Ghouls are of medium size.

Ghouls may purchase the corpse feast ability at half of the normal karma cost.

Ghouls are vulnerable to cold damage.

Ghouls are resistant to poison.

Ghouls have a penalty applied to their authority.

 

Ghouls are interesting to play as Shaman mainly for role playing reasons. They are able to get corpse feast for half off which, as a shaman, can give you very interesting options for role playing.  If you choose to get this, you will probably not need heal unless you wish to use it on clanmates or get favor from it. Because Ghouls have a penalty to Authority, a major stat for all shaman abilities, Ghoul shaman spells will always be weaker than those without the penalty.  If you are under a master with Spirituality, then this penalty can be offset by the bonus you gain from that, however then you have to deal with the combat bonuses you recieve, thus never getting hit.  But if you go the corpse feast route, this is not a problem.  If you wish to be a powerful Undead Shaman in terms of spells to help your clan, there are probably better races due to the Authority penalty.

 

 

Liches are of small size.

Liches are very vulnerable to electric, cold, and fire damage.

Liches are extremely resistant to crushing, slashing, and piercing damage.

Liches receive a bonus to their energy.

Liches have a penalty applied to their strength.

 

Liches are a great choice for Shaman/Magicals and especially pure Shaman.  Thier bonus to energy gives them a nice boost to thier spell casting power and ability.  As a Lich it would be very beneficial to be a pure Shaman so you can get Endure Damage to counteract the critical weakness to magic.  Being resistant to physical damage makes having Carapace an option you don't necessarily need (though I'd advise it).  Liches are a very good choice as an Undead race for Shaman.  Thier small size makes them harder to hit so the penalty to Strength can be counteracted by an increase in agility due to thier small size

 

 

Mummies are of large size.

Mummies are vulnerable to fire damage.

Mummies are resistant to disease.

Mummies receive a bonus to their strength.

Mummies have a penalty applied to their energy.

 

Mummies are basically the exact opposite of Liches.  They gain a bonus to strength and a penalty to energy.  The energy penalty of course decreases the strength of your Shaman spells.  Being a large size and having a bonus to strength does mean however, that more uglies can approach you to try and hit you, and you will have a bonus to hit points due to the strength bonus, therefore you can take more punishment, and thus use Heal more as a favor gainer.  All in all though, I would say that Mummies make for better leaders and warriors than Shaman.

 

 

Vampires are of medium size.

Vampires may purchase the drain life ability at half of the normal karma cost.

Vampires are vulnerable to electric damage.

Vampires are resistant to poison.

Vampires have a penalty applied to their agility

 

Vampires are a solid choice for whatever Shaman combination you wish to use whether it is pure Shaman, Shaman/Warrior, Shaman/Magical, Shaman/Leader, or a Shaman/Builder.  Thier penalty to agility makes having Heal very useful since you will be getting hit often.  Furthermore, Drain Life is a fantastic skill to role play with and is a fair attack against Chimera and Humanoids. (It doesn't work against Undead) Vampires are a great choice if you wish to use Heal as a major favor gainer.

 

 

 

Orcs are of medium size.

Orcs are vulnerable to poison.

Orcs are resistant to slashing damage.

Orcs receive a bonus to their agility.

Orcs have a penalty applied to their authority.

 

Orcs, due to thier penalty to authority have inherently weaker shaman spells than other races. Furthermore, they have a bonus to Agility, which makes them harder to hit, thus using Heal as a favor gainer for Orcs is not necessarily the way to go.  If you choose an Orc, I would suggest getting Cure due to thier vulnerability to poison.  I feel that Orcs make better Warriors than Shaman.

 

 

Trolls are of small size.

Trolls may purchase the regenerate ability for half the normal cost in karma.

Trolls are vulnerable to poison and fire.

Trolls are resistant to slashing, crushing, and piercing damage.

Trolls receive a bonus to their energy.

Trolls have a penalty applied to their strength.

 

Trolls are similar to Liches in that they are small, have a bonus to energy and a penalty to strength.  Trolls are probably the best pick mechanically for a Humanoid Shaman.  Thier bonus to energy gives them stronger spells and furthermore, they receive Rengerate at half off the normal cost.  This could save you some karma instead of getting Fortify or Heal for yourself.  Trolls are also great to role play as Shaman, in particular the Witch Doctor sub-role.

 

 

Ogres are of large size.

Ogres are resistant to crushing.

Ogres receive a bonus to their strength.

Ogres have a penalty applied to their energy and authority.

 

Plain and simple, mechanically, Ogres are not meant to be Shaman.  With a penalty to both energy AND authority, an Ogre's spells are going to be considerably weaker than a race without those penalties.  If you are going for a mechanically powerful Shaman, Ogres are not the way to go.

 

 

Minotaurs are of large size.

Minotaurs are resistant to piercing damage.

Minotaurs are vulnerable to disease.

Minotaurs receive a bonus to their authority.

Minotaurs have a penalty applied to their energy.

 

Minotaurs are an interesting race for Shaman in that thier bonus to Authority is offset by their penalty to Energy. While this makes for better favor gain, particularly in the use of Heal, it is never good to have one of your main skill specific attributes (in this case Energy) being penalized. Minotaurs have a good set up for being able to make a lot of favor with heal, but be cautious about the Energy penalty.

 

 

 

Gryphons receive fly for free.

Gryphons cannot wear clothing or wield weapons.

Gryphons are vulnerable to slashing damage.

Gryphons are resistant to cold damage.

Gryphons receive a penalty to agility.

 

While I am slightly biased toward Gryphons because my character is one, Gryphons are a solid choice for just about any Shaman except maybe a Shaman/builder.  Thier penalty to agility allows for you to get hit more, thus using Heal more to gain favor.  Thier large size allows multiple enemies approach you and do damage so that you can get hit to use Heal more often and thus, gain favor more often.  Gryphons are a solid pick for a Shaman.

 

 

Phoenix cannot wear clothing or wield weapons.

Phoenix receive the fly ability for free.

Phoenix have a penalty applied to their authority.

Phoenix are vulnerable to cold damage.

Phoenix are resistant to fire damage.

 

Phoenixes, while they have many role playing options, are not a great choice mechanically for a Shaman due to thier Authority penalty.  As stated before this will lead to weaker spells than someone without the penalty.  Furthermore having Authority penalized will lower your ultimate favor gaining ability and influence.  Again, its never good to have your main skill supporting attribute being penalized.

 

 

Wyverns receive fly for free.

Wyverns cannot wear clothing or wield weapons.

Wyverns are vulnerable to piercing damage.

Wyverns are resistant to electric damage.

Wyverns have a penalty to their energy.

 

Wyverns are similiar to Phoenixes in terms of being a Shaman in that one of the major skill supporting attributes is penalized. In this case it is Energy, thus your spells will not be as powerful. However, unlike Phoenixes, your favor gaining ability will not be hampered by any penalties.

 

 

Sphinx cannot wear clothing or wield weapons.

Sphinx receive a bonus to their strength and energy attributes.

Sphinx are resistant to poison damage.

 

Sphinxes are probably the best all around Shaman of any race.  With bonuses to Strength and Energy, you can take a big whooping and still have powerful spells.  Furthermore, because of thier small size, they also get a bonus to Agility.  Lastly if you are under a Spiritualist, they can get an added bonus to Energy and a bonus to Authority, thus they can get a bonus to EVERY attribute! Sphinxes, as a Chimera, also get 8 skill slots yet they don't have to fill one with Fly.  Sphinxes can be the biggest power house Shaman in the game. I highly recommend them.

 

Now we'll move on to Shaman Subroles and which is the best for your particular character