Shamans

Shamans & Medicine Men: Keepers of the Old Ways

"The spirits speak to those who remember the old ways. White men think we are savages, but we know truths they have forgotten."

Long before white men set foot on this land, the People knew about spirits. For hundreds—maybe thousands—of years, Indian tribes have understood that the world is alive with spiritual forces, both benevolent and dangerous. The most spiritually attuned members of each tribe become shamans, sometimes called "medicine men" or "medicine women," though these white man's terms fail to capture the true depth of their calling.

Shamans are the spiritual leaders, healers, and guides of their people. They walk between the physical world and the Hunting Grounds—the spirit realm where nature spirits dwell. Unlike mad scientists who unwittingly bargain with manitous, or hucksters who foolishly contact evil spirits on purpose, shamans consider themselves far wiser in the ways of spirits. They never deal with manitous except by accident. Instead, they rely on asking denizens of the Hunting Grounds—the nature spirits—for "favors."

These nature spirits are neither wholly good nor evil. They are ambivalent toward the affairs of humanity, caring more about the natural order than human concerns. They sometimes help those who know how to call upon them, but only in exchange for sacrifice or commitment to the spirit's ways. And therein lies the shaman's power—and burden.

The Life of a Shaman

Becoming a shaman isn't a choice made lightly. Most shamans receive their calling through mystical experiences: near-death encounters, prophetic visions, or dreams sent by the spirits themselves. These experiences mark them as different, touched by forces beyond the physical world.

The life of a shaman is dedicated to the ideals of their tribe. Most are spiritual leaders and healers for their people. Some are feared for their power, but all are respected. They must set an example for their tribe and live a life that pleases the spirits who grant them power. Shamans who fail to uphold these beliefs find that spirits rarely listen to their pleas—or worse, that they attract the attention of manitous instead.

Key characteristics of Shamans:

• Arcane Background Edge - Represents their mystical calling and connection to the spirit world
• Ritual Aptitude - With various concentrations for different ritual types (dance, fast, paint, etc.)
• Strong Spirit Trait - Usually 3d10 or higher, representing spiritual fortitude
• High Faith or ritual skill - Their connection to the spirit world
• Often high Knowledge - Understanding tribal lore, medicine, and spirit ways
• Medicine skill - For physical healing alongside spiritual remedies
• Frequently the Oath Hindrance - Commitment to follow the Old Ways
• May have Curious or Superstitious Hindrances - Reflecting their spiritual perspective

How Shamanic Magic Works: The Three-Step Process

Obtaining favors from the supernatural inhabitants of the Hunting Grounds requires three steps: selecting a favor, performing a ritual, and appeasing a nature spirit.

Step 1: The Favor

Favors are based on ancient traditions and relationships with particular spirits. They are not based on the shaman's whims of the moment, so the rituals used to ask for them—and the effects they have on the physical world—are already determined by tribal tradition and spiritual law.

A shaman must decide beforehand what favor they're requesting. You can't perform a ritual and then decide what you want afterward—the spirits don't work that way. The favor you ask for determines how much Appeasement you'll need to generate.

Step 2: The Ritual

Once the shaman has selected a favor, they must attract the attention of a nature spirit. This is done by conducting a ritual—a chant, a dance, body painting, fasting, self-scarring, or even mutilation. The more important or powerful the favor, the greater the ritual must be.

Simple favors usually require only a pledge to the spirit's ideals. Greater favors may require fasting for days, permanent scarring, or even the removal of body parts. Different rituals require different concentrations in the ritual Aptitude and use different Traits.

When you perform a ritual, you make a roll using your ritual Aptitude concentration and the appropriate Trait. Success generates "Appeasement points" based on the number of successes and raises you achieve.

Step 3: Appeasement

After completing the ritual, the shaman's skill and commitment are tested. If you generate enough Appeasement points to equal or exceed the minimum listed for the favor, the nature spirit grants your request. If you fall short, the spirit turns its attention back to the Hunting Grounds, and you get nothing.

