Fiend Keeper (Medium Archetype)
A fairly common trope in fantasy and sci-fi media is the idea of the possessed hero, of a character that allows, or perhaps had forced upon them, a possessing spirit that acts as constant companion who may or may not be on the same side as them, but can offer unique powers due to their relationship, sometimes with dire costs.
The medium class in general emulates this trope fairly well, but typically these spirits are the remnants of the dead, either outright dead souls or spiritual echoes of them.
Today’s subject, however, expressly gives us otherworldly, and specifically fiendish spirits!
Originating in grippli culture, the art of Fiend Keeping binds a fiend in a harmless bodiless form and teaches the medium how to bind the spirit to themselves. In this state, the fiend can only rage against their bonds and try to tempt the medium into letting them have more control. Meanwhile, the medium seeks to redirect the power of the fiend towards goodly acts, able to use different aspects of the fiend in lieu of the various types of spirits they would normally have options between, and able to let the fiend out just a little bit to benefit from some of their power.
The idea of this tradition is to slowly purify the fiend over the course of generations, a fiend keeper passing the fiend to their apprentice until enough good acts have been performed using their power for the fiend to have a change of heart. While originally grippli in origin, the tradition has since spread beyond it.
Be warned though, letting the fiend gain full control can be very dangerous, especially if the keeper themselves becomes evil, in which case the fiend can take full control semi-permanently.
The spirits that these mediums channel are invariably evil, and as such, they themselves must be non-evil lest it worm it’s way into full control over their bodies. Deliberately acting evil also grants the fiend more influence, so they must measure their actions as well. This evil nature also leaks through when the fiend has moderate influence. However, conversely, a protection from evil spell suppresses all of the spirits abilities.
The keeper can try to entice the evil spirit to offer information or power a few times per day, though doing so risks granting it greater influence. The more powerful the keeper is, the more they can draw upon it’s knowledge. However, if they choose to draw upon power, they can draw upon one or more abilities, depending on their own power level. These may include greater combat ability, fiendish wings, claws and fangs, a direct bolstering of the areas the fiend’s current legend type would boost, and resistance to various forms of energy.
This archetype drops some of the utility the medium normally has when dealing with haunts or gathering information from the dead, but it instead grants a different method of gaining information and various combat and utility boosts depending on what spirits you favor. Obviously combat spirits like champion and guardian will benefit the most, but there is something for every build and variation, all for the cost of an alignment restriction and additional danger when dealing with your spirit.
Fiend Keepers are likely to get a lot of respect in their communities as well as those who understand the discipline. However, the fact that a fiend waits behind their eyes likely puts off a lot of people, who may wonder who is really in control. The fact these mediums become vulnerable to holy power when the spirit’s influence is strong enough may cause others to fear and mistrust them, even if they are ostensibly on the same side.
Long ago, the centaur tribe of Baxho trapped and bound a great fiend whose exact nature has been lost to time. Now, a mere 100 years later, conflict with their human neighbors and poor hunting has reduced their numbers, and some worry that if their line ends, the wards will decay and this great evil will be unleashed again.
Far in the Mengrek mountains, where ringhorn deer clamber up the sheer cliffs, there is said to be an enclave devoted to keeping a powerful devil sealed away, not with any great vessel or prison structure, but rather with their very souls. Many train daily for the eventuality of being the one to bear this evil, while the others watch for signs of corruption.
The Mokaan grippli are protected by a guardian spirit that is rarely seen, but often felt. In truth it is a powerful daemon that they long ago purified, teaching it the value of life. Now it watches over them out of thanks when it is not called away by duties in the upper planes.