Shamans

By Delikk

The key to a Shaman's fighting is his Vodun Doll. In order to use the doll, the Shaman must get a certain number of fashions on the doll. To fashion, a Shaman must have equilibrium and balance, be wielding the doll, and be in the same room as the person of whom he his making the doll. Once the doll has the proper number of fashions, however, the Shaman can strike at you from any distance. Their powers include breaking one or more limbs instantly, a variety of status effects,

Mind-Command-esque control, and Obliterate, which will kill you instantly. Thus, your primary goal in fighting a Shaman is to pile as much damage on them while keeping them from being able to fashion the doll. Some strategies include:

(a) Breaking Arms: Shaman's cannot fashion with either arm broken. It is especially good if you can break the arm that is wielding the doll, as this will cause the doll to become unwielded. (b) Disarming - Using bladehand to remove the doll from the Shaman's hands completely is also advantageous. However, many Shaman's will attach a fist sigil to their dolls as soon as they've made the first fashion, so this tactic will often be useless. (c) Kaido - KaiCripple is useful for the same reason that breaking arms is, though it's harder to set up. Deliverance will also work, if you can time it right. Remember, fashioning a doll does count as an aggressive action for both gaining Kai and activating Kai powers. (d) Telepathy - skills such as Blackout and Epilepsy can be used to disrupt the Shaman's fashioning. Even better is Mind Command, which you can use to force the Shaman to give you the doll.

Shamans also make heavy use of totems. In order for a totem to affect you, the Shaman must first stand it up, and then you must enter the room. It will not affect you if you are already in the room before the Shaman has finished standing it. This takes several seconds, which makes it difficult for them to use if you're following them very closely. However, if the Shaman has been out of sight in another room for more than a couple of seconds, do not follow them blindly into the room.

While many different combinations of runes are possible, one of the most common that I have seen is as follows: Wunjo (this unblinds you, removing your primary defense against runes), 3 Fehu (This is a sleep rune. The first two remove your kola and cohosh defenses, the third puts you to sleep), Inguz (a paralyze rune, costing you another second or two after you've awoken), and either Sleizak (which inflicts Voyria) or Sowulu (which cuts your health approximately in half).

While you are asleep and paralyzed, the Shaman will have the opportunity to do multiple fashions on the doll. To minimize the possibility of being affected by a totem, try the following:

(a) Brazier tattoo - If the Shaman is dumb enough not to have a Cloak tattoo or similar protection, this is a perfect way to undo his toteming. (b) Firelash Ring or other ranged attack - If you can attack a Shaman from outside the room he is in, the totem will not protect him. (c) Telepathy - Mind Throw, a very low-level Telepathy skill, can be used to force the Shaman into the room where you are waiting, undoing his totem preperation. This is also useful because the Shaman will have to take a precious moment to unwield the totem and begin wielding his Vodun doll if he wants to make use of it. Mind Command can also be used to force the Shaman to unstand or unwield the totem. (d) If all else fails and the Shaman doesn't have enough fashions on his doll to affect you, just make him come to you by refusing to enter the room where his totem awaits. While it's possible that this could result in a stalemate, it could also force the Shaman to become inpatient and move into a less tactical position.

Shamans also have access to curses. This is generally the least worrysome of their powers, however, since they can do little direct damage with it. Most of their curses inflict status effects, which a prepared Monk should be able to handle, and if they're busy putting curses on you, they can't be adding fashions to their doll. The most crippling curses for a monk can be slow, bind, and concussion, since they can hamper your ability to hamper the Shaman's abilities. Be prepared to handle them with Speed elixer, Writhe, and Mending Salve.