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Message no. 1
From: Ed equine@******.net
Subject: A Shaman's view on another Shaman
Date: Fri, 04 Jun 1999 20:37:49 -0500
I have a player in my game who has asked this question and I thought I
would bring it here.

"I'm going to be playing a Bear Shaman in another on-line game. From the
looks of things, another player will also be playing a Shaman, but the odds
are that he/she will be another type. My question is how a Shaman of one
tradition would view and relate to a Shaman of another tradition. Are there
specific groups that would tend to be friendly with one another, and others
that would mistrust or dislike one another? "

Ed


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Message no. 2
From: Daniel Sauve ahsdreamwalker@****.com
Subject: A Shaman's view on another Shaman
Date: Sat, 5 Jun 1999 08:59:17 -0400
<<I have a player in my game who has asked this question and
I thought I
would bring it here.>>

<sNIP, BASICALLY asking about political situation between
shamans>

Unless the GM has set something up, or is using material
that indicates such, no. But, the player's character should
see, of course, if he PERSONALLY likes the other shaman.

And if some posts a link to that wonderful piece "The Many
Masks of Magic" and your friend shows it to his GM, you can
add a bit of flavour so that the two shamans WILL have a
different way of interacting with the spirits- and possibly
each other.
Message no. 3
From: dghost@****.com dghost@****.com
Subject: A Shaman's view on another Shaman
Date: Sat, 5 Jun 1999 16:16:07 -0500
On Fri, 04 Jun 1999 20:37:49 -0500 Ed <equine@******.net> writes:
>I have a player in my game who has asked this question and I thought I
>would bring it here.
>
>"I'm going to be playing a Bear Shaman in another on-line game. From the
>looks of things, another player will also be playing a Shaman, but the
odds
>are that he/she will be another type. My question is how a Shaman of one
>tradition would view and relate to a Shaman of another tradition. Are
there
>specific groups that would tend to be friendly with one another, and
others
>that would mistrust or dislike one another? "

Not being a Shaman, I can only guess but here's my guess: As I understand
it, a Shaman's view of the world stems from natural order, balance, and
the thought that every (natural?) thing has its place... As such a Shaman
following a Totem is merely a Shaman who particularly "close" to one
Totem but still respects (and probably pays homage to and calls upon)
other Totems. Even if the idealologies of two Totems conflict, a Shaman
would (I think) respect the conflict as part of a "greater scheme".
Think of it as two actors who must portray a hero and a villian in a
movie. The relations between the actors and their roles are independent
of each other. Some "actors" may get tired of being "typecast" but I
think, the more devoted followers are comfortable with and humble about
their role regardless of the destiny it might involve.

Just my speculatory opinion. :)

--
D. Ghost
(aka Pixel)
"Hello, my name is Stephen. This is Dick. He'll see if he has something
your size." -- Jug Ears

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Message no. 4
From: lomion lomion@*********.escnd1.sdca.home.com
Subject: A Shaman's view on another Shaman
Date: Mon, 07 Jun 1999 11:30:43 -0700
At 04:16 PM 6/5/99 -0500, dghost@****.com wrote:
>On Fri, 04 Jun 1999 20:37:49 -0500 Ed <equine@******.net> writes:
> >I have a player in my game who has asked this question and I thought I
> >would bring it here.
> >
> >"I'm going to be playing a Bear Shaman in another on-line game. From the
> >looks of things, another player will also be playing a Shaman, but the
>odds
> >are that he/she will be another type. My question is how a Shaman of one
> >tradition would view and relate to a Shaman of another tradition. Are
>there
> >specific groups that would tend to be friendly with one another, and
>others
> >that would mistrust or dislike one another? "

I've played shamans before so I'll give you my perspective on it:

The shaman's totem, first of chooses them and is NEVER wrong. It's not the
other way around. I don;t know if your familiar with the Native American
belief of the spirit animal or guide but it's pretty much that, except the
relationship is more obvious in Shadowrun. For getting along you would
have to goto the wild. Are the two animals natural enemies? Is one a
predator of the other? That would color things to a varying
degree. Shamans follow one totem only, they may respect others but they
don't call on Snake for healing, Wolf for combat, etc. They call on Snake
for healing, combat and everything else. According to some sourcebooks,
shamans don't exhibit the same markers that a hermetic mage does. I
sayshamans are people, and their perceptions color things, two shamans of
the same totem might not like each other, but the would have a truce of
sorts and work together. Let the personalities dictate the behavior to
each other. A shaman's life is their totem, look at toxic shamans, their
balance has been thrown off so they lose sight of their "faith".

All shaman's are of one group, they are just different parts of the
group. The only thing I can see causing major trouble is a shaman running
into a toxic shaman.

Well thats my 2 nuyen

--Larry




From cuellare@***.telmex.net.mx M
Message no. 5
From: Karsten_DÃŒrotin karsten@****.net
Subject: A Shaman's view on another Shaman
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1999 01:52:17 +0200
>I've played shamans before so I'll give you my perspective on it:
>
>The shaman's totem, first of chooses them and is NEVER wrong. It's not
the
>other way around.

Well, that is a thing open for discussion between mages and shamans.
According to a random mage character, it's the shaman who creates a
construct of his mind because he can't accept the fact that he is
working magic himself... and the two could discuss until late in the
night.

My perspective: A mutual decision. The shaman feels drawn to his totem
and consciously decides to follow the call. It's those people who really
become shamans, but if the totem spirit knows for sure beforehand who
will come and who won't... I don't think so. Omniscient gods, or totems,
don't really fit my view of Shadowrun.

--- Karsten





From knight_errant30@*******.com

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