Oh hey, it’s been a really long time since I’ve touched this series. I’ve done a ton of Planescape reading, between Hellbound and Faces of Evil. There’s enough there that I haven’t really scratched that surface yet, but I’m plowing ahead. That’s the power of CHAOS, baby! Because today, I’m covering the demon and tanar’ri side of Fiend pacts.

Summer Court | Gloaming Court | Devils/Baatezu | Demons/Tanar’ri

Demons/Tanar’ri: Positive Relationship

Even more than the devils, it’s hard to imagine heroic virtues aligned with corruption and annihilation of the Material Plane. When you break it down, I don’t want to see demons be Just Misunderstood. Now, if you believe that the order of reality as it exists is corrupt and it needs to be destroyed just a little bit, that’s pretty doable, but tapping into demonic forces for that is and should be a high-risk prospect. You probably get way, way more than you bargained for.

Abyssal Favor

How did you enter into your pact or relationship with a demon lord of the Abyss?

d6         Circumstance
1            An incubus or succubus held your attention and drew you in with promises of unparalleled pleasures, if only you pledged your devotion to the demon lord they served.
2            A presumed-dead ancestor pledged one member of your family in each generation to the demon lord’s service.
3            You were cast out by the strict order of your hometown. If you are to be treated like a monster anyway, why shouldn’t you gain a patron’s backing?
4            A foul cult planned to sacrifice you to their demon lord, but their ritual went awry. You emerged from the carnage unharmed but with a patron and a pact.
5            Devils ensnared someone you cared for, and the Abyss promised you revenge on the agents of Nessus.
6            You looked too long upon lore of the Abyss and saw a word of awful power. When you spoke it aloud, the pact was complete.

Abyssal Devotion

As you dedicate yourself to the demon lord’s service, consider replacing or adding one of the following to your ideals.

Abyssal Ideals

d6         Ideal
1            Ambition. There is no barrier the Abyss can’t help me pull down.
2            Freedom. I will render unto the Abyss all the burdens of life, and be free.
3            Stewardship. The Abyss exists whether I serve it or not, so I keep some things safe from it while other things are destroyed.
4            Mastery. I will become truly great, for power is the only law of the Abyss.
5            Daring. I never feel quite so alive as when I’m staying one step ahead of annihilation.
6            Rebirth. The demon lord has promised to return something that was consumed by the Abyss, at the end of my lifetime of service.

Earning and Losing Piety (Favor)

You increase your Piety score with the Abyss when you destroy something of great significance, sever binding oaths, and cast down figures of authority.

• Destroying an object of sentimental value, to yourself or someone else
• Slaying a celestial or devil
• Slaying a humanoid in a position of authority
• Treachery against a direct superior
• Convincing someone to break an oath or contract
• Acquiring souls or blood sacrifice for the Abyss
• Destroying sources of security against monsters

Your Piety score decreases if you show sincere loyalty to anyone other than your demon lord patron. False shows of loyalty to lull a future victim into a sense of security are acceptable.

• Honoring an oath or contract when you aren’t compelled by superior force
• Displaying weakness or sentimentality in public
• Permanently warding a location against the Abyss

Abyssal Recruit
Piety 3+ Abyss

When you fail a death saving throw, you regain an expended Pact Magic slot or an expended spell slot of 1^st or 2^nd level. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum 1), and regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Abyssal Marauder
Piety 10+ Abyss

You can cast shatter with this trait, requiring no material components. Once you cast the spell in this way, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell.

Additionally, you have advantage on saving throws against the paralyzed and stunned conditions.

Abyssal Warlord
Piety 25+ Abyss

You gain an additional Eldritch Invocation or supernatural gift that is appropriate to your Patron.

Abyssal Conqueror
Piety 50+ Abyss

You can increase your Constitution or Charisma score by 2, and also increase your maximum for that score by 2.

Abyssal Iconoclast

The more likely heroic position, if a demon lord is your patron, is opposition. Resisting the influence of the Abyss while wielding its power might mean joining some kind of penitent order, serving another power, or rejecting all cosmic influences upon the Material Plane.

Tier 1, 1^st to 4^th level

Quest Goal:

• Help an outcast rejoin society
• Construct defenses to protect a settlement
• Slay a group of least demons or one lesser demon

Reward: You can cast protection from evil and good without expending a spell slot. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain expended uses when you finish a long rest.

Tier 2, 5^th to 10^th level

Quest Goal:

• Slay a warlock who faithfully serves your Patron
• Infiltrate and betray a cult that serves your Patron
• Destroy a shrine or place of sacrifice dedicated to your Patron
• Defeat a group of NPCs sent by your Patron to capture or kill you

Reward: You can cast protection from energy without expending a spell slot. You can expend two Hit Dice to cast this spell as a reaction to taking damage from a fiend; the spell’s effect applies to the damage you take. Once you use this trait, you can’t use this trait again until you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell.

Tier 3, 11^th to 16^th level

Quest Goal:

• Expunge an Abyssal infection from a region of the Material Plane
• Draw your Patron into direct conflict with one or more other demon lords
• Steal the token that signifies your bond with your Patron

Reward: You can cast dispel evil and good with this trait, requiring no material components. Once you do so, you can’t cast it in this way again until you finish a long rest. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for this spell.

Tier 4, 17^th to 20^th level

Quest Goal:

• Slay, banish, or imprison your Patron
• Arrange for your Patron’s layer of the Abyss to be usurped

Reward: You can increase your Constitution or Charisma score by 2, and your maximum for that score by 2.

As with the baatezu in Part 3 of this series, Iconoclasm wants to lean really hard on Abjuration. The reasons for this are obvious, but I do hate all of the Iconoclasm progressions being too similar. That’s… still a problem for another day, though I’m taking suggestions.

Next up, daemons/yugoloths! (Still trying to figure out if I have enough to say about gehreleths.)

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