When a god (or other being whose words can shape reality) speaks carelessly, those words can take form as a daemon. If a divine being screams in the throes of joy or pleasure, it's likely they simply reinforce the being that they are, or the being they are speaking to, becoming more of themselves, but if they speak emotions that bring them unease or shame, they may cast that part of themselves off, and that is the daemon. So when the god of the forge screams unholy rage, once again, at the god of war for destroying all that he has made, it's unlikely to create a daemon. But, later, when he expresses his darkest thoughts of having her assassinated, then a daemon of deceit or destruction might appear.
These daemons desire the things they were born of, seeing them as good, upright, and moral. They find hatred of that thing disturbing and a little off putting. A daemon of deceit would find plain speaking as off putting as you might find a constant liar. A daemon of destruction would find repairing or seeking peaceful conflict resolution to be abhorrent. This leads the daemons to loathe living amongst the mortal species, though some of them can stand living amongst the orcs, since they at least are willing to drive toward sensible and upright action. As such, the princes of the daemons have created the Underworld or the Hells, places outside the sight of the gods where they can go to live their lives safely, with other daemons who feel as they do. Sometimes, a mortal soul is sent to these hells when they are rejected by all the deities, which typically ends horribly.
Many who study the daemons think they are similar to the angels in power, just their evil counterparts, but this is not quite correct. The devils and the angels are the choruses that belong to deities, and a single being can be devil or angel depending on the epithet or aspect of their deity they are representing, or the role they are playing. A messenger of doom might appear as a devil, telling a king he has been cursed and will be struck down, and then later the same messenger might tell the king's long lost heir that their royal blood will restore the kingdom, this time appearing as an angel.
Daemons on the other hand are hated by the gods, and the great shame of the gods. They are tolerated only because storming the hells and doing battle is a futile gesture, since doing so would swell the ranks of the daemons so large that the gods could not hope to hold, and their fear would swell the daemon ranks even more.
The Daemons do not have a society as any mortal would understand it. They do not eat, they do not sleep, and they do not procreate, though they playact all of those things. Therefore, the fact that their society does not meaningfully have enough people or roles to probably keep functioning of it was made of mortals does not bother them. They simply keep playacting as mortals, except with strange powers and desired instilled into them by their creation.
The daemons tend to be organized socially by the concepts that create them. For the most part the gods have ideas of weal and structure as part of their world, but also ideas like bloody violence and pestilence still fall within their conception of their world. Its only when the gods speak into being ideas they don't accept as part of nature that they can create a daemon. The daemons have formed themselves into Choruses based on the impure thought that bred them. The Chorus of Deceit is born when the gods choose to lie or trick, a god cannot reject reality without consequence. The Chorus of Destruction is formed when destructive promises of the god are left impotent, they are the empty threats and words of violence which are meant but unrealized, the leftover destruction. The Chorus of Carelessness is the simplest of the Choruses, formed of the thoughts and concepts which were not properly thought, times when the gods speak without thinking, often the outcome of wide eyed innocence, or harried thoughtlessness. The Chorus of Domination is the most intentional of the Choruses, they are often considered an acceptable cost to create. When a god expresses their domination over another, gloats and preens over them, members of the Chorus of Domination are born. Finally, the Chorus of Hedonism is born of unthinking pleasure, pleasure that does not care about others and their wellbeing. Beings as potent as the gods must always be thinking of their actions and their words, else they will cause harm, and bring forth daemons.
