The spirit animal ghostie things.

Azzello

So after coming back from being gone a good while I wanted to re-up on my shaman knowledge before finishing off some tasks.  Spent a good deal of time in Dendara communing with the animal spirits.  I really like that whole aspect of the Shamans, I think it is a great way to learn more about the guild and its ideals, I wish more things were interactive learning like that instead of "read this book" "read this paper", it makes the game a lot more fun IMO.

Now, while I do enjoy the animal spirits, I really think it needs some re-working.  If I am getting the gist of it properly (and forgive me if I am not) it is supposed to teach new shamans about the guild.  Each animal seems to describe something that deals with nature and/or the protection of it.  For instance, the spider talks about proper hunting.  The cougar talks about the control of ones emotions, the raven talks about looking to the future to prevent harm. Then you have the wyvern, bear, and serpent which talk about...well...nothing of any real significance.

The bear talks about tranquility, which even though that kind of fits in with the cougars teaching, it could work on its own if the bear actually talked about why, and taught something about tranquility.  As it stands he just says he encompasses tranquility amidst the chaos of the Rhythm and the rest is his ritual of branding the Shaman, no real meat and potatoes there to teach a new shaman anything.  

The Wyvern talks about fury, which in all honesty kind of contradicts the other spirit animals.  Where they are talking about keeping yourself in check whether emotionally or even when stalking your prey, the Wyvern is like "Rawr, I am furious, rage kill rawr!" so it kind of goes against the general theme of the spirit animals, at least to me.  The serpent is just the same thing, a quick blurb on what it stands for with no elaboration and most of it just being the marking ritual.

I;'d really like to hear from other shamans on what you think about the whole spirit animal thing, and I think it would be really awesome to revisit a few of them and kind of add more about them and what they are to give a full experience to the oath taking.

Haern

It looks like some of the priest programs got disabled (or broke--oops), but you should definitely speak to them as they tend to give a little more information about the paths that they've chosen alongside the ancients that they worship in addition to your oaths. The Rhythm is something that came a long, long time before Haern and ultimately represents the everchanging and shifting of the world itself. There is a struggle between predator and prey, life and death. These spirits ultimately echo this and are as diverse as the people you witness. While you might not wish to follow one in particular, each of them teaches the Shaman a facet of the Wilds and the Rhythm as was the ultimate goal!

To clarify a little bit while I sort out the progs in the coming days: Rhulvok represents, more than anything, weathering hardships and standing strong in the face of adversity. Rhulvok's an old war veteran and bears (haha) his scars with pride. He's seen countless hardships and offers himself as a teaching tool to the young. Takaros is wild, free, unfettered. He is the glory of the hunt and unashamed of his youthful pride. Vo'acha? Well, Vo'acha is that waiting predator in the dark alongside Kree-sa. He's on a dark path that few of the other spirits have taken and a little less vocal (Kree-sa and that hunger, darn it!). I hope this answers some of your questions, Azzello.

Azzello

I pretty much had the gist of what they represented and a little creative thinking could make the pieces fit.  I'll go around speaking to the actual priests themselves rather than touching the totems, that might be what I was looking for.  Myself knowing the history of the Shamans, I can get it, it's the newer people and my character that don't that I was kinda throwing an idea around for.  If the priests themselves elaborate a bit more on their ways, maybe the guild could just put in there to speak with the priests as well.  I love the role play behind the shamans, it's a really fun class and I just want to make sure everyone can enjoy it, especially those of us that don't have the time to read through all the journals and books and the such.

Aishia

When someone asks me about this IC I spin all sorts of my own propaganda about it all.

Aishia

Which I remember having a really great conversation with someone about it not that long ago but I can't for the life of me remember with who....