Maybe it's not better to light a candle after all

Quote Originally Posted by Darcy Covenant
Darcy Covenant



CE Ice Gnome Bard 5 / Wild Soul 2 / Bard +1 / Demonologist 4 / Sublime Chord 2 / Candle Caster 1 / Demonologist +5

Spoiler: Rumor
Show
Say, if thou'dst rather hear it from our mouths,
Or from our master's?

At the edge of the tundra stands a little hut.

To approach or even notice it is no simple feat, for howling blizzards surround it in winter, and dense mounds of fog gather round it come spring. Wandering through the haze, you may see shadowy shapes, suggesting some stumbling soul - such sights should seldom be trusted. The dead walk 'round that hut, stripped of fat and muscle, carried forth by hate alone. And not mere human dead - some have seen the walking bones of boars, great wolves, even the horned remnants of fiends.

Should you reach the hut, the door is answered by a thin young girl, hair long and greasy, clothes so stained with blood and grime that their color cannot be told. She is the lowest of the low, a firstborn sold in exchange for some profane favor, nameless but for her brand of ownership. Nevertheless, you should treat her with the greatest of respect, as if you were speaking to a mighty king, and ask thrice before entering.

Once you do so, you will find the hut stocked with all manner of things - books, vials of bubbling liquid, large kettles of soup, tapestries, rarity-filled cupboards. Most of all there are candles everywhere, filling each corner of the hut with light. There will be a great grey wolf lying in a corner, and a black bat sleeping in the eaves - these too you should treat like honored lords. Introduce yourself to them before taking the offered seat.

The girl will bring you many things then, but you must reject them all, even the merest cup of soup, and only ask to see the kindly ones. She will ask you why, and you must claim you wish to offer them your gifts (you did bring gifts, right?). At this, she will disappear down a trapdoor, and remain away for a while, though you should not assume you are now alone.

Then the girl will return, and kneel besides the trapdoor - in this, you should follow her example - and at last will your hosts show themselves.

First is Grandmother Drab, eight feet tall and wrinkled as a prune, wearing naught but bracelets made out of her own long-lost teeth. Her left eye never opens, which she evens out by never closing her right. She delights in speaking in a whisper, then shouting without warning and startling all that moved their ears closer - other than this mischief, she will do little harm. Her you should bring offerings of strong liquor.

Second is Auntie Olga, ten feet tall, muscular, turnip-faced, and dressed in the furs of polar bears that died by her calloused hands. She is boisterous, cruel, and easily distracted by passing fancies. A five-foot trunk serves her as a walking stick, though she chiefly uses it to break the fingers of those that displease her. Gifts to her should take the form of ancient tomes and pleasing art.

And third is Little Eimear, who in defiance of her name stands nine feet tall. She will appear in many guises, all of them flame-haired and shockingly beautiful. She enjoys wasting her supplicants' time, posing riddles with no answer and ordering the performance of pointless tasks. Gemstones are the only gift she accepts - although she delights in the taste of human flesh, she trusts none but herself to butcher and prepare it.

The three will spend their time tormenting you, taking breaks to gorge themselves on the contents of the pots or light new candles, and at last demand you state your reason for coming. It is here you may, at last, make your request of them. Perhaps you wish a curse upon your enemies, a glimpse of the future, a scrap of ancient lore. Perhaps you wish to sell your soul, and seek for them to mediate, for they know the names of many demons. Whatever your desire, act on it, then swiftly leave. Accept no offers to remain for the night, even if this forces you to camp out in the wilds.

To close, permit me to share one final warning. Should any of the three ever ask you which of the hut's witches is most powerful, apologize profusely, proclaim your foolishness, refuse to pick no matter how much they insist. Eventually, they will relent, mock your cowardice, and move on - this, I know, is the only means of survival, for none who have returned from the hut have reported doing anything else.

And yet - despite all appearances, I cannot help but wonder. While all evidence suggests that every answer is wrong, and that choosing one witch simply invites the wrath of the two others, I would find such a trick unbecoming of them - their other games are cruel, prideful, and blasphemous, but never misleading, and one who is polite beyond a fault and rather tolerant of pain should otherwise never fear for his life.

