Shamans can summon spirit allies by performing a ritualistic dance.
Mechanics[]
| “ | Shamans can summon spirit allies by performing a ritualistic dance. While dancing, the Shaman takes a +4 penalty to Armor Class and cannot move, attack, cast spells, use items and special abilities, or perform any other activity. Each round while the Shaman dances, there is a 35% base chance plus 2% for each level of the Shaman that a spirit will answer the call, up to a maximum of 75% at level 20. Any summoned spirits will disappear if the Shaman moves, stops dancing, or if the spirits leave visual range. The spirits grow in power as the Shaman gains additional levels:
Level 1: Minor animal spirits (snake, fox, hound), up to 2 spirits at the same time Level 6: Major animal spirits (bear, panther, boar), up to 3 spirits at the same time Level 12: Minor nature spirits (lesser air spirit, lesser earth spirit, lesser fire spirit), up to 4 spirits at the same time Level 18: Major nature spirits (air spirit, earth spirit, fire spirit), up to 5 spirits at the same time The type of the summoned spirit is randomly determined from all the spirits available at the Shaman's level. For example, a level 12 Shaman will summon either a minor nature spirit, a major animal spirit or a minor animal spirit, but cannot choose which one appears. Spirits will do their best to protect the Shaman but are not controlled directly. |
” |
Note that while the above is not incorrect, it is slightly misleading, since it makes no mention of the probability of each type of spirit ally. The table below accurately portrays this.
| Shaman Level | Percentage Chance per Spirit Ally | Total Summoning Chance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minor Animal | Major Animal | Minor Nature | Major Nature | ||
| 1 | 37 | - | - | - | 37% |
| 2 | 39 | - | - | - | 39% |
| 3 | 41 | - | - | - | 41% |
| 4 | 43 | - | - | - | 43% |
| 5 | 45 | - | - | - | 45% |
| 6 | 20 | 27 | - | - | 47% |
| 7 | 20 | 29 | - | - | 49% |
| 8 | 20 | 31 | - | - | 51% |
| 9 | 20 | 33 | - | - | 53% |
| 10 | 20 | 35 | - | - | 55% |
| 11 | 20 | 37 | - | - | 57% |
| 12 | 10 | 20 | 29 | - | 59% |
| 13 | 10 | 20 | 31 | - | 61% |
| 14 | 10 | 20 | 33 | - | 63% |
| 15 | 10 | 20 | 35 | - | 65% |
| 16 | 10 | 20 | 37 | - | 67% |
| 17 | 10 | 20 | 39 | - | 69% |
| 18 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 36 | 71% |
| 19 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 38 | 73% |
| 20 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 40 | 75% |
Creature Statistics[]
All spirit allies have the following immunities: Critical hit, Backstab, Poison, Disease, Stun, Intelligence drain, Hold creature, Confusion, Paralyze, Feeblemindedness, Panic, Detect Alignment, Charm/Domination and Psionics.
They are also immune to being selected by the player, which means that the player has no direct control over them.
All spirit allies also have 50% resistance to Slashing, Crushing, Piercing, and Missile damage, and 100% resistance to Poison damage.
The attacks of the spirit allies are also enchanted, meaning that they can bypass certain immunities. Note that this does not affect their Thac0 and damage. Moreover, all of their special abilities (on crit effects and fireshields) are either nonmagical (so they bypass MR) or magical but still bypass MR anyway.
Spirits are vulnerable to the Death Spell and Death Fog, which means enemies with those spells can immediately kill all summoned spirits.
Animal Spirits[]
Minor Animal Spirits[]
The minor animal spirits are the Fox, Snake and Hound. They all have 2 Hit Dice and Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma scores of 3. The Hound Spirit is anomalous and its mental attributes are instead 7.