Important: Appeasement points can't be stored up. You ask for a favor, then perform the ritual. If you generate enough points, the favor is granted. If not, you must try again with another ritual (facing penalties for repeated requests).

The Seven Rituals

Here are the rituals available to shamans. Each is a concentration of the ritual Aptitude, purchased separately. New shamans can start with as many ritual concentrations as they can afford (3 character points each), and can learn new rituals later for 3 Bounty Points each.

Dance (Nimbleness)

Speed: 1 hour (simple), 2 hours (complex), 4 hours (elaborate) | Appeasement: 1 per success/raise

Few things attract the attention of spirits like the energy of a rousing dance. There are three types:

• Simple Dance: Solitary dancer with repetitive steps and chanting (TN 9)
• Complex Dance: Intricate footwork and athletic maneuvers (TN 7)
• Elaborate Dance: Complex steps with special costumes and multiple dancers (TN 5)

The more elaborate the dance, the easier it is to succeed—but it takes longer and requires more preparation.

Fast (Spirit)

Speed: 1+ days | Appeasement: 3 per success/raise

Physical discomfort demonstrates loyalty to the spirits. Fasting—going without food for days—is a common way of invoking powerful medicine.

How it works:

• Each day you fast, make a Vigor roll versus TN 5 plus the number of days fasted
• Failure means you take 1d6 Wind damage that can only be restored by eating
• At the end of the fast, make the ritual roll at TN 13 minus the number of days fasted (minimum TN 3)
• Every success and raise grants 3 Appeasement points

Example: Running Bear fasts for 3 days to ask for a powerful favor. On day 1, he rolls Vigor versus TN 6 (5+1). On day 2, TN 7 (5+2). On day 3, TN 8 (5+3). If he passes all three, at the end he rolls his ritual: fast skill versus TN 10 (13-3). If he succeeds with one raise, he generates 6 Appeasement points (3 per success, 3 for the raise).

Maim (Vigor)

Speed: 1 action | Appeasement: 3 per success/raise

One of the most frightening Indian rituals—self-mutilation. This involves burning, cutting, or even removing body parts to show absolute commitment to the spirits.

Warning: These wounds are real and permanent (unless healed by a blessed). Cutting off fingers reduces Deftness rolls. Removing an eye imposes shooting penalties. Choose this ritual carefully.

Paint (Cognition)

Speed: Varies | Appeasement: 2 per success/raise

Sand paintings, cliff paintings, and ceremonial body markings show commitment to the spirit world. The larger and more elaborate, the better. Only natural tools and pigments can be used.

When requesting a favor for another person, the body painting is applied to the recipient.

Pledge (Knowledge)

Speed: 1 action | TN: 9 | Appeasement: 1 per success/raise

The simplest ritual—making a verbal pledge to honor the spirit's ideals and ways. This is a solemn vow that must be kept, or the spirits will remember your faithlessness.

Often used for minor favors or as part of larger ordeals (see below).

Scar (Vigor)

Speed: 1 action (minor) or 2 actions (major) | Appeasement: 1 per success/raise

Permanent scarring shows lifelong commitment to the spirits. Unlike maiming, scarring doesn't remove body parts or cause major debilitation—it's ritual marking rather than mutilation.

• Minor scarring: Small cuts or burns, TN 7, 1 action
• Major scarring: Large ritual scars covering significant body area, TN 5, 2 actions

Many shamans bear dozens of ritual scars from years of service to the spirits.

Tattoo (Deftness)

Speed: Varies | Appeasement: 2 per success/raise

Permanent tattoos are a greater tribute than simple paint. Tattoos have three sizes:

Important: New tattoos cannot be placed over existing tattoos. When requesting a favor for another person, the tattoo goes on the recipient.

The Twelve Favors

Here are the favors shamans commonly request from nature spirits. Shamans start knowing 1 favor for every level they have in the ritual Aptitude, and can learn additional favors for 5 Bounty Points each.

