LUDWIG: The Warlock's Desires

DEMON KINGDOMS OF THE PANDEMONIUM
Of the many Demon Kingdoms in Pandemonium, the main houses are as follows...

THE BELIAL

The Belial worship their great ruler, "Belial", knowns as the Lord of Lies. He is said to be an Unchained angel who hides in the Pandemonium to free himself from the Machine's Infrastructure. He is a master of subterfuge and deception, and along with his brother Azmodan, masterminds the Pandemonium with his backwards deals and traps. The Belial, his followers, are labeled as Imps. Imps are terrifying — the principle of Space made flesh, filtered through the horror and adversity of the Abode of Demons. Some appear to be immense monsters, while others skitter out of sight as soon as they are summoned. Imps possess unparalleled knowledge of scrying and magical sympathy, and can often advise a mage on where to look for appropriate sympathetic Yantras. Sometimes an Imp will simply open a magical portal for a mage and send her to the person she wishes to find, but usually the Imp makes the mage do her own dirty work.


JINN

Jinn (Arabic: الجن‎‎, al-jinn), also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the more broad meaning of spirits), are supernatural creatures of the Pandemonium known in early Arabian and later Islamic mythology and theology. An individual member of the jinn is known as a jinni, djinni, or genie (الجني, al-jinnī). They are mentioned frequently in the Quran (the 72nd sura is titled Sūrat al-Jinn) and other Islamic texts. The Quran says that the jinn were created from "mārijin min nar" (smokeless fire or a mixture of fire; scholars explained, this is the part of the flame, which mixed with the blakeness of fire). Most Mages believe they are a body of Demons in the Pandemonium called Wraiths. These creatures are terrifying and dangerous — they take the form of an image plucked from the mage’s mind, commonly one that elicits trauma or fear. Wraiths aren’t necessarily malicious, but they do insist on making their Trials as exacting on the mage’s psyche as possible. Mages call them up for purposes of self-discovery, often to remember details about their lives that they can’t access any other way. The mage might also summon a Wraith to learn some secret of the Astral Realm.

KANDARIANS

The "Kandarian Demon" is an ancient demonic spirit known as a Wraith. Kandarians can possess anyone with its mere touch. In its present state, it is an incorporeal evil spirit, a poltergeist of sorts with the supernatural ability to interact with objects in its vicinity. Furthermore, they have the power to possess a host, to assimilate them into a Deadite form. A "Deadite" is a person, animal, or any being with a soul, possessed by the Kandarian Demon and it's fellow spirit thralls. Unlike other demons of the Pandemonium, Kandarians are said to have been twisted by an alien-like being. While some mages feel this may be the folklorish creature, Cthulhu, other Awakened assume it is an Acamoth of the Abyss, a place of magical chaos that blocks the world of magic from the Fallen World of men. Rumor speaks of a type of book called "The Necronomicon," which allows these demons to be summoned with ease into the bodies of human victims. Only a failsafe dagger known as the "Kandarian Dagger" can destroy this book, as well as keep the demons at bay.

ONI

Oni (鬼) are best known in Japanese folklore. Depictions of oni vary widely but usually portray them as hideous, gigantic ogre-like creatures with sharp claws, wild hair, and two long horns growing from their heads. They are humanoid for the most part, but occasionally, they are shown with unnatural features such as odd numbers of eyes or extra fingers and toes. They are often depicted wearing tiger-skin loincloths and carrying iron clubs called kanabō (金棒). This image leads to the expression "oni with an iron club" (鬼に金棒 oni-ni-kanabō), that is, to be invincible or undefeatable. Oni are said to be hiding a "demon gate" in their kingdom that leads to Earth. They often steal the most potent creatures from the mortal lands in order to mate and enhance their army. In Japan, a type of Oni-Blooded known as Otodo are said to exist as a "Hunter' bloodline (Dark Eras p. 317). Oni are a type of Imp, and keep their seat of power due to sheer numbers.

The Necronomicon

A Latin translation of Abdul Alhazred’s infamous text, the book is loaded with cryptic references to slumbering eldritch deities and titanic horrors. This particular edition is a bound manuscript written in 1792 and is in excellent condition. The Necronomicon grants its equipment bonus to rolls involving entities and phenomena considered “Reality Blasphemies”

Equipment Bonus: +4
Size: 1
Durability: 1(5)
Availability: 5

Powers
The Necronomicon contains the following rituals, which can be performed by anyone with at least 4 dots of Occult. Performing these rituals is a Breaking Point with a -2 penalty.

Call of the Old Ones: This ritual summons dark, alien spirits from the Pandemonium realm. The book details a variety of such spirits ranging in power from rank 1 to rank 6.The ritual must be performed in a location resonate to death, darkness, insanity or occultism. The ritualist spends 1 point of Willpower and makes an extended Presence + Occult roll with a penalty equal to the targeted spirits rank. Each roll requires 30 minutes of chanting, meditation, and sacrifices to the beseeched entity; the number of successes required is the entities rank x 5. If successful, the entity will appear in twilight before the ritualist. While in the ritualist’s presence, the entity gains the Materialize Manifestation, even if they normally do not have it. The Necronomicon itself becomes an additional Bane for any entity that was summoned using Call Entity.

Elder Sign: This ritual can send a manifested entity back to its corresponding realm (the Shadow for Spirits, the Underworld for Ghosts, etc.). This ritual is more general, and is equally effective on any type of ephemeral being. The ritualist spends points of willpower equal to the Rank of the Targeted entity and makes an extended Presence + Occult roll. Each roll requires 1 turn of focusing and reciting the banishing incantation; the number of successes needed is equal to the entities Power +Resilience. If successful, the entity is forced to Discorporate. The ritual does not restrict the entities behavior, and it may resist the attempts to banish it in whatever way it chooses.

Drawbacks

Coveted: The Necronomicon has the Coveted Condition.

Not Meant to Know: The Necronomicon has a reputation for being cursed and that ruin comes to all who would try to learn its secrets. The possessor of the Necronomicon gained the Danger Magnet, and Obsession (Necronomicon), for as long as the Necronomicon remains in their possession.

Coveted
The equipment with this condition is of exceptional quality and distinctive style, inspiring envy and drawing hungry gazes. Once per chapter, the Storyteller may have the equipment’s owner encounter someone who wants to relieve them of the item (by bribery, persuasion, or force). Regardless of method, this attempt has a pool of dice equal to (10 - the item owner’s Integrity).
Resolution: When the coveted equipment leaves its owners possession.

Danger Magnet
Fate has it in for your character as dangerous occurrences and potentially deadly accidents follow him like a hungry dog. The Storyteller has a pool of dice equal to 10 – (character’s Integrity). Once per chapter, the Storyteller can roll these dice as a Weapon +0 attack against the character, representing a freak occurrence or dangerous mishap of some short (slippery floors, stray bullets, loose wires, etc.).
Resolution: Take damage in the characters last 3 health boxes from this condition.