So might their deadly question, however impossibly, have an answer after all?


Spoiler: Ability Scores
Show
Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw...

Point buy: 10/12/12/14/14/16
Racial: 8/12/14/14/14/16
ASIs: +1 wisdom (4 HD), +4 charisma (8,12,16,20 HD)
Final: 8/12/14/14/15/20


Spoiler: Table
Show
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

Level Class Base Attack Bonus Fort Save Ref Save Will Save Skills Feats Class Features
1st Gnome Fey Bard 1 +0 +0 +2 +2 32: Bluff +2 (2), Concentration +4 (4), Craft (Candlemaking) +2 (2), Hide +4 (4), Knowledge (Arcana) +4 (4), Knowledge (Nature) +2 (2), Knowledge (Planes) +2 (2), Listen +4 (4), Perform (Sing) +4 (4), Profession (Astrologer) +2 (2), Spellcraft +2 (2) Evil Brand Animal Companion, Bardic Music, Counter Fear, Fascinate, Gnome Cantrips, Nature Sense, Wild Empathy
2nd Bard 2 +1 +0 +3 +3 8: Bluff +1 (3), Concentration 4, Craft (Candlemaking) +1 (3), Hide +1 (5), Knowledge (Arcana) +1 (5), Knowledge (Nature) +1 (3), Knowledge (Planes) 2, Listen +1 (5), Perform (Sing) +1 (5), Profession (Astrologer) 2, Spellcraft +1 (3) - -
3rd Bard 3 +2 +1 +3 +3 8: Bluff +1 (4), Concentration +1 (5), Craft (Candlemaking) 3, Hide +1 (6), Knowledge (Arcana) +1 (6), Knowledge (Nature) +1 (4), Knowledge (Planes) 2, Listen +1 (6), Perform (Sing) +1 (6), Profession (Astrologer) +1 (3), Spellcraft 3 Malign Spell Focus -
4th Bard 4 +3 +1 +4 +4 8: Bluff 4, Concentration 5, Craft (Candlemaking) +1 (4), Hide 6, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 (7), Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Planes) +2 (4), Listen +1 (7), Perform (Sing) +1 (7), Profession (Astrologer) +1 (4), Spellcraft +1 (4) - Resist Nature's Lure
5th Bard 5 +3 +1 +4 +4 8: Bluff +1 (5), Concentration 5, Craft (Candlemaking) +2 (6), Hide 6, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 (8), Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Planes) 4, Listen +1 (8), Perform (Sing) +1 (8), Profession (Astrologer) +2 (6), Spellcraft 4 - -
6th Wild Soul 1 +3 +1 +4 +6 4: Bluff 5, Concentration +1 (6), Craft (Candlemaking) 6, Hide 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Planes) +2 (6), Listen 8, Perform (Sing) 8, Profession (Astrologer) 6, Spellcraft +1 (5) Sacrificial Mastery Seelie courtier (Unseelie), spontaneous spells (1st—3rd)
7th Wild Soul 2 +4 +1 +4 +7 4: Bluff 5, Concentration +1 (7), Craft (Candlemaking) 6, Hide 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Planes) +2 (8), Listen 8, Perform (Sing) 8, Profession (Astrologer) 6, Spellcraft +1 (6) - Seelie Bond (immune to sleep), Summon Seelie Ally
8th Bard 6 +5 +2 +5 +8 8: Bluff +2 (7), Concentration 7, Craft (Candlemaking) 6, Hide 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 8, Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Planes) 8, Listen +3 (11), Perform (Sing) +3 (11), Profession (Astrologer) 6, Spellcraft 6 - Suggestion
9th Demonologist 1 +5 +2 +5 +10 6: Bluff 7, Concentration +2 (9), Craft (Candlemaking) 6, Hide 6, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 (9), Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Planes) 8, Listen +1cc (11.5), Perform (Sing) 11, Profession (Astrologer) 6, Sense Motive +2 (2), Spellcraft 6 Versatile Spellcaster Charm Demon
10th Demonologist 2 +6 +2 +5 +11 6: Bluff +1 (8), Concentration +2 (11), Craft (Candlemaking) 6, Hide 6, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 (10), Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Planes) 8, Listen +1cc (12), Perform (Sing) 11, Profession (Astrologer) 6, Sense Motive +1 (3), Spellcraft 6 - Quasit Familiar
