From:	Dustin Wood <cukoo@*****.NET>
Subject:	Re: Interesting Idea
Date:	Wed, 13 Sep 1995 19:43:13 -0700

>The real story behind the character is that he IS a snake shaman! He just
>doesn't know it yet. The character thinks he has rejected the snake totem
>when in fact he has accepted it. I don't know how other people play totems
>but in my game they are more than just in the characters heads. They shape
>the way the characters act, the way they live their life, and how they act
>toward people. I make every shaman that plays in my game come up with how
>and why they were chosen by the totem. In my game totems choose their
>shamans not the other way around.

Someone read through the description of Snake and tell me it's not
appropriate that Snake keep it a secret instead of blatantly telling the PC
"Hey, knucklehead, you ARE a snake shaman......... jeeze."

While on the subject of snake shaman, here's something that might interest
you guys. I once did up an initiate group for a snake shaman in one of my
games. I don't remember what they were called but they had a rank
structure, each rank meant you got to learn new secrets.

At the top was the one with all the secrets, I dunno, we'll call him the
keeper of the secrets of snake, anyways, as ordeals and dues, he made people
pay him in rare and valueable information, sometimes requesting specific
information to add to the library. Any request could become an adventure,
and a little bait and a role-playing shaman could easily do so without the
groups intervention.

No one had access to the library except the keeper, though anyone could
petition him for information. He would rarely accept though, because then
it wouldn't be a secret anymore. Another running hook is if the PCs had to
offer him a secret to get one from the library.

What cha' think 'o' that?