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View Full Version : Pacts of Fiendish Possession: Or Soulbinding a Fiend



Zaydos
2014-02-08, 01:17 AM
If you've already looked at my attempt to make the Lords of the Nine as vestiges (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=329799) you will have a decent idea of why I am making this. If not feel free to read the soapbox rant, copied from there, below.

On page 18 of Tome of Magic there is a sidebar about making vestiges different and I’ve always felt it was a shame that other options for vestiges were never explored. I like binders, I like that they are allowed to be morally ambiguous, but the way the fluff was written, casting them in a light similar to diabolists and demon-binders, always made me want to explore more varied examples. Why couldn’t they make pacts with other spirits than just those bound beyond reality? Why not pacts with nature spirits, great elementals on a scale almost equal to that of the archomentals, the gods themselves, or even outsiders letting themselves be a vessel for the fiend or celestial in exchange for power? Of all the options, though, it was probably the infernal pact aspect which I felt needed the most exploration. While the idea of full-fledged fiendish possession by just some random imp, gabrezu, or horned devil appeals to me as an option for Evil binders, it was the archfiends themselves which appealed to me most. They are presented as beings of power nearly equaling that of the gods, known for making pacts with mortals wherein they grant power in return for future favors or souls. In pact magic you have the formation of a mechanic to represent a variety of those pacts. I am glad they left it as just a “hey look you could do this” in Tome of Magic, but some form of fiendish pact magic would have been a nice addition in Fiendish Codex II or both Fiendish Codices. Even so this is, and has always been, truly the domain of homebrew.

tl;dr: Binding draws upon stuff from demonology and casts clerics as persecuting them for it, at the same time it seems like a good starting point for making pacts with fiends so why not use it as one.

That said I already showed my attempt with archfiends, so why am I doing this with regular low ranking fiends?

Because they present a very different option for the in universe power balance and plots that can be formed around them. I bind an archfiend I'm (typically) making some sort of deal with a dangerous patron who might eventually cause it to come back on me. I bind a fiend and I'm doing something on a personal level; if it comes back to get me I can kill the fiend that I made the pact with and suffer those ramifications (theoretically possible at sufficiently high level with archfiends). The archfiend is a stage piece, their power meaning they will rarely enter into the foreground. A fiend can be a character that the players deal with and eventually surpass and leave behind.
Theoretically this lets me dabble in more direct power representations... in practice I apparently didn't have the skills to do this, or chose not to.
This serves to an extent as an intellectual challenge.



Pacts of Possession:
These pacts work by allowing a (relatively large) portion of the fiend's soul into yours. Using the power of the pact magic and soul binding ritual intended to access a distant world you attract the attention of a fiend of the chosen species and offer it the pact. The act of offering a fiend a chance to ride in your body is inherently an evil and either lawful (if they are a devil) or chaotic (in the case of demons) act, and you cannot make a pact of this nature in a place warded against planar travel (within a dimension lock effect, or forbiddance) or warded against their alignment (Magic Circle against X, forbiddance, hallow or even a consecrated area). In addition you may not bind both a devil and a demon at once as the two breeds hate each other with a passion.

If the fiend accepts they are effectively summoned into you. Their real body disappears (truly powerful fiends can maintain their true body at the DM's discretion suffering instead 4 negative levels) and they take up residence within you. The fiend has full access to your senses and thoughts during this period of residence, and can even peer to a limited extent into your memories. While you have a fiend bound it is able to whisper to you, granting you a +2 bonus to Knowledge checks where it would have relevant information but also encouraging you towards evil; the fiend can also lie and give you misleading information if it is in its interest to do so (never trust a fiend of the opposite alignment).

There is a price for asking a fiend for such power. When you make such a task the fiend expects a tribute. This is usually some unspecified act that furthers its alignment on the Prime, in the Blood War, or just pushes the binder closer towards their plane's alignment.

If you die while the fiend is possessing you in this way the fiend is weakened taking 5 negative levels for a month (if this would kill them they reform on their home plane 1 month + 1 month for every negative level beyond that required to kill them later), and your soul is dragged with them to their home plane. Whether the fiends will act to keep your soul there is usually dependent upon your actions in life; a champion of Law and Evil will find the Baatezu more than willing to let his soul free once more, it'll return in the end regardless, they are less willing to release the soul of a chaotic good entity and may seek to prevent their resurrection either by acting on the Prime or in the Nine Hells if possible.