Curse

Appeasement: 3/5/7 | Duration: Permanent | Range: 10 yards per Appeasement point

This powerful medicine calls down the wrath of the spirit world upon an enemy. The target suffers a malady—the effects are the same as the Ailin' Hindrance:

• 3 Appeasement: Minor ailment (chronic cough, joint pain, headaches)
• 5 Appeasement: Chronic affliction (partial blindness, constant pain, –1 to all actions)
• 7 Appeasement: Fatal condition (wasting disease, internal bleeding, will die in 2d6 months without magical healing)

The curse may be lifted at any time by the shaman who invoked it. Other shamans can lift the curse by generating more Appeasement points than were used to place it.

Warning: Most shamans don't use this favor lightly. Curses are serious medicine and not to be trifled with.

Earth Speak

Appeasement: 1 | Duration: Concentration | Range: Touch

This favor calls upon the spirits of the earth to guide the shaman along the path of their quarry. Each Appeasement point gives the recipient an extra level of trackin'. A mystical glow surrounds the target's trail, though only the shaman can see it (and only while close enough).

Unlike most favors, the shaman doesn't have to see the quarry to receive this boon—the earth spirits know where everything that walks upon the land has gone.

Guiding Wind

Appeasement: 1 | Duration: 5 rounds | Range: Touch

The wind spirits guide the flight of arrows, spears, or other "natural" weapons to their targets. Each Appeasement point grants +1 to hit with thrown weapons or bows for the next 5 rounds.

Important: This only works on natural weapons—bows, spears, tomahawks, thrown rocks. It doesn't work on guns or other "unnatural" white man's weapons.

Lightning Strike

Appeasement: 2 | Duration: Instant | Range: 50 yards per Appeasement point

This favor calls upon the spirits of the storm to strike an enemy with lightning. It's powerful but can only be used during a thunderstorm.

If successful, the target is automatically hit for 3d10 damage to the guts. Every Appeasement point beyond the minimum increases damage by +1d10.

Example: A shaman generates 4 Appeasement points during a thunderstorm. That's 2 beyond the minimum, so the lightning strike does 5d10 damage (3d10 base + 2d10 extra).

Medicine

Appeasement: Varies | Duration: Permanent | Range: Touch

This favor calls upon the spirits to accelerate nature's course and speed healing. The Appeasement needed depends on the highest wound level:

If you achieve the required Appeasement, the patient is healed completely. If not, they remain wounded and you can try again (with the usual penalties for repeated requests).

Pact

Appeasement: Twice the favor's normal cost | Duration: Until used | Range: Self

This favor allows the shaman to make a sacred pact with a nature spirit to honor a favor at a later time. In effect, you're storing another favor in a token or fetish for later use—like a spiritual battery.

Spirits dislike being bound this way, so the Appeasement needed equals twice the normal cost of the favor you want to store. The shaman must use some small token (feather, stone, carved bone) in the ritual. When the pact is forged, record the Appeasement points used. Half this number determines the power when the fetish is redeemed.

Example: You want to store a Medicine favor (normally 4 Appeasement for a serious wound). You need to generate 8 Appeasement points. If successful, the fetish stores 4 points worth of healing that can be used later.

Using a Fetish: Anyone possessing an unredeemed fetish can activate it by touching it and making a Fair (5) Spirit roll—they don't even need to know what favor is stored in it. Even favors that normally only shamans can use can be granted to non-shamans this way.

Warning: If you lose the fetish, those Appeasement points are gone. And spirits avoid shamans who habitually bind them—you're at –2 per unredeemed pact to all ritual rolls.

Shapeshift

Appeasement: 4 | Duration: 1 hour per Appeasement point | Range: Self

The shaman assumes the form of an ordinary animal—wolf, eagle, coyote, fish, deer, bear, etc. The Marshal has stats for common critters. Only the shaman's body transforms; clothing and equipment are dropped unless they can fit the new form.

Throughout the experience, the shaman retains their sense of self and can return to human form at any time. However, they must perform another ritual to shapeshift again.