Lifepath Time Res Stat Leads
Born In Lies 100 yrs 6 - Princes of Darkness
Skills: 4 pts: General
Traits: 2 pts: The Great Game
Swindler 60 yrs 15 +1 M Hedonism, Carelessness
Skills: 5 pts: Falsehoods, Conspicuous, Haggling, Ugly Truth, Self-wise
Traits: 1 pts: -
Sucker 50 yrs 5 - Carelessness, Armies of Hell
Skills: 3 pts: Games of Chance, Painting, Trick-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Revels In Loss
Preacher 60 yrs 8 +1 M Destruction, Armies of Hell, Princes of Darkness
Skills: 5 pts: Suasion, Heretical Doctrine, Ritual, Sucker-wise, Dead Gods-wise
Traits: 1 pts: Believer
Seducer 40 yrs 9 +1 M/P Hedonism, Princes of Darkness
Skills: 4 pts: Seduction, Poetry, Acting, Dance
Traits: 2 pts: Drop Dead Gorgeous, Alluring
Quack 30 yrs 20 +1 M Princes of Darkness, Carelessness, Hedonism
Skills: 5 pts: Bloodletting, Falsehoods, Ugly Truth, Soothing Platitudes, Medicine-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Incomprehensible Diagnosis, Fleet of Foot
Counsellor 80 yrs 30 +1 M Princes of Darkness, Hedonism
Skills: 8 pts: Persuasion, Philosophy, Soothing Platitudes, Meditation, Estate Management, Interrogation, Sympathy-wise, Foolish Daemon-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Wise, Sympathetic
Requires: Quack or Preacher
Lifepath Time Res Stat Leads
Born In Blood 80 yrs 5 - Armies Of Hell
Skills: 3 pts: General
Traits: 2 pts: Vicious
Bull 20 yrs 5 +1 P Armies of Hell
Skills: 3 pts: Mattock, Hauling, Ditch Digging
Traits: 1 pt: Brute
Fighter 25 yrs 8 +1 P Armies of Hell, Hedonism
Skills: 5 pts: Appropriate Fighting Art, Ugly Truth, Falsehoods, Provocation-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Picking Fights
Arsonist 40 yrs 15 +1 M/P Carelessness, Domination, Hedonism
Skills: 4 pts: Arson, Fire building, Inconspicuous, Fire Bombs, Building-wise
Traits: 1 pt: -
Sawbones 35 yrs 20 +1 M Deceit
Skills: 5 pts: Bloodletting, Apothecary, Poisoner, Falsehoods, Gentle Death-wise
Traits: 1 pt: -
Requires: Quack or any Deceit Lifepath
Mad Bomber 50 yrs 18 +1 M/P Armies of Hell, Princes of Darkness
Skills: 5 pts: Firebombs, Architecture, Engineering, Inconspicuous, Taunting Letter-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Indiscriminate, Short Fuse, Fleet of Foot, Wreathed In Flame, Resistant to Fire
Requires: Arsonist or Born Innocent
General 80 yrs 45 +1 M/P Armies of Hell, Domination
Skills: 5 pts: Strategy, Tactics, Logistics, Savage Attack, Battle-wise
Traits: 1 pt: -
Requires: Arsonist or Fighter
Lifepath Time Res Stat Leads
Born Innocent 60 yrs 5 - -
Skills: 3 pts: General
Traits: 2 pts: One Born Every Minute
Truth Teller 20 yrs 7 - Hedonism, Domination
Skills: 3 pts: Ugly Truth, Observation, Gossip-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Honest
Unarchivist 50 yrs 15 +1 M Destruction, Deceit
Skills: 5 pts: Research, Conspicuous, Falsehoods, Index-wise, Archive-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Messy, Misorganized
Debater 40 yrs 12 +1 M/P Deceit, Hedonism
Skills: 8 pts: Religious Diatribe, Oratory, Rhetoric, History, Philosophy, Meditation, Rule of Law, Doctrine
Traits: 1 pt: Unflinching, Sea Lion
Manufacture 60 yrs 25 +1 M Princes of Darkness, Armies of Darkness
Skills: 7 pts: Engineering, Artillerist, Signaling, Atilliator, Mason, Blacksmith, Jargon
Traits: 1 pt: -
Consumer 40 yrs 36 +1 M/P Deceit, Destruction
Skills: 4 pts: General
Traits: 1 pt: Overwhelming Hunger, Horrible Jaws, Infinite Stomach
Flesh Shaper 30 yrs 20 +1 M Hedonism, Princes of Darkness
Skills: 7 pts: Sculptor, Painting, Anatomy, Bloodletting, Architecture, Engineering, Flesh Palace-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Flesh Sculptor, Lesser Muse
Requires: This cannot be the daemon's second or third lifepath.
