Demonbrands

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"With this brand you are my servant. A force of my own to unleash at my whim, and to die at my behest when I please."

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Demonbrands are the strongest way the seven Greater Demons influence the world of mortalkind. Imbuing their demonic servants with but a small fragment of their power, they are able to fight with enhanced ability and spread their malignant influence and authority throughout the realm as they so please. It is said that this contract, or the creation of a "Demonbrand" is one of the first steps a demon will take to ascend the ranks of the Greater Demon hierarchy. In this way, it is an abomination and malformation of corruption and power, in comparison to mages or which are able to draw their power from leylines. Those corrupted with the ability of demonbranded are able to call upon their power through their branding, which act as a tether to the Greater Demon who grants them such power.

• See Also:
  • Greater Demons

The Demon’s Touch

The servants are not Magi, shamans, feyspeaker or divine, and act vastly different than them. Those who are touched by the demon’s power are not able to manipulate the Arcane as Mages do. A chosen holding the power of a demonbrand is able to draw strength straight from the Greater Demon themselves. Many of their abilities are parts of their master’s domain, of which they are selected to further spread their malign influence and power through the world. To become a Branded, one must make a pact with a Demon, usually a consensual contract (though one could be tricked into granting consent) in which they are branded by a Sin their Demon too is of. To progress further along the path of demonhood, a Branded must commit sinister acts. For one to turn from a Branded to a Fiend, they must become the embodiment of their patron demon’s sin as well as carry out their ideologies faithfully. This usually happens as a natural progression as even just having the brand is usually enough to twist what mortals’ desires are. To progress from Fiendhood to Demonhood however, the Fiend must slay their Pact’s Master, usurping them from their position and taking their places on the throne.

Demonbrand

The portion of the soul which is transformed by the demon is dreadfully known as the ‘Demonbrand’. When viewed by those who can see the potency of souls it appears like that of the mundane soul. Demonbranded cannot have their profane nature seen without the physical brand being seen or if they are casting. Demonbranded are not able to cast while in Sanctified Grounds, Temples, or Holy Areas, and their entire physical form is considered profane.

Pact Relic

Pact relics are items which the demons fit to the will of the person wielding it to best serve their own purposes. Each person who wields such enhanced ability is entitled to only one such item, which acts as what a normal mage would call a 'Catalyst'. Pact Relics can always be called to the living person with little thought; the items seemingly appear into their hands after but a moment of concentration. This has a wide range, and is more commonly portable handheld items. These are made to best assist the brandeded in furthering their goals, be in political influence, or their own purposes. It may be something as simple as a pendant, but these Relics remain long after the death of their patron and remain active with their effects. Should a character have had a demonbrand and their grimoire is not in the archive, their relic does not have its effects it may once have had. These items are entirely iconic and are likely legends in of themselves held by the person who wields it. The items themselves are tethered to the soul.

Aura

Aura is the energy of the demons granted to the frail mortal shell of those who are brandeded by them. Mortal bodies cannot contain the Demon's power well, causing it to be incredibly frail when compared to the bodies of the demons. Because of this, their body can only channel so much Aura at one time before they become weary and worn. When a Branded runs out of Aura, they become weary and tired as if having exerted themselves greatly. Aura in specific is not something found naturally in the realm of Aversia, but is instead the demonic essence which comes straight from Farcanith. Aura is restored to the brandeded user once they have left all stressful situations (combat, healing, danger, etc.) and are afforded the opportunity of extended rest.

As an OOC measure, Abilities come in largely three different costs. Abilities will cost anywhere between 1-3 Aura. This is a measure of the strength of the abilities mostly. Most abilities will be a single Aura, such as a small fireball, a stone fist, or a lightning bolt. 2 Aura usually is just a change in size or the duration of a ability. Finally, 3 Aura will be sweeping abilities that are expensive and very powerful such as a large wall of flames or the summoning of a storm. Cast times for abilities should mainly be between 2-3 turns with only a few being able to go to 1 turn or 4-5 turns depending on what it is. Abilities can contain any of the domains their branded is capable of learning in any combination. A branded can learn the abilities of another, as long as they have the right demon to enact them. Abilities will always be either visibly seen or audibly heard casting unless otherwise specified in the spell.

