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View Full Version : Abyssal Pacts: Binding Demon Princes (New Vestiges)



Xefas
2014-02-07, 10:39 PM
So, I'm half-assedly answering Zaydos' call to brew. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=329799) I'm honestly surprised it's something that hasn't been done in the playground at least once; we've had plenty of support for things like fey and celestial Warlocks, but no infernal or abyssal Binders? It's strange.

Anyway, I've done a couple of the Demon Princes. Feel free to critique, and add your own to the list. I'll probably do a few more, but there are dozens of Princes we've got names for, and theoretically hundreds more, and my random lark does not extend to doing all of them. :smalltongue:

I hope the ideas I do have are cool, though.


Binding a Prince or Princess of the Abyss
Playing host to the pure essence of Chaos and Evil is a foolish act at the best of times, but the blood-soaked multiverse that spins upon the Great Wheel ensures that there are always those desperate or ignorant or psychotic enough to pursue such a goal.

A Binder cannot have an active pact with both a Demon Prince and a lord of a different Outer Plane (such as the Celestial Hebdomad, or the Archdukes of Hell), though they may have pacts with multiple Demon Princes at one time.

As a special rule, the bound energies of Demon Princes are more temperamental than those of other patrons. In addition to each Prince's unique Influence, all Demon Princes are considered to have the Influence: "Do not put the desires of a group above your own desires. Do not act selflessly in the aid of others. Do not sacrifice for others' benefit. Do not respect authority that is not backed by threat of force. Do not waste time and energy to respect the sensibilities of others if a simpler and more effective solution presents itself." This Influence, unlike the Influences of individual pacts, instates itself regardless of whether the Binder has made a good or poor pact.

In addition, if a Binder accrues a total -5 penalty for denying the Influence of a single Demon Prince, the Prince's power explodes in indignant rebellion, overtaking the Binder's mind and body in the process. First, all Influence penalties effecting the Binder are removed, including ones not inflicted by the Demon Prince itself. Second, the Binder's personality is altered to match that of the rebelling Demon Prince; though through a mortal perspective, and with the mortal's mental capacities. Although the Binder may act completely differently than how they normally would, because of their consensual acceptance of the pact in the first place, this is not considered a breach of their free will, and all actions they take during this time effect their alignment normally, and effects that require the Binder to be free of magical coercion for them to take effect are not impeded by this temporary psychosis. Thirdly, the newly deranged Binder becomes aware of all [Mind-Affecting] effects currently active on him, and may automatically negate any that he pleases; such is the freedom that madness provides. For the duration, any [Mind-Affecting] effects that would compel the Binder to act counter to the rebelling Demon Princes' personality is automatically negated. The duration of the rebellion is equal to 1 hour per point of Influence penalty the Binder was suffering when the Prince first rebelled, at the end of which, the rebelling Prince's pact is instantly unbound. A Binder can only suffer from one rebellion at a time, though Binders stupid enough to bind multiple Demon Princes may instantly suffer a second rebellion after the first one concludes if their deranged self accrued a large enough Influence penalty in the interim.

Pazuzu, Prince of the Lower Aerial Kingdoms
Vestige Level: 8th
Binding DC: 35
Special Requirement: You must drop an avian feather onto the sigil as you speak Pazuzu's name once.
Manifestation: As the feather is moments from touching the ground, it whips suddenly through the air, shearing itself to nothing with a speed that sends wind rushing in all directions and a sound like windows shattering from a sonic boom. As the world stops vibrating, Pazuzu stands before you.
Sign: You grow a set of four bird-like wings.
Influence: When you give aid to a creature that you would expect payment from, you must attempt to haggle some form of service from them in place of some or all of your payment. The service you ask of them must be aimed at corrupting them towards chaos or evil (optimally, both), though the influence may be subtle.
Granted Abilities:
Hollow Wings of the Sky Demon: You gain a Fly speed equal to (your land speed +30ft) with perfect maneuverability. This ability only functions while you display Pazuzu's sign.

Ouendan!: When a creature on the same plane as yourself utters your name three times in quick succession, you establish a link with them for the next minute. You may use a Knowledge (Geography) check to discern where they are in the world, by sensing their general distance and direction from you. You may hear everything they say, and understand them regardless of language, and use the Sense Motive skill to examine their statements. Finally, you may use your Pazuzu's Intuition ability on them, despite the distance they might be from you. Before the minute is up, if you so choose, you may teleport adjacent to the linked individual as a full-round action.

Pazuzu's Intuition: As a standard action, you may replicate the effects of one of the following spells: Detect Good, Detect Law, or Detect Thoughts.

The Dark Powers Are Always Willing To Help: As a full-round action, you may bestow a blessing on an adjacent willing subject. You choose one of the following bonuses, and then may attach a stipulation to the gift. This stipulation must be relayed to, and understood by, the recipient of the blessing before they consent to receiving it. It may denote actions that you require them to perform, or actions that you require them to not perform. It may apply a set duration for which the gift is valid for, and no longer. If the creature breaks your stipulation, you are aware of it, the bonus you granted them is immediately revoked, and they suffer an effect identical to a Bestow Curse spell, shaped to your choosing, to which they receive no save to resist, having implicitly waved that right when they accepted your deal. You may lift any curses you have inflicted with this ability with a mere thought. When Pazuzu becomes unbound to you, all gifts, curses, and active stipulations disappear; the recipients of your weal and woe feel this, but are not necessarily aware as to why.

