Runequest Thursday #182 - Blood Demons!

Last week, I presented you with several abilities useful on either side of the war against the Blood Gods, inspired by the Savage North Setting by D101 Games. The Savage North is a great Hyborianesque setting in which the Blood Gods, ancient evils who seek to return to the world to reassert their dominion, and work through the corruptive influence of their empowered Blood, tainting men and monsters, creating slaves that are marked and bound to their service. Given the rise of the Blood Gods and their servants in the present Age in the Savage North, it makes sense that their would be gods and mortals opposed to them - some of whom would have developed special defenses against the power of the Blood.

This week, as promised, I present you with a few Blood Demons, and some other Blood-related tidbits that I have created. As mentioned in the comments for last week, any of these Blood or anti-Blood abilities would be very easy to re-skin for Chaos, Vampire, Demon, Darkness or other such forces that apply to your game, just be swapping the words "Blood" and whatever you want to use instead. There are also some demons of the Blood contained in the Savage North core book.

Blood Demons:

Blood Demons are bound to, and often created out of corrupted Blood or the energy stolen through sacrifice of creatures to the Blood Gods. They exist outside of the physical world and are alien to the Savage North (and to the rest of the world), but may be summoned to it, and can exist more or less comfortably there, depending on the specific demon and the local conditions. Blood Demons are sometimes known to have inhabited a place on the Physical plane for centuries, though the exact means by which this is accomplished is not fully understood, even by Blood Mages capable of calling them. Certainly, they may be bound to a location or into magical sigils, which is the case in Demonic Tattoos, for example. But they may also choose to stay on their own, and few Blood Mages believe themselves their masters in any practical way. They accept the risk of summoning, and the lack of control over the one summoned, as the price of acquiring a potent ally.

Demonology and Summoning a Blood Demon:

Summoning a Blood Demon requires that the summoner have a Demonology skill equal to 25% per rank of the demon you wish to summon. You must then make a check against your skill to draft a summoning ritual appropriate to the demon. This is an extended skill check which takes 1d6 Weeks of study, meditation and collection of materials, to accomplish. If you have Lore: Blood Creatures and/or Lore: Blood Magic, a success on each of these skills means you start with more information and can reduce your preparation time by 1 week each, to a minimum of 1 week. If the summoner is a devotee of the blood gods, reduce all references of weeks of preparation to days instead.

If the summoner wishes to do so, she may attempt to cast wards to protect herself from an angry demon, This requires a successful Lore: Blood Creatures check, and creates a warded area into which the demon may be summoned, Confining it there until it can overcome her in a POW contest, and granting her the effect of Mental Fortitude against that demon while it is within the ward. Summoning any demon into a ward immediately makes the demon hostile to its summoner. However, not all demons are direct in their hostility, and may choose to act however they like until they are able to take their revenge. Too, some demons enjoy the opportunity to move and act on the Physical Plane and may even accept Binding if it suits their purpose (the summoner must still Bind the Demon however, even if it is willing).

Note: A sorcerer might have the spell Ward, or Blood Ward, each of which can also be cast for further layer(s) of protection. 

At the end of the necessary time, the ritual is ready. The demonologist must succeed on another Demonology check to call the demon. The Summoner must have a binding sigil, in the form of a place or a prepared talisman (like a Demonic Tattoo), then state the Binding condition - the power which will be available through the place or talisman. The Power must be one that the demon possesses, and its level is limited to a number of ranks equal to the Summoning level of the Demonologist. For example: A demonologist could summon a Blood Shadow, and state a Binding Condition that allows the bearer of the Tattoo to cast Demoralize as the spell, at a cost of 1d6 HP of damage to the bearer.

A Word of Caution about gaining abilities through Demonic Tattoos and Talismans:

The specific abilities available are open to interpretation, but should not be available to player characters under most circumstances. Blood Magic and the summoning and binding of Blood Demons are the skills and talents of terrible Non-player characters in the setting described by The Savage North. However, if one wished to play a character that was using such perilous lore against the powers of the Blood Gods, it should be understood that actually accepting a blood tattoo carries the likelihood of being tainted by the Blood each time the power of the tattoo is used. Make a POW contest between the demon and the bearer. If the demon overcomes the bearer, the bearer acquires the demon's POW in Corruption Points. Each time this number equals or exceeds the POW of the tattoo bearer, the bearer must roll for a Corruption Effect on the Corruption Table in The Savage North. Those who are noticeably corrupt will find it very difficult to avoid hatred and attack by just about anyone who is not a devotee of the Blood Gods, and may in time be driven to seek out such dire companions in order to survive.

The Demons Themselves:

This is a rather short list, and many other terrible Blood Demons exist. But this should get you started down the right, well actually the terribly wrong, road . . .

Blood Shadow – Rank equal to their level

One of the most common demons bound into Tattoos are Blood Shadows, because they can be summoned at varying levels of power. A Blood Shadow is summoned by a Blood Sorcery, in the same way that a sorcerer could summon any other elemental. It is generated the same way (with the exception of the Intellect – below) and acts on the summmoner’s Strike Rank. Unlike other elementals, a Blood elemental does not require the direction of the Summoner to act, leaving the sorcerer to cast spells or take other action freely. This also means, however, that the Blood Shadow may act as IT pleases, rather than doing as bid by the summoner. The Summoner may attempt to coerce the Blood Shadow into following his order by spending a Major Action and making a POW contest success against the current HP of the Blood Demon.