The possessing fiend cannot stop you, or even punish you, for acting in a manner not in accord with its alignment unless you make a bad pact. In the case of a bad pact you find yourself influenced to act in accordance with its alignment. Regardless if you do act out of accordance with its alignment while binding a fiend you cannot bind a fiend of that kind (i.e. imp, bone devil, or dybbuk) for 1 week. If you act gratuitously out of line with that alignment you cannot bind any fiend of that alignment for a week. Might fiddle with this bit later since it doesn't feel perfect.

As always I am unfamiliar with the actual act of balancing vestiges and any input as to what levels are actually appropriate is appreciated.


Fiendish Vestiges
Demons

Balor
Vestige Level: 8th.
Binding DC: 37.
Special Requirement: You must draw a balor's seal with the blood of a good aligned creature capable of casting divine spells.
Sign: Your skin turns a dark red as demonic horns extend out from your temples to either side.
Influence: A balor's influence forces their binder to disrespect all authority figures who have not proven their physical superiority to them, refuse help to those in need, and sow destruction and death at all opportunities.
Granted Powers: Binding a balor grants you their legendary swords, the ability to summon whips of flames to bind your foes, and even retributive explosions upon death like those of a balor.

Abyssal Hide: You gain DR 10/cold iron.

Bonds of the Abyss: As a standard action you can call upon the fires of the Abyss creating a massive number of tendrils of flames which grapple any number of targets within 30-ft of you. These tendrils automatically succeed their touch attack to initiate a grapple and make grapple checks with a bonus equal to your EBL + 8, and deal 2d6 fire damage each round plus an additional 2d6+1/2 your EBL damage with a successful grapple check each round. The tendrils grappling a creature have an AC of 10 + your EBL and hp equal to twice your EBL with DR 10/cold iron and good, fire and electricity immunity and acid and cold resistance 10. These tendrils fade after 5 rounds and if a creature escapes their grasp they will not reinitiate grapple. Once you have used this ability you cannot use it again for 5 rounds.

Death Throes: If you die while a balor is bound you explode in a blast of unholy energy dealing 5 damage per EBL to all creatures within 5-ft per EBL. This damage is half fire and half pure unholy energy and a successful Reflex save halves this damage. This destroys your body completely, though not any gear you were wearing (although they still take damage from this effect).

Dread Sword: As a move action you can summon forth a lightning-bolt shaped sword infused with unholy power. If you are disarmed of this weapon, or drop it the blade vanishes instantly. This sword's enchantments are determined by your EBL as presented in the table below.
{table=head]EBL|Sword
15 or less|+1 Vorpal
16-18|+1 Vorpal Unholy
19-20|+2 Vorpal Unholy
21+|+3 Vorpal Unholy[/table]

Dretch:
Vestige Level: 2nd.
Binding DC: 17
Sign: Your hands deform into monstrous claws, and you emit a noxious odor with the heavy underlay of rotten eggs.
Influence: If out numbered or obviously outmatched the dretch requires that you flee, sacrificing friends and allies as necessary. In addition you develop a taste for raw meat and will not cook food yourself.
Granted Powers:
Fiendish Claws: You gain a pair of claws usable as primary or secondary natural weapons dealing 1d4 damage (if medium sized). You must show the dretch’s sign to benefit from this ability.

Rending Pounce: As a standard action you may move up to twice your speed and make an attack with each of your claws, this attack is considered a charge (you gain the +2 to hit and -2 to AC as normal) and the movement must follow the standard rules of a charge. If your base attack bonus is +6 or higher you may make a 2nd attack with each claw at -5 to hit, if your base attack bonus is +11 or higher or higher you may make a 3rd attack with each claw at -10 to hit, and if your base attack bonus is +16 or higher you may make a 4th attack with each claw at -15 to hit. Any target hit by these claw attacks takes an extra 5 points of damage on each claw attack that hit them after the first. Once you have used this ability you must wait 5 rounds before doing so again.

Stench of the Pit: Your body radiates a foul odor which sickens foes. Creatures adjacent to you, and creatures with scent within 30-ft of you, must make a Fort save or be sickened for as long as they are within this range and 5 rounds afterwards. You must show the dretch’s sign to gain this ability.

If you bind a dretch with Improved Bind Vestige you gain the Fiendish Claws ability, if you also take the Practiced Binder feat you also gain the Stench of the Pit ability.

Dybbuk
Vestige Level: 4th.
Binding DC: 22.
Special Requirement: You must place the corpse of a once living creature in the middle of the seal used to summon the Dybbuk.
Sign: You reek of rotting flesh, and a semi-translucent jellyfish-like creature (dybbuk) seems to be super imposed over you.
Influence: A dybbuk’s influence pushes you towards hedonism and self-indulgence. If you are given chances to indulge in physical pleasures, they require that you do so allowing them to enjoy them vicariously.
GrantedPowers:
Death Puppet: As a standard action you can cause a single dead creature to animate as a skeleton or zombie as if Animate Dead were cast on it. This corpse remains animate for 8 hours, until it is destroyed, or until you dismiss it as a standard action. Once you have used this ability you may not use it again until the previous target is no longer animate and for another 5 rounds afterwards.