Tiers

• Branded
  • Five Abilities.
  • Greater Demon Passive.
  • Pact Relic.
  • Ten Aura.
  • The Branded is considered profane and can be harmed by anything considered holy, silver, gold, or other items that harm profane.
• Fiendhood - This stage requires three months of confirmed activity minimum to achieve.
  • Seven Abilities.
  • Fifteen Aura.
  • A Fiend is granted one tier higher of strength. They do not receive this buff if within Holy Grounds or Temples.
  • Fiends are barred from Ascended revival and instead are reformed in Farcanith and fully revive in their home after Two Weeks.
  • The Fiend is considered profane and can be harmed by anything considered holy, silver, gold, or other items that harm profane.
  • Fiends no longer physically age.
• Demonhood - This stage requires six months of confirmed activity minimum to achieve.
  • Ten Abilities.
  • Upgrade to Pact Relic.
  • Fifteen Aura. [Twenty five max with two fiends]
  • A Demon is granted one tier higher of strength. They do not receive this buff if within Holy Grounds or Temples. This does not stack with the fiend additional tier of strength, as they are only given one overall.
  • Demons are barred from Ascended revival and instead are reformed in Farcanith and fully revive in their home after Two Weeks. Demons are permanently killed if they are killed with a Champion’s Holy Relic, divine artifacts, on Sanctified Grounds or direct Holy Grounds of a God, or if their Fiends kill them. If a Demon is killed by a branded, they are not permanently killed.
    • In the scenario where a permadeath is applicable upon a demon, instead of permanently dying the demon is able to revive by the ascended without their trait if they wanted to. This prevents them from ever getting a demonbrand again.
    • The demon may revive even if they commit suicide. The demon has the option to not revive if they don’t want to OOCly. Should the demon commit suicide, however have been hurt with any of the above qualifications that would qualify for perma-death, then they are perma’d or must revive by the ascended without their brand.
  • A Demon is granted the ability to make two Branded. Each Branded they have made grants them a permanent 5 Aura so long as they were Branded. Should the Branded become a Fiend it still counts for this limit. This must be a consensual pact.
  • The Demon is considered profane and can be harmed by anything considered holy, silver, gold, or other items that harm profane.
  • In non-combat scenarios, a Demon may create a temporary rift to Farcanith where imps spill forth. These adhere to the rules of Combat Pets and the War System (requiring a Hero Unit) if need be. These can be used in combat but cannot be summoned in combat.
  • Once per stressful scenario, a demon is capable of summoning a Demonic Thrall, related to their greater demon, for six turns. This will follow combat pet rules and obey the demons command. They cannot use imps whilst using a demonic thrall.
  • Demons no longer physically age.
  • A fiend must kill their pact demon in order to achieve this rank in progression.
• Subservient Demonhood
  • Eight Abilities.
  • Upgrade to Pact Relic
  • Fifteen Aura
  • The subservient demon is returned to their normal strength tier and does not benefit from the additional strength tier gained in fiendhood.
  • Demons are barred from Ascended revival and instead are reformed in Farcanith and fully revive in their home after Two Weeks. Demons are permanently killed if they are killed with a Champion’s Holy Relic, divine artifacts, on Sanctified Grounds or direct Holy Grounds of a God.
    • In the scenario where a permadeath is applicable upon a demon, instead of permanently dying the demon is able to revive by the ascended without their trait if they wanted to. This prevents them from ever getting a demonbrand again.
    • The demon may revive even if they commit suicide. The demon has the option to not revive if they don’t want to OOCly. Should the demon commit suicide, however have been hurt with any of the above qualifications that would qualify for perma-death, then they are perma’d or must revive by the ascended without their brand.
  • The Demon is considered profane and can be harmed by anything considered holy, silver, gold, or other items that harm profane.
  • Subservient demons no longer physically age.
  • Once per stressful scenario the demon is capable of summoning up to two imps, rolling a 1d2 to determine how many. These imps will follow their control and adhere to combat pet rules and last five turns.
  • A fiend must not kill their pact demon in order to achieve this rank in progression, instead they must swear undying fealty and will henceforth be unable to kill their demon master. Should they attempt to attack their demon, they are able to, but if they were to inflict a lethal wound it would instead be reduced to severe and they will be forced to stop attacking their demon afterwards.

Demonic Passives

Astaroth: The branded of Astaroth forever look youthful, but may still die of old age. This means that someone who is 80 will physically retain the mechanics of old age (for example weaker as an 80 year old due to age), but they will seem in their early-mid 20s appearance wise. Astaroth branded are resistant to hell-fire, and additionally the first ability that would stun, root or apply any form of crowd control does not affect them per stressful scenario.

Konius: As long as the branded is actively engaging in combat, every five turns the branded’s wounds will go down by one tier. This does not apply non-mundane healing rules. This healing will stop as soon as combat is over, meaning they don’t passively heal outside of active combat. This healing does not apply to lethal wounds.

Amona: The branded of Amona are capable of opening their own pocket dimension inside of Farcanith. Once open they can store any non-sentient thing inside of this limitless pocket dimension that they so choose.

Elbrieta: Those branded of Elbrieta are able to roll a DC 11 against any form of mind manipulation on top of any pre-existing roll induced by the ability/spell itself, and if they pass they will not be affected. If they fail their passive roll then they must roll the save on the ability if applicable. Any who will try such against the branded will feel their skin begin to become frostbitten to the second degree on the limb they used to cast the ability/spell. Each additional attempt of mind manipulation will further the degree by one. Mind manipulation/altering such as anger alchemicals, truth serums, etc. will also trigger this DC roll to resist.

Ukoru: The branded may consume anything they want should it fit within their mouth with use of a near-bottomless stomach and indestructible teeth. Additionally, the branded’s teeth and nails/claws may produce venom that, when injected by a mild wound, will reduce the target’s resistances by a single tier. The tiers are: Immune -> Resistant -> Neutral -> Vulnerable. Only stacks once and it lasts until 1 OOC hour after the combat scenario has finished.

The World of Aethius • The Multiverse of Aethier