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Demons

The enemies of Humanity

A demon is something which has been twisted into a monstrous version of itself. They are beings that were once something innocent, now corrupted and twisted into a creature which gains power by the death of mortals. Even demons which were once inanimate have grown a fell intelligence, and they know what it is they do. Demons stalk the world as enemies of mortality and their guardians, rising from murderers and monsters everywhere. They are the most terrible evils in all the worlds. They kill families, kingdoms, and even worlds.   Demons have no relation with any underworld. They infest every place where mortal lives end at the hands of anything without the desire to resist the pull of power. Though some may appear sympathetic, make no mistake- every demon has killed, and found that they liked it.  

Basic Information

Biological Traits

As a demon demonizes, its physical form transforms. Its features become more brutal, its natural weapons become greater and more dangerous, its expressions fill with malice, and its eyes glow red with power. Other than those general traits, the transformation varies depending on the demon and what they originally were. The transformation generally changes to strengthen the demon's preferred method of killing. The further the demonization, the less of their original selves remain.  

Growth Rate & Stages

Nearly anything can become a demon. When something takes a life, it may begin transforming into a wicked version of itself as part of a process known as demonization. Each time they take a life, they have the opportunity to seize a part of that creature's life force and subsume it into itself as a thorn of demonic power in exchange for destroying parts of itself that don't contribute to killing. This power is difficult to resist, having a draw similar to food or reproduction. Depending on the killer, this has differing results, but always results in the loss of a part of themselves, especially for sapients.   Killers with limited intelligence like animals or elemental spirits accept the power into themselves unless they have a conflicting emotion strong enough to counter the primal pull. This power joins with them and grants them demonic intelligence and power, and the desire to continue killing.   Killers with sapience choose whether to accept the power into themselves or not, and have some understanding of what giving in to the pull entails. Creatures with souls who kill fracture their being as part of the act. The demonic power fills in these cracks and create subtle twists in personality while granting them demonic power and the pressure to feed it. These cracks will never heal once demonized.   Once a sapient killer has killed enough to become noticeably demonic, they are usually referred to as the archetype of demon they resemble the closest. Demons at this stage are referred to under the umbrella term of lesser demons. Because so many demons have existed, there is an existing name for nearly every type.   Nonsapient killers are usually just referred to with the prefix of demon before whatever they were prior to their corruption.   Mechanically, this results in the gaining of demonic features such as demonic resilience and bloodrage, and the growth of the strength or intelligence stats.   All offspring made by a demonized creature are Demonspawn, which are versions of the original creature's species which lose capacity for love and only desire killing, their own survival, and reproduction. Demonspawn are visibly more brutal and vicious. Demonspawn are also naturally predisposed towards obedience towards demons, even those not of their parentage. The more demonic, the more obedience. This changes should the demonspawn undergo demonization itself.  

Supernatural Weaknesses

Demonization is not merely a gift for the aspiring serial killer. Growth of demonic power, in addition to destroying parts of the demonized being's original self, also create Supernatural Weaknesses. Supernatural weaknesses are vulnerabilities to highly specific circumstances which result in the loss of demonic power while they persist. Such circumstances could include being attacked by someone not born from a woman, having a stake driven through the heart, being struck by a weapon made from iron which was worked entirely while cold, or even a severe peanut allergy.   Generally speaking, a demon's supernatural weakness is more specific to the demon and more dangerous for the demon the more it has demonized. In the practice of demon hunting, uncovering a powerful demon's supernatural weakness is essential to their defeat.
 

Additional Information

Social Structure

Demons grow in status among other demons as they grow in power. The only thing a typical demon values as much as killing is its own survival, so they naturally respect those stronger than themselves. This creates a tiered social structure of unruly obedience, similar to a band of outlaws.  

Demonic Classes

  Demons are generally classified for their strength and the danger they pose to the mortal world. Stronger demons are able to command more weaker demons. The following tiers are in ascending order of strength.
  • Lesser Demons are the weakest and pose threats primarily to individuals. They are more or less equal in strength to a member of their original race which has trained for combat. Requires killing a few people.
  • Greater Demons are stronger, and more distinct. A greater demon is on par with a group of trained warriors, and can threaten an entire village on their own. Requires killing a lot of people.
  • Archdemons are leaders among greater demons. They are able to slay trained warriors with ease. Their forces threaten even cities, which frequently must band together to defeat them. Requires the massacre of villages of people.
  • Demon Lords are the warlords of demonkind and the bane of civilization. They are unique in their destructive capability, and able to defeat even parties of great heroes. A single demon lord and their underlings can raze entire regions of life and civilization unless stopped by great armies. Requires the genocide of cities of people.
  • Demon Kings are an apocalypse in and of themselves. They are the culmination of the ultimate destructive power of their world, and are capable of destroying the very page the world is built upon. These fortunately number very few, and are generally contained to what remains of their ruined worlds by the structure of the tome of worlds itself. The Inferno of the world once known as Kindlin is one such Demon King, and has consumed nearly the entire world in its malevolent hellfire. Reaching this state requires the annihilation of continents of people.
 

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Demons are generally considered to be free to use for various forms of dark magic, slavery, and warfare. Generally speaking, very few people are willing to sympathize with beings which willingly enjoyed the killing of others.   Demonic body parts are also useful for the creation of artifacts and potions designed to mimic their power. Unsurprisingly, these artifacts usually also carry the malevolence of that demon, and are therefore cursed.  

Average Intelligence

Demonization naturally grants increased intellect, even for sapients.  

Civilization and Culture

Beauty Ideals

Demons generally don't care about beauty. However, an unusual number of them have specific lullabies being sung as their supernatural weaknesses.  

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Demons naturally gain the ability to speak Demonic as they demonize. Demonic is an unusual language, as it is a vulgar corruption of whatever the demon's native tongue originally was, if at all. Despite this, all speakers of Demonic are able to understand one another, even those whose Demonic is a corruption of a language which never existed.  

Common Taboos

Should a demon ever accept angelic power, their demonic power will fight it from the inside out, leaving them gravely weakened and struck with Spirit Autumn. This is a grave illness which, if it doesn't instantly kill them in a devastating explosion, swiftly tears their soul asunder and expels all life from their bodies. Surviving a spirit autumn is both rare and difficult, and leaves the demon crippled forevermore.   If a demon is ever seen without pants outdoors, it will be located and smited by the roaming goddess Sensurra.  

Common Myths and Legends

Demons are the oldest example of evil known to ever inhabit the world. It is said that the first demon was the first murderer, and the fouth sapient. That demon terrorized the first page for many years before it was finally slain by an apocalyptic flood, but its legacy remains in the demons that came after. They are the endless horde of murderers for which the world is ever vigilant.  

Origin/Ancestry
Twisted by bloodlust into terrible form
Lifespan
The effective lifespan of a demon increases as they kill and absorb the life of their victims. Their actual lifespan never increases, but they effectively regain youth by killing.
Average Height
Varies, typically taller than the parent species due to becoming a killing machine.
Average Weight
Varies, typically heavier than the parent species due to increased muscle mass.

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