Summoning and Channeling
The heart of daemonology is the summoning or channeling of daemons. Direct contact with daemons is necessary to negotiate pacts.

Preparing the Ritual Circle
Summoning a daemon requires preparing a ritual circle, an environment the daemon can influence just enough to make an apparition appear. Ritual circles can be drawn quickly or hastily, as quickly as with a round of effort and some charcoal, chalk or blood for the practiced daemonologist. Ritual circles always need to involve arcane reagents in their creation, in order to empower the summoning magic.

Summoning a random daemon requires a ritual circle worth 100 arcane reagents, and a threshold 7 Intelligence check. This can be performed in a turn.

Summoning a particular servitor daemon also requires 100 arcane reagents, knowledge of that servitor daemon's seal, and a threshold 7 Intelligence check with a -1 penalty. Evoking a particular servitor requires an hour of ritual.

A particular duke daemon requires 200 reagents, knowledge of the duke's seal, and a threshold 7 Intelligence check with a -2 penalty. This requires great ritual and preparation, and requires eight hours.

Summoning a lord daemon requires 300 reagents, knowledge of the lord's seal, and a threshold 7 Intelligence check with a -4 penalty. The great consecrations necessary to prepare for a lord daemon requires a full 24 hours of meditation, banishing rituals and other preparations.

The reagent costs above represent the bare minimum. If double the necessary number of arcane reagents are used to summon a daemon, some spirits are inclined to offer special pacts or grant other gifts to "gracious hosts." Doubling the reagents used also affords a +2 bonus to the Intelligence check for the summons.

A failed summoning has no ill effects, other than the reagents being lost. The summoner will not be able to attempt another summoning until sunset the next day.

The Summoning

Once a daemon is called, it will appear as an apparition in the center of the ritual circle. Each individual daemon has countless facades and aspects it can show; many appear as ordinary-looking men and women, but some choose to appear as animals, monstrous chimerical beasts, or even as abstract patterns or seemingly inanimate shapes. Regardless of their appearance, daemons cannot be meaningfully interacted with through any means other than the negotiation of magical pacts.

As soon as a daemon first appears, or as soon as any individual first sees a daemonic apparition or channeling, they must make a Morale check. This is the only time player characters are required to make Morale checks, and they should consider themselves to have a Morale of 7 for these purposes. Players can add their Charisma modifier to this check, but specialties and relationships never apply. Some daemons are particularly fearsome and add a penalty to the Morale check, but this can be defrayed with proper preparation, such as magical rings or hazel wands.

Channeling

Channeling is a special method of summoning, providing a ritual vessel for the daemonic entity to inhabit. This blunts the surrealness, terror, and raw force of the daemon's manifestation, providing a Morale bonus to the summoner and all witnesses. Almost any object can be used to channel a daemon: even another person can be used, who acts as a medium mentally connecting to the demon and appearing to be "possessed" for the duration of the negotiation. The smaller the object, the greater the Morale bonus afforded, and the more expensive the channeling is to create.

Common items used to channel demons include magic mirrors, dolls or mannikins, masks, bowls of water, paints or dyes, and crystals or precious stones. The object is "colored" by the daemon for the duration, taking on some of the traits of the daemon in question, but not actually allowing the daemon to fully manifest.

Channeling must always target a specific daemon, requiring knowledge of that daemon's Seal. Channeling a daemon into a large object, like a load-bearing pillar in a dungeon or a heavy golden idol requires 1000 arcane reagents and affords a +1 Morale bonus. Channeling a daemon into an object no heavier than 100 pounds, or about the size of a person, requires 2000 arcane reagents, and gives a +2 Morale bonus when the daemon is interred in a vessel of this size. Very small handheld channelings, the smallest of which are about the size of a human thumbnail, cost 3000 arcane reagents and afford a +3 Morale bonus. These costs assume that daemon being channeled is a servitor. Costs are otherwise doubled for Dukes and tripled for Lords.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:59, Tue 02 July 2019.

The Pact

After the daemon is summoned, a pact can be negotiated. Pacts are the foundation of magic on Zardow and the source of all spells.

Negotiation varies between daemons and between summoning. The daemon will usually inquire as to who summoned it, and for what purpose. Other daemons might simply wait for the bargainer to begin speaking. The person negotiating the pact need not necessarily be the same person that summoned or channeled the daemon.

Successfully negotiating with a daemon requires a threshold 7 Charisma check. Those who fail this check are deemed unworthy or undeserving by the daemon. They refuse to negotiate with that individual until summoned again, at which point they will negotiate again without complaint. Many suspect that daemons are unable to differentiate between individuals, or perhaps that their memory "resets" between summonings.

Little is known and much is suspected about daemonic pacts and exactly how they work, but what is irrefutable is that all daemonic pacts forged to date follow roughly this template:



The daemon name and office simply indicate which particular daemonic entity is empowering the pact. "The Boon" is the term used by daemonologist to denote the item, sorcery, knowledge, or other advantage the daemon offers. Some Boons award the signatory powerful new specialties or other material rewards. Other grant the ability to cast specific spells (either once and once only, or more commonly once a day or once a month). Some Boons can do other incredible things, such increase an attribute to 18, create magic weapons and items for the daemonologist to use, or other incredible things.

The Price is what the daemon charges for use of these wondrous powers. Prices come in three major types, categorized by daemonologists as Tithes, Ordeals and Bans. Tithes are perhaps the simplest, but also the easiest to accidentally violate. Tithes entail a recurring but (usually) minor fee, paid by some unusual or unlikely means. A common Tithe, for example, requires the daemonologist to bury a discrete quantity of gold and silver under the earth once per month, under the cover of the new moon. Daemons, notably, are never seen collecting or utilizing their Tithes in any way, but digging up the gold a week or even years later will still raise the daemon's ire and trigger a Bane. Tithes are usually monetary, but daemons are known to sometimes demand prices in blood and other, stranger materials.

