Creepy Ideas For A Bound Family Member's Spirit

[Inlaa]

So, I have a character that I want to start off with their twin brother's soul put into something else and traveling with them. I've been considering a Tiefling with the Animate Dead ability, but that doesn't seem right. A Spirit Binder Wizard seems cool, potentially getting Improved Familiar later to murder an innocent intelligent being and shove her brother's soul into a more humanoid form (I actually toyed with her having a sister instead and putting her sister's soul into a Lyrakien Azata, or maybe doing that to her brother anyway but that might weird people out). An Unchained Summoner with an Ancestors Eidolon (her brother's soul) would work; and a necromancy-based archetype of SOME KIND would be tempting.

Basically...

1. This character needs to have her brother's (or sister's) spirit traveling with her from the get go. It doesn't necessarily need a corporeal body, so the Haunted Oracle with the Haunted trait might be a good start, so long as I can have it with me from the start and eventually get it a corporeal body.
2. This character isn't Good. She's either Neutral or Evil depending on interpretation: she's generally well intentioned, but she's so desperate to keep her brother (or sister, if I change that) alive with her in some way that she'll go to terrible, dark paths to make this happen.
3. This character shouldn't be a martial combatant.
4. Also, this character's age will range somewhere between 12-22, possibly on the much younger side of that bracket, so a spontaneous caster may be a better fit. Maybe?

What routes can I take to really make this concept work? I'm not looking for the most powerful idea, only the most fitting ones.

[My Self]

Mesmerist. Take a good long look at the capstone.

Also, your False Flanker (should you so choose it) should appear as your character's sibling, not as a copy of yourself. Unwitting Messenger should speak in your character's sibling's voice. Mental Fallback should be your character's sibling as well. Whenever a target is charmed or dominated, they should act as if guided/possessed by your character's sibling.

[Inlaa]

Yes, but that's a capstone. By the sounds of it, this campaign will be low level focused.

[Goth Guru]

A Cleric who practises ancestor worship.
You could have a traveling altar with relics from various dead ancestors. The toe you swiped from your brothers corpse could also serve as the part to resurrect if you find a scroll or other source of magic. Your grandfather's tooth could provide the undead domain because he was a necromancer who failed to achieve lichhood.

Going this route will let you have contradictory domains and spells due to varying ancestors.

[Pizza Lord]

It controls the character's shadow. It can move, arms, head, limbs, etc. but it can't change shape and it's basically attached to the character and can't 'detach' itself and wander off. It generally has to act like a normal shadow, ie. it is cast on a wall to one side of a person depending on the light source and it can't just stretch itself across a room, though it might be longer or shorter depending on normal circumstances, such as at dawn or dusk and it can't really manipulate anything.

It's probably mostly harmless except when the character is asleep or incapacitated and then it can do free itself and go about horrid business (automatically reappearing at the character if they awaken.)

[Samasboy1]

Spiritualist, especially Haunted or Necrologist

[Inlaa]

I'm eyeballing the Spiritualist and Mesmerist more closely now. I've never played an Occult class character, so this would definitely be new territory. What's a summary of their playstyles, and what's the best way to make them work with the concept?

Quote:

It controls the character's shadow. It can move, arms, head, limbs, etc. but it can't change shape and it's basically attached to the character and can't 'detach' itself and wander off. It generally has to act like a normal shadow, ie. it is cast on a wall to one side of a person depending on the light source and it can't just stretch itself across a room, though it might be longer or shorter depending on normal circumstances, such as at dawn or dusk and it can't really manipulate anything.

It's probably mostly harmless except when the character is asleep or incapacitated and then it can do free itself and go about horrid business (automatically reappearing at the character if they awaken.)

Ahhh, you mean to suggest a non-mechanical thing attached to my character? Just the shadow is connected and strange and weird? Hm.

Quote:

A Cleric who practises ancestor worship.

You could have a traveling altar with relics from various dead ancestors. The toe you swiped from your brothers corpse could also serve as the part to resurrect if you find a scroll or other source of magic. Your grandfather's tooth could provide the undead domain because he was a necromancer who failed to achieve lichhood.

Going this route will let you have contradictory domains and spells due to varying ancestors.

Maybe. I'll chew on this one - the trouble is it doesn't get me the brother companion from the get-go.

[avr]

Any familiar or similar, like a shaman's spirit animal could fit. Though a possessed hand or a mesmerist's eyebiter would be unnecessarily weird IMO.

If you're after creepy necromancy then a twilight sage arcanist fits. If they get a familiar it's not special in any way, but then I don't think it needs to be.

[Valamuur]

Spiritualist, as Samasboy1 said, makes the most sense to me.

You could also be a caster and have a soulbound doll as a familiar, but I think I'm remembering a society scenario that had that as a reward. I don't know the level you would need to be. Otherwise, I'd ask the GM to allow one for you as your familiar.

The other option I can think of is the needful doll. It's a cursed item, but I'm sure you'll play and talk every day so nothing bad will happen.

[My Self]

So basically, you want some combination of:

A. Spontaneous 2/3 or fullcasting
B. The ability to possess, control, or reanimate other creatures
C. A pet or mechanical symptom of having a spooky spirit around

First of all, spontaneous 2/3 or fullcasters:
Bard, Sorcerer, Oracle, Magus (with archetype), Summoner, Vigilante (with archetype), Inquisitor, Hunter, Skald, Medium, Mesmerist, Occultist, Psychic, Spiritualist

Additional close-enough options:
Witch, Shaman, Arcanist, Kineticist

Ability to use Possession: (Selected from lists above)
Sorcerer, Summoner, Vigilante (with archetype), Inquisitor, Medium, Mesmerist, Occultist, Psychic, Spiritualist, Witch, Arcanist

Ability to use Dominate Person:
Bard, Sorcerer, Oracle, Vigilante (with archetype), Skald, Mesmerist, Occultist, Psychic, Spiritualist, Witch, Arcanist, Shaman

Ability to use Animate Dead:
Oracle, Occultist, Spiritualist, Witch, Arcanist, Shaman

Can have a pet:
Bard (with archetype), Sorcerer, Oracle, Magus (with archetype), Summoner, Vigilante (with archetype), Inquisitor, Hunter, Spiritualist, Witch, Arcanist, Shaman

Can have a mechanical benefit of spooky spirits:
Sorcerer, Oracle, Magus (with archetype), Medium, Mesmerist (with archetype), Occultist, Psychic, Spiritualist, Witch, Arcanist (with archetype), Shaman