| Minor Animal Spirit | Basic
Statistics |
Combat | Defenses | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fox Spirit | HP 16
STR 12 DEX 17 CON 12 |
Base Thac0 19
APR 1 Enchantment +1 Attack 1d3 Piercing |
Base AC 6
Saving Throws D14/W16/P15/B17/S17 |
On critical hit:
Confusion on target for 1 round Save vs Spell negates |
| Snake Spirit | HP 16
STR 10 DEX 17 CON 12 |
Base Thac0 19
APR 1 Enchantment +1 Attack 1d2 Piercing |
Base AC 6
Saving Throws D14/W16/P15/B17/S17 |
On critical hit:
Poison on target 1HP/sec for 1 round Save vs Poison negates |
| Hound Spirit | HP 16
STR 11 DEX 16 CON 12 |
Base Thac0 19
APR 1 Enchantment +1 Attack 1d3 Piercing |
Base AC 5
Saving Throws D14/W16/P15/B17/S17 |
On critical hit:
Panic on target for 1 round Save vs Spell negates |
Major Animal Spirits[]
The major animal spirits are the Bear, Panther and Boar. They all have 4 Hit Dice and Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma scores of 3.
| Major Animal Spirit | Basic
Statistics |
Combat | Defenses | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Spirit | HP 32
STR 18/76 DEX 10 CON 16 |
Base Thac0 17
APR 3 Enchantment +2 Attack 1d6 Slashing |
Base AC 6
Saving Throws D13/W15/P14/B16/S16 |
On critical hit:
Stun on target for 1 round Save vs Spell negates |
| Panther Spirit | HP 32
STR 17 DEX 18 CON 16 |
Base Thac0 17
APR 3 Enchantment +2 Attack 1d4 Slashing |
Base AC 6
Saving Throws D13/W15/P14/B16/S16 |
On critical hit:
Slow on target for 1 round Save vs Spell negates |
| Boar Spirit | HP 32
STR 18 DEX 16 CON 16 |
Base Thac0 17
APR 2 Enchantment +2 Attack 2d3 Piercing |
Base AC 6
Saving Throws D13/W15/P14/B16/S16 |
On critical hit:
2d4 Piercing damage |
Nature Spirits[]
Minor Nature Spirits[]
The minor nature spirits are the Lesser Fire, Lesser Air and Lesser Earth. They all have 8 Hit Dice and Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma scores of 7. The Lesser Air Spirit is also under non-dispellable Improved Invisibility, which, amongst other things means that its saving throws are 4 points better than what is shown in the tables below.
| Minor Nature Spirit | Basic
Statistics |
Combat | Defenses | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lesser Fire Spirit | HP 64
STR 16 DEX 16 CON 16 |
Base Thac0 13
APR 1 Enchantment +3 Attack 1d2 Crushing +1d8 Fire |
Base AC 4
Saving Throws D13/W12/P11/B12/S13 Extra resistances: Fire and Magic Fire 100% Cold and Magic Cold -50% |
Fireshield effect: 1 Fire damage to melee attackers |
| Lesser Air Spirit | HP 64
STR 17 DEX 19 CON 12 |
Base Thac0 13
APR 1 Enchantment +3 Attack 1d10 Slashing |
Base AC 4
Saving Throws D13/W12/P11/B12/S13 Extra resistances: Electricity -50% |
Improved Invisibility |
| Lesser Earth Spirit | HP 64
STR 19 DEX 10 CON 19 |
Base Thac0 13
APR 1 Enchantment +3 Attack 2d6 Crushing |
Base AC 4
Saving Throws D13/W12/P11/B12/S13 Extra resistances: Acid -50% |
On critical hit:
Sleep on target for 1 round No save |
Major Nature Spirits[]
The major nature spirits are the Fire, Air and Earth. They all have 12 Hit Dice and Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma scores of 7. The Air Spirit is also under non-dispellable Improved Invisibility, which, amongst other things means that its saving throws are 4 points better than what is shown in the tables below.