Lifepath Time Res Stat Leads
Born Above All 90 yrs 8 - Armies Of Hell, Princes of Darkness
Skills: 5 pts: General
Traits: 1 pt: Bloody Minded
Gloating 70 yrs 20 +1 M/P Princes of Darkness, Carelessness, Deceit
Skills: 5 pts: Conspicuous, Rhetoric, Street Fighting, Accomplishments-wise, Personal Glory-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Shouting, Cutting Words, Overbearing, The Story
Overbearing 50 yrs 17 +1 P Destruction, Armies of Hell
Skills: 5 pts: Interrogation, Appropriate Fighting Art, Heraldry, Estate Management, Worthless Slave-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Overbearing
Heel 80 yrs 20 +1 M/P Hedonism
Skills: 5 pts: Fashion-wise, Acting, Whip, Knots, Boot-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Bears the Lash, Life Drinker, Does Not Know The Difference Between Pleasure And Pain
Castled 50 yrs 35 +1 P Princes of Darkness, Destruction
Skills: 6 pts: Estate Management, Administration, Logistics, Servant-wise, Slave-wise, Cowering-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Iron Hide
Slaver 40 yrs 40 +1 M/P Deceit
Skills: 5 pts: Trapper, Knots, Haggling, Bargaining, Flesh Price-wise
Traits: 1 pt: More Than Its Worth
Amassed 100 yrs 100 +1 M,P Princes of Darkness
Skills: 8 pts: Rule of Law, Estate Management, Amercement, Doctrine of Mammon, Wine Tasting, Stuff-wise, Palace-wise, Finer Things-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Engorged, Massive Stature, Hoarding
Requires: The daemon must own at least 100 rp of property
Lifepath Time Res Stat Leads
Born In Ecstasy 60 yrs 7 - -
Skills: 4 pts: General
Traits: 2 pts: Beautiful, Terrible
Mindless Joy 25 yrs 8 - Carelessness
Skills: 2 pts: Those points must be spent on skills from other lifepaths
Traits: 2 pts: Numb to Pain, Brute
Toil 20 yrs 9 +1 P Armies of Hell
Skills: 5 pts: Farmer, Hunter, Trapper, Ditch Digging, Hauling
Traits: 1 pts: Dignity in Toil
Seducer 55 yrs 10 +1 M Deceit
Skills: 8 pts: Seduction, Falsehoods, Persuasion, Poetry, Conspicuous, Soothing Platitudes, Desire-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Mesmerizing Gaze
Flagellant 25 yrs 15 +1 P -
Skills: 2 pts: These points much be spent on skills from other lifepaths
Traits: 3 pts: Numb to Pain, Tasting the Lash
Gourmand 40 yrs 20 - -
Skills: 6 pts: Wine Tasting, Flavour-wise, Vintner, Cooking, Baking, Brewer
Traits: 1 pt: Keen Taste
Reveler 35 yrs 8 +1 P Carelessness
Skills: 7 pts: Dance, Acting, Conspicuous, Seamstress, Sing, Song-wise, Clothes-wise
Traits: 1 pt: -
Soul Taker 80 yrs 50 +1 M/P Deceit, Princes of Darkness
Skills: 6 pts: Soul-wise, Philosophy, Haggling, Bargaining, Falsehoods, Appropriate Fighting Art
Traits: 2 pts: Soul Taker, Eager For Mortals
Requires: Seducer, Gloating, or Counsellor
Lifepath Time Res Stat Leads
Fresh Blood 5 yrs 4 +1 P -
Skills: 4 pts: Soldiering, Savage Attack, Commander-wise, Torture-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Flee From Battle
Survived One 20 yrs 18 +1 M/P Destruction, Carelessness, Deceit
Skills: 5 pts: Appropriate Fighting Art, Soldiering, Savage Attack, Field Dressing, Survival
Traits: 2 pts: Veteran, Regeneration
To The Slaughter 30 yrs 15 - -
Skills: 3 pts: Savage Attack, Intimidation, Horror of Battle-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Massive Stature, Fang and Clawed, Aura of Fear, Cold Blooded
Mad Mechanic 70 yrs 20 +1 M Destruction, Carelessness, Princes of Darkness
Skills: 6 pts: Atilliator, Artillerist, Fortifications, Appropriate Fighting Art, Tactics, Fire Bombs
Traits: 2 pts: Strange Workings, Inventor
Requires: Castled, Manufacture, or Flesh Shaper
Officer 50 yrs 15 +1 M,P Destruction, Domination
Skills: 6 pts: Command, Tactics, Appropriate Fighting Art, Campaign History, Intimidation, Hordes Of Hell-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Burned Out, Mesmerizing Gaze
Commissar 75 yrs 12 + 1 P Domination, Destruction, Princes of Darkness
Skills: 5pts: Intimidation, Command, Whip, Bull-wise, Slaughter-wise
Traits: 1 pt: Shouting, Massive Stature
Hellcaster 50 yrs 40 +1 M Domination, Princes of Darkness
Skills: 6 pts: Rituals of Blood, Rituals of Night, Bargaining, Knives, Doctrine of Hell, Rituals
Traits: 2 pts: Emissary of the Void
