Channeler

Channelers are servants of Digend who seek to contact and please their pagan god with various rituals. Acting as advisers, priests and healers, they are the mystical core of the Cult.

Note that while channelers are a new rank in-game, they have existed for as long as Cult of Digend has.

## Overview

Channelers are a mystery, even to many lifelong cultists. They tend to travel with only the largest bands of disciples, preferring to travel together with the Ascendant, or now the Incarnate. The Channelers are comparatively “harmless” if stumbled upon by a traveler, as they are rarely expert combatants, and tend to be more inclined to trick people than to try and attack them outright. For their service to the ungod comes in forms other than violence.

However, if you *have* indeed stumbled upon a Channeler, it is likely that many more cultists are close by.

Despite being less violent than most other cultists, Channelers are perhaps the most zealous in their worship of Digend, and eager to root out any weak links from among the disciples. It is not uncommon for the Channelers to point out a specific member of the Cult as an unbeliever, or someone who has displeased Digend - which usually leads to the shift death of the accused.

In a cultist camp, Channelers are healers and brewers of potions. It is through their hooves that many strange potions end up circulating Hireath.  They brew and extract poisons as well, and are usually experts in both healing and discreet dealing of death.

The Channelers are relied on as advisers and priests of Digend. They will hold improvised sermons and rituals for the disciples, often involving sacrifices of some kind. Channelers will also advise the Incarnate, and there are often power struggles among the Channelers. While many of their rituals force them to work together, they are scheming and always looking to increase their own influence among the disciples, and especially in the eyes of the Incarnate. Various alliances and factions within the Channelers are commonplace, and constantly shifting.

The Channelers also utilize various methods in an attempt to see the future, or discern Digend’s plans. These methods include, but are not limited to: card reading, reading of entrails, rolling of bones and reading of skies. The Channelers are as much about the mysticism and spectacle as they are about producing visions, and as such, expect candles, trances, sacrifices and various dances and wild gestures to be a part of most readings and rituals.

Channelers do not have innate magic - no more than that any equine can obtain via blessings, anyway - but they are experts at projecting an air of mysticism, and their secrets are carefully guarded.

Due to generally sticking to the relative safety of large cultist bands, and rarely getting involved in direct confrontations, Channelers are far more likely than other cultists to reach old age. This only increases their mysticism and power in the eyes of the others.

## Becoming a Channeler

Channelers are very protective of the mysterious air that surrounds them, and very picky about choosing who to teach. They will often pick out young children, or fresh recruits that they take a liking to, and more or less isolate them from the rest of the Cult. They are indoctrinated not only to the worship of Digend, but also into the ways of the Channelers, and introduced to the various mysteries, spells and brews they utilize.

For obvious reasons, those with specific blessings are often favored as students. Preferred blessings include Clairvoyance, Retrocognition, Venom Generation, Lullaby, Oxygen Manipulation, Astral Projection, Dream Walking, The Sight, Mediumship and Necromancy. With the raise of Corrupted blessings, such gifts are naturally all valued as well.

Only after a candidate has spent a significant amount of time with their Channeler mentor, will they be (re)introduced to the rest of the Cult. For a Nothing, this time may be many years; for a fresh recruit it is often a few months, or until they are appropriately indoctrinated. The apprentice will then begin working among the disciples under the watchful eye of their mentor, until such a time that they grow old enough to have a Proving, or they are deemed ready to become a full Channeler.

If at any time during their training it becomes obvious that the candidate is unsuitable for whatever reason, they are discreetly dealt with. All who enter training to become Channelers either become one, or die trying.

Nothings mentored under a Channeler don’t undergo a traditional Proving, but instead perform a ritual in front of the other Channelers. Usually the ritual has a set aim, and the candidate is judged based on how successful they are in fulfilling the expectations of the other Channelers. If they are deemed worthy and favored by Digend, they will become a Channeler - if not, they are killed.

The same process applies to new recruits.

While many candidates die before ever becoming a Channeler, if they do survive they have a good chance of far outliving all of their peers.

## Rank rewards

25: You have seen a glorious future in the blood of the innocent. Choose **a tier 1 talent** early to lead you there.

50: Your methods are many, but your devotion is singular. Receive **a Prayer Idol** and **a Book**.

75: Your brews and spells have shown you how to grow stronger. Receive +**15SP** to either **cunning** or **vitality**.

100: Your pagan god is growing in power, and soon, you will be at her side. In the meanwhile, claim **a Vagabond Level 2 Familiar (Except Rare)** if your familiar slot is empty - a beast sure to keep you safe.