Important: This cannot transform you into supernatural creatures, only natural animals.

Soar with Eagles

Appeasement: 2 or 4 | Duration: Concentration | Range: Self

The shaman's spirit is guided into the body of the nearest bird of prey (hawk, eagle, owl). At 2 Appeasement, you can see through the bird's eyes. At 4 Appeasement, you have full control of the bird's actions.

If the bird is hurt while you're inhabiting it, make a Spirit roll versus the TN of the wound. Failure means you take the same wounds to your own body.

Your physical body remains in a trance-like state for the entire duration and you can take no actions with it.

Speed of the Wolf

Appeasement: 1 | Duration: 6 rounds | Range: Touch

The recipient gains the graceful speed of a running wolf. Add 1d6 yards to base Pace per Appeasement point spent. This becomes your normal Pace for the duration—meaning you can run up to twice this amount in a round.

Example: Normal Pace 5, spend 3 Appeasement. Roll 3d6, get 12. New Pace is 17 (5+12), can run up to 34 yards in a round.

Spirit Warrior

Appeasement: 1 | Duration: 4 hours | Range: Touch

This favor allows a shaman or warrior to call upon spirits for aid in battle. Unlike other favors, this one is tied specifically to the paint ritual—the warrior must be painted conspicuously to show they're on the warpath.

Add 1 level to dodge, fightin', or shootin': bow per Appeasement point. You must select which Aptitude receives the bonus when the favor is requested.

Example: Two Eagles generates 3 Appeasement and chooses to boost his fightin': tomahawk. If he normally has 3 levels, he now has 6 levels for the next 4 hours.

Strength of the Bear

Appeasement: 1 | Duration: 6 rounds | Range: Touch

The recipient is imbued with the strength of a massive bear spirit. Indians with at least one level of faith can see the hazy outline of a huge grizzly around the warrior.

The target's Strength increases by 1 step per Appeasement point.

Example: Strength 2d6, spend 2 Appeasement, Strength becomes 2d10 (2 steps up: d6→d8→d10).

Vision Quest

Appeasement: Varies | Duration: Instant | Range: Self

A plea to the spirits for a glimpse into the future. Spirits don't like granting these—they're wild and chaotic, and know the future can change. Still, they can be persuaded to provide the most likely answer to a question.

Nature spirits' answers are always strange and indecipherable, but they never lie. The Marshal should create a cryptic vision that somehow communicates the answer without directly giving it away.

Wilderness Walk

Appeasement: 2 | Duration: Concentration | Range: Touch

This favor cloaks the recipient in the essence of the wilderness itself, making them extraordinarily difficult to track. Footprints disappear, broken branches restore themselves, and sounds are muffled. The recipient adds +5 per Appeasement point to all sneak rolls when in natural terrain.

However, this only masks sound and tracks—it doesn't make you invisible. If someone's looking directly at you, they'll still see you.

Ordeals: Combining Rituals for Greater Power

Sometimes a favor requires more Appeasement than a single ritual can generate. When this happens, a shaman performs an "ordeal"—multiple rituals combined into one extended ceremony.

How Ordeals Work:

1. Select which rituals you'll perform (each different type can only be used once)
2. Perform the rituals consecutively (some, like fasting, can overlap with others)
3. Any interruption causes the ordeal to fail
4. Going bust on any ritual roll causes the entire ordeal to fail
5. After completing all rituals, total the Appeasement points from each and apply them to the favor

Example Ordeal: Gray Cloud wants to heal a critically wounded chief (5 Appeasement needed). He performs:

• Fast: 2 days (ritual roll at TN 11), generates 3 Appeasement (1 success)
• Scar: Minor scarring (TN 7), generates 1 Appeasement (1 success)
• Paint: Moderate painting on the chief (TN 7), generates 2 Appeasement (1 success)

Total: 6 Appeasement points. The chief is healed.