Lifepath Time Res Stat Leads
Lord Of Pain 75 yrs 45 +1 P Domination, Hedonism
Skills: 6 pts: Torture, Interrogation, Intimidation, Anatomy, Bloodletting, Artistic Flensing-wise
Traits: 2 pts: Aura of Fear, Aura of Rot
Lord Of Chaos 70 yrs 50 +1 M Carelessness, Deceit
Skills: 4 pts: General
Traits: 3 pts: Lucky, Unlucky
Lord Of Gifts 80 yrs 90 +1 M Hedonism, Deceit, Destruction
Skills: 7 pts: Goods-wise, Bargaining, Accounting, Court-wise, Administration
Traits: 2 pts: Affinity for Business, Spendthrift
Lord Over All 120 yrs 200 +1 M/P Domination, Hedonism, Armies of Hell
Skills: 6 pts: Intimidation, Command, Administration, Amercement, Rule of Law, Bargaining
Traits: 2 pts: Overbearing, Red In Tooth And Claw, Flights of Murderous Fancy
Requires: Any other Princes of Darkness Lifepath
Not Of This World: Daemons are not able to live outside of the hells without experiencing pain. They get +1Ob to all physical actions while outside of the Hells due to their constant pain.
Unnatural Body: Daemons are made of the lies and pain of the gods. They have 10s across the board for stat caps. They often have Grey stats due to their nature.
Spirit Nature: Per the Codex, only when outside of Hell.
Possessor: Daemons can enter into a person making a Will vs Will contest. Every success they get above their target's reduces the target's Will by 1D (recovering immediately at the end of the conflict), and the Daemon losing Will in the same manner. If they successfully reduce the victim's Will to 0, then the Daemon takes over their body and they gain the Possessed trait. The pain from Not Of This World does not apply while the Daemon is possessing.
Spendthrift Dt: This daemon doesn't have any money. However, they can spend someone else they can see's resources nearby. Only magic can prevent them from being able to spend a person's money. The money simply disappears and the Daemon roll's the person's resources. This can cause houses to collapse, horses to die, and friendships to sour as the daemon taxes their way through your resources. Cost 3.
Emissary of the Void Dt: This daemon cannot Embrace the Void because they do not feel Hatred. However, due to their affinity for the Void, they can learn the Rituals of Blood and Night. Cost 5.
Aura of Rot Dt: Everything around this daemon begins to slowly rot. Spending more than a few seconds around it will begin to clean out anything nearby. Every scene this daemon does a wound equal to their Will to everyone in the scene. The Forte of the victim is used as armour to resist, but the daemon reduces the Victim's Forte by one for every hour in the daemon's presence. Cost 5.
Regeneration Dt: The daemon can regenerate from any wound. They never truly die, no matter how hard you try. They immediately recover from any mortal or traumatic wound, though take a normal amount of time to recover from any other. Cost 4.
Soul Taker Dt: This daemon can use mortal souls in a way that few others can. They are willing to accept souls in exchange for tasks, and constantly attempting to steal them.
Eager For Mortals C-O: This is a call-on for Bargaining after being summoned. Cost 2.
Terrible Dt: This daemon is horrible to gaze upon, both in aspect and deeds. All Steel tests they cause are at +2Ob.
Engorged Dt: This Daemon is massive, fully engorged upon viscera. It raises its Mortal Wound by two, but give +1D to anyone attempting to Strike the creature. Cost 5.
More Than Its Worth C-O: This daemon knows the price of a Soul. Call-on for Haggling or Bargaining, but only over Souls. Cost 2.
Cutting Words Dt: This daemon's words are like blades, slicing and tear at the recipient of their jeers. Whenever the daemon wins a Duel of Wits, the loser takes a slashing wound of a value equal to the Daemon's Will.
Horrible Jaws Dt: The daemon's jaws can bite down on anything. This is a WS - Length: Hands Pow +2 VA 3 weapon. Cost 20.
Infinite Stomach Char: The daemon can contain multitudes within itself. There is literally nothing it cannot eat. Horses, castles, people, all fit within its stomach. Its jaws distend and stretch to be able to wrap anything within itself. Cost 1.
Honest C-O: This daemon can never tell a lie. However, this acts as a call-on for Soothing Platitudes. Cost 2.
