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Tempter

Started by Steerpike, December 03, 2008, 06:29:53 PM

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Llum

Your post seems to be too long so it isn't showing up.

Steerpike

[ooc]Ha I noticed, yeah!  I split it into two.  here are the rest of the characters so far.[/ooc]

[ic=Morbus]Known as the Prince of Pestilence, Morbus is a demon skilled in the creation and inculcation of disease, spending many of his hours in his ghoulish laboratories in the Abyss concocting new phages, poxes, and fluxes with maniacal glee.  A jovial, fast-talking, rather snarky demon with a love of dead baby jokes, Morbus is considered repellent by the more sophisticated of Hell's denizens, particularly many Belialians, who consider him coarse and unwholesome, though he gets along well enough with most demons and even mortals, his repulsiveness tempered greatly by his amicability and energetic disposition.  While on the mortal plane he assumes the guise of a gaunt, sallow-skinned man, somehow ill-looking and emaciated, with jaundiced eyes and a persistent cough.  He typically wears a stained lab coat and round spectacles, and often introduces himself as 'Doctor M,' though when required he trades in this unwholesome garb for more appropriate attire.  In his true form, Morbus appears as a grotesque, cyclopean, shambolic horror like a walking corpse, riddled with every possible disease, his sickly, maggot-ridden skin inflamed and covered in boils and sores, a cloud of flies buzzing about his head.  Morbus is most closely aligned with Mammon, preferring the comforts of his diabolical workshop, though he might also be aligned with the darker aspects of Beezlebub given his predilections for corrupting humanity.

Powers

By touching a dead substance, Morbus can speed decomposition (for example, he could reduce a corpse to a skeleton in moments, or cause a wooden door to decay to the point of flimsiness).  He can also spoil food or stagnate water simply by glaring at it with his bulbous yellow eye.

Miasma: By expending one point of Energy Morbus can exude a thick, toxic miasma which incapacitates and sickens mortals if inhaled, as well as providing limited cover.  Facial protection (i.e. gasmasks) or talismans can guard against the sickening effect.

Contagion: With a simple touch Morbus can spread a foul Contagion of his choosing, with effects ranging from a simple incapacitating stomach flu or postulant rash to a flesh-eating rot.  The Contagion is virulent and can be spread between mortals through touch, though protective talismans can guard against it.  Contagion expends one point of Energy.

Putrefaction: Morbus can expend two points of Energy to vomit forth a stream of putrid, foul-smelling ichor that rapidly putrefies anything it touches, slowly and painfully killing any mortals it touches.  Protective talismans can ward against this effect[/ic]

[ic=Astoreth]Sometimes known as Astarte or Ishtar, the demoness Astoreth was commonly worshipped as a war goddess in Mesopotamia in one form or another.  A cruel, sensual creature filled with a bloodthirsty passion for violence, Astoreth is essentially Molochian in temperament: while in the throes of battle she tends to sigh with a satisfaction bordering the sexual, intoxicated with the gory glory of combat.  In her mortal form, however, Astoreth cultivates a certain composure, preferring the guise of a classic femme fatale of film noir with long crimson hair, pale skin, voluptuous contours, and a blood-red dress, sometimes with a long overcoat.  In her true form she appears as a pale, muscular woman with two enormous, curving horns set in her brow and cloven hoofs instead of feet.  She wields an enormous khopesh, called the Sickle, which manifests when she sloughs off her mortal guise (appearing as a cruel, curved knife kept between her breasts while in her mortal form).

Powers

Astoreth can smell blood and so can sense other creatures nearby without seeing them.  She perceives the after-effects of violence as a heady perfume, even days after it has been committed.  She can also transmute any liquid to blood (in moderate quantities).

Bloodlust: With a glance Astoreth can fill a mortal with uncontrollable bloodlust, causing them to strike out against the nearest living creature; the effect lasts until they kill another being or are themselves killed.  Protective eyewear or talismans can guard against this effect.  Bloodlust expends one point of Energy

Bloodboil: By touching bare flesh Astoreth can make someone's blood boil, causing them incredible agony and killing them if the contact is prolonged.  This ability expends one point of Energy (talismans can guard against the effect).

Bloodchill: By imbuing her cold, terrible laugh with two points of Energy, Astoreth can freeze the blood of any mortals who hear her, though protective earwear and talismans can guard against Bloodchill; those whose blood is frozen are paralyzed and quickly die.[/ic]

[ic=Megaera]Hell's senior torturer and inquisitor, the Mammonian demon Megaera spends most of her time in Pandemonium but is occasionally dispatched to the mortal plane when her particular talents are needed.  A gruesomely business-like and chillingly efficient being, Megaera goes about her work with detachment and dispassion, though occasionally a glimmer of sadistic glee can be seen in her eyes.  Her talents lie principally in interrogation, in the extraction of truth and the creation of pain.  She prefers the guise of a dominatrix while on the mortal plane, though for obvious reasons she sometimes adopts more understated costume.  In her true form she appears as an imposing female figure with leathery wings, a mouth full of sharp fangs, and a body wrapped in barbed chains; she also has a barbed, envenomed tail.  Megaera always carries a wide selection of torture implements with her.

