Outer Channeler (Medium Archetype)
In the same vein as the Kami Medium, but without the trappings associated with Japanese culture, today we’re looking at a group of mediums that channel outsider spirits into their bodies rather than those of deceased mortals. As such, their abilities are pretty diverse depending on what variety of outsider they call upon.
As an archetype from one of the anthology books, it is associated with a specific tome of mystic lore, specifically occult lore in this case, which makes sense both because of the nature of the class, but also because drawing power from outer planes without calling upon a divine power does fall under the purview of occult lore.
In any case, almost every major type of outer plane outsider is covered by this archetype, with the exception of inevitables, proteans, and several “secondary” types of fiend, like sakhil, asura, divs, the like. This is likely due to space constraints and how certain types of outsider have been widely been left without a lot of development at time the archetype was published, namely Inevitables in this case. Of course, nothing is stopping a creative GM from coming up with suitable outsider sets for this archetype.
While the outsiders these mediums channel come in various levels of power and type, they still provide many of the same benefits as other medium spirits, though they provide a slightly different power to the medium in question than those granted by standard members of the class, as well as an additional power to sufficiently masterful mystics. However, this comes with drawbacks, as they must accept additional taboos, and morally incompatible allies cannot rely on the séance blessings of the spirits of certain outsider types.
In addition to the outsiders they house in their bodies, these mediums also gain the services of familiar-capable outsiders, though they initially house themselves in the forms of animals, later revealing their true nature and shifting back and forth between those two forms.
In addition to the normal locations that a medium can call spirits to them from, these mystics can call up their outsider allies from any location sacred to outsiders of that type, be it the plane they are from, the temple of a god associated with them, or any other significant site.
Rather than asking drifting spirits in the astral for advice, these mediums instead ask questions of their chosen outsider type, which can color the nature of the information they glean.
The outsider types and abilities granted are thus:
Aeons grant supernatural protection and transform the body of the medium to have less vitals to injure, as well as grant them telepathic communication.
Agathions grant the healing touch of a paladin, and the ability to speak the languages of both mortals and beasts.
Angels grant protection, particularly against evil, which can be extended to others, and the ability to speak all languages.
Archons grant their signature aura of unnerving menace, as well as the ability to teleport short range.
Azatas bless their medium with the freedom to slip all bonds and ability to command the bonds of others to undo themselves, as well as granting flight.
Daemons allow the mystic to call their kin to serve, as well as allow the medium to trap the souls of the dying in soul gems.
Demons also grant summoning, and taint their host’s weapons with dark energy to harm the righteous.
Devils grant summoning of their own, and allow the medium to see through darkness.
Finally, psychopomps grant their medium protection from necromantic effects, the ability to imbue weaponry to strike at spirits, and the ability to sense the living and the dead.
The combination of possible spirits a medium could favor plus the number of different outsider groups that mediums could favor makes for a super diverse array of possible builds. The various fiendish outsiders universally grant summoning, particularly summoning that grants several outsiders outside of the vanilla list, so keep that in mind, while the other outsider types grant various mobility, protection, and even debuffing abilities, so keep those in mind for what sort of build you want to pull off.
Due to the decidedly otherworldly beings that these mediums call upon, I can imagine that many manifest more than strange mannerisms due to their bond. Some may even manifest physical traits of their current outsider partner, if only for a few brief seconds when activating their powers or acting in accordance with its will. You could even play up the body horror aspect of it in a horror game.
Though a lesser daemon by all respects, Akkusar the cacodaemon seeks to emulate his true masters, the circle of six daemon that offer their powers to the medium Kura. The fiendish flying maw plans to do so by finding a way to possess a doppeldrek, gaining a useful body capable of a myriad of forms.
Rejecting the fiend totem of his people, Tongarr instead calls upon a more balanced force. Whispering the names of the aeons, the orcish mystic calls upon their duality for guidance and power, favoring the divine power granted by lipika aeons in the role of the hierophant.
Due to a misunderstanding, the party finds themselves pursued by the inquisition of the Sun God, the leader of the team able to draw upon various agathions for aid, becoming fishlike to draw upon divine magic, reptilian for arcane, and even taking on the leonine aspect to face them directly in combat.
