As detailed in Chapter 1, a shaman turns undead with the aid of an enchanted object called a talisman. He uses his talisman to focus the energies of his faith to terrify undead or destroy them outright.
A shaman receives his talisman at 1st level as part of the character creation process. This initial talisman comes free of charge. It may be an inheritance from an elder, a gift from the gods, or an entitlement awarded when the character becomes an adolescent.
The player may choose a particular talisman, or the DM may recommend one. The talisman must be small enough to be held in the hand and light enough to easily carry. It must also be made from materials available in the barbarian's homeland. A barbarian from the jungle might use a talisman made of vines and tree bark; an arctic barbarian might use seal hide and polar bear claws. Some suggestions:
- A rattle, constructed from a hollow gourd,turtle shell, or clay sphere, filled with pebbles,seeds, or teeth.
- A bone etched with symbols or patterns, stained with vegetable dyes.
- A mineral chunk that has been chipped awayto form the aude image of human face.
- A wooden rod carved with totems representing various animals, people, and deities.
- A pouch filled with sacred herbs.
- The skull of a small animal-a monkey, a bat,a rooster-mounted on a stick. The jawbonemight be loose, so it clatters when the stick is shaken.
- A bullroarer, consisting of a sliver of wood attached to a long piece of gut. When whirledin a circle, it generates a low, piercing hum.
Once a player chooses a talisman for his barbarian, it can never be changed. A talisman functionsonly for its owner. If two barbarians happento use bullroarers as talismans, the first barbarian'sbullrom does not work for the second.
Talisman Replacement[]
If a talisman is lost, damaged, or destroyed, the barbarian can no longer turn undead until he obtains a replacement. To begin the replacement procedure, he must locate one or more undead whose total hit dice are greater than or equal to half his level, rounded up. For example, a 3rd-level barbarian must find one or more undead whose hit dice total at least 2 (such as one 2 HD zombie or two 1 HD skeletons). An 8th-level barbarian must find 4 HD worth of undead (one 4 HD ghast, for example, or four 1 HD skeletons).
The barbarian must then face the undead in combat by himself. If he defeats the undead, he retrieves from them a sedion of clothing or a body mnnant (a handful of dust from a mummy, a finger bone from a skeleton, a scrap of cloth from a ghoul). If he defeated more than one undead, a mnmnt from a single opponent will suffice. If no physical remnant is available, he may substitute any obct the undead touched during combat (a patch of ground whm a vampire stepped, a tree branch that a wraith passed through).
Once he obtains the remnant, the barbarian seeks out a shaman from his homeland and petitions for a new talisman. The shaman must be of a level equal to or higher than the petitioner. If a homeland cleric isn't available, an outworld cleric may be substituted; however, the substitute must be familiar with the customs of the shaman's homeland and must be a native of the petitioner's homeland terrain.
The petitioner then explains to the homeland cleric (or the substitute) how and why he lost his talisman. The homeland cleric decides (that is, the DM decides) if the petitioner deserves a qlacement. If the petitioner lost the talisman in combat (his bullroarer fell apart while he was defending a companion from an army of skeletons) or through no fault of his own (a turtle shell rattle cracked and crumbled after years of use), the homeland cleric likely approves a replacement. If the talisman was lost because of carelessness (a monkey made off with a totem stick while the barbarian slept) or misuse (the totem stick snapped when the barbarian used it as a shovel), the cleric probably denies a replacement. The homeland cleric may change his mind and approve the replacement if the petitioner completes a quest (such as defeating a monster threatening the homeland) or after a certain period of time passes (anywhere from a few months to a few years).
If a replacement is approved, the homeland cleric accepts the remnant from the defeated undead, then gathers the components necessary to craft a new talisman, identical in form to the original. The cleric meticulously assembles the talisman, then buries it in a shallow pit with the undead remnant. One hour each day for the next 1d4 weeks, he prays, dances, and sings over the pit. At the end of this period, he unearths the talisman and presents it to the petitioner, warning him to take care of it.
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