JB>> At least all Brithini, be they Talar, Dronar, or Menena, expect their
>> Zzaburs to attempt resurrection. Apparently they accept a certain probation
>> time before declaring anyone dead.
>What? Where did you get this from Joel? I thought the lack of ressurection in
>the West was absolute.
The Brithini Sidebar in the Seshnela writeup where it is stated that even the Dronars expect their wizards to attempt ressurection. It's an interesting point as to whether the Malkioni know of ressurection but I tend to doubt this myself.
Joseph Troxell:
>>'spend 90% of their time chasing spirits' is an arguement from the
>>roolz. The Shaman fits into Orlanthi society because he or she
>>performs tasks that they need done. There is no prohibition on
>>Shamans farming and in Orlanthi society they probably do
>[analogy snipped]
>But, I see the shaman as being the same way. Sure, they can farm (and maybe
>they must in order to survive). But, they're going to make most of their
>income by knowing lots of spirits. "Need Bludgeon 3? Sure, just let me
>check my directory...." If someone comes up to a shaman, and wants a spell
>for which the shaman doesn't know the spirit, it may take him days (even
>weeks) to track down the right spirit.
Again this is an arguement from the roolz. A Shaman in Orlanthi society merely complements the mainstream Orlanthi religion and does not replace it.
Firstly, none of the people in the village are able afford the spells at the standard rates. It's done on the basis of being kin and doing a favour for the shaman. The prices he can command in consultancy fees are pitiful.
Secondly much of their spells, the people can get from the standard religious authorities (like the clan godi or even the Storm Voice in the nearby town). This is far quicker than the shaman's method of searching the spirit plane. So the Shaman really has an edge in only exotic spells, much of which he has no need for in day to day society. Hence there is no incentive for him to start accumulating spell spirits.
Thirdly the Shaman is far more effective than a Priest in dealing with diseases and malign spirits. Thus he is more likely to be called upon for those duties rather than teach spells. Even then, there is simply not enough incidences in a year for the shaman to make a living by performing these tasks full-time.
And finally, given all this, the Orlanthi Shaman still has to make some sort of living while farming. Why? Simply because there is not enough surplus within his society to support him at his job full time. There's barely enough to support a clan chief for example within the clan.
>Since, I think the shaman only has one spirit encounter an hour, and
>not all of them will even be spell spirits.
Of course this comes from the same set of rules which implies that something like 1% of an urban population dissappears per day due to random encounters. I think such statements need to be taken with very heavy dosage of salt for it true, the average starting shaman ends up being a god or dead within the space of three weeks or less.
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