11th Demonologist 3 +6 +3 +6 +11 6: Bluff +1 (9), Concentration +2 (13), Craft (Candlemaking) 6, Hide 6, Knowledge (Arcana) +1 (11), Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Planes) 8, Listen +1cc (12.5), Perform (Sing) 11, Profession (Astrologer) 6, Sense Motive +1 (4), Spellcraft 6 - Summoning Mastery +2
12th Demonologist 4 +7 +3 +6 +12 6: Bluff 9, Concentration +2 (15), Craft (Candlemaking) 6, Hide 6, Knowledge (Arcana) +2 (13), Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Planes) 8, Listen +1cc (13), Perform (Sing) 11, Profession (Astrologer) 6, Sense Motive +1 (5), Spellcraft 6 Great Fortitude Resistances
13th Sublime Chord 1 +7 +3 +6 +14 6: Bluff 9, Concentration 15, Craft (Candlemaking) 6, Hide 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 13, Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Planes) 8, Knowledge (Religion) +4 (4), Listen 13, Perform (Sing) +2 (13), Profession (Astrologer) 6, Sense Motive 5, Spellcraft 6 - Bardic Music
14th Sublime Chord 2 +8 +3 +6 +15 6: Bluff 9, Concentration 15, Craft (Candlemaking) 6, Hide 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 13, Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Planes) 8, Knowledge (Religion) +5 (9), Listen 13, Perform (Sing) +1 (14), Profession (Astrologer) 6, Sense Motive 5, Spellcraft 6 - Song of Arcane Power
15th Candle Caster 1 +8 +3 +6 +17 4: Bluff 9, Concentration +2 (17), Craft (Candlemaking) 6, Hide 6, Knowledge (Arcana) 13, Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Planes) 8, Knowledge (Religion) 9, Listen 13, Perform (Sing) 14, Profession (Astrologer) 6, Sense Motive 5, Spellcraft +2 (8) Fade Into Violence Scribe Candle
16th Demonologist 5 +8 +3 +6 +17 6: Bluff +1 (10), Concentration 17, Craft (Candlemaking) 6, Hide 6, Intimidate +2 (2), Knowledge (Arcana) 13, Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Planes) 8, Knowledge (Religion) +3 (12), Listen 13, Perform (Sing) 14, Profession (Astrologer) 6, Sense Motive 7, Spellcraft 8 - Poison Immunity
17th Demonologist 6 +9 +4 +7 +18 6: Bluff +1 (11), Concentration 17, Craft (Candlemaking) 6, Hide 6, Intimidate +4 (6) Knowledge (Arcana) 13, Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Planes) 8, Knowledge (Religion) 12, Listen 13, Perform (Sing) 14, Profession (Astrologer) 6, Sense Motive +1 (8), Spellcraft 8 - Summoning Mastery +3
18th Demonologist 7 +9 +4 +7 +18 6: Bluff +1 (12), Concentration 17, Craft (Candlemaking) 6, Hide 6, Intimidate +2 (8), Knowledge (Arcana) 13, Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Planes) 8, Knowledge (Religion) 12, Listen 13, Perform (Sing) 14, Profession (Astrologer) 6, Sense Motive +3 (11), Spellcraft 8 Craft Wondrous Item Hold Demon
19th Demonologist 8 +10 +4 +7 +19 6: Bluff +3 (15), Concentration 17, Craft (Candlemaking) 6, Hide 6, Intimidate 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 13, Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Planes) 8, Knowledge (Religion) 12, Listen 13, Perform (Sing) 14, Profession (Astrologer) 6, Sense Motive +3 (14), Spellcraft 8 - Telepathy
20th Demonologist 9 +10 +5 +8 +19 6: Bluff +2 (17), Concentration 17, Craft (Candlemaking) 6, Hide 6, Intimidate 8, Knowledge (Arcana) 13, Knowledge (Nature) 4, Knowledge (Planes) 8, Knowledge (Religion) +1 (13), Listen 13, Perform (Sing) 14, Profession (Astrologer) 6, Sense Motive +3 (17), Spellcraft 8 - Summoning Master +4
Languages: Common, Gnome, Draconic, Giant


Spoiler: Spells
Show
She knows thy thought:
Hear her speech, but say thou nought.

