Nurturing a minor demon

[Conradine]

A would be demonologist ( a spellcaster or someone skilled enough with BoVD sacrifices ) conjure a demon to do his bidding. What demon?

A Mane. The lowliest of the lowliest.

The would be demonologist has enough manpower and protection magic to block and chain the little demon, so he straps a Headband of Intellect on the thing, or cast Fox's Cunning on him, so the Mane has enough Intelligence to have a conversation. Comprehend Languages also helps.

Here's the proposal.

"I want to make a deity out of you. My reasons are my own, for now. I didn't conjure a more powerful being because I don't want to be involved in fiendish politics and rivalries, and because I prefer to mold my own God. You are a Mane, that means you still hold no alligiance.
I'll build a cult around you that will revere you as a demigod. We'll make sacrifices in your name and you'll be feed human flesh, blood and even souls. I'll conjure other weaker Manes for you to cannibalize, and buy Larvae from Night Hags to feed you. Liquid Pain will be your wine.

What I want from you is simple: stay here and let me work. "



So , here the questions:

1- Can a demon stays in the Material Plane for a virtually unlimited time, if both the fiend and the conjure agree upon that?

2- Can a Mane be nurtured that way and become more powerful?

3- Can a Mane with magically boosted intelligence understand the whole deal? And would it accept?

[Segev]

1- Can a demon stays in the Material Plane for a virtually unlimited time, if both the fiend and the conjure agree upon that?The mane could be freed from binding at any time and stay as long as it chose. I believe that, as long as the mane were made an active participant in the "turn him into a god" scheme, a planar binding would allow him to be bound indefinitely until the task were completed, too, because he could theoretically bring it about under his own power (through cooperating with the wizard's scheme).


2- Can a Mane be nurtured that way and become more powerful?Plot/narrative rules here. Is this how it works in your setting/game? It certainly sounds like a reasonable approach if you want that to be true in your game/setting/story.


3- Can a Mane with magically boosted intelligence understand the whole deal? And would it accept?"Yes" to the first. "Maybe" to the second. The second really depends on the mane, but considering the creature's prospects if it's sent back or defies a powerful wizard, and its power-hunger, and how much the wizard's plan feeds its ego if nothing else? I'd go with "yes, most likely," absent any other things to consider.

More, though, planar binding allows that opposed Charisma check, which the demon is likely to lose. This represents talking or browbeating it into agreeing. So even if the DM has questions about how attractive this deal is, the mechanics provide a representation of the persuasion (or "persuasion") process.

[KillianHawkeye]

If for whatever reason the mane didn't agree, seems like you could just keep conjuring manes until you found one that did.

[icefractal]

I'd say it would readily agree, but it may betray you once it becomes powerful enough. Keep in mind, if it's a Mane now then previously it was a person chaotic and evil enough to end up in the Abyss. Although by the nature of how you grow it you may be able to shape its personality somewhat.

But for the moment? Get pumped up into a demigod or go back to being kicked around (probably literally) by more powerful demons? Even if it doesn't think the plan has any chance to succeed, it's still a nice vacation where it gets fed souls.

As far as whether this could work- we're entering homebrew territory, so depends on the GM.
Personally I'd say that sufficiently feeding it that way could at least boost it to something on par with a Balor power-wise, but more like a giant turbo-charged Mane than a normal Balor, since it wouldn't have the influence of other demons shaping it.

Making the jump to demi-god? Idk, I think it depends on the setting. In settings where the followers make the god, then I'd think so, if you can muster sufficient belief. In settings like Eberron where the gods are more distant? Maybe not, or at least you'd need to do something to fundamentally change it's nature besides worshiping it.

[Conradine]

Mabye a Mane who's kept away from Abyss and feed larvaes from Baator and Hades could develop a more Neutral Evil attitude.
Or mabye it's best to just start with a lowly larvae and build him from scratch?


---

Beside that, mabye rituals to make it acquire a template could empower it.

Also, traditional training, mabye even magical studies ( with a massive help from Headband of Intellect or similar things ).

[liquidformat]

So Just a real quick comment, this concept would actually work much better on a mindbender or a fiendbinder or really anything that can have permanent minions. Sure demonologist Lesser Planar Binding but with such horrid prerequisites and spell progression it is a pretty horrible class.

Anyways, if you have bound the demon and have a more permanent form of control over it you will probably be in a better position to enact this plan...