THE SHAMANS OF SARÆN

by Trotsky

Special Note: The following description is written for use with the Harnmaster rules. 1st edition rules are marked 'HM1', while the 2nd edition rules from Harnmaster Religion are marked 'HMR'. For those of you without these rules, a guide to terminology is provided. Translation rules for RuneQuest (3rd ed.) are also available.

Circles & Offices

Pagaelin shamans are graded into five Circles, based on Ritual ML. There is, however no structured hierarchy of any kind. Note that this table differs slightly from the one in HMR.

Circle	HM1	HMR
1st	26+	11+
2nd	41+	21+
3rd	61+	51+
4th	76+	71+
5th	86+	86+

Training

Male Pagaelin who have physical or mental peculiarities (most commonly epilepsy or strange birthmarks or deformities) may with luck become shamans. Outside the mainstream of Pagaelin society, many die young, but a small number manage to survive long enough to acquire power through worship of Saraen. The Pagaelin have less shamans per head than almost any other tribal society on Harn.

HM1

The shaman gains the following skills:

Ritual/1, Foraging/2, Survival/3, Tracking/1, Stealth/1, Spear/2, Dagger/1

The shaman then gains three option points to be expended to improve his or her skills or open appropriate elective skills.

Ritual Invocations

HM1

• Battlelust (IV/40)
• Cure (V/10)
• Divination (IV/15)
• Endurance (III/30)
• Stealth (IV/25)
• Weapon Charm (III/10)

Pagaelin Totems

Every Pagaelin warrior selects a totem when they become an adult, and its symbol is tattooed somewhere on his body. Once a totem is selected, it is held for life, and cannot be changed. In rules terms, Pagaelin totems replace sunsign for members of the tribe. The bonuses provided are as follows:

HM1

• Bear - Unarmed +3, Club +2
• Wolf - Weaponcraft +1, Handaxe +1, Spear +3
• Mountain Lion - Stealth +2, Intrigue +1, Tracking +2
• Boar - Survival +2, Roundshield +3
• Viper - Herblore +1, Fletching +1, Dagger +1, Shortbow +2