are possible.
History
Techno Shamans came about when some enterprising Ghost Dancers met an Apache named Goes To Mass. Goes To Mass was a Mad Scientist, but oddly his devices didn't seem to carry the taint of the manitou that other Mad Scientists had around them. Goes To Mass claimed that he'd come from another world, one where the Apache had developed airships and other mechanical wonders by convincing the spirits to power their devices, binding them into object through careful craftsmanship and rigorous maintenance. He
also claimed he was General Lee's cousin on his mother's side and that he'd visited the moon once, so the truth of this is suspect.
But Plays With Fire, a Ghost Dance shaman who'd always been fascinated with the white man's technology even as he kept to the Old Ways, wanted to know more about this strange world Goes To Mass spoke of. The vision inspired him, and he studied under Goes To Mass for a year until he mastered the techniques Goes had brought with him (or developed). Plays With Fire then traveled on, eager to share this new technique with others. To date, he's trained about five other shamans (mostly other Ghost Dancers) in the binding techniques required to craft fetishes, but that number is sure to rise...
((OOC: I'm taking inspiration from the Taftani here.))
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:50, Fri 24 Mar 2017.