Alluring Dt: This daemon is nearly impossible to look away from, and is hard to resist commands from. They are a true presence. When they use their Conspicuous skill, they can cause harm to all those who attempt to look away equal to their successes over the target's Will. When they use the Command skill, it acts as the Persuasion spell. Cost 15.
Revels in Loss Dt: This daemon can feed upon the losses of other. Whenever the daemon causes someone a great loss, they immediately become larger. They gain a Difficult test in one of their physical Attributes every time someone feels they have lost something important to them. They gain a challenging test if they cause someone else to feel that their life is over. Cost 5.
Sympathetic Dt: The Counsellor is a seemingly wise and helpful listener. It can gain any secret from anyone is asks, as long as they speak casually for a few minutes. If the victim is aware the counsellor is able to do this, they may make a Will vs Will roll to prevent their secrets being list. Cost 4.
The Great Game C-O: The Chorus of Domination is an eternal game of courtly politics. The Great Game is a call-on trait for any roll to unravel a political situation. Cost 2.
Resistant to Fire Dt: The daemon is immune to Fire. Cost 4.
Wreathed in Flame Dt: This trait requires the Resistant to Fire trait or else the Daemon dies instantly. Anyone who comes into distance to hit the Daemon with a Long or Shorter weapon, takes a Wound equal to the Daemon's Will as they burn. This is constant and happens every exchange in Fight. The daemon cannot turn this off. Cost 8.
Burned Out C-O: The Officer has been commanding the horrific armies of hell for far too long. This is a call-on for Command, but they must attempt to kill at least one of their soldiers in order to get its benefit.
Red In Tooth And Claw Dt: The Lord Over All has managed to claw their way to the topic of the daemonic hierarchy. They, finally, are allowed to fill their every desire. And so, they simply can do so. When the Lord Over All attempt to harm another daemon with their bare hands, nothing can protect them but the daemon's own hands. No magical powers, no armour, the Lord Over All can simply choose to ignore all defenses.
Misorganized Dt: The Unarchivist will slowly destroy any archive they're in. For every week the Unarchivist spends in an archive, increase the Ob of any Research Test using that archive by 1, to a maximum of the Daemon's Will.
Does Not Know The Difference Between Pleasure And Pain Char: The Hell cannot distinguish pleasure and pain. They will cause pain exactly the same as they do pleasure, and will dole out both seemingly randomly.
Flesh Sculptor Dt: The Flesh Sculptor can modify anything made of flesh. When they touch a creature they can roll their Sculpting skill with an Ob of the Victim's Power. Meeting the Obstacle can increase the statue of one Hit Location, decrease the stature of one Hit Location, add or remove 1D from any physical stat for the scene. Every additional success can be spent to do this again. Two successes can be used to remove a Hit Location entirely, or add an additional Hit Location. The Flesh Sculptor will typically add massive artistic shapes and twists to creatures, or build massive warbeasts. If the Flesh Sculptor can spend one day per victim's Power working on a creature, the change is permanent.
Strange Workings Dt: The Mad Mechanic can build strange and impossible machines. A machine made by a Mad Mechanic is alive in some way, it can move on its own, it can speak, it can sing, it can report back to its creator psychicly. These always tend to be a little creepy.
Dignity in Toil C-O: The Daemon Of Toil must constantly work. They only feel happiness when they are currently working. This means they are masters of their craft. This is a call-on for a single Peasant skill, chosen when the trait is taken.
| Starting Age | Mental pool | Physical Pool |
|---|---|---|
| -1-40 yrs | 10 pts | 22 pts |
| 41-80 yrs | 11 pts | 24 pts |
| 81-120 yrs | 12 pts | 25 pts |
| 121-160 yrs | 13 pts | 26 pts |
| 161-210 yrs | 14 pts | 28 pts |
| 211-280 yrs | 15 pts | 29 pts |
| 281-380 yrs | 16 pts | 31 pts |
| 381-500 yrs | 17 pts | 32 pts |
| 501-600 yrs | 18 pts | 33 pts |
| 601-750 yrs | 19 pts | 34 pts |
| 751-900 yrs | 20 pts | 35 pts |
| 901-1100 yrs | 21 pts | 36 pts |
| 1101-1200 yrs | 22 pts | 37 pts |
| 1201-1350 yrs | 23 pts | 38 pts |
| 1351+ yrs | 24 pts | 40 pts |
A Burning Wheel Monster Every Week