This will be kind of rambling.

I wanted to try and understand what it means to be a shaman in CF and I wa thinking to myself...self...what is the difference between a goodie shaman and a paladin? Obviously I didn't mean skills but simply that a paladin is a person imbued with godly powers to fight evil and a goodie shaman...is...a..person...imbued with godly powers to fight evil.

So in order to create a true distinction I figure without the powers the paladin would likely have went through life as a warrior and the shaman would have went through life....as a priest. Obviously in CF, shamans are meant to be clerics (not like shamans with totems and such). It's pretty easy to think of a warrior or knight taking an oath and living by a Code (the paladin code) and after some years of dutiful service to their God, being empowered to fight not only with sword and shield but with the very power of their God as well.

Not quite as easy to figure out something special about the local priest however. Perhaps the underlying reason why *some* people in the past have mentioned that the shaman class could use some tweaking. However once you do think about priests a few ideas naturally come to mind.

1. Priests use/make holy items.

In terms of CF, perhaps some ideas for shamans that allow them to invoke (evoke?) power from special holy items that no other class can use? Think of your local priest up against a vampire...he grabs a cross right? Also they should be able to imbue certain items with holy power (think of a priest making holy water)

2. Priests are all about rituals.

In terms of CF, perhaps some ideas for shamans that revolve around creating effects from rituals. Perhaps if a shaman collects 'ingrediants' like a thief only related to whateer ritual they wish to perform. Rituals of cleansing to rid folks of minor ailments, Holy rituals that grant a portion of their dieties power on them, etc. PErhaps use the rituals to create even more powerful holy items. PErhaps even group rituals requiring multiple shaman to create a specific (un)holy item.

3. Priests are all about conversion, followers, congregations

In terms of CF, perhaps various bonuses to a shaman based on factors such as number of followers of their same god/goddess, sphere, special bonuses when leading a group with followers of their god/goddess.

4. Priests usually hang around shrines, temples, churches, etc.

Perhaps a few ideas for shaman that stem from the shrine of their diety, or without one those places 'attuned' to their diety. Meaning certain locations grant special bonuses or even powers they cannot access anywhere else. Basically at the shrine of their diety a shaman should be alot harder to kill than anywhere else - and to a lesser degree near anything that is as mentioned 'attuned' to their diety, so for example a shaman who follows enlilth should be a bit harder to kill in civilized areas but same/weaker in wilderness areas.

To wrap it up, the image I get when I think of a holy warrior (paladin) is a big knight in shining armor riding into battle with a bunch of other holy warriors fending off the forces of evil amassed before them. When I think of a holy priest (shaman) I think of someone holding a holy book or holy item in one hand standing in front of a innocent with their hand upon them protecting them and beating back the forces of evil trying to consume them. A more personal attack versus the war that a paladin fights. Perhaps ideas that reflect that more personal/defensive stance in goodie shamans and of course a more aggresive stance for evil ones. The powers of an evil and good shaman, chaotic versus orderly should be reflected in how their powers manifest themselves.

Shamans are offensive clerics. Think the Holy Inquisition or the fighting clergy who aren't knights but instead hold a rank in the church. Preaching, smiting infidels with a hammer. Clerics fight in the name of their God, and are held to high standard within that specific God's tenets.

And paladins? Ever heard of monastic knight orders, like Templar or Hospitalier? That's roughly what paladins represent. They don't hold clerical rank in the traditional sense, they are knights. Paladins are less preachy and fight more for the unified concept of goodness than a specific God (even though they are empowered by one).