Shaman: Is Far sight too unreliable?

[Jihia]

Shaman's Far Sight takes inspiration from 5e Clerics Divine Intervention, allowing the shaman to attempt to cast scrying once per day if they succeed on a percentile dice roll. Is this too punishing for such a minor feature? is there a way where we can make it more reliable without overshadowing comparable spells too much?

• We could look into removing the failure entirely and make it a once per day unique feature that draws from the scrying spell.
• Or reduce the failure rate drastically, so that it is closer to being a 50/50 rate of success.

[orjanbp]

Far Sight making use of Scrying saves a bit of feature space, and makes it a lot easier for Enhancement to make use of it, which is nice.

But should we consider doing a feature that is similar, but not reliant on Scrying?

The fact that you're focusing on an individual and they can save against it, that doesn't quite feel like Far Sight to me. Personally as a shaman, I'd imagine communing with the elements in order for them to grant me a vision of a far-off place, where I'd be able to see everything that's happening to some degree. For a little time. That'd make more sense than trying to focus on a specific individual.

Something where you make the roll to determine the clarity of your far-seeing vision, with higher rolls allowing you to see more vivid details, make out more specific things as it's all flashing before your eyes. Feels as though there is a similar feature somewhere in 5E, but I can't recall the name of it right now.

[Silverblade1234]

I think the simplest (and correct!) thing to do is just allow a free clairvoyance cast 1/day, no material component required. You could extend the range if you wanted to.

[orjanbp]

Clairvoyance's effect would fit the bill, if the range is drawn out a whole lot farther.

But would it then be just as well to actually put Clairvoyance on the shaman spell list? Even with a really long range, my own first reaction to seeing that as a 13th level feature would be "oh, it's just a free cast of a 3rd level spell?"

[Silverblade1234]

I forgot that this feature happened at 13th level for the official shaman! Then yes, that indeed seems underpowered. I think at that level honestly a free cast of scrying is just fine (there's precedent for high-level utility spells as ribbon features in 5E). And at that level, might as well waive the material component for flavor, since at that level the reagent cost isn't going to be a big deal.

Here are some other options:

• You always know clairvoyance and can cast it without material components, and its range becomes (unlimited on same plane or something stupid big like 100 miles). You can also cast it 1/(LR or SR) for free.
• You always know clairvoyance and far sight and may cast these spells without material components. You may cast one of them for free 1/LR.

[orjanbp]

That sounds like a pretty plausible solution. A feature that just straight-up provides Clairvoyance and Scrying as spells added to the shaman's spell list, always prepared, with one of them castable for free every long rest. Waiving material costs outright also doesn't feel too bad at 13th level; characters are usually swimming in gold at that point anyway.