House Rules · 3D6 Stats
Shaman — Elemental Control
Bonded element FP costs — move, purify, create water; range, speed, zones; astral sight; Talyra checklist.
Shaman — elemental control & astral sight
Game: Orion Corridor — 2277 · Ship: Verdigris · Rules: 3D6 Stats Also read: Khesret Magic System (mana zones, garden pool)
The one-minute version
You buy Control and/or Create for your bonded element(s). Control is what you actually need; Create is optional.
- Control — sense, move, purify, and shape material that already exists. Buy this.
- Create — condense or grow new material. Optional — Create without Control is useless (nothing to grip or aim).
- Ice, steam, fog = Water (phases, not a second bond).
- Temperature and Barrage are optional enhancements on Control — not separate advantages.
- Every use: element present? → pay FP → roll Shamanic Elementalism.
- No astral projection — assense only.
No free water. Move is not a weapon. No Temper without the Temperature enhancement.
Your advantages (character sheet)
| Advantage | Required? | What it does at the table |
|---|---|---|
| Control (Element) | Yes (in practice) | Sense · Move · Purify · establish grip · Temper · Barrage |
| Create (Element) | Optional | Create operation · ammo for Barrage |
\*Only if you bought the matching enhancement on Control (below).
Pick one element at creation (e.g. Water). More elements = GM unlock; changes your limitations and per-level cost.
Limitations (on each Control and Create you buy)
These are baked into shaman pricing — you do not shop them à la carte:
| Limitation | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Elemental | −10% | Cosmic matter/energy; countermeasures exist |
| Magical | −10% | Mana zones affect rolls |
| One element | −10% | Single bonded element at creation |
| Shaman | +0% | No astral projection (rule of this doc, not a discount) |
Second element bonded: drop One element (−10%); Control/Create per-level cost rises (char-gen table). Same limitations otherwise.
Enhancements (on Control only)
Buy on the Control advantage for that element. Create does not get these.
| Enhancement | Cost | If you skip it… |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | +5% of your Control advantage cost per level | No Temper (freeze, boil, forge heat) |
| Barrage | +10% of your Control advantage cost per level | No weapon damage with your element |
Barrage: each level = +1 damage die (max Barrage level = Control level). Water = piercing; fire = burning; earth/air = crushing.
At the table — six operations
Pay base FP × zone multiplier (round up). Roll Shamanic Elementalism unless noted.
| # | Operation | Advantage | Enhancement | Base FP | Time | Roll |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sense | Control | — | 0 / 1 | 1–10 sec | vs 12 / 15 | |
| 2 Move | Control | — | 1 / 2 / 4 * | 1–3 sec | vs 12 | |
| 3 Purify | Control | — | 1 / 2 / 4 † | 10 sec–1 min | vs 12 | |
| 4 Create | Create | — | 2 / 3 / 5 / 8 | 1–5 min | vs 12 | |
| 5 Temper | Control | Temperature | 2 + 1/20° | sec–min | vs 12 | |
| 6 Barrage | Control | Barrage | 2 | 1 sec | vs Dodge |
\*Move by volume: 1 ≤1 L · 2 2–20 L · 4 21–100 L †Purify: 1 ≤5 L · 2 6–20 L · 4 21–50 L
Rush (combat): +2 FP — Create or Temper in 1 sec (max 5 L created/round).
Caps: Mass ≤ Control or Create level (table below). No element present = fails.
Move = walking-speed flow, not a weapon. Temper = degrees over time, not HP damage.
Temper rate (Temperature enhancement)
3D6 Stats Powers p. 83: 2° × Temp level per second, max 20° × Temp level total shift. Book also says ambient heat/cold is too slow for combat damage — use Barrage for that.
Khesret scope only: shamans apply that rate to mass already under Control (not whole rooms). Concentrate each second while heating or cooling.
| Temp level | Rate | Max shift | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2°/sec | 20° | Cup of water → ice in ~10 sec |
| 2 | 4°/sec | 40° | 1 L spill → frozen in ~10 sec |
| 4 | 8°/sec | 80° | Forge heat on gripped metal |
Rush (+2 FP): double rate for one action (still not Barrage damage).
Mana zones
| Zone | FP × | Range | Skill | Astral drain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dead void | ×3 | 2 m * | −4 | 1 FP / 10 min |
| Verdigris ship | ×1.5 | Will × 2 m | −1 | 1 FP / 20 min |
| Hub / world | ×1 | Will × 5 m | 0 | 1 FP / 30 min |
| High preserve | ×0.75 | Will × 10 m | +1 | 1 FP / 60 min |
\* Bond anchor: ≥¼ L of your element on you, or within 3 m of ship garden → void range 5 m, astral drain = ship row.
