Unholy Scion and Searing Seed?

[Samael Morgenst]

If an evil outsider character able to possess creatures ( example: someone subject to the Nar Fiendbond spell, which acquired 6 levels as Fiend of Possession) possesses an unborn fetus, would he be reborn with his class levels and experience, or as an entirely new level zero being?

And what would happen if he casts Searing Seed on a victim and, in those 1d3 rounds, possesses the growing demonic fetus?

And, if the victim is able to lay eggs (example: a dragon) would that change the spell effect?


Here's the data:

Conjuration (Calling) [Evil]
t y Level: Corrupt 8
F Components: V. S, Corrupt
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Close (25 ft. +5 Ft./z levels)
Target: One living creature
Duration: See text
Saving Throw: Fortitude partial
(see text)

Spell Resistance: Yes

This foul spell calls upon the seed of
an unknown evil outsider. The seed
manifests as a surging beam of black
and red fluid that arcs out of your
fingers to strike the targeted
creature: you must succeed at a
ranged touch attack to strike the
target. If the target is struck, it must
make a Fortitude saving throw.
Success indicates that it merely takes
td6 points of subdual damage per
level of the caster (maximum 25d6)
as the searing seed burns through its
entrails but fails to find purchase.
Failure indicates that the victim takes
no subdual damage, but the seed
impregnates it and begins to gestafe.

Over the nexi id3 rounds, the
victim's abdomen grows huge and
distended at an alarming rate. Each
round oF gestation, the victim is
nauseated. During this time, the spell
can be dispelled, but after the
gestation period ends, the terrible
mockery within is "bom," and it claws
its way to the outside. This birthing
process causes zd6 points of
Constitution damage to the victim. In
addition, the victim also takes td6
points of damage per caster level, to
a maximum of 25d6 damage. A
successful Fortitude save halves the
amount of damage done, Male victims
of this spell suffer double the
Constitution damage (4d6 points) and
a -6 circumstance penalty to their
Fortitude saving throw to halve the


damage done, since their bodies are
not normally capable of giving birth.

The vile, teratic baby is
superficially similar to its birthing
parent, save that it is Twisted and evil
in shape. While initially the size of an
infant, it grows to adulthood in a
single round. During this round of
growth, the baby is considered
helpless, and it has the same statistics
as its parent. After the creature is
grown, it appears to be a fiendish
mockery of its parent. Ir shares the
same statistics (including any class
levels) as its parent victim, save that
it has the half "fiend template and is
evilly aligned. The child-beast
possesses a terrible hatred for its
birth parent and attempts to kill its
parent immediately. It is otherwise its
own beast, under no compulsion to
follow the orders of the caster.

UNHOLY SCION
Not all births that follow from the mating of an evil outsider
and a mortal result in a half-fi end. If the female partner in such
a union is impregnated in an area of high taint, the result is the
unholy scion. An unholy scion can also be created when a fi end
mentally possess an unborn child within the womb. In either
case, it is a creature with fi endish power and malignance, all
the more terrifying for its ability to pass as mortal.
Even worse, the horror gestating in its mother’s womb is
already fully intelligent and possesses the ability to infl uence
its mother’s actions and observe the world through her senses.
A mortal woman in such straits is often compelled to commit
all manner of depraved acts, without ever fully understanding
why she is forced to act in such ways—at least, not until the
child is born.
Unholy scions look like normal members of their mortal
parent’s race, but they are subtly disturbing. Their features
might be ever so slightly off, their eyes possessed of an evil
gleam, or they might simply make everyone around them
nervous for no obvious cause. The overwhelming majority
of unholy scions are humanoid, although animal scions are
not unheard of.
All unholy scions are irredeemably evil. By the time the child
is born, it is no longer possible to separate the possessing
fiend from the newly developed mind and soul; they are
one, forever intertwined. The fi end can never return to its
original form, and slaying one requires slaying the other.
The precise personality of the child depends on the nature
of the fi end parent or possessor. Unholy scions formed from
devils are deceptive and scheming, while those possessed
by demons are likely to be more wantonly destructive.
Unholy scions formed from taint rather than possession
tend toward chaotic

[Crake]

Stuff like this tends to come entirely up to the DM. All of the various outcomes are just suggestions, the DM could come up with something totally different, but theres no hard and fast “RAW” for stuff like this

[atemu1234]

What on god's green earth is that first spell from? It's not the one from Book of Erotic Fantasy that grants the Half-Fiend template to the next conceived infant, and I'm fairly sure that WotC were trying to lean into being a bit more family friendly than that.

[rel]

I'd rule a fetus (or egg) isn't a creature insofar as the game rules are concerned and therefore isn't a valid target for possession.

Even if I ruled otherwise, the possessor is not the creature it is possessing and is not affected by changes to said creature. If the FoP was possessing a fetus, they are now the exact same FoP possessing a baby.

Point being, no matter changes the thing being possessed undergoes, the possessor is still the exact same fiend of possession with the exact same statblock.
They're still one good casting of exorcism away from being unceremoniously ejected from their host and dumped back on the ethereal plane.

[Crake]

I'd rule a fetus (or egg) isn't a creature insofar as the game rules are concerned and therefore isn't a valid target for possession.

Even if I ruled otherwise, the possessor is not the creature it is possessing and is not affected by changes to said creature. If the FoP was possessing a fetus, they are now the exact same FoP possessing a baby.

Point being, no matter changes the thing being possessed undergoes, the possessor is still the exact same fiend of possession with the exact same statblock.
They're still one good casting of exorcism away from being unceremoniously ejected from their host and dumped back on the ethereal plane.

The lore of unholy scions directly opposed all this. It states that a fiend possessing an unborn baby ties their essence to that body, and they are reborn as a mortal with unholy powers.

Why they would do such a thing is questionable, but I’m sure creative DMs can come up with plenty of answers

[Samael Morgenst]

The spell is from Dragon Magazine, the official d&d magazine.

The Unholy Scion template is from Heroes of Horror.

[rel]

The lore of unholy scions directly opposed all this. It states that a fiend possessing an unborn baby ties their essence to that body, and they are reborn as a mortal with unholy powers.

Why they would do such a thing is questionable, but I’m sure creative DMs can come up with plenty of answers

As ever, these are just my rulings. Run things otherwise at your own table if you like.

[Inevitability]

I think some unclarity arises from D&D using 'possession' as a generic term to describe some evil supernatural entity merging with a mortal. In different contexts, the word doesn't necessarily refer to the same mechanism. A fiend who sheds material form to become an ethereal possessor (BoVD), isn't a fiend of possession (FF), isn't a fiend with the ability to possess creatures (Fiendish Codex), isn't a fiend casting Magic Jar. All of these are called 'possession' and all of these are mechanically distinct. My argument is that the 'possess' referenced in the Unholy Scion description isn't a blanket term that covers all of those - it's just a new thing en tirely, because we have stats for an unholy scion and they don't match with any of the forms of possession that have come before.

Some (DM's discretion) fiends can possess fetuses (DM's discretion), which can (DM's discretion) result in an unholy scion being born. When it does, the template very clearly says how to determine its stats, and at no point does it say to look up the fiendish parent's class levels and factor those in. The only implication that makes sense with RAW is that the fiend is utterly undone and doesn't contribute anything beyond a generic fiendish essence and some personality traits.