Dybbuk’s Gift: You are considered to be under the effects of a Dybbuk’s Gift ability (gaining +2 profane bonus to attack rolls and weapon damage, your attacks are considered Chaotic aligned, the Dybbuk possesses you should you die).

Natural Actor: You gain a +8 competence bonus on Disguise and Forgery checks, as well as Bluff checks made as part of playing a specific role (i.e. convincing someone you are a guard, a disguised planetar, or their Aunt Alice, but not that you are telling the truth that dragons are coming, or that the pair of golems behind you are not the golems they are looking for).

Sense Death: You gain the ability to sense dead creatures nearby you. As a standard action you can release a pulse of energy which reveals to you the number and location of corpses, deathless, and undead within 10-ft per EBL and whether an entity detected this way is dead, deathless, or undead.

Goristro:
Vestige Level: 7th.
Binding DC: 29.
Special Requirements: You must slay a large sized or larger creature in the center of the goristro's seal, painting its seal in blood.
Sign: Your muscles grow more knotted and defined, even as your face flattens your nose becoming bovine in nature.
Influence: You must fight any foe that presents itself to you till it is dead, moving after the physically most imposing foe first, striving against it with all the force you can muster.
Granted Powers:
Destructive Blows: Your melee attacks deal double damage against objects and ignore hardness less than 20.

Increased Size: Your size increases by 1 category (this does not stack with other effects that would increase your size) granting you a +4 size bonus to Strength and a +2 size bonus to Constitution as well as a -2 penalty to Dex, as well as increased space, reach, and size modifiers to rolls. This benefit is visually apparent even if you hide the goristro's sign.

Power Attack: You gain Power Attack as a bonus feat.

Quaking Stomp: As a standard action while standing on the ground you may stomp on it sending a powerful quake through it. Any creature within 60-ft of you that is burrowing or melded with the earth in some way (meld into stone, earth glide, xorn movement, etc) takes 1d6 damage per EBL you possess (Fort halves). Any creature standing on the ground within 60-ft of you must make a Reflex save or fall prone. In addition the ground continues to shake violently for one round. During this time creatures on the ground cannot move, suffer a -4 penalty to attack rolls, and must make a concentration check (DC 10 + your EBL + spell or power level) to cast spells or manifest psionic powers. In addition this ability deals 100 damage to any structure within the area, and if used in a cave or tunnel may collapse portions of the roof causing all creatures in the area (excluding yourself) to have to make a Reflex save to avoid taking 1d6 damage per 4 EBL you possess from falling rocks, a creature knocked prone by this effect suffers a -4 penalty to this save. Once you have used this ability you must wait 5 rounds before using it again.

See Invisibility: While a goristro is bound you gain the benefits of a see invisibility spell.

Mane:
Vestige Level: 1st
Binding DC: 16
Sign: You begin to sweat yellowish liquid profusely.
Influence: The mane causes blood lust to swell up within you. You must kill a creature every hour to keep this desire for death in check.
Granted Powers:

Abyssal Rage: Whenever you take damage you gain a +2 bonus to Strength until the end of your next turn. This bonus does not stack with itself.

Demon’s Skin: You gain DR 2/cold iron or good.

Demonic Resistance: You gain Electricity resistance 5.

Shed Acid: As a standard action you may spray acid about you. Any creature adjacent to you takes 1d6 acid damage per EBL you possess, with a reflex save to halve the damage. Beginning at EBL 10 this now effects creatures within 10-ft of you instead of just those adjacent to you. Once you have used this ability you must wait 5 rounds before doing so again.

If you bind a mane with the Bind Vestige feat you gain their Demonic Resistance ability, if you also have Practiced Binder you gain their Abyssal Rage power as well.

Marilith:
Vestige Level: 6th.
Binding DC: 27.
Sign: Your legs and lower body grow green, snake-like scales, even as your eyes become snake-slits, transparent scales forming across them.
Influence: You inherent the worst aspects of a Marilith as well as their analytical mind. You are prone to emotional outbursts, and cannot act with restraint.
Granted Powers:
Brain of the Blood War: You gain a +3 competence bonus on all Int checks (including Lore or Bardic Knowledge) or Int based skill checks and a +12 competence bonus on Knowledge (the Planes) checks.