Bonuses:
+4 profane bonus to one ability score.
+6 profane bonus on checks with one skill.
Immunity to poison.
Immunity to disease.
The recipient no longer needs to eat, drink, or sleep.
Altered physical qualities, though still within the natural bounds of their race.
Birds and insects of animal intelligence or less ignore the recipient unless directly provoked.

Yeenoghu, Prince of Gnolls
Vestige Level: 6th
Binding DC: 27
Special Requirement: The pact sigil for Yeenoghu must be either drawn in blood, or adorned with ritual totems that include the bones and teeth of animals.
Manifestation: Flecks of blood rain upward from the earth, slowly at first, but eventually in a torrent, drenching the surround area in the stinking liquid. From the pooled blood rises the grinning visage of the Prince of Gnolls.
Sign: The bone structure of your face contorts and elongates to eventually take a shape resembling the muzzle of a hyaenidae. This is all the more horrific if you lack fur.
Influence: You take no prisoners, and show no mercy once you have decided to act with violence. The defeated must die, for their weakness is a sin that cannot be abided to exist, no matter what practical advantages their life could provide.
Granted Abilities:
Face of the Grinning Butcher: You gain a +4 circumstance bonus on Intimidate checks, and may substitute an Intimidate check for a Diplomacy check when attempting to use Diplomacy on Gnolls. This ability only functions while you display Yeenoghu's sign.

Fearsome Charge: You may charge through difficult terrain, and movement you take while charging an opponent does not provoke attacks of opportunity. If you hit, and dealt damage to, an enemy with an attack at the end of your charge, you may make an Intimidate check as a free action to Demoralize them.

Hyena Senses: You gain the Scent special quality, and Darkvision out to 60ft. This ability only functions while you display Yeenoghu's sign.

The Laughing Horde: As a full-round action, you may unleash an inhuman deluge of laughter that penetrates the barrier between worlds, and pulls forth a bloodthirsty Mob of Gnolls from Yeenoghu's realm. This functions like a Mob of Humans (Cityscape), with +4 Str, +2 Con, -2 Int, -2 Cha. They appear in an open adjacent space of your choice, heralded by a geyser of blood, and follow your commands to the best of their ability. Once the Mob is reduced to 0 hit points, it is routed and the constituent gnolls return to their Prince. They may be dismissed entirely as another full-round action. You may not use this ability again until 5 rounds after the Mob has been routed or dismissed.

Once your effective Binder level reaches 14, you may summon two Mobs of Gnolls at once. When you take an action to dismiss one, both Mobs are dismissed.

At effective Binder level 17, you summon three Mobs. At level 20, you summon four.

Reckless Violence: You gain Power Attack as a bonus feat, and when you accept an attack penalty equal to your base attack bonus (or higher - see the second line of this ability) with the Power Attack feat, you deal additional damage as if you had taken 2 more points of attack penalty than you actually did. If you already possess the Power Attack feat, your base attack bonus is treated as 5 higher than usual for determining the maximum penalty you may take on attack rolls with the Power Attack feat.

Zuggtmoy, Our Lady of Fungus
Vestige Level: 3rd
Binding DC: 22
Special Requirement: To call upon Zuggtmoy, there must be some amount of fungus growing within her sigil. Even something as simple as moldy bread or a plucked mushroom will suffice.
Manifestation: The mold provided for her sigil begins to grow and pulsate, eventually popping like an over-full boil, releasing a cloud of spores that coagulate into the likeness of the Lady of Fungus.
Sign: You grow small clusters of benign fungi in random patches around your body. For a beautiful character, they may appear elegantly, and with convenient enough placing, that one could be mistaken for an exotic fey. Ugly characters become hideous beyond reason, and tend to send trypophobes running for the hills.
Influence: You must act with empathy towards fungal organisms, reacting with anger at their destruction, and satisfaction at their health and well-being.
Granted Abilities:
A Fungus Among Us: Mindless fungi ignore you unless you act with hostility towards them first. This includes Shrieker fungus, which will not unleash its iconic scream in response to your presence. This ability only functions if you display Zuggtmoy's sign.

Infectious Boon: As a full-round action, you may unleash a cloud of spores that take root in the flesh of all living creatures within 20ft. Unless they make a Fortitude save or resist, the spores grow over the next round, become sparse patches of mushrooms all along the host's body. This grants them the Sporeblood, Putrid Resilience, and Fungus Among Us abilities listed here. The mushrooms, and their associated benefits, will survive indefinitely as long as their host remains within 20ft of you, plus one hour afterward. Else, the spores will need to be reapplied. You must be displaying Zuggtmoy's sign to use this ability.

Mind Like A Moldy Tome: You make Knowledge (Nature) checks to identify fungi as if you were Trained in the skill, and gain a +10 insight bonus to do so.

Putrid Resilience: You gain Faster Healing as a bonus feat (CW).

Sporeblood: You are immune to disease and poison.