Demon

Demons are supernatural fiends from the pits of Hell.

They are found in a number of guises, from the beautiful to the grotesque. Some Demons can even appear as inanimate objects or your loved ones. Each type has a common manifestation however, and most cannot shapeshift. There are as many types and forms of Demons as there are of sin; which is to say, endless.

Congress with Demons is illegal in Formour and the Elven Homeland. While not specifically against the law, it is typically socially unacceptable and can cause extreme ostracising and censoring in other areas, notably the Heldannic Confederation, many of the Elder Kingdoms, and among the Ogrish tribes.

Summoning
Demons may only appear when summoned, but once in the world they can be very difficult to remove. Destroying their bodies merely sends them back to Hell. After some time they can be resummoned. This duration varies depending on the power of the Demon.

Lesser Demons (and Extrinsics in general) are only conjured for a single spell. They essentially are the spell effect. Minor Demons are the only ones really suitable as minions. They can be summoned and forced into servitude indefinitely, though striking a bargain with them is more common. Major Demons are not readily bound. They can be imprisoned within a magical circle, but not mystically compelled into service. They are more suited to partnerships, or perhaps as an adjunct/lieutenant (but who really controls whom?). Greater Demons are not summoned; they are only contacted. One cannot be compelled in any direct way. At best they are contacted via a scrying pool or similar, and asked for boons or answers to questions.

All Demons have a true name. This gives the summoner great power over them. As such, very, very few Demons are ever willing to part with this information, even under pain of destruction. Instead, all Demons have another name by which they can be summoned. Calling upon this name in a magical ritual contacts the Demon and allows it to enter our world. A Demon may also have a third name for everyday use. This may be the same name as the contact name, but will certainly be different for major and greater Demons.

Summoning a Demon always involves some sort of sacrifice. Most commonly this is sacrificing an animal, such as a goat. On occasion this may be inanimate, such as the destruction of an expensive or very personal item. Other summoning rituals involve personal sacrifice on the part of the summoner, such as cutting oneself during the ritual, or allowing the Demon to bite off the mage's finger. Summoning greater Demons typically involves sacrificing a person. The victim is also made aware of exactly what will happen to them; their fear is as much a part of the ritual as their pain and death.

Demons can only enter the world via invitation. This can be from a ritual summoning, let in by another Demon (a type of summoning that most Demons cannot do), or through an open gateway to Hell—which is like an open door to a storefront, it's an unstated 'invitation' to everyone. Demons summoning Demons is restricted to a limited time (usually for one day). If a Demon is banished or its material shell is destroyed, every Demon it summoned—and every one those Demons summoned—returns to Hell at the same time.

The banishment lasts for a year and a day for minor and major Demons. Lesser Demons may be resummoned almost straightaway; the ritual to bring them to this world can begin after midnight of the next day. Greater Demons may return at most once per century. Banishment for them lasts at least one hundred and one years, one month, one day, and one hour. Even after the duration of the banishment has elapsed, Demons may not return to the physical realm without being resummoned. Even a perfect gateway between Midian and Hell would not allow a Demon to pass through if the term of banishment has not yet been met.

Classification
As with all Extrinsics, Demons can be classified according to their strength.

Lesser Demons are essentially demonic spell effects. They have but a single function, and are nearly mindless. For example, a Hellfire Demon manifests as a ring of unholy flame. It can do nothing besides burn anything within its confines, or act as a barrier. These Demons are fortunately comparatively easy to destroy.

Minor Demons can act as combat troops. They gain some measure of sentience and greater ability to interact with the world around them. This is the sort of Demon that one may encounter as the minion of a powerful evil sorcerer.

Major Demons are far more dangerous. They are more powerful than most mortals, as well as more intelligent. Major Demons are sometimes also spellcasters (a frightening prospect). Perversely, many major Demons have some sort of healing ability.

Greater Demons are so powerful as to rival Dragons and divine beings. Attributes and other game mechanics aren't typically assigned to these most potent and persuasive of beings; such would be largely meaningless when applied to them. In short, a greater Demon can do pretty much as it pleases.

Sin
Demons are strongly associated with sin. For lesser Demons, this is sort of a vague evilness. They aren't really sapient or functioning enough for anything more than generic badness, though demonologists may classify them according to one of the seven deadly sins.