Cunning Blade: A marilith relies on their intellect in combat as much as, if not more than, their demonic powers. Tapping into this demonic battle intellect grants you a bonus to weapon damage equal to your Intelligence modifier.

Superior Two-Weapon Fighting: While binding a marilith you gain Two-Weapon Fighting as a bonus feat, and Improved Two-Weapon Fighting if your BAB is +6 or higher, and Greater Two-Weapon Fighting if your BAB is +11 or higher. In addition you do not suffer a base -2 penalty for wielding two weapons (although you do suffer the -2 penalty for having an off-hand weapon that is not a light weapon if you do so).

Telepathic Spike: As a standard action you can send a telepathic pulse at one living creature within 100-ft. They take 1d6 damage per two EBL you possess and must make a Will save or be stunned for 1 round. This is a mind-affecting effect. Once you have used this ability you cannot use it again for 5 rounds.

Uridezu:
Vestige Level: 3rd.
Binding DC: 20
Sign: You grow a long, whip-like rat tail.
Influence: You desire praise and adoration and will put yourself at risk to gain it. Whether its slaughtering a hundred innocents to obtain a single comment of good job from your dark master, or saving a woman in the most larger than life way you can find so that she'll praise your bravery.
Granted Powers:
Rat Companion: When you bind an uridezu part of its fiendish energies mix with your soul and manifest themselves as an abyssal dire rat. This rat gains bonus hit dice and abilities based on your effective binder level.
{table=head]EBL|Bonus HD|Str and Dex|Int|Natural Armor|Special
1-3|+0|+0|4|+0|Speak with Master, Evasion, Empathic Link
4-7|+2|+1|5|+2|Devotion
8-11|+4|+2|6|+4|Speak with Rats
12-15|+6|+3|7|+6|Double Bite
16-19|+8|+4|8|+8|Improved Evasion
20+|+10|+5|9|+10|Triple Bite[/table]

Rat Empathy: You gain Wild Empathy as a druid of your EBL + 4 but it only affects rats and rat-like creatures.

Scent: While an uridezu is bound you gain the scent special quality.

Whip Tail: The long rat-like tail granted to you by the uridezu’s sign can be used to reach out and attack foes. It is treated as a one handed reach weapon dealing 1d3 subdual damage, and cannot damage creatures with more than +3 natural armor or wearing heavy armor. It can also be used to trip or disarm targets granting a +2 to checks made to perform these maneuvers, and you cannot be disarmed of the tail. You must show the uridezu’s sign.

If you bind an uridezu with Improved Bind Vestige you gain their Rat Empathy ability. If you also have Practiced Binder you gain the Rat Companion ability.

Vrock
Vestige Level: 5th.
Binding DC: 25.
Special Requirement: You must perform a ritualistic dance about the surface of the seal requiring you to make a DC 15 Perform (Dance) check (you can retry this check freely).
Sign: Your head takes on a vulture like appearance, even as your fingers seem to stretch out into talon-like structures.
Influence: The influence of a vrock makes it so you cannot accept anyone as your superior until they have shown their physical superiority. They require you buck any commands given by someone that cannot overpower you, and if a superior shows a moment of weakness where you can claim control of the group from them require you to do so.
Granted Power:
Spores: As a free action you may release a spores into all adjacent squares. Any creature adjacent to you takes 1d8 + your effective binder level damage. The spores then penetrate into their skin dealing 1d4 damage each round for a number of rounds equal to your binder level. Once you use this ability you cannot use it again for 5 rounds.

Wings: You gain a fly speed equal to your land speed with average maneuverability.

Stunning Screech: As a standard action you may release a terrible screech that stuns those who hear it. All creatures within 20-ft must make a Fortitude save or be stunned for 1 round. Once you have used this ability you cannot use it again for 5 rounds.

Demon’s Dance: You gain a +10 competence bonus on Perform (Dance) checks.


Devils

Abishai:
You must choose a color of abishai (black, blue, green, red, or white) to summon when you make your pact with them, this determines certain of their abilities.
Vestige Level: 3rd.
Binding DC: 20
Special Requirement: A single piece of gold must be placed in the center of the sign a symbolic offering to Tiamat. In addition no good aligned dragonbloods may be in sight or the Abishai immediately leaves the pact incomplete their kind refusing to return for 24 hours.
Sign: You skin takes on a hue matching the abishai called. In addition your face stretches somewhat becoming a dragon-like snout.
Influence: Spawn of Tiamat you gain a great arrogance when an Abishai possesses you. If you are issued a challenge in a field where you have physical capability (i.e. you must be able to cast spells if the challenge is to a spell duel) you must accept.
Granted Powers: You gain some measure of an abishai's healing capability, as well as their lingering damage and commanding voice.
Draconian Healing: You gain Regeneration 0 as long as you have a Constitution score, only taking normal damage from Good weapons and spells. This increases to Regeneration 1 at EBL 11, and Regeneration 2 at EBL 17. This stacks with any other regeneration you have from Baatorian vestiges but not other sources.