Powers

Megaera can sense lies and truth without expending Energy.  She has an extremely thorough knowledge of human anatomy, including key pressure points, and is preternaturally skilled at causing pain.

Compulsion: By expending a point of Energy Megaera can force an unprotected mortal to answer a question completely truthfully.

Flay: With a fluid gesture Megaera magically flays the skin from a living body.  Talismans can protect against this ability.  Flay uses one point of Energy.

Agony: Uttering a word of blasphemous power, Megaera cripples any mortals who hear her with excruciating pain, though protective earwear or talismans can neutralize this ability, which expends two points of Energy.  Megaera can dispel Agony with a counter-word.[/ic]

[ic=Azazel]One of the more idealistic of Hell's denizens, Azazel was once one of the Grigori but was hunted down by the Archangel Raphael who banished him to the Abyss, believing the demons would malign and torture the fallen angel, since Azazel fought against the Adversary's band during the War in Heaven.  However, the first-fallen quickly accepted Azazel, who joined their struggle against the Authority: since then the Authority's minions have been ordered only to maim rather than kill the Watchers, lest they simply add to Hell's ranks.  Because of his respect and affection for humanity, Azazel is of Beezlebubian affiliation, and sees the war as a means of securing humanity's freedom as much as the demons'.  Due to this compassion he often butts heads with other Tempters, who tend to see humans as little more than pawns in a cosmic chess-game at best, and fleshly toys at worst.  In his mortal guise Azazel appears as a tall, hairless, brooding man with sunken eyes, typically attired as a preacher.  In his true form Azazel retains most of his angelic characteristics, though his wings are raven-black, his eyes are dark rather than golden, and his chest is scarred where Raphael's spear entered his breast.

Powers

Azazel can see the true forms of any immortals (perceiving them as translucent shades superimposed over their mortal forms) without expending Energy.

Shield: By expending a point of Energy Azazel erects a protective shield of force around himself or another individual (up to two individuals close together can share a shield).  The shield absorbs any mundane or magical attack until it dissipates, though Azazel can burn more Energy to sustain it.

Heal: By touching another creature and expending a point of Energy Azazel heals their injuries.

Dispel: Azazel speaks a word of power and shatters a protective talisman or removes an eldritch effect.  This ability expends two points of Energy.[/ic]

LD

Oh, lots of new demons. I should probably tighten-up Leo's concept. I notice that his description is far more rambling than the "official" entries. Here is a revision of the powers section.

QuoteSlime slicks behind Leo at will as he compresses the world's atoms into muck. Already-existing molds and slimes pulse and grow in his presence.

Leo can eat almost anything.

Most human beings find it impossible to be in the same room as Leo for very long. Humans are usually overcome with disgust at his presence.

Stench: Overcome mortals with uncontrollable nausea for one point of Energy. Nostril-plugs and talismans can protect against this ability.

Melts: In his true form, Leo can squeeze himself into a sticky slime that can slip under or through any passage '" and can be immune to permanent harm from most damage other than flame. Shrink, reshape, flexible self for one Energy point.

Flames: Flaming liquid and any-color smoke comes out of any chosen orifice of any target for two Energy points.


LD

Oh, thank you.

Astoreth sounds highly useful, and Megaera is a bit disgusting; Azazel sounds very interesting.

====
I was working a bit on some tallies.
I see you have created a list of a very unlucky 13 demons :D

I like how you balanced the factions. Each faction seems to also have a sadist and a more diplomatic option.

Moloch - War, seize (Gluttony, Lust, Wrath)
Samael
Nergal
Astoreth

Mammon -Empire, Glory. Transform the Abyss (Avarice, Wrath, Envy)
Nyx
Morbus (some Beezlebub)
Megaera

Beezlebub -Collaborate with Man, Transform Creation (Sloth, Envy, Gluttony)
Cagnazzo
Pazuzu
Azazel (watcher)

Belial - Compromise, Diplomacy (Envy, Avarice, Lust)
Namaah
Legion (erratic)

Unaffiliated
Abyzou (erratic)
Leo (Moloch/Belial/Beezlebub) (Sloth, Gluttony) (apathetic and internally conflicted)

Nomadic

I just realized I have played Aby through two whole sessions and haven't caused a single miscarriage/female sterilization... this won't do...

Ghostman

Morbus is awesome. Why doesn't he have ability to detect/diagnose disease or other medical conditions though? Regarding the Contagion, does it require skin contact to spread?