Minor Demons are associated with one of these mortal sins as well. Additionally, they have a specific venial sin, though in many cases this may seem very minor, more of a pet peeve, really, or a bad habit. All sin corrupts the soul however, and should be handled with care.

Major Demons are certainly associated with one of the mortal sins. They embody one of the deadly sins, though this may not seem obvious at first. The Librarian of Citadel, for example, is a Gula Demon, or Demon of gluttony. Though he does not gorge himself on food, he devours knowledge.

Greater Demons encompass all sin.

Profane Presence
All Demons warp reality around them just by their very presence. This makes them resistant to many illusions and some forms of neithermancy. Demons project an aura about their persons, within which causality is calculated with respect to their existence. Or, to put it another way, their reality is sacred. This means that a Demon's private pocket of reality cannot be modified by screwing with metaphysics, such as going back in time to change things (the Demon remains unaffected, and remembers both resulting versions of the past) or travel to another dimension to slay the original Demon from which an Imp spawned (in this case, the Imp just goes free). As a sort of side-effect, Demons are immune to many illusions and mind-altering effects (all phantasms and most visual trickery).

Manifestation
In order to have a physical presence in this world, a Demon must either possess a victim, or make itself manifest. The proper nature of a Demon is a purely spiritual one. Their manifest ability allows them to move, act, and communicate as a mortal would. This fleshly form may be a perfect imitation of a living creature, but is most often a mockery of biology. Some may even affect the forms of nonliving objects. The taint of the Demon's profane presence is palpable, however, and only a few tricksters can successfully disguise themselves as a specific person. In whatever form it takes, the manifestation of a Demon is as real as any mortal's body. It is not simply a suit of skin and physical reality that the Demon wears. Injury to this form is just as painful to them as it would be to any Human or Dwarf. However, if this form is destroyed the Demon does not die, but rather is banished back to Hell for a time.

Imps
Major and greater Demons can create more of their kind. These are called Imps, as they are created as offshoots from the originating Demon. This is the only way that Demons can reproduce. Demons do not have DNA, nor do they properly have biology. This is especially true when they are in their true spiritual forms while in Hell. They are not able to breed among themselves. A powerful Demon can spring an Imp from itself, but this does not involve a sex partner. Two side effects of this seeming lack are apparent. Demons do not have interfertility problems, and can sire a child with any Midianite species. The second effect is that the appearance and capabilities of the demonic parent do not have anything to do with the appearance of capabilities of the half-Demon child. There is no fundamental difference between a mortal child of a Demon and a demonic blooded descendent a hundred generations on. Some loremasters hypothesize that Demons transpose gametes from one mortal to another, after infecting them with a form of curse that spreads their demonic influence. Others speculate that the Demon tricks the mortal parent into somehow forming new life on its own, life twisted by the Demonic parent for its own ends.

Demoniacally possessed animals—as opposed to demoniacally influenced—can pass the taint down to their offspring. Some mages may breed strains of beasts with the demonic blood background this way from their familiars.

A freshly-created Imp is a lesser Demon. These may be created for any reason, usually a foul one. Greater Demons may create lessers in abundance, purely for their spell effects. Majors are more likely to spawn an Imp with the hopes of increasing its power into that of a minor Demon, to serve as a minion of its parent and master.

Demons may grow in power with time and experience. This may take many millennia, especially to progress from a minor to a major Demon. No demonologists' lore relates the process of a major Demon becoming a greater one. Perhaps these lowest of the low jealously guard their position. Perhaps it is one of the rarest of all events, even for the immortal damned. Perhaps instead ascension to this highest rank is not possible, and is instead a false prize, cruelly placed before Demons of the lower orders.

Statistics
The following tables can serve as quick references for creating Demons.

Aggression bonuses apply to attack, initiative, and damage. Durability bonuses apply to saving throws and defence (parry, block, and dodge). Maximum hit point capacity is 5 times the durability bonus, with minor Superbia Demons having only five points there.

As there are many types of Demons, you are free to set your own numbers. You could, for example, have a super-strong Acedia Demon with a 32 Strength, or an Ira Demon axe murderer with Melee Weapon (medium) VII.