Skill
Shamanic Elementalism (IQ/Average) — defaults Naturalist-4, Religious Ritual-4, Meditation-4.
Good margin: +10% volume or +1 m range (GM picks). Cannot exceed Control/Create caps.
Astral sight
Layer 2 only — assense, read signatures, spirit mood. No projection.
| Action | Cost |
|---|---|
| Snap read | 0 FP |
| Sustained assense | 1 FP / min |
| Spirit contests you | Resist 10 + Will (void −2) |
Garden pool (Verdigris)
Water-bond ops may use garden pool: 1 MP = 1 FP (still × zone). Magic system.
Example at the table
Any shaman — FP = base × zone multiplier; mass caps = your Control / Create levels.
| Job | Operation | Base FP | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fill cup | Create | 2–8 (by volume) | 1–5 min |
| Purify 1 L | Purify | 1 | 10 sec |
| Move spill | Move | 1–4 (by volume) | 1–3 sec |
| Freeze gripped water | Temper | 2 + 1/20° | see Temper rate |
On Verdigris (ship ×1.5): multiply base FP by 1.5 (round up). Garden pool: 1 MP = 1 FP (still × zone).
Character creation
Step 1 — Buy Control and/or Create
Control is the core buy. Create is optional — you can skip it, but Create without Control does nothing useful at the table (no grip, no Barrage ammo workflow).
3D6 Stats base: Control 20/level, Create 10/level (Common element). Buy only Control, only Create (not recommended), or both. Effective cost after shaman limitations (Elemental + Magical + One element = ×0.729 → we round to clean numbers):
| Elements bonded | Control / lv | Create / lv |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | 8 |
| 2 | 20 | 10 |
| 3 | 24 | 13 |
| 4 | 28 | 15 |
| 5 | 32 | 18 |
| 6 | 36 | 20 |
Step 2 — Add enhancements on Control
| Enhancement | Formula |
|---|---|
| Temperature | +5% × Control advantage cost × levels bought |
| Barrage | +10% × Control advantage cost × levels bought |
Control advantage cost = levels × per-level rate from table (before enhancements).
What levels give you
| Lv | Max mass | ≈ Water | Move speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 lb | ~4 L | 1 yd/sec |
| 2 | 40 lb | ~18 L | 2 yd/sec |
| 3 | 90 lb | ~41 L | 3 yd/sec |
| 4 | 160 lb | ~73 L | 4 yd/sec |
| 5 | 250 lb | ~114 L | 5 yd/sec |
| 6 | 360 lb | ~164 L | 6 yd/sec |
Created matter vanishes in 10 sec unless drunk, used on a plant, or sealed.
Example budget (water shaman, 1 element)
Illustrative levels only — not a preset PC.
| Advantage / enhancement | Levels | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Control (Water) | 4 | 4 × 16 = 64 |
| Create (Water) | 2 | 2 × 8 = 16 |
| Temperature on Control | 2 | 2 × 5% × 64 = +6 |
| Total | 86 |
At those levels: ~73 L move cap · ~18 L create cap · up to 40° on gripped water at Temp 2 (4°/sec, 3D6 Stats rate).
+ Barrage 2 on Control: +2 × 10% × 64 = +13 → 99 total · 2d pierce.
Starter packages (~200 pt games)
| Build | Control | Create | Temp | ~Pts | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ship | 3 | 2 | 2 | ~69 | Garden / galley |
| Field | 4 | 2 | 2 | ~86 | Spill / freeze |
| Fighter | 4 | 2 | 2 + Barrage 2 | ~99 | + icicles |
Leave room for skill, Will, FP, disadvantages.
Advancement
- Raise Control or Create at current element-row rate.
- Add Temperature or Barrage levels on Control at enhancement rates.
- New element → next table row, lose One-element discount, GM initiation.
GM notes
Establish Control: Touch solid/liquid + roll, or Concentrate for gas. Contest if opposed. Concentrate while shaping.
Failure: FP spent on fail. Crit fail → Strain +1.
3D6 Stats: Powers Control, Create; Temperature and projectile damage as Control enhancements.
Mirror: WCP_Website/campaign-authoring/palimpsest/KHESRET-SHAMAN-ELEMENTAL.md