The Danger of Manitous

Rituals are meant to attract nature spirits, but sometimes they attract the wrong attention. If a shaman ever goes bust while making a ritual roll, they've been tricked into treating with a manitou—an evil spirit—instead of a nature spirit.

What Happens:

1. The manitou attacks with an opposed Spirit roll
2. The Marshal determines the manitou's Spirit level (usually around the shaman's own Spirit)
3. If the shaman wins, the manitou retreats
4. If the manitou wins, the shaman takes 3d6 damage to the guts, plus +1d6 per raise the manitou achieved

This is why shamans must be careful and respectful when dealing with spirits. The Hunting Grounds is a dangerous place, and manitous have hated shamans ever since the Great Spirit War.

The Old Ways

To nature spirits, "natural" items made by and for a particular human have history and carry a bit of the maker's soul. This is why they dislike mass-produced items—things with no past, no connection to the earth.

Shamans are particularly repulsed by machines that pollute and ravage the earth: steam-powered trains, ghost rock engines, mad science devices. These unnatural creations weaken the relationship between the People and the spirits.

The Old Ways Movement: Many shamans urge their tribes to return to the Old Ways—to abandon white man's technology and live as their ancestors did. This movement has caught on strongly in the Sioux Nations and parts of the Coyote Confederation.

What the Old Ways Mean for Shamans:

• Use only natural weapons and tools (bows, spears, stone knives, wooden clubs)
• Avoid firearms, even if skilled with them
• Refuse to ride trains or use ghost rock devices
• Wear traditional clothing and use traditional methods
• Often taken as the Oath Hindrance (–3 to –5 points depending on strictness)

Not all shamans follow the Old Ways strictly, especially younger ones or those who've spent time around whites. But most feel the pull of tradition and the spirits' disapproval when they use manufactured goods.

Non-Shamans Using Favors

Knowledge of spirits is important in most Indian cultures, even for those who aren't shamans. Warriors call on spirits before battle. Hunters give thanks to animal spirits. This means even non-shaman Indians may ask minor favors.

Requirements for Non-Shamans:

• At least 1 level of faith
• Know an appropriate ritual concentration (purchased normally)
• Can only request favors with minimum Appeasement of 1
• All Appeasement points generated can be applied to the favor

Available to Non-Shamans: Earth Speak, Guiding Wind, Speed of the Wolf, Spirit Warrior, Strength of the Bear

Not Available to Non-Shamans: Curse, Lightning Strike, Medicine, Pact, Shapeshift, Soar with Eagles, Vision Quest, Wilderness Walk

Important: Indians with faith do not have access to the blessed protection miracle unless that faith is in a non-Indian religion (like Christianity). In which case, they shouldn't have access to shamanic favors either—you can't serve two spiritual systems simultaneously.

Shamans & Faith

You may notice shamans don't need the faith Aptitude to commune with spirits. That's because shamans talk to spirits every day and have total confidence in their power. Nature spirits are as real to shamans as horses and guns are to white men.

Whenever a shaman is called upon to make a faith roll (for instance, to resist supernatural fear or evil influence), they may use their ritual skill instead.

Building a Shaman Character

Here's how to create a shaman character:

Required Elements

• Arcane Background: Shaman Edge (3 points) - Your mystical calling
• At least 1 concentration in the ritual Aptitude (3 points each)
• High Spirit Trait - Usually 3d10 or better (for resisting manitous and spiritual attacks)
• Knowledge of tribal lore - Academia: occult, Medicine: general, Language: tribal tongue
• At least 1 favor known (1 favor per level of ritual skill)

Recommended Traits & Skills

Useful Edges

• Arcane Background: Shaman (3 points) - REQUIRED. Your connection to the spirit world.
• Brave (2 points) - +2 to guts checks. Shamans face spiritual horrors regularly.
• Fleet-Footed (2 points) - +2 to Pace. Many shamans are surprisingly quick.
• Keen (2 points) - +2 to Cognition and related skills. Good for paint ritual and perception.
• Thick-Skinned (3 points) - +1 to Armor. Spiritual protection from hardened skin.
• Tough as Nails (3 points) - Extra wound level. Useful when rituals require self-harm.
• Sand (2 points) - Ignore 1 point of wound penalties. Endure pain from scarring and maiming.
• Level-Headed (3 points) - Draw two action cards, use higher. Good tactical advantage.
• Sense of Direction (1 point) - Never lost. Spirits guide you.