A Blood Shadow is a malevolent insubstantial entity born of shadows and Blood Sorcery. It appears as a roiling cloud of deep red mist and darkness, which may adopt a vaguely humanoid form. Unlike typical elementals (which have no intellect, being temporary elemental constructs created by a sorcerery), a Blood Shadow has an intellect (2d6+1d6 per level of the Elemental), SIZ and HP equal to 1d6 per Level, and attacks using the POW of the Summoner. Because of its intellect, it may act on its own, or at the command of its master/summoner.

A Blood Shadow can:

1. Travel instantly to a locale or individual (a priest or agent of the Blood Gods, for example) sacred to, or infused with, the Blood, within 1000 yards.
2. Carry an object up to 5 SIZ per level of the Blood Shadow, instantly from one shadow to another within a range 10 Yards per level of the Blood Shadow, at the cost of Id6 damage per trip to itself.
3. Communicate (silently and telepathically in the case of the Blood Shadow) with other creatures of the Blood within 1 Yard per level of the Blood Shadow.
4. Attempt to smother a Salamander or Fulminar by comparing its level to that of the other elemental on the Elemental Interaction Table.
5. Grant a single individual +10% to any Skill checks for Disguise, Move Silently and Hide in Cover per level of the Blood Shadow.
6. Move itself with a 90% in any Stealth attempt when not in direct light.
7. Engulf a living target causing Demoralize on a successful POW attack, at the cost of 1d6 damage to itself.
8. Move up to 24 yards per turn in shadow, 9 normally, 3 in bright light.
9. A Blood Shadow suffers 2d6 damage each time it is exposed to normal daylight.

Binding a Blood Shadow: In a tattoo, Blood Shadows of even a Rank 1 allows the bearer of the tattoo to access a potent ability. Abilities numbered 1, 3, 6, and 7, are not dependent on the rank of the Blood Shadow or the tattoo. These are often taken with Rank 1 or rank 2 Blood Shadows for this reason. More potent Blood Shadows are generally used as the sources of abilities that grow with the rank of shadow bound. 

Special: Blood Sorcerers, and possibly other sorcerers could learn to summon a Blood Shadow, much like any other elemental, using the Conjure/ Dismiss Elemental Sorcery spell. Regardless of how common this is, Blood Shadows count as elementals for the purposes of the spell, and may be dismissed by a sorcerer with a Conjure/ Dismiss Elemental spell.

Carrion Snake – Rank 2 Demon

Carrion snakes are horrible serpentine creatures with multiple eyes, a mouthful of razor teeth and a particularly dangerous sting that acts upon the blood of the target. Covered in a boney carapace, the snake has pockets of exposed blood sacks which sometimes rupture, spreading a bloody trail in its wake. Though not particularly fast, carrion snakes are agile, and adept at avoiding perception.

		Location	Melee	Ranged	Armour	Hit Points
STR	17	Tail	1-5	1-3	4	5
CON	15	Abdomen	6-10	4-11	4	5
SIZ	14	Forebody	11-16	12-18	4	6
DEX	20	Head	17-20	19-20	4	5
INT	5
POW	16
Move	6
SR	+12
HP	15

Traits: Dark Sight, Formidable Natural Weapons

Skills: Athletics 80%, Evade 65%, Perception 55%, Persistence 61%, Resilience 52%, Hide 60%

Attacks                                  Reach             Attack            Damage          Maneuver 

Tail Sting                                2                      40%                1d6+1d4        Bloodthinner

Bite                                         1                      55%                1d8+1d4        Impale

Bloodthinner: Until this wound is Healed, any further damage sustained by the victim is increased by 1 HP.

Donate Blood: A Carrion Snake can grant blood to its Summoner or the bearer of its sigil, which does 1 HP of damage to the Carrion Snake per point taken, each point granting the effects of Heal 1 upon the bearer, or allowing the immediate recovery of 1 magic point. The Carrion Snake will recover Blood and HP lost in this way at a rate of 1d6 per day.

Binding a Carrion Snake: Carrion Snakes are often bound to beginning Blood Mages for the aid they can grant to their bearers via Donate Blood. They might also be bound as a way to gain Night Sight as a 3 point battle magic spell, or possibly to coat a weapon with their Bloodthinner (which would be usable once, at a cost of 1d6 HP to the Snake).

Blood Steed: Rank 2 Demon

These quadrupedal serpents are the result of magical hybridization by Serpentfolk Broodmages, and combine the worst aspects of a Blood Hound and a Serpentfolk Guardian. A Blood Steed is as large as a horse, but its ophidian nature is obvious in the scaly hide, the lambent yellow eyes, and the fanged head of the serpent. It is possessed of a terrible hunger and temperament. Though not as swift as a horse on open ground, Blood Steeds are adept at moving through caverns, climbing readily with the talons.

