While I think there are lot of really neat ideas in this take on the Shaman, it steps too much into the abilities of other classes. Adding other class features like Channel Divinity and Eldritch Invocations, which are pretty integral to their respective classes, overshadows the original ideas brought out throughout the class. Some of the features are a bit too lengthy, and have too many variations that make them seem more like spells.

I think the content presented better serves as a template for several different Otherworldly Patron archetypes, and supplemental Eldritch Invocations. The reason I say this is because Invocations are the benchmark feature of the Warlock class, and that appears to be the same for this class. Each class has their own benchmark feature (i.e. wild shape, channel divinity, rage, action surge, metamagic, eldritch invocations, bardic inspiration, cunning action, favored enemy, arcane recovery, divine smite). While it is ok to dip into those a bit for a subclass/archetype feature, there needs to be something specific in this Shaman class that makes it unique.

Another Shaman class, this time from Michael Wolf. This is also PWYW, with a suggested price of $0.00. It is worth a lot more than that. The book is 17 pages.

This is a pretty full class with new archetypes, a new type of magic including using spirits, and a few new spells. The book is pretty well researched and because of that this Shaman is a much fuller class.

This one does fill that "Warlock" niche for divine spell-casters.

If you want to try out a Shaman class then this is not just a great choice, it is one of the better products I have grabbed at DMSGuild recently.

All in all this seems comes across as a fun build; it's very much a warlock that doesn't want to be commited to a defined contract as such. As such it has a great deal of versatility in terms of character design for the actual player, but does not hinder the player's ability to move their character in a new direction later in the game.

The Spiritual Gifts though need a little fine-tuning; it just feels a little unfinished with only two options

Amazing new class, highly recommend adding this to your campaign to add some new fun flavour. Have a new npc shaman who the players are obsessed with. Planning to make a high level shaman villain, cannot wait to try it out at a higher level.

This is a fantastic player-created class. While mostly a cross between a druid and a warlock, it carries hints from other spell-caster classes as well. Spell points are a useful evolution from spell slots. Obeisances are similar to paladin oaths in that they inform character conduct.

Wolf is strongly influenced by the Elemental Evil Player's Companion (EE), so a lot of those spells make the shaman spell-list. Callings follow an elemental theme, and there are also callings of spirits and of dreams. A step back from that, shamans may stack invocations on a binary of gifts: a savage quasi-barbarian or a slimmer, better diviner (i.e. seer).

The shaman gives a perfect answer to a Viking Age campaign in search of a theme-related spell caster.

Really enjoying the potential and versatility. The product was well thought out and creative, really good job. ive used it in a few games and many npc's.

This class feels very much like a combination of a Druid and a Warlock and I LOVE it. The spirits you can pick are cool, the abilities you can get are both bizarre and useful, and it fits very well alongside other core classes without being overpowered. Excellent Job!

I play an animist shaman character in my 5e campaign (converted from a 3.5e spirit shaman) and have been looking for a good shaman class for awhile. Like what is mentioned in this product's supplementary guide, I've also encountered the problem that most other shaman classes out there associate 'spirits' with dead things only. While spiritualism is certainly one type of shaman concept, those classes simply did not work for the animist type of shaman that I wanted to play. I ended up just going warlock instead--as its pacts with supernatural beings to gain mystical power was the closest thing to a shaman in the core rulebook, as I saw it. My DM and I homebrewed a spirit world otherwordly patron with some new invocations and off we went.

And now I found this product. It is clearly made with the same animist considerations I have had in playing my character, and in my mind this product is the definitive shaman class for 5e. Frankly, it's one of the best ones I have seen for any edition of DnD, homebrew or official. It understands perfectly what makes a shaman, it is expertly written, and it avoids the trap that many homebrew classes fall into by avoiding excessive and overcomplicated new features and instead simply modifying an existing class to neatly fit the concept desired. The fact that it includes a supplementary guide that perfectly details the workings of an animist world cannot be overlooked either--I'd even say that is the true boon of this product, as it provides a great reference for players wanting to play shamans but unfamiliar with the concept, and for DMs who want to provide for shaman players but are unsure in their ability to portray a convincing spirit world experience.

