[Thaumatology] A very different take on the Demonologist

[vicky_molokh]

Greetings, all!

This is one idea I might use in whatever campaign involving magic and other fantasy stuff to break the cliché. Decided to share it for others to see and use. The surprise value is increased against players who don't know all the fluff in such a setting, but it might be worthy of the unexpected twist in its own right.

First, base assumption about the nature of demons:
The local demons in a setting should not be irredeemable spirits of ultimate evil. Instead, they should be reasonably intelligent (IQ8-14 or so), at least partially corporeal creatures with a Blue And Orange Morality (defined as a Code Of Honour) which makes them sometimes do nasty things (but mostly just creates moderately incomprehensible goals for them). Most of them are acting according to the contracts they agreed to when they were created (or became demons), and a majority of those probably no longer remember what were the reasons behind the tenets of the contract, or maybe even the spirit of the rules.
Some are free to roam the world, while others slumber in dimensional pockets, waiting to be summoned by someone who knows enough about them to bind them into (mutual) service.

A Demonologist
. . . is a person who is proficient enough in the lore of these contracts to do at least one of the following:

• Bind a demon into a service (the nature of which usually depends on the contract ruling this particular demon). The price is typically a service in exchange of some sort (Sense of Duty or Duty counts), or the fact that such an Ally is simultaneously an Enemy (usually a Rival). In either case, the demonologist and the bound demon are linked as per Sympathy (B38, Allies), at either the -25% or the -50% level. Such Allies are possibly Unwilling, or have a Frequency Of Appearance used to represent their fickle nature (only serves when the Stars Are Right etc.). Notice that they do not usually possess the Summonable trait.
• Barter human traits (not necessarily Traits) for demonic ones. A small-t trait can be represented either as an Advantage or a Disadvantage, or even a Meta-Trait. This ability is very flexible. For instance, one can gain Claws (demonic) in exchange for gaining a demonic a couple of demonic Quirks (usually mental) or some Unnatural Features, or one could gain Curiosity of Tinker Demons (or whatever) in exchange for the Incurious trait that was gained through upbringing in a gray human city. In general, the process is represented by adding or removing one Trait or Meta-Trait, and then adding or removing another, and paying any point difference if necessary. In either case, the barter usually involves some level of unpredictability, as the ability of a demonologist to precisely define what s/he is willing to trade for exactly what is limited by skill. The GM (optionally in the guise of a demon - see below) is free to alter the interpretation of the listed. Special considerations on where traits may be gained and where they go:
  • The demonologist may barter with The Force of Demonic Contracts. This is the most flexible choice (any demonic traits the PC knows of, and any human trait s/he has is fair game), but also the most dangerous (the PC gets no chance to discuss the bartered traits with the Force, and has no specific person to blame for an exchange s/he regrets). If buying supernatural Abilities as opposed to innate traits characteristic of the physical/mental nature of a demon, the GM may optionally offer to buy them with a strange Pact limitation instead (GM's choice where the blurry line between traits and abilities lies).
  • The demonologist may barter with a roaming demon. In this case, the PC may buy traits either possessed by the demon (the demon does not necessarily lose these traits in the process!), 'stored' by said demon from earlier trades, or 'licensed' to the demon by other demons (or by The Force of Contracts!) to trade as if they're its own. Free-roaming demons may or may not have limits on trading with a stranger. Either way, there is a certain degree of paranoia involved, since the free-roaming demon may mislead the PC (but not outright lie . . . at least there were no such known cases!), and may leave freely even if the PC is non-content later, never to be found again.
  • The demonologist may barter with his/her bound demon. This is the safest (the demon knows that angering or harming the bound human will have serious negative consequences), but usually most limited choice (bound demons are less likely to have 'stored'/'licensed' traits).
    It should also be noted that the more 'stored' and 'licensed' traits a demon has, the more likely it is to be more experienced in demonic contracts than the PC, with all that may or may not imply. The GM decides what what demons get access to what licenses, but a handful of unrelated traits tradeable once (e.g. one specific build of Claws and four specific but distinct Afflictions), or an infinite supply of traits from a small group (e.g. all RAW Strikers, all Talents which only include DX-based Skills, or all Appearance-based Advantages and all Appearance Perks) is probably worth one Perk each for the demon.
• 'Rent' demonic abilities from a bound demon (or, rarely, from a free-roaming one, for a limited time). Game-mechanically, this is typically represented by buying an Ability with the Granted By Ally limitation (applying to a bound demon). The price for renting them may be in the form of a self-imposed Code of Honour or Vow, a duty to the demon, or whatever the GM deems appropriate. However, this price is often trivial for the character (at least compared to some of the other options), and thus the player has to pay earned CPs. The line between traits and abilities is a blurry one.

On Demonic Traits
Remember, demons are not necessarily evil - they're just very strange, with convoluted rules of behavior. Here are some sample traits (including abilities) that a demon (or demonologist) might possess:

Superhuman strength, agility, beauty etc.: just buy the stats or Advantages
Natural weapons: Strikers etc.
Intellectual abilities not normally available to humans, but not quite supernatural: Intuitive Mathematician, Compartmentalized Mind etc.
Supernatural abilities: fire breath, insubstantiality, Oracle (provides literal hints open to interpretation), Demonic Wishmastery (Serendipity, Affect Others Only, +100% Wishing, -100% GM is free to misinterpret stated wish) etc.
Note that none of this involve casting spells using the Standard Model.

Quirks, Vows, Divine Curses and Codes Of Honour:
A special consideration goes to the rules by which demons (and potentionally demonologists) live. Most such traits - even the smallest Quirks - should have at least a touch of absurdity, such as never eating from red plates, always washing the right hand twice before entering an administrative or religious building, or making sure one makes an even total number of steps per level of a ladder. The most common Quirk is 'Tries as much as possible to make all statements technically true one way or another'. There is a more severe form of this Demonic Truthfulness (which is probably worth around -5, maaaybe -10 points depending on how cruel and inventive the GM is):
Whenever the GM says so, the PC must tell all truth (as if s/he has utterly failed Self-Control for Truthfulness) about the topic at hand, with no omissions and no attempts to mislead.

How does it look?