Spells known are listed in order learned.

Bard Spells per Day
Level 0lvl 1st 2nd 3rd
1st 2 - - -
2nd 3 1 - -
3rd 3 2 - -
4th 3 3 1 -
5th 3 4 2 -
7th 3 4 3 -
8th 3 4 3 1
20th 3 5 3 1

Bard spells known:
0: Dancing Lights, Detect Magic, Ghost Sound, Prestidigitation, Light, Summon Instrument
1: Charm Person, Hypnotism, Improvisation, Extract Drug
2: Dimension Leap, Glitterdust, Bridge of Sound, Mask of the Ideal
3: Curse of the Putrid Husk, Summon Monster III

Demonologist Spells per Day
Level 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
9th 2 - - -
10th 2 2 - -
11th 3 2 2 -
12th 3 3 2 2
16th 4 3 3 2
17th 4 4 3 3
18th 4 4 4 3
19th 5 4 4 4
20th 6 5 5 4

Sublime Chord Spells per Day:

Level 4th 5th 6th
13th 3 1 -
14th 3 2 -
15th 4 2 1
20th 4 3 1

Sublime Chord spells known:
4: Liquid Pain, Modify Memory, Voice of the Dragon, Celerity
5: Summon Monster V, Fiendform
6: Halaster's Fetch III

Wild Soul substitution list:
1: Lesser Confusion
2: Detect Thoughts
3: Poison

Final CL is 9 for demonologist and 10 for bard and sublime chord.


Spoiler: Companions
Show
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog...

Wolf:
The wolf is a 6th-level animal companion, giving it +4 HD, +4 natural armor, +2 strength and dexterity, Link, Share Spells, and Evasion. For its 4 extra skill ranks, it invests in spot.

The HD entitles it to two feats. Fey Heritage and Fey Presence are decently flavorful and quite strong, though if that gets too silly to your liking, you can always be boring and give it something like Open-Minded (for a total of 5 ranks in listen and the rest in spot) and Quick Reconnaitor.

Quasit:
This quasit's alternate form option are bat and wolf.

The quasit is a 9th-level familiar, giving it +5 natural armor, improved evasion, share spells, empathetic link, and the ability to deliver touch spells. It can also speak with us in a non-language (cool until we get telepathy) and speak with other animals of its kind (possibly letting it talk to bats or wolves? If so, it'll serve as an intermediary between us and our other companion.


Spoiler: Writeups
Show
Pour in sow's blood, that hath eaten
Her nine farrow; grease that's sweaten
From the murderer's gibbet throw
Into the flame.

ECL 5
We trade Inspire Courage (lackluster at low levels) for a wolf companion (outperforms the fighter at low levels), and we grab the gnome substitution level to let the party (including anything we summon) reroll saves against fear. It also gives us a free cantrip, and being an ice gnome lets us talk to our wolf (an arctic animal per frostburn) 1/day. Anyway, between good social skills, great Listen, Wild Empathy, and all sorts of knowledges, I think we're a pretty well-rounded character!

Spells-wise: Charm Person + Hypnotism is a busted combo early-game, Grease is great as always, Glitterdust is a huge debuff, Dimension Leap gets you out of dangerous grapples, and Bridge of Sound is a fun little mini-Wall of Force.

ECL 10
We're a fey bard, so we might as well head through Wild Soul and grab some extra spells (Lesser Confusion, Detect Thoughts, and Poison, eventually Endless Slumber and Mass Suggestion also) that all our spellcasting progressions can make use of. Our final bard level gives us Suggestion, allowing for six attempts per day at manipulating someone with no obvious casting going on. Curse of the Putrid Husk gets a save boost from us being a gnome and Malign Spell Focus, making it a ranged save-or-die roughly on par with what other casters have by now.