Draconian Order: Uttering a single word of power, as a standard action, you force a lesser creature to obey your command. This functions as the spell command but once you have used it you cannot do so again for 5 rounds.

Lingering Energy: Any creature struck by your attacks must make a Fortitude save at the end of their next turn or take 1d6 energy damage +1d6 energy damage per 5 EBL you possess. The type of this damage is determined by your bound abishai's color with black and green granting acid, blue granting electricity, red granting fire, and white granting cold. No matter how often you strike a creature in a round they never need to save against this ability or take damage from it more than once per round.

If an abishai is bound with the Improved Bind Vestige feat you gain the Lingering Energy ability. The Practiced Binder feat grants you the Draconian Command ability.

Bone Devil:
Vestige Level: 4th.
Binding DC: 22.
Sign: You become gaunt and your skin takes on a too tight appearance.
Influence: An osyluth’s influence pushes you towards the enforcement of rules. You must avoid breaking the rules of your social group (i.e. your country’s laws, or your thief guild’s code, but not the laws of the place you’re in), although loop hole abuse is encouraged, and must see to it that others follow the rules (though not necessarily the same set you do).
Granted Power:

Invisibility: As a standard action you may turn yourself invisible (as the spell invisibility) for 1 round per EBL. Beginning at 15th level you may use this ability as a swift action. Once you return to visibility you may not become invisible again for 5 rounds.

Fear Aura: You radiate an aura of fear. Any creature beginning their turn adjacent to you must make a Will save or be shaken for 1 minute. If they have at least 5 fewer hit dice than your EBL they are instead frightened. A creature which makes a successful Will save is immune to your fear aura for 24 hours.

Enforcer’s Eyes: You gain the ability to see in darkness as a Baatezu and see invisible creatures and objects.

Devil’s Intuition: You gain a +8 competence bonus to Sense Motive checks.

Chain Devil
Vestige Level: 4th.
Binding DC: 21.
Special Requirement: You must place a length chain at least 2 links long in the center of the sign which the chain devil manifests from (the chain being destroyed or transported to the Jangling Hiter on Baator.
Sign: Chains wrap around your arm. One particularly long chain extends from one of your arms.
Influence: You find restraints and confinement unbearable. You must never allow yourself to be restrained, bound, or confined. In addition if an enemy shows fear you must target them first, pursuing them should they flee the battle.
Granted Power:
Chain: You may use the chain that manifests as your sign as a spiked chain. You are considered to be proficient in it and it gains a variety of magical enhancements as you gain levels. You may not be disarmed of this weapon and if it is sundered it reforms 5 rounds later. You must show the Chain Devil’s sign to use this ability
{table=head]Effective Binder Level|Chain Formed
8th or less|+1 spiked chain
9th-11th|+1 adamantine spiked chain
12th-15th|+1 adamantine keen spiked chain
16th-18th|+1 adamantine keen spiked chain of wounding
19th+|+2 adamantine keen spiked chain of wounding[/table]

Minor Shapeshifting: As the changeling ability.

Cold Resistance: You gain Cold Resistance equal to twice your EBL. Once your EBL reaches 15 this becomes Cold Immunity.

Dolgai
Vestige Level: 5th.
Binding DC: 25.
Special Requirement: When binding a dolgai you must declare a creature by name that you will slay while it's bound. If you do not slay that creature before the dolgai becomes unbound you cannot bind a dolgai for 1 week.
Sign: Your eyes become a burning red, as your lips curve into a fixed smile showing your teeth.
Influence: An assassin once seen by an enemy does not suffer them to live. If any creature that you know is opposed to you sees you while a dolgai is bound you must pursue and kill them. In addition you must always strive to be on the side of combat which initiates it (makes the first attack).
Granted Powers:
Assassin's Alertness: You gain a +8 competence bonus to Listen and Spot checks and may take a full round worth of actions during a surprise round (as long as you are not yourself surprised).

Shadow Blur: As long as you are in an area of shadowy illumination or less you gain concealment even against creatures which have darkvision or can see in darkness; if the shadows normally would give you concealment towards a foe you instead gain total concealment against them.

