Plant/Animal Shaman Spell Lists

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Curbludgeon
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Comment: They/Them

Plant/Animal Shaman Spell Lists

Unread post by Curbludgeon »

BoM and WB 15 make some sweeping claims regarding spell access for these classes, and I see value in trying to codify those claims. It seems best to at first cast a wide net, and then prune away redundant or ill-fitting effects. I'll divide it up by class, then sblocked spell list by discipline, then a sblocked integrated list. I won't be including those spells that each class may choose to learn upon gaining a level, focusing instead on those falling under the general headings of Plant or Animal spells. If there's anything I've missed please share in the comments.

One thing the two classes share is a lack of access to Shamanic Spirit spells. In fact, only Healing and Elemental Shamans have access to them per WB15. I feel that this was an oversight, and that those spells should be able to be learned by P/A Shamans when gaining levels. At a minimum the spell Contact Spirits (8) seems appropriate.

"Plant Shamans have access to all plant spells in the Rifts series, including Biomancer spells and Nature Magic spells."-BoM pg 214
"At first level the Plant Shaman knows five Shamantic[sic] Plant spells. At second level he knows all remaining plant spells." -WB15 pg 52
Animal Shamans have nearly identical quotes.

It is ambiguous as to whether or not "all remaining plant spells" refers to only Shamanic Plant spells or all magic. This list operates under the latter. If one chooses to interpret it as the former they are encouraged to integrate the lists at the bottom of this post with those on BoM pg 210 and either 214 (Plant) or 212 (Animal), and use that for selecting spells learned upon gaining levels.

