Monster Monday - The Channeler

Lightning stabbed down from darkened clouds into the burly form of the proud warrior. It coursed through his body to erupt from his outstretched hands towards the party who threw themselves out of the way of the crackling bolt. The rogue could still feel the heat of the bolt as she straightened, her gaze narrowing as she regarded their attacker's changed form. Electricity coursed throughout his form, his legs seemingly merging into a single bolt that danced upon the ground. His eyes glowed a pale blue and smaller bolts branched off of them, growing in intensity as his glare towards them sharpened. As the fighter grumbled at the young, proud warrior and the cleric and wizard began to weave their spells, a savage smile spread across the channeler's face as a laugh like thunder rumbled from his broad chest.

Image from League of Legends

Help out the channel and check out the video for the channeler!

Before we get into the actual design for the channeler, I want to talk about its concept just for a bit. The channeler is actually my idea for a new casting class brought to life as an NPC with it being a much easier concept to design. The primal spell list is one of my favorite in the game, but it's the least represented among classes. The divine list has 3 classes dedicated to it, occult has 2, arcane has 1.5, and there's 3 classes that can choose their spell tradition. But primal only has druid. The channeler is a sort of primal gish that is able to serve as a conduit for natural magic and then take a part of that magic into himself to alter and enhance his form.

This led to building the channeler as a sort of magical striker, limiting it to 6th-rank spells with a high DC while still being a capable combatant. However, where this road map suggests using a high damage value for the channeler, the damage of its fists are just a smidge above low for its level. Its Armor Class is only moderate, but it has decent Hit Points and two high saves, inspired by its similarly high Constitution and Wisdom. These ability scores are as high as they are because of the druid and kineticist, which the channeler could be considered to be a combination of.

What really sets the channeler apart from either class its its Form of Nature. Akin to Arcane Cascade, this action must be a follow-up to the channeler Casting a Spell and it triggers a dramatic change in the channeler. This central ability to their kit causes them to take on a form based on the element of the spell they casted. There's a lot to this ability, so I tried to simplify it by grouping certain elements into the forms presented below. It does have some general benefits such as providing an extra 2d8 damage on its fist Strikes, which gets it up to the high damage that a magical striker more typically uses. Additionally, inspired by sorcerous potency, the channeler gets a bonus to the damage of spells that deal damage to match its present form. These forms include the mobility focused Fickle Form, the sturdy and durable Stalwart Form, the devastating Temperamental Form, the insidious Toxic Form that can inflict persistent damage, and the Vigorous Form to recover as roots slow its enemies. Once the channeler is in a form, it has a reaction in the form of Natural Connection, using its connection to the element of its form to Sustain a spell related to it.

There's is actually a bit more to the channeler, but I need a second page to cover all that!

Pathfinder 2e:

Fickle Channeler

In designing the channeler, I had a concept where different channelers might focus on different elements or at least specific forms. This page features suggested spells for that idea, swapping out those that don't fit your concept as nicely and then slotting in an appropriate spell. The above channeler is my take on a 'Fickle Channeler,' which has access to Fickle Flow. This has some similarity to an ability such as Trample, featuring movement and damage at a high DC Reflex save. However, unlike Trample this is only two actions, which is balanced by the necessity of Fickle Form and a short cooldown. Opposite of this air-focused form is the 'Stalwart Channeler,' who draws upon stone and steel for another form of action efficiency that can unleash limited use area damage at a high DC through its Living Avalanche.

Hell Freezes Over came from the Monster Mash and was specifically named by my good buddy Decaff, and is a vicious inclusion of damage alongside the aura already associated with the Temperamental Form. A notable aspect of this effect is that it has a duration of its own - the hazardous terrain remains even if the channeler leaves this form. Its Toxic Spill is also distinct from the other abilities of this sort as its only a single action and doesn't have a cooldown. I specifically designed it to modify a channeler's fist Strikes or an appropriate spell and weakens a creature to set the channeler up for unleashing other effects. Rounding out the options is Rampant Overgrowth, which causes plants, fungi, and roots to emerge from the ground and attempt to grapple enemies with a high DC Fortitude save. This might seem a little strange but my reasoning is that grapples are made against the target's Fortitude DC. The Escape DC is merely moderate because I've had casters get completely shut down by effects like this before where that is not the intent, so I tend towards a moderate DC in this regard.

Variant Channelers

Sadly, there's no D&D version for this one as Blue felt that it wouldn't work out as smoothly as it did here.

ENCOUNTER HOOKS

Unnatural Disasters: Storms, landslides, and worse have been affecting the a new settlement to the point where the heroes have been asked to look into it. Investigating the matter reveals that the effects are magical in nature. This can be traced back to a channeler who seeks to drive out the people who have moved into its domain as the channeler had originally moved to in search of solitude. The heroes might be able to reason with the channeler, but the hermit doesn't take kindly to intruders. This idea could also be applied to a solitary channeler who has set up a home along the route that the heroes are trying to take and doesn't allow them to do so easily.

If you're interested in joining the discussion on what creatures/builds I'm working on or just discussing your own homebrew works, check out our Discord! If you want to get some teasers or help us get to our yet unlisted milestones for extra content, check out the Twitter.

Have a monstrous Monday!