Sneak Attack: You gain +1d6 sneak attack, +1d6 per 4 EBL, this damage does not stack with any sneak attack, skirmish, or sudden strike granted by other vestiges (Malphas + Dolgai = Rogue Sneak Attack and feels like stepping on toes, and there will be others that end up granting these abilities). This damage increases by 2d6 against the target specified when the Dolgai was bound, and if that target is immune to critical hits you may deal 1/2 your normal precision damage to them regardless.

Step through Shadows: As a swift action you may teleport up to 30-ft, becoming invisible as you do so. Attacking does not cause this invisibility to end, but you only remain invisible until the end of your turn. Once you have used this ability you cannot use this ability again for 5 rounds.

Imp
Vestige Level: 2nd.
Binding DC: 17.
Special Requirement: You must shed the blood of a still living creature other than yourself onto the seal.
Sign: You grow imp-horns.
Influence: You grow more craven and cowardly. You must seek to disengage from any combat in which you are reduced to half of the health you started the battle with (or less) and avoid battles with creatures obviously more powerful than yourself.
Granted Power:
Fast Healing: While binding an imp you gain a measure of its accelerated healing, gaining fast healing 1.

Spider-Form: As a standard action you can turn into a tiny monstrous spider as if through the Polymorph spell. You may return to your natural form as a standard action. Once you have left spider-form you must wait 5 rounds before returning to it.

Sense Good: When adjacent to a good aligned creature you get a tingling sensation as the imp within you crawls in horror. This tells you of the presence of a good aligned creature and what square or squares they are in. This does not tell you the number of good aligned creatures only which squares adjacent to you contain good aligned creatures.

If an imp is bound with the Improved Bind Vestige feat you gain the Spider-Form ability. The Practiced Binder feat grants you the Fast Healing ability.

Lemure:
Vestige Level: 1st.
Binding DC: 17; a Lawful Evil binder gains a +4 on this check.
Manifestation: The lemure's spirit form appears in the center of the seal. It does not bargain with you, instead it simply enters its summoner the two wills clashing against each other momentarily until one comes out the stronger.
Sign: Your body becomes corpulent, covered in thick rolls of molten-looking fat.
Influence: You become extremely submissive obeying any strongly voiced order given to you. In the case of conflicting orders you obey whichever is more strongly made (either a Diplomacy or Intimidate check)
Granted Powers:
False Thrall: When you succeed on a save against a charm or compulsion effect, the character trying to charm or compel you believes that you failed your save. You can play along voluntarily if you wish to. If the charm or compulsion involves telepathic commands, you continue to receive them, although you aren’t obligated to follow them.

Hellish Fat: Your rolls of hellish fat grant you light fortification, meaning that if you would be hit by a critical hit or precision damage you have a 20% chance of ignoring it. You cannot use this ability if you do not show the lemure's sign.

Sense Telepathy: You automatically know when you are in the telepathy range of a creature, as well as its location.

Telepathic Beacon: You may grant up to your Charisma modifier in creatures the ability to communicate with you telepathically. All such communication is one way, the targets may send you messages but you cannot answer them. This ability has a range of 100-ft per EBL until 8th level where it becomes infinite, and at 15th level it becomes interplanar.

If a lemure is bound with the Bind Vestige feat you gain the False Thrall ability. The Practiced Binder feat grants you the Sense Telepathy ability.

Malebranche:
Vestige Level: 6th.
Binding DC: 26.
Special Requirement: You must draw a malebranche's seal in the blood of a predatory animal.
Sign: Your jaw forms a tusked under bite as your skin grows leathery and scarred. In addition any natural weapons you possess grow larger and more vicious looking, claws twisting into talons, fangs forming into saber-toothed tusks, tails growing bony flails, etc.
Influence: A malebranche's influence makes you irritable and aggravated. If someone, not above you in your hierarchy, strikes you you must crush them, destroying them in preference to foes who have not struck you, and you must defeat any foe who has the gall to strike you either sending them fleeing in terror or leaving them broken across the ground at your feet. This also applies to any demon or demon worshiper you come across, they must be destroyed.
Granted Powers:
Beast of Intimidation: You may make an Intimidate check to demoralize a creature as a move or swift action. The creature does not need to be within your melee reach but must be within 30-ft of you, and is shaken for an additional round for every 5 ranks you have in Intimidate. If the creature fails their check to resist Intimidation by 10 or more they are frightened instead of shaken for the duration, and if they fail by 20 or more they are cowered for the duration. Once you have used this ability you cannot use it again for 5 rounds.