A few typos I spotted:
Nergal
* "the fiery demon of Nergal"
* "capable of considerably cunning and subtlety when required"
Morbus
* "skilled in the creation and inculcation if disease"

Oh and in case you need ideas/inspiration for new demons, here's something along the lines of which I'd love to see:
[spoiler=Hells Chef/Butcher]
A "porcine" demon of gluttony and cannibalism. Mortal form would be a middle-aged, grotesquely obese man, completely bald with greasy skin and small eyes. True form could be a gross hybrid with the upper body of a human but the hips and hind legs of a boar; a bulky mass of lard, naked but for a blood-stained leather apron. He carries an oversized meat cleaver. Politically he'd be most in tune with Beezlebub I guess, though his appetite for human flesh might make this problematic. Powers could include:
* able to instill in a mortal an uncontrollable urge to eat (anything?)
* able to cause the body fat of a mortal to swell rapidly until they burst
* after eating of the flesh of several mortals, he can vomit out their souls, now under his control and given tangible forms as animated blobs of stomach acid - he has to do this before the souls are digested though
[/spoiler]
:axe:
¡ɟlǝs ǝnɹʇ ǝɥʇ ´ʍopɐɥS ɯɐ I

Paragon * (Paragon Rules) * Savage Age (Wiki) * Argyrian Empire [spoiler=Mother 2]

* You meet the New Age Retro Hippie
* The New Age Retro Hippie lost his temper!
* The New Age Retro Hippie's offense went up by 1!
* Ness attacks!
SMAAAASH!!
* 87 HP of damage to the New Age Retro Hippie!
* The New Age Retro Hippie turned back to normal!
YOU WON!
* Ness gained 160 xp.
[/spoiler]

Steerpike

[ooc]Thanks for spotting the typos.

Holy crap that is a disturbing demon... I will see if I can find a name for him.

Looking at Light Dragon's list, I should draw up another Belialian and another erratic/apolitical demon as well...[/ooc]

Nomadic

How about Kabandha

Steerpike

There's no more room in the first post so more udpates will go down here...

Here are Light Dragon's Cult of the Authority - I think they fit in very well with the setting.  If I was to tweak anything I might decrease the number of demons who are actually members, but that's a pretty minor fix.

I like the look of Kabandha - I'll write him up at some point.

[ic=Cult of the Authority]Although they are part of the fallen, the demons who belong to the Cult of the Authority still worship and pay homage to the Authority. Some gather together in secret, hiding in the catacombs where they burn their incense candles and say their prayers. Others are more independent, hiding Bibles, crosses, and holy saintly artifacts under their clothing and their skin. The independent ones are, however, looked down on by more orthodox cultists who belong to larger groups.

The leader of the most prominent Cult of the Authority is, like many of its members, a Beezelbubian. His name is Aten. His Cult runs on a highly regimented basis with lots of pomp and cirumstance and dire punishment for those who do not bend their knees to his and the Authority's Authority.

Aten speaks with crisp, short phrases in a militant manner and he makes certain that everyone repeats the holy mantras. He believes that by repeating the Psalms and the Proverbs, and reciting the Acts and re-enacting the Sutras, the demons under him are granted some of the glimmer of God.

The other Tempters look on Aten and his coterie with caution, concern, and revulsion. Attempts to destroy Aten and his followers have, however, met with pain and failure. Somehow, Aten managed to acquire the Blood of Cain and infuse it into his soul, and into a wine that his followers drink. After drinking the blood of the deathless cursed one, who like they was exiled from paradise and cursed to walk the lands without entering paradise, Aten's followers become untouchable-- but only so long as they do not Tempt. A Tempter who has drunk the cursed Blood and who attempts to tempt, will grow grossly ill, and then lose the benefits of the Blood's restorative powers.

Some say that Aten has spoken with the Authority and for a time he even represented himself as the Authority while in Egypt; but after he struck down the first born of Egypt and tempted the Israelites with a golden calf in his image, he sickened and he was exiled to the Abyss after the Grigori (Watchers) overthrew him for his hubris and Temptation.

Cult members believe that Aten is working hard at redemption, and they latch on to him for a way to get to Paradise. They struggle against their natures, and struggle not to Tempt, but all too frequently Cult-members lapse and must go to confession and do penance. Their struggle is not a lonely one, but it is a long and painful one-- shunned by other demons, and shunned by paradise, these Cultists struggle to do the will of the Authority and some even attempt to serve the Authority's creation-- humanity-- frail and flawed creatures-- in an attempt to win the Authority's favor, but of these goals they often fall short.

Composition: Beezelbub 40%, Belial 30%, Mammon 20%, Unaligned 10%, Moloch 0%
% of the Factions Who are Cultists: Unaligned 25%, Beezlebub 7%, Belial 3%, Mammon 1%, Moloch 0%
[/ic]