Plant: Plant Shamans gain most of their spells from Biomancy and Earth Warlock lists. One could make an argument that Invocation spells like Illusory Terrain might apply, but they are excluded below. Even though Nature Magic is specifically mentioned in BoM, there aren't many spells even arguably applicable. The ones involving food preservation focus on baked and other prepared foods, and so seem a bit a bit out of keeping with the theme.
Spoiler:
Biomancy
1: Algae Bloom(4), Bio-Scan: Plants(3), Commune with Nature (2), Heal Plants(5,10,20), Shape Plants (4)
2: Animate Plant: Minor (4), Harvest(5,8,15),Plant Virtual Sight (6), Weave Plants (15)
3: Accelerate Plant Growth (5, 10 or 20), Life Link (8,15), Seaweed Net (9), Shrink Plant (10 or 200)
4: Forest Camouflage (15), Seaweed Floating Platform (10), Strengthen Plants (20 - 460)
5: Animate Plants:Major (20),Metamorphosis: Plant (30), Revitalize Plant Life (15), Seaweed Bloom (20), Seaweed Lift(14)
6: Nutrient Feed (15), Seaweed Path (24 or 48), Tree Teleport (20), Tree Whispering (30)
7: Animate Plants:Superior (25), Seaweed Bridge (40 or 240), Tree Phasing (22), Tree Warrior (30)
9: Heal the Earth (200)
10: Woodland Entity (80)
11: Nutrient Push:Soil (180)
12: Forest Walk (195), Mimic Animal or Plant (500)
Elemental Earth
1: Create Wood (5 or 10), Identify Plants (3), Rot Wood (4)
2: Grow Plants (8), Wither Plants (10)
3: Animate Plants (10), Shrink Plant (10 or 200)
4: Wall of Thorns (15)
6: Wood to Stone (30)
8: Ironwood (50+)
Nature
2: Sustained by the Earth (8)
Necromancy
4: Kill Plants (10)
Ocean
4 Weed Snare (8)
Shamanic
1: Dowsing (6)
3: Thornwall (10)
5: Animate the Forest Floor (15), Spirit's Blessing (Plant; 15)
6: Magic Stick (20), Nourish Plants (15), Plant Travel (25)
7: Animate Tree (25), Plant Growth (25)
9: Spirit Walk (65)
11: Call Forest Guardian (160)
Animal: Animal Shamans potentially have a much larger spell list available, from multiple disciplines. Several animal-themed invocations are on the list of spells which may be learned as a result of gaining levels. I include them in the following list for purposes of diligence, but will both mark them with an asterisk(*) and exclude them from the integrated lists.
Spoiler:
African Witch (note: in the final list I'll put these at level 10)
Summon & Control Biting Insect Swam (80), Summon & Control Locust Swarm (90)
Biomancy
1: Bio-Scan (4), Insect Signals (3), Whale Speak
2: Amphibious (6), Animal Weaponry: Simple (6), Bait Ball (6), Bioluminescence (7), Filter Feeder (10), Insect Chemical Trail (5), Insect Leap (5), Plankton Bloom (8)
3: Animal Weaponry: Poison (10), Chitin (15), Coral Growth (8), Electrolocation (10), Fish Skin (10 or 35), Insect Climb (8), Life Link (8 or 15), Repel Sharks (9), Tracking Barnacle (14), Weaponize Sea Anemone (12)
4: Animal Weaponry: Major (20), Insect Silent Walking (10), Scent Cloak (11), Weaponize Eel (16)
5: Amplified Scent (21), Animal Phantom (20), Birth Giver (20), Insect Brother (11)
6: Barnacle Armor (24 or 85), Coral Whispering (30)
8: Coral Menace (60), Remove Parasites (50), Touch of Life (10-60+), Creature of the Forest (70)
10: Creature of the Sea (100)
11: Remove Symbiotes (150)
12: Mimic Animal or Plant (500)
Elemental Earth
4: Repel Animals (10)
Elemental Water
2: Swim as a Fish:Superior(6)
3: Command Fish (10)
4: Communicate With Sea Creature (12), Swim Like the dolphin (15)
6: Summon Sharks or Whales (50)
Invocation
4: *Repel Animals (7), *Swim as a Fish (6)
5: Influence the Beast (12), Swim as a FIsh: Superior (12)
6: *Magic Pigeon (20)
7: *Metamorphosis: Animal (25)
8: *Eyes of the Wolf (25), Metamorphosis: Human (40), Winged Flight (35)
9: *Familiar Link (55), Metamorphosis: Insect (60), Phantom Mount (45), *Speed of the Snail (50), *Summon&Control Canine (50), Tame Beast (60)
10: *Summon/Control Rodents (70)
11: *Summon&Control Animals (125)
14: Summon&Control Sea Serpents (350)
Nature
2: The Bee's Friend (4)
8: Swords to Snakes (25)
Necromancy
7: Chicken Bone (20, soup only)
10: Summon Insect Swarm (80)
Ocean
3: Breath Air (Without Gills) (5), Flying Fish (8)
4: Sonar Hearing (10)
5: Communicate With Sea Creature (10)
6: Senses of the Shark (15)
7: Abilities of the Snail (20), Strength of the Whale (20)
8: Summon Sea Friend (40)
9: Metamorphosis: Fish (50)
11: Metamorphosis: Crustacean (60 or 120)
12: Metamorphosis: Shark (90 or 160)
Shamanic
1: Nose of the Wolf(4)
2: Animal Speech (5)
3: Animal Companion(20)
4: Ears of the Wolf (10), Shared Spirits (7)
5: Metamorphosis: Totem Animal (18), Totem Gift (12)
7: Spirit's Blessing (Animal; 20)
8: Summon Game Animals (30)
12: Metamorphosis: Totem (250)
Integrated Plant list
Spoiler:
1: Algae Bloom(4), Bio-Scan: Plants(3), Commune with Nature (2), Create Wood (5 or 10), Dowsing (6), Heal Plants(5,10,20), Identify Plants (3), Rot Wood (4), Shape Plants (4)
2: Animate Plant: Minor (4), Grow Plants (8), Harvest(5,8,15), Plant Virtual Sight (6), Sustained by the Earth (8), Weave Plants (15), Wither Plants (10)
3: Accelerate Plant Growth (5, 10 or 20), Animate Plants (10), Life Link (8,15), Seaweed Net (9), Shrink Plant (10 or 200), Thornwall (10)
4: Forest Camouflage (15), Kill Plants (10), Seaweed Floating Platform (10), Strengthen Plants (20 - 460), Wall of Thorns (15), Weed Snare (8)
5: Animate Plants:Major (20), Animate the Forest Floor (15), Metamorphosis: Plant (30), Revitalize Plant Life (15), Seaweed Bloom (20), Seaweed Lift(14), Spirit's Blessing (Plant; 15)
6: Magic Stick (20), Nourish Plants (15), Nutrient Feed (15), Plant Travel (25), Seaweed Path (24 or 48), Tree Teleport (20), Tree Whispering (30), Wood to Stone (30)
7: Animate Plants:Superior (25), Animate Tree (25), Plant Growth (25), Seaweed Bridge (40 or 240), Tree Phasing (22), Tree Warrior (30)
8: Ironwood (50+)
9: Heal the Earth (200), Spirit Walk (65)
10: Woodland Entity (80)
11: Call Forest Guardian (160), Nutrient Push:Soil (180)
12: Forest Walk (195), Mimic Animal or Plant (500)
Integrated Animal list
Spoiler:
1: Bio-Scan (4), Insect Signals (3), Nose of the Wolf(4), Whale Speak
2: Amphibious (6), Animal Speech (5), Animal Weaponry: Simple (6), Bait Ball (6), Bioluminescence (7), Filter Feeder (10), Insect Chemical Trail (5), Insect Leap (5), Plankton Bloom (8), Swim as a Fish:Superior(6), The Bee's Friend (4)
3: Animal Companion(20), Animal Weaponry: Poison (10), Breath Air (Without Gills) (5), Chitin (15), Command Fish (10), Coral Growth (8), Electrolocation (10), Fish Skin (10 or 35), Flying Fish (8), Insect Climb (8), Life Link (8 or 15), Repel Sharks (9), Tracking Barnacle (14), Weaponize Sea Anemone (12)
4: Animal Weaponry: Major (20), Communicate With Sea Creature (12), Ears of the Wolf (10), Insect Silent Walking (10), Repel Animals (10), Scent Cloak (11), Shared Spirits (7), Sonar Hearing (10), Swim Like the dolphin (15), Weaponize Eel (16)
5: Amplified Scent (21), Animal Phantom (20), Birth Giver (20), Communicate With Sea Creature (10), Influence the Beast (12), Insect Brother (11), Metamorphosis: Totem Animal (18), Swim as a FIsh: Superior (12), Totem Gift (12)
6: Barnacle Armor (24 or 85), Coral Whispering (30), Senses of the Shark (15), Summon Sharks or Whales (50)
7: Abilities of the Snail (20), Chicken Bone (20, soup only), Spirit's Blessing (Animal; 20), Strength of the Whale (20)
8: Coral Menace (60), Creature of the Forest (70), Metamorphosis: Human (40), Remove Parasites (50), Summon Game Animals (30), Summon Sea Friend (40) Swords to Snakes (25), Touch of Life (10-60+), Winged Flight (35)
9: Metamorphosis: Fish (50), Metamorphosis: Insect (60), Phantom Mount (45), Tame Beast (60)
10: Creature of the Sea (100) Summon & Control Biting Insect Swam (80), Summon & Control Locust Swarm (90), Summon Insect Swarm (80)
11: Metamorphosis: Crustacean (60 or 120), Remove Symbiotes (150)
12: Metamorphosis: Shark (90 or 160), Metamorphosis: Totem (250), Mimic Animal or Plant (500)
14: Summon&Control Sea Serpents (350)
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Axelmania
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Re: Plant/Animal Shaman Spell Lists