| Major Nature Spirit | Basic
Statistics |
Combat | Defenses | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire Spirit | HP 96
STR 17 DEX 17 CON 17 |
Base Thac0 9
APR 1 Enchantment +4 Attack 1d3 Crushing +1d10 Fire |
Base AC 2
Saving Throws D7/W9/P8/B8/S10 Extra resistances: Fire and Magic Fire 100% Cold and Magic Cold -50% |
Fireshield effect: 1d3 Fire damage to melee attackers |
| Air Spirit | HP 96
STR 18 DEX 21 CON 14 |
Base Thac0 9
APR 1 Enchantment +4 Attack 1d12 Slashing |
Base AC 2
Saving Throws D7/W9/P8/B8/S10 Extra resistances: Electricity -50% |
Improved Invisibility |
| Earth Spirit | HP 96
STR 21 DEX 10 CON 21 |
Base Thac0 9
APR 1 Enchantment +4 Attack 2d8 Crushing |
Base AC 2
Saving Throws D7/W9/P8/B8/S10 Extra resistances: Acid -50% |
On critical hit:
Sleep on target for 1 round No save |
Related Items[]
There are three items that, when equipped, affect summoned spirit allies; The Circlet of Lost Souls gives them a permanent Bless effect, the Heart of the Mountain gives them +10 Hit Points, and The Soulherder's Staff gives them +1 Strength. Note: The Soulherder's Staff is only usable by M'khiin.
It should be noted that these effects will be applied to an existing spirit ally if the item is equipped after the spirit has already been summoned. Strangely though, if the item is removed, the spirit allies do not lose these bonuses.
Gameplay[]
Spirit allies seem to always be summoned starting northeast of the character, regardless of the direction the shaman is facing. To summon them to the south, filling the northern "slots" with other companions (or even walls and other obstructions) will force them to be summoned south. This is the only thing that the player can control regarding the spirit allies, since after they are summoned, they do their own thing.
When multiple shamans are dancing, their combined summoning limit is equal to the limit of the highest level shaman. As an example, when an 18th level shaman is dancing alongside two 7th level shamans, a maximum of 5 spirit allies will be summoned. It should be noted that once the limit for the lower level shamans is reached (3 in this scenario), then only the higher level shaman's dance will contribute. Also, the spirit allies are unsummoned only when all shamans stop dancing, and which shaman is left dancing makes no difference. In the previous example, even if the 18th level shaman stops dancing, no spirit ally is unsummoned, even though the 7th level shamans only have a limit of 3. It should also be noted that spirit allies count towards the normal summoning limit as well.
The only ways to "select" different spirit allies when dancing is to either unsummon them and try again, or kill the undesired ones. It should be noted though that the (lesser) air spirit cannot be attacked unless it attacks something else first (due to its improved invisibility), and that the (lesser) fire spirit will damage whoever attacks it in melee.
A Shaman may utilize a clone (obtained through the use of Vhailor's Helm) to help speed up the process of reaching the summoning limit. However, if the original, non-clone, Shaman moves, all of the spirits will be unsummoned, even if the clone keeps dancing. To make better use of this setup, you should continue dancing with the original Shaman when the limit is reached, and use the clone to perform other actions, like casting spells.
Spirit summoning is not interrupted upon taking damage. Enemies initiating dialogue with the player can sometimes cancel Shamanic Dance. It is possible to move a few steps and keep up Shamanic Dance, as long as it is re-activated before the beginning of the next round. Likewise, the ability to cast spells is not restored immediatly upon stoping the dance, but there's a short cooldown period that has to pass first.
The party gains normal experience for enemies that your summons kill.
Bugs[]
The hound spirit has greater mental attributes than the rest of the animal spirits. While almost certainly a bug, it has no impact on gameplay.
The (Lesser) Air and (Lesser) Earth Spirits have respective Electricity and Acid resistance values of -50%. This is probably a bug since +50% resistances seem more likely given the nature of these spirits.
When the spirit allies follow an enemy out of sight of the shaman (possibly to chase a fleeing enemy), more often than not they stop attacking completely.
Some people believe that the summoning limit behaviour of the shamanic dance (in terms of multiple shamans sharing the same limit of spirits) is a bug. It is, however, possible that this is the intended behaviour.
The ability is also mostly definitely bugged in that regular summons count towards the "spirit limit" as well. For example, if a shaman of level 6 (with a limit of 3 spirits) casts Animal Summoning I to summon two dire wolves and then starts dancing, they'll only be able to summon one spirit. This, however, does not apply to summons that do not count towards the regular summon limit (like Elemental Princes, Devas/Planetars and Demons/Devils or even Simulacrum clones).