Next are Ordeals. Ordeals pay for arcane power through intense and usually unpleasant personal experiences of some type. This could include everything from a period of fasting to a hallucinatory astral quest imposed by the daemon. Some dread Ordeals involve severing one's left or right hand, plucking out an eye, or sacrificing something of precious value.

Finally there are Bans, wherein the signatory vows to never use a particular class of item or take a particular action. Some daemons forbid the signatory from "drawing blood," which is interpreted to be a Ban against using edged or gunpowder weapons. Other Bans may be against imbibing alcohol or casting spells on yourself.

Breaching Pacts and Banes

Unlisted in the pact are Banes, the magical consequences of violating the pact. These can range from mere nuisances to devastating curses to instant death, and are generally not made apparent to the signatory. If a Bane is triggered, the pact is immediately void. It is physically destroyed, and the daemonologist can never call upon that Boon again (though they are also freed from the Price). The GM should roll to determine a random Bane when:

- The signatory fails to pay the listed Price in some fashion, or attempts to circumvent the Price in any way.
- The pact is destroyed by any means.
- The pact is stolen by another.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:39, Wed 03 July 2019.

Familiar Spirits

If you have three or more pacts signed with a single daemon, that daemon is considered a familiar spirit. Summoners are exempt from Morale checks when summoning a familiar spirit, though any witnesses (who do not have a familiar relationship with the daemon themselves) must make Morale checks as normal.

Each familiar spirit a daemonologist has adds +1 to their caster level. Additionally, familiar spirits can be petitioned for specific gifts and powers. Instead of negotiating with the daemon and turning down or accepting whatever random assemblage of powers and prices they offer, the summoner can request a particular occult gift. Familiar spirits seem limited in what they are willing or able to give when specifically requested.

Servitors can only offer lesser gifts, the equivalent of results of 50 or below on the Boon table. They can offer the equivalent of up to 3rd level spells.

Dukes can offer the equivalent of results of 70 or below on the pact table. They can offer the equivalent of up to 5th level spells.

Lords cannot be familiar spirits. Instead, when a daemonologist attempts to forge their third pact with the spirit, the lord daemon will offer a particularly powerful pact: a contract that offers three Boons for one Price. Learned daemonologists know that this pact is enforced by two dread Banes from the daemon lord, however, and inflicts a -4 penalty to warlocks attempting to unfetter it.

Warlocks

Daemonologists who intentionally break their pacts with daemonic entities in order to glean greater levels of magical power are called warlocks. Unlocking the magic power of a pact in this manner is called unfettering. Becoming a warlock by unfettering a pact for the first time requires 250 arcane reagents, spent over the course of an hour of banishing rituals, at the end of which the warlock must make a threshold 7 Intelligence check. This check takes a penalty depending on the rank of the daemon empowering the pact: -1 for servitors, -2 for dukes, and -4 for lords.

If the check is successful, the pact is destroyed but the warlock retains all Boons from the pact. They also increase their caster level by +1 each time they unfetter a pact. They escape any Bane, and unfettering is the only way to escape a pact without triggering a Bane (besides, perhaps, death). If the check is unsuccessful, the pact is destroyed. All Boons are lost, and a Bane is incurred. Banes from failed unfetterings always roll twice and take the higher result on the Bane table.

The first time a daemonologist unfetters a pact, they become known as a warlock, and enjoy a one-time bonus of +1 to their caster level. The also lose a permanent point of Valor, reducing their maximum Valor by one, as a side-effect of metaphysically going back on their word. This means that upon becoming a warlock, one's caster level increases by +2 (+1 for becoming a warlock, and +1 for unfettering a pact). Initially becoming a warlock offers a rush of power, but continuing down the left-handed path requires escalating acts of occult audacity and self-aggrandizing ritual. The reagent cost doubles after each successful unfettering. Unfettering their first pact costs a warlock 250 reagents, but unfettering the second costs 500, the third 1,000, and so on.

Sigils, Talismans, and Imbuing Powers

One of the most tempting abilities offered by the path of the warlock is the power to imbue inanimate objects or even people with spells and daemonic energy. Once a pact unfettered, the daemonic power gifted to the warlock is now solely their metaphysical property, which they can dispense with as they like. Unfettered powers can be imparted into other objects or even a warlock's followers. The most powerful warlocks become almost like daemons themselves, dispensing occult blessings to their underlings to better secure their positions. Warlocks can only imbue powers they've unfettered by breaking pacts. If the pact that granted a particular spell is still in effect, the spell cannot be imbued.

If imbuing an inanimate object, the warlock must decide whether the item is single-use (such as a scroll or potion) or intended to be used many times (such as a magic wand or staff). Single-use items are called sigils require 250 GP of arcane reagents per spell level to properly consecrate the vessel, and for the warlock to cast the spell he or she wishes to imbue. The spell, when cast, has no effect, but instead flows into the vessel to be "stored" for later use. When the magic inside the item is finally used, the vessel is destroyed, disintegrating into flecks of black ash.

Imbued items that can be re-used are known as talismans, and they require more investment to create. First, the warlock must use 1,00 GP arcane reagents per spell level of the spell they wish to imbue (so, for example, a warlock who wishes to create a talisman of Fireball must spend 3,000 GP in arcane reagents for the level 3 spell). The warlock permanently loses this unfettered power, and can no longer cast the spell per day or per month. This power is now wholly imparted to the object, which casts the spell instead. The item's