Common Hindrances

• Oath (–3 to –5) - Following the Old Ways, serving your tribe, honoring the spirits
• Curious (–3) - Seeking spiritual knowledge and understanding mysteries
• Superstitious (–2) - Believing in signs, omens, and spiritual warnings
• Stubborn (–2) - Traditional ways are best; white man's ways are corrupt
• Obligation (–1 to –5) - Duty to your tribe as spiritual leader and healer
• Lame (–3) - Old injury from a vision quest or spiritual ordeal
• Outcast (–3) - Some shamans are exiled or leave their tribes for various reasons
• Enemy (various) - Rival shamans, manitous, or those who fear your power
• Vow (–1 to –5) - Promise to the spirits or your tribe

Starting Ritual & Favor Recommendations

For Healers:

• Rituals: Pledge, Paint, Dance
• Favors: Medicine, Strength of the Bear, Spirit Warrior

For Scouts/Trackers:

• Rituals: Pledge, Paint, Fast
• Favors: Earth Speak, Wilderness Walk, Speed of the Wolf, Soar with Eagles

For Warriors:

• Rituals: Paint (required for Spirit Warrior), Pledge, Scar
• Favors: Spirit Warrior, Strength of the Bear, Guiding Wind, Speed of the Wolf

For Spiritual Leaders:

• Rituals: Dance, Fast, Pledge, Paint
• Favors: Vision Quest, Medicine, Curse (used sparingly), Shapeshift

Famous Shamans of the Weird West

Playing a Shaman Character

Here's how to bring shaman characters to life while maintaining their spiritual depth:

Respect the Spirits: Don't treat favors like spell-casting. Every ritual is a negotiation, a plea, an offering. The spirits aren't your servants—they're powerful forces of nature who help when properly honored. Roleplay the sacrifice and commitment required.

Embrace the Old Ways: Even if you don't take the Oath Hindrance, consider what technology your shaman is comfortable with. Many shamans carry bows instead of rifles, wear traditional clothing, and avoid ghost rock devices. The spirits notice these things.

Be a Spiritual Leader: Shamans aren't just healers and mystics—they're guides for their people. Offer counsel, interpret omens, perform ceremonies. Your role is about more than just mechanical benefits.

Fear Manitous: Going bust on ritual rolls isn't just a mechanical penalty—it's terrifying. You've accidentally contacted an evil spirit that wants to harm you. Play up this fear and respect for the dangers of the spirit world.

Show the Cost: Rituals require sacrifice—time, pain, commitment. Don't just say "I perform a ritual." Describe the three-day fast, the scarring ceremony, the hours of dancing until exhaustion. These sacrifices matter.

Use Favors Creatively: Shamanic powers aren't just for combat. Earth Speak helps find lost children. Vision Quest guides important tribal decisions. Soar with Eagles scouts ahead. Medicine heals the sick. Think beyond fighting.

Honor Your Tribe: Most shamans have strong ties to their people. Even if you're working with whites (like for Colonel Brennan), you carry your tribe's teachings and spiritual traditions. Let this inform your character's perspective and decisions.

Interpret Nature: Shamans see the world differently. That thunderstorm isn't random weather—it's the thunder spirits expressing anger or approval. That wolf crossing your path is a sign. Everything has spiritual meaning.

Shaman Archetypes

The Tribal Healer: Dedicated to keeping your people healthy in body and spirit. Knows medicine favors intimately. Often carries herbs and natural remedies alongside spiritual healing. Sought out by sick and injured. May use Pact to create healing fetishes for warriors going into battle.