Cast Away: Upon successfully striking a creature in melee you may immediately make a Bull Rush attempt against the target without moving or provoking attacks of opportunity and are treated as two size categories larger (to a max of Colossal) for the purposes of this Bull Rush. You may not move with the target of this ability but they move the maximum distance they could have been pushed. If the target strikes a solid object during this movement both they and the object take 1d6 damage per 5 feet the target would have been pushed. In addition if the target is pushed at least 5-ft they must make a Reflex save at -2 per 5-ft beyond the first they were pushed or fall prone. Once you have used this ability you cannot use it again for 5 rounds.

Raw Power: You gain a +2 bonus to melee damage when a Malebranche is bound, this increases to +4 when using a weapon in two hands.

Stature of Terror: You are considered 2 size categories larger for the purposes of Intimidate checks, to a maximum of Colossal.

Wicked Claws: You are treated as two size categories larger (to a maximum of colossal) for the purpose of damage dealt by your natural weapons. You must show the Malebranche’s sign to benefit from this ability.

Paeliryon
Vestige Level: 7th.
Binding DC: 30.
Sign: Long, brightly colored nails grow from your finger tips and your face seems to be covered with garish amounts of make-up.
Influence: You become covetous of knowledge, desiring it out of proportion to its true value. The more secret and more dark the more you desire it. In addition you feel an urge to use such knowledge to make others submit to authority (yours or otherwise) or to act in ways which helps themselves at the expense of others' well-being.
Granted Powers:
Belittling Tirade: You may release a slew of insults and epitaphs in dark speech as a standard action. One non-baatezu creature within 60-ft cone must make a Will save or be stunned for 1d4 rounds; due to the vile power of dark speech this plays as much if not more on reality itself than the mind of the target and is not a mind-affecting effect. Once you have used this ability you cannot use it again for 5 rounds.

Charming Perfume: Any creature within 30-ft of you must make a Will save or be positively inclined towards you improving its initial attitude towards you by 1 step (if this is your first meeting) and granting you a bonus to Charisma based skills and Charisma checks dealing with that creature equal to your Charisma modifier. This is a mind-affecting effect and creatures which do not breathe are immune to it, and creatures with scent are affected at quadruple range (and can smell you out to 4 times the normal range).

Diabolic Majordomo: The diabolic voice of the Paeliryon aids you in matters of etiquette and information. When you bind a paeliryon select 1 skill based off of Int, Wis, or Cha + 1 per 4 EBL you may take 10 on this check and may substitute a +7 in place of the relevant ability score modifier when using this skill. In addition you are considered to have 1 rank in that skill per 3 EBL if you do not already have as many or more.

Extendable Claws: You gain a pair of claw attacks each dealing 1d6 damage (if medium sized) with an 18-20/x3 critical. Your reach with these claws is 5-ft longer than your normal reach as they can extend to extreme length with a thought. The first creature you attack in an encounter with your claws fully extended is considered flat-footed against the attack due to the sudden extension. You must show the Paeliryon’s sign to use this ability.

Pit Fiend:
Vestige Level: 8th.
Binding DC: 37.
Special Requirement: Binding a pit fiend involves offering your soul to Baator. Doing so binds it to Baator in your death and is a highly Lawful (as you are submitting to the authority of Baator and giving them authority over your soul) Evil (you are giving your soul to fiends) act.
Sign: An infernal rune forms upon your head, marking you as one who belongs to the pit.
Influence: While under the influence of a pit fiend you must respect authority figures as long as they have the strength to rule over the weak, act with discipline (not engaging in random slaughter, keeping firm control over those beneath his station, and so forth), help only those who help you maintain or improve your status, and punish those who challenge authority (unless, of course, such challengers prove more worthy to hold that authority).

Granted Powers:
Aura of Terror: Any enemy that comes within 30-ft of you must make a Will save or be shaken for 1 minute, frightened if they have HD no greater than your EBL - 5 they are frightened instead, and if their HD is no greater than EBL - 10 they cower for the duration instead. A creature which successfully saves against this ability is immune for 1 minute as are baatezu. Whenever a creature fails its save against this ability you gain a +1 competence bonus to attack rolls and saves till the end of your turn; this bonus stacks with itself but not other competence bonuses. You must show the pit fiend's sign to benefit from this ability.

Hell’s Grand Wizardry: Once per day, +1 once per day for every 4 EBL beyond 13th you possess, while a pit fiend is bound you may use Limited Wish as a spell-like ability (CL = EBL), although it still has a 250 XP cost (this XP is gained by the possessing pit fiend). Once you have used this ability you may not use it again for 5 rounds. You must show the pit fiend's sign to benefit from this ability.