Unread post by Axelmania »

I think the easiest way to interpret Book of Magic's retcon (because WB15 did not originally make any reference to giving them Biomancer spells from WB9) is simply that Biomancy/Nature magic are included as options from level 3 onward in addition to "those available below" and are also subject to the "cannot make selections higher than his own current level" guideline.
Curbludgeon
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Comment: They/Them

Re: Plant/Animal Shaman Spell Lists

Unread post by Curbludgeon »

There was no retcon. WB15 pp 75&78 have the relevant Animal/Plant quotes.
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Axelmania
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Re: Plant/Animal Shaman Spell Lists

Unread post by Axelmania »

In uppercase, or lowercase? Nature certainly couldn't have been explicitly called out in 15 prior to 18
Curbludgeon
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Re: Plant/Animal Shaman Spell Lists

Unread post by Curbludgeon »

WB15 pg 75: Animal Shamans have access to all animal or animal-affecting spells

WB15 pg 78: Plant Shamans have access to all plant spells in the Rifts® series, including the Biomancer spells from Rifts® World Book Six: South America, and any that appear in other supplements.
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Axelmania
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Re: Plant/Animal Shaman Spell Lists

Unread post by Axelmania »

"Curse of Darkness" and "Blinding Flash" can affect animals, so "animal-affecting" sounds rather broad.

If I were going to give them access to anything besides that which ONLY affected animals, I would think perhaps it might be more balanced to have them be variations which only affected them, similar to how Fleshsculptors can cast Impervious to Fire but only on stuff like leather jackets and not non-flesh materials.
Curbludgeon
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Re: Plant/Animal Shaman Spell Lists

Unread post by Curbludgeon »

Has anyone else on this forum gotten a bot to express interest in biology?

Lo, I am the Reconciler of Opposites, the electron gate made flesh.
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