The War Shaman: Rides with warriors, painting them for battle and calling down spirit blessings. Master of Spirit Warrior, Strength of the Bear, and Guiding Wind. Bears many ritual scars. Feared by enemies for the power you bring to combat.

The Vision Seeker: Constantly pursuing deeper understanding through vision quests and ordeals. Often alone in the wilderness, communing with spirits. Provides spiritual guidance to your tribe. May have prophetic dreams that drive the plot forward.

The Exile: Cast out or voluntarily left your tribe—perhaps for breaking taboos, or because your visions led you away, or because your tribe rejected the Old Ways. Now wander the West, still honoring the spirits but without a people to serve. May be searching for a new purpose.

The Guardian: Protector of sacred places and spiritual boundaries. Expert at Wilderness Walk and defensive favors. May guard burial grounds, spirit gates, or locations where the Hunting Grounds touches the physical world. Hostile to intruders.

The Shape-Changer: Master of transformation, spending more time in animal form than human. Deep connection to animal spirits. May be socially awkward around humans after spending so much time as wolf or eagle. Uses Shapeshift frequently for scouting and survival.

The Cursed: Bears a powerful curse—either one you placed on yourself in an ordeal gone wrong, or one inflicted by another shaman or manitou. Trying to lift it drives your adventures. Expertise in the Curse favor, having studied it to understand your affliction.

Shamans & the Troubleshooters

Colonel Augustus "Gus" Brennan is a practical man with surprising respect for Indian spirituality—or at least, he's smart enough not to dismiss what he's seen shamans accomplish. The supernatural is real in the Weird West, and the Colonel knows shamanic medicine is as effective as blessed miracles or huckster hexes.

Why Shamans Work for the Colonel:

• Tribal interests: The Sioux Nations, Coyote Confederation, and Apache territories all border Colonel Brennan's operations. Some shamans work for him to ensure fair treatment of their people.
• Exchange of knowledge: The Colonel has information and resources. He's willing to trade knowledge about supernatural threats for spiritual expertise.
• Exile or outcast status: Shamans who've left their tribes need somewhere to go. The Colonel doesn't ask too many questions about your past.
• Facing abominations: The spirits want the manitous' evil creations destroyed. Working for Brennan puts you on the front lines against supernatural threats.
• Vision quest guidance: Some shamans receive visions telling them to work with specific white men—those who'll fight the coming darkness.

Challenges:

• Technology everywhere: Dodge City is full of trains, telegraph, manufactured goods—everything the spirits disapprove of. Shamans following the Old Ways must navigate a world built on technology.
• Cultural divide: Most of the Colonel's other Troubleshooters are white. They may not understand or respect your spiritual practices. Some see Indians as savages.
• Old Ways vs. Practicality: Do you refuse to ride the train even when it's the fastest way to reach a crisis? Do you insist on using a bow when a Winchester would be more effective? Balancing tradition with necessity creates interesting choices.
• Spiritual pollution: Ghost rock, mad science, and the Reckoning's influence all corrupt the natural order. Working in Dodge City means constant exposure to things the spirits hate.

Opportunities:

• Teaching others: Show white Troubleshooters that Indian ways aren't savage—they're sophisticated, spiritual, and effective.
• Using unique skills: Earth Speak finds missing people. Wilderness Walk enables perfect infiltration. Soar with Eagles provides unmatched reconnaissance. Your favors solve problems guns can't.
• Spiritual knowledge: When the posse faces ghosts, manitous, or other supernatural threats, your understanding of the spirit world becomes invaluable.
• Cultural bridge: You can negotiate with Indian tribes, interpret spiritual events, and understand threats that confound whites.

The Unspoken Understanding: Colonel Brennan knows shamans need natural materials for rituals, time for ceremonies, and respect for spiritual practices. He gives you space to maintain your traditions as long as you're effective. In exchange, you don't lecture the other Troubleshooters about their reliance on technology—even if the spirits disapprove.

Next: Common Folk – The everyday heroes who survive through grit, determination, and luck...