Hell’s Sorcery: As a standard action you may do one of the following: create a 15-ft burst of fire within 200-ft dealing 1d6 fire damage per EBL, Reflex halves; cause a single creature with hp up to three times your EBL within 60-ft to be stunned for one round as a mind-affecting effect with no saving throw; or create an illusory image (as spell Major Image) that remains for 5 rounds. Once you have used this ability you cannot use it again for 5 rounds.

Hellish Contagion: With a touch you can afflict a target with Devil Chills. You may use this ability as a touch attack or part of an unarmed strike or attack with a natural weapon, but no more than once per round. A creature struck by this attack must make a Fort save or be infected with Devil Chills with an incubation period of instantaneous taking 1d4 Strength damage. If the target already has Devil Chills they must simply make a Fort save or take 1d4 Strength damage as the symptoms intensify.

Regeneration: While you have a pit fiend bound you gain regeneration 5. Good weapons and spells deal damage to you normally. You must show the pit fiend's sign to benefit from this ability.

Zaydos
2014-02-08, 01:19 AM
Reserved in case I add more. Feel free to make suggestions*

*I am fine with requests, but make no promises about when or if they will be completed.

Zaydos
2014-02-12, 01:59 PM
Figured I'd bump to say I added 6 more devils (Lv 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8) and now have a devil of every level. Unless someone requests or suggests something in specific I intend to work on expanding demons a bit so you can bind them at earlier levels (where you can use [Improved] Bind Vestige to obtain them) and hopefully some at higher levels.

Zaydos
2014-02-13, 09:35 PM
Added Demons of Level 1-3 and 7 and 8. I might return to this, but will probably poke around at other things. If anybody has requests post them here, until necro deadline at which point my PM box is free.

Until then any comments on balance are welcome.

mrcarter11
2014-02-14, 08:39 AM
I preface with, this is purely opinion based so take it as you will.


Balor: Very heavy combat themed 8th level vestige. The DR, I think is better then Halp's since adman is more common the cold iron. The Bonds are the main reason you'd likely bind this and they aren't bad, but knowledge on grappling mechanics is sketchy at best. Not sure if intended but as they last five rounds, recast is likely to be done right after they wear off. So each turn they grapple they deal approx 7 fire damage and then 25-ish damage as well. Might be slightly high in comparison to other binds. Whirlwind breath is a 1 per 5 ability that averages 35 damage to a 60 ft cone. Yours is dealing approx the same damage every round to a half as large grouping. Grappled is also better then prone I believe as a condition. Death Thores I really just don't like, as I'm not fond of abilities keyed of me dying. The sword is nifty, but feels tacked on. In the end I probably bind this, but mostly because the damage on Bonds seems really good in exchange for what I could have elsewhere.

Dretch: The claws are meh, nothing special to them, though they aren't truly bad in comparison. The Rending Pounce is a nice ability, the issue being the claws don't scale and the damage is only nice with extra attacks, which you won't get soon enough to matter in terms of the Pounce. So for it's level, it's nice, but it won't do much. Stench is probably right on point. Dazed and Confused are stronger conditions that you can gain at the same level, but dazed is a single round and confused is scaling. Sicked is nice because of the AOE and duration in comparison. In the end, I probably wouldn't take it but I feel it's mostly an issue with the pounce.

Mane: Rage is fine, it's a free +1 to Atk and Damage. Skin is low level DR, it's nothing great, but for low levels, it works fine. Resistance.. I'm not entirely sure the last time I ran into low level electric damage and I wouldn't have this bound at high levels. So it's nice for what it is, but useless in general terms of when you have it. Shed Acid isn't half bad. It's anything next to you compared to Amon's cone. The damage is also much less likely to be resisted. In the end,, I'd bind this at low levels, if I knew to expect a lot of combat.

I'm gonna stop there, not sure if this review will even help you. Something to really consider is, every ability of the ones I looked at, was combat related. Now given the source material I sorta understand why, but that's what made so many of the vestiges great, was their utility, which majority of yours have none of.

Zaydos
2014-02-17, 01:09 AM
Oh it definitely was helpful. I'm going to go back through the demons and try and give them more utility. I'll specifically be looking at Balor, Marilith, Mane, and Dretch, and am going to change Dolgai to explicitly give you concealment against enemies with darkvision in shadowy/no illumination. I might leave Mane or Dretch as a pure combat vestige because that fits them fluff-wise (both are near mindless and exist for killing things), but Balor and especially Mariliths should not be that way, and having both Dretch and Mane be that way is too much (just like I can accept Goristro and Malebranche being that way and Dolgai having limited out of combat utility).