Its not as common as it used to be. According to a conversation with Stephen Martin, the shamans in the currently printed material are all 'awakened parts' of the hero. Its you. Other traditions may differ.
But I think that Storm Tribe will clear up a lot of the problems and misconceptions with Shamens/Fetches as this will be the first time since the main rules (and really not then) that a shamanistic keyword has been addressed in detail.
> spirits. Are they really 'just' spirits or could they also be actual
horses
> or hawks?
I think I'm going to spend some time re-reading and checking up on the HW rules in this area. But at first glance, it sounds like you may be confusing Spirit Ally with Fetch?
If it says its a spirit, its a spirit. Perhaps that's a bit pedantic on my part but... it seems simple enough to me.
> FWIW I am going to treat fetches as followers in most respects,
expect that
> they have a Might equal to their Shamans best ability - in this
particular
> case 'Intimidate'.
Well, that is your perogative but I'd try not to turn them into a 'mere' spirit. Fetches are special -- the mark of a shaman. And I think that they'd be something most of them would not want to get lost or hurt. No more than I would want to grab a chunk of red hot metal -- if you _must_ have an analogy.
> It struck me that a badly flawed shaman (who gained a huge flaw on a
> Heroquest, for example 'Scared of Spiders 15W' after meeting
Cragspider)
One MIGHT suggest a touch of common sense here? Though it is an amusing concept, I will admit.
> might suddenly get a mightier fetch, and a reason to become even
more flawed
> ("I'll do anything on the spirit world to keep away from those
crawling
> critters!").
>
> Keith N
Jeff
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