Versatile Spellcaster is worth pointing out for how it interacts with demonologist. As written, the feat lets us sacrifice two spell slots (from any class) to cast a spell we know one level higher (from any class). This allows us to use our bard slots to cast undercosted demonologist spells, or channel demonologist slots into the utility-focused bard list when the situation calls for it. This means that though we don't have too many spell slots, we enjoy a lot of flexibility in how we use them.

Anyway, we're in demonologist, we have a quasit, so enjoy 1/week Commune and an invisible bat-shaped scout that inherits your hide ranks.

ECL 15
Our levels in Sublime Chord help in several ways. Song of Arcane Power can boost any of our three casting classes in exchange for one of our seven bardic music attempts (which we have few better outlets for). We also get Voice of the Dragon and Modify Memory for some rather capable social interaction. More important are the level 5 spells we get: Summon Monster V is currently getting us CE monsters from the 7th-level list (arrow demons, fiendish girallons, fiendish giant octopi, plus annis hags and will-o-wisps thanks to wild soul).

Fiendform lets us turn into 'any fiendish creature, demon, or devil that can be summoned by a summon monster I, II, III, or IV spell'. Straightforwardly, we can summon a fiendish elasmosaurus, huge monstrous spider, or giant constrictor snake with those spells - can we turn into those? I see no reason why not. And while we're doing that, we might as well share the spell with our familiar and animal companion, putting three huge bodies on the field with a single standard action.

Speaking of huge bodies, Fade into Violence lets us redirect any foe that's coming a bit too close for comfort, sending him off to fight one of our summoned bodies or, at worst, our animal companion. Its benefit is lost if you attack any opponent or target one with a spell, but Summon Monster spam should be just fine - and thankfully Demonologist wants us to use that spell above all others! The feat similarly helps us get those Summon Monsters off in the first place, because people can't simply run up to you and hit you while you're casting (time it right, and the distracted foe might actually physically block anyone else who wants to get to you).

Candle Caster might seem a bit random, but Sublime Chord 3 is essentially a dead level and out of all the PrCs with first-level casting advancement, this one adds a meaningful (and flavorful!) dimension to our character. Consider that demonologist has an incredibly underleveled spell list, and you can make scrolls of Bestow Greater Curse for 200 GP (4 x 4 x 25 / 2) instead of the 1600 (8 x 16 x 25 / 2) that a sorcerer would pay. Note how your low CL is an advantage here! We'll also spin a little trick around it that'll become clear later. The prerequisite feat is almost something we'd want to take anyway, given how bad our Fortitude would be otherwise.

Lastly, consider Halaster's Fetch III. It functions 'as summon monster III' (including the expanded list) except it's (calling) instead of (summoning) and the summoned creature remains after the spell ends (though it becomes free-willed). For now, it's getting us large vipers to milk for free poison, small elementals to use as scouts, or dretches to put to work as free labor (all with some gentle prodding, which we have plenty of bard spells and charisma for - Demonologist's Charm Demon works great with Hypnosis). More importantly, this spell can fetch us sacrifices. Even if fiendish animals don't count for the baleful powers, something like a redcap is a living intelligent ensouled native of the material plane - there's got to be a dark god out there willing to take them. If we get our hands on a thinaun weapon, this also gives us a nice steady supply of souls to launder into dretches, nightmares, or bargaining chips.

(Note that per the rules for summoning, 'When the spell that summoned a creature ends and the creature disappears, all the spells it has cast expire. A summoned creature cannot use any innate summoning abilities it may have, and it refuses to cast any spells that would cost it XP, or to use any spell-like abilities that would cost XP if they were spells'. This keeps us from the coolest bits of summoning demons, so getting to subvert the rules is really nice)

But redcaps are good for more than that! By feeding one other called creatures, we can grow them all the way up to 20 HD, CR 12, 30 strength threats. Make sure to frequently use Hypnotism on them while they're still young and pliable, and you can grow yourself a small army of loyal servants. The diplomacy check to turn them friendly before Hypnotism-indoctrination gets a +2 boost from Wild Soul, +2 from Evil Brand, +5 from our charisma, +4 from synergy bonuses, and possibly +5 from Improvisation, +4 from Mask of the Ideal, and +10 from voice of the dragon, so even without ranks we're looking at... +32, which turns hostile creatures friendly 90% of the time (and 'listen to me for a minute' is a fine command to give summoned fodder). A masterwork tool covers the last bit of that gap, as does a mere +4 charisma item.