My only critique--and it is minor--is that the Callings archetypes only allowing communing with a specific subset of spirits feels restrictive. While I appreciate that the supplementary material provides excellent ways to keep them expansive despite their focus, I personally would have liked to see at least one "generalist" archetype that deals with spirits from all types but has no close connections to any specific one.

In any case, thank you Michael Wolf for this excellent class product. I highly recommend it to anyone that wishes to roll a shaman character.

One of my biggest issues and fears with DMGuild is that people have a concept for a character class, and they just toss it in without regard to mechanics to the normal rule set, or any form of balance. Already at least one class I have purchased seems to lack any semblence of cohesian and balance rendering it useless for actual play at the table - even if you're not into the whole Adventure League style of play.

The Shaman does not fit into the aforementioned fears. In fact, despite little initial interest in the style of fluff a shaman typically brings, I found myself wanting to roll up a character and play, and had absolutely no worries about balance issues. The author uses a smart blend and retooling of mechanics already found within the PHB, most notably Sorcery Points, Pact Magic, and Invocations and a couple instances of channel divinity. To say that the Shaman is a cross between the warlock and cleric is a very fair statement. Though sharing more similarities with a warlock with it's retooling of Pact Magic with Sorcery points and re-done invocations gives the class a lot of versatility.

The fluff behind the Shaman is simply fantastic. The author has said he has done his research, and it's very much apparent that he has. It would have been very easy for the author to simply bring over some Druid spells and call it a day, but a lot of thought went into every aspect of the class's design. While all the subclasses share many common traits, the flavor written into them is top notch. Yes, you have your branches of the different elements with each giving the ability to speak with that element, there is also a lot of variation between the elements and the other two non-element variants. The two non-elemental variants are not what one would typically think, with a special nod going out to the Dream subclass for being particularly imaginative.

The layout is exactly as you would hope it to be. It fits the eb and flow of the PHB perfectly, is clean, neat and simple. Everything is easy to locate, and easy to understand. I noticed no typos or grammatical errors in the document which goes back to show how carefully this was put together. If there is a candidate from DMGuild to go into an officially sanctioned version of 5e, the lead candidate by far is the Shaman. Im looking forward to creating one.

This is a really nicely done product, well-laid-out, with a fully-detailed new class and a supplement covering the spirits that a Shaman might commune with. It is as nicely produced as an official WotC product. There are a number of Shaman supplements on DMsGuild, and I have a few of them, but this is the best one that I've seen.

It's okay. Kinda like a mix between a Warlock and Cleric. I personally won't use it in my campain, but I can understand why others would use it.

I am looking forward to playing this class - so far it seems well balanced and works well as i have been trying to find a decent 'water spirit shaman' character, lo and behold theres a class for it

I feel as though you could have included the starting gold for the class in case someone wanted alternative gear but all other aspects of the class I have read seem to be great.

This is a well-constructed and well-thought-out product, encompassing not just a new Shaman class for 5e, but also a discussion on the nature of shamanic "spirits" as envisioned for running it. The latter especially has long been a tricky subject for D&D to handle, to keep such spirits separate from the turnable undead, and the material here both helps with that dilemma and provides much thought for fresh role-playing situations in the game. Not all the possibilities for running Shamans from previous incarnations of D&D have been explored here. However the ones that have, have been handled with some depth and care. While a few numerical tweaks may prove necessary in play, albeit perhaps not for all DM's, the designer's ready willingness to engage in detailed discussions regarding the product, including making amendments where necessary, as well as the product itself, leave no doubt for me that this fully deserves my firmest recommendation.

Wow!!! Great job with that one. I'm looking foward to play it next week.

Amazing work! It has enormous flavour value, very well formatted and aesthetically pleasing, though it doesn't feature any art. As for the features, there are many very original ones, and some taken from existing classes, mostly the Warlock. However, it would seem that some options are unbalanced regarding other options within the class and other classes in general. Still, amazing work, and I suggest supporting the author.