		Location	Melee	Ranged	Armor	Hit Points
STR	24	R. Rear Leg	1-4	1-3	5	10
CON	13	L. Rear Leg	5-8	4-11	5	10
SIZ	29	Hindquaters	9-10	12-18	5	12
DEX	15	Forequarters	11-12	19-20	5	12
INT	7	R. Foreleg	13-15		5	10
POW	15	L. Foreleg	16-19		5	10
SR	+11	Head	19-20		5	11
Move	11
HP	24

Traits: Dark Sight, Formidable Natural Weapons, Night Sight, Poison Bite.

Skills: Athletics 80%, Brawn 75%, Endurance 55%, Evade 45%, Perception 55%, Persistence 61%, Resilience 52%, Hide in Cover 60%

Attacks                                  Reach             Attack            Damage          Maneuver 

Dripping Fangs*                    2                      65%                1d12+1d10   Impale

*Poison Potency 13: Local Swelling and Lethargy: lose one action per round unless the victim can succeed at a Con x3% check. Each Minute, roll to resist the original potency, or lose 1 HP in location. A successful resistance roll means the poison has run its course: No further HP damage is done and the lost Action per round is regained, but not any HP lost to the poison, which must be healed in any of the usual ways. 

Binding a Blood Steed: Blood Steeds are a recent achievement of the Hybridization pits, and are still rare, especially outside of the Deepholds. They would be extremely rare as a demon bound into a tattoo. If they were, they would confer no spell or ability, but could be summoned in extremis in the way described under Demonic Tattoos. Because of their rarity and their vicious nature, they count as a Rank 3 demon when they are bound and summoned forth, doing 3d6 to the tattoo bearer, but granting the demon freedom to act, possibly saving the life of the one who called it forth.

Shroud of Silvon: Rank 4 Demon

A shroud of Silvon is a powerful servitor of the little known or understood Silvon, Blood God of the Black Sun. Silvon’s hatred of men, and the gods of men, especially the Northern Hero-God Stromgar is known, and a Shroud was responsible for safeguarding the frozen priesthood of Stromgar until they were released from their petrification by the White Dragon Knight, Aquila.

            A Shroud is a heavy bodied carapace-covered creature that is reminiscent of a bloated semi-humanoid insect. It is adept at climbing and can move easily over rocks and up slopes, but is too heavy to cling to a wall or ceiling like a spider. It prefers to lurk in the shadows, blending into them to a supernatural degree such that it remains only partially solid.

            The drives of a Shroud are not known, and they may have none other than those given to them by Silvon. It is known that they will fight to their own destruction rather than flee to safety.

		Location	Melee	Ranged	Armor	Hit Points
STR	30	R. Leg	1-2	1-2	7	13
CON	30	L. Leg	3-4	3-4	7	13
SIZ	38	Body	5-10	5-11	7	20
DEX	12	L. Foreleg	11-12	12-13	7	14
INT	17	R. Foreleg	13-14	14-15	7	14
POW	24	R. Arm	15-16	16-17	7	14
SR	15	R. Arm	17-18	18-19	7	14
Move	10	Head	19-20	20	7	10
HP	34

Traits: Night Sight

Shadow Insubstantiality: 40% chance of any physical attack missing whenever the Shroud is within a shadowed or semi-darkened area.

Blood Sorcery [Manipulation Limit 6]: Heal/ Wound 4 - 80%, Countermagic 6 - 70%, Drain Dexterity 4 70%

Skills: Athletics 85%, Evade 30%, Perception 60%, Persistence 43%, Resilience 77%, Stealth 60%, Survival 60%, Track 60%

Attacks           %        Reach              Damage                      Special

Halberd          90       4                      1D10+2+1D10          Entangle

Tusks              80       0                      2d6+1d10     Toss (STR vs STR)

• Entangle: The Halberd’s many blades catch in the armor or flesh of the target on a special success, negating the use of the halberd, but immobilize the location gripped, and inflicting Disadvantage on any Defensive Action (Parry Evade, etc) on the part of the target. If they target can make a successful Evade or Dex x3%, it can remove itself from the entangle. The Shroud may not use the halberd while it is entangled and switches to its Tusk attack.
• A special with Tusk allows the Shroud to attempt to toss the target (distance 1 yard per 5% percent by which the STR contest was successful) in a direction of the Shroud’s choice. It will use this ability to hurl foes off of ledges or cliffs whenever possible.

Binding a Shroud of Silvon: Such a potent Blood demon could grant up Sorcery spellcasting, though not any of the ability to Manipulate the spell, up to a number of ranks limited by the level of the Tattoo sigil (at least Rank 4 if that is known by the Shroud, since the tattoo must be Rank for or Higher to Bind a Shroud). In extremis summoning is likely to kill the tattoo bearer, but a fortunate bearer (or one with a lot of POWer and Healing) might survive.

Obviously there is a fair amount of room to expand here - more demons, different bindings, sigils, etc. We will probably do some of that. If you do, go ahead and link to it in the comments.

Other things that are relevant, that I have previously done, I will post in the comments.