Other fun ways to ensure loyal servants: get them hooked on drugs! Extract Drug is a 1st-level spell and gives you access to stuff with a High addiction rating, while liquid pain (easily fueled by, you guessed it, called creatures) is a 4th-level cast that gives you a drug with an addiction rating of Extreme (though the fact that it takes 24 hours to produce one dose basically forces you to expose its victims to withdrawal). Lastly, even mundane intimidation will often be enough against the low-HD summoned creatures, especially if you only need them for a single task.

Note that Magic Circle Against Evil works on any 'nongood called creature', not just those conjured by Planar Binding and its ilk. That means we can call a creature into the magic circle, briefly have it act under our control but without the restrictions that summoning places on summoning/teleportation/XP-cost abilities/duration, and then leave it imprisoned at our mercy (longterm, it either goes off to the sacrifice altar annex butcher's shop, it gets tortured for liquid pain, or you turn it into a minion). Bestow Curse can be applied to cripple your prisoners, or you can just physically maim them. Calling spells are great, but why would you stoop to the level of fair deals? What are we, Lawful Evil?

Before I forget, note that all those sacrifices can earn you dark craft GP and XP, and liquid pain can be used as an XP substitute also, so those candle caster scrolls become virtually free if you can spare a sacrifice every now and then.

ECL 20
All the previous tricks get better as we get bigger and stronger summons. Halaster's Fetch III is now grabbing us things from the 7th-level summon monster list, and it's worth noting that there's no Halaster's Fetch VII. Grab three Annis Hags (not callable otherwise), have them form a coven, and enjoy access to 3/day Mind Blank, Control Weather, Mirage Arcana, Veil, Dream, even Vision.

Or go slightly smaller and summon an Artaaglith (Ghostwalk) using the 6th-level list. In the first few rounds after appearing, it can Desecrate an area and raise you an undead of up to 20 HD (fiendish monstrous spiders or girallons are great targets, or windscythes for flying brutes) and give it some brief verbal command. Keeping the Artaaglith out of earshot will keep the skeleton working on whatever repetitive task you need it for - if you want to be really thorough you can even bury the demon alive while it's still under your control. Those artaagliths you don't immure will be able to prepare any cleric spell of 3rd or lower level, massively expanding your operation's versatility.

Or grab a Babau, finally free to use its at-will Greater Teleport. Here is why we went candle caster instead of just getting Scribe Scroll - the former comes with a built-in delay. We can light a candle as a standard action, hand it to our babau, send it away, and at the start of our next turn unleash any spell we know at any location in the world. Bestow Greater Curse is probably the most potent attack to unleash that way, though given that a candle spell 'works exactly like a spell prepared and cast the normal way' we can probably access our up-list Summon Monsters this way too - a Wastrilith is a lot less scary to summon when it appears on the other side of the world and has no idea where you are. And long-range Detect Thoughts is just great intel gathering.

Summon Monster V now uses the list of IX, giving you access to bebiliths (great grappler, immobilizing web) and adarus (buff all your evil servants nearby while debuffing nonevil ones).

We get poison immunity and energy resistance to help compensate for our meager Fortitude and Reflex. Poison Immunity is also helpful while harvesting the venom of called creatures and applying it to our allies' weapons (a mere summoner couldn't really make this work). Telepathy lets us communicate with all we summon more easily, while also downplaying our role as the mastermind behind all these fiends.

Fiendform is up to Babaus and Vrocks, so we now have access to a flying form with five natural attacks, a stunning screech, and at-will Telekinesis, Mirror Image, and Greater Teleport. If the situation calls for AoE damage, you can even join up with your familiar and wolf and use Dance of Ruin that way, though I don't see this coming up much.

Our Knowledge (Religion) boosted by Improvisation and Demoncall is now up to 13+2+5+10+4= +34, so we can safely make a check to obtain 105 dark XP per sacrifice. With two batches of 1d4+1 redcaps, that's an average of 735 XP generated per day. After a few days of killing, you should have enough to construct a Pain Extractor, letting you move your high-value minions up to properly addictive drugs and giving you a potent bargaining chip when dealing with evil outsiders. You'll still have to provide the GP yourself, but agony goes for 200 GP a pop, so the machine should cover its own costs within half a year or so.

(all this industrialized evil might cause possessing fiends to arise in the area, per BoVD page 36, but Demonologist gives us two spells to swiftly deal with them, at which point they can be communicated with telepathically and pressed into service as yet another resource)

Around this time, your base has effectively become fully self-sufficient, so to reduce flight risk you might as well seal it off completely from the outside world. Your cleric demons can take care of food and water needs, ventillation can be partially covered by air vents (if necessary with fan-waving skeletons placed throughout) and partially by Ease of Breath spells, with Fiendform as a panic button if you really need to stop breathing for the next few minutes. Having one cleric walk around with plentiful Create Water spells and a Water Breathing is another good safeguard. Gold is obtained via liquid pain generation and putting skeletons to work on mining tasks (or perhaps assembly lines), XP comes from sacrifices.

Poison and elemental immunity put themselves to use in a surprising way here: they protect you from attempts to root you out by simply pouring boiling oil / burning tar / lava / poison gas down the few remaining ventillation shafts. Sure, the hags and redcaps will probably die, as will any uncontrolled undead you can't quickly drag into an airless panic room, but those are acceptable losses - you can always summon more.

And really, what could be more demonologist than that?


Spoiler: Discussion
Show
How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags!
What is't you do?

Demonologist allows us to get a ton more power out of Fiendform and Halaster's Fetch. The things we do with the former, a full caster can only replicate with Shapechange (notoriously one of the most busted spells in the game), while the latter requires Gate's XP-draining mode.

We get an array of utility comparable, or even superior to, that of a sorcerer. We resolve the tension between Charm/Hold Demon and Summoning Mastery by interacting with demons in a way that benefits from both class features. We use the sacrifice rules to get free crafting XP, and then pivot to a strategy that uses crafted items uniquely well. We squeeze extra use out of our familiar by giving it access to the shapes of powerful fiends, and we use Telepathy better than most by using it to conceal our presence - any fiend or beast in the room could be us, concealed, broadcasting instructions to all our minions. The squishiness of demonologist is mitigated by our ability to deal with danger at a distance and redirect attacks - what avenues of assault remain, we are immune or resistant to.

Moreover, we're capital E-Evil, we gain our power by summoning and binding fiends, we torture, we sacrifice, we control our servants through addiction - it's hard to imagine a more perfect exemplar of the wickedness that the BoVD encourages. We're not just a mage with a minor in demonology - everything we do is demons (except when it's fey, but that still works fine within our witch theme).

Lastly, note that unlike either wizards or sublime chords, we have access to quite some social skills. Intimidate is very rare on full caster lists - getting it together with bluff and sense motive is almost unseen. We use all these skills to great effect and have the spells to boost them further.

We do not take Dominate Demon, but we use it in spirit: completely enslaving evil beings to our will is entirely within our capabilities. We can't shortcut the process quite as well, but when you're completely self-sustaining, you have all the time in the world.


Spoiler: Sources
Show
Tell me, thou unknown power...

Ice Gnome - Frost
Wild Soul - CMage
Sublime Chord - CArc
Candle Caster - TaB

Gnome Bard - RoS
Fey Bard - UA

Sacrificial Mastery - BoVD
Malign Spell Focus - CoR
Evil Brand - ElE
Versatile Spellcaster - RotD
Fade Into Violence - PHBII

Halaster's Fetch is from City of Splendours: Waterdeep

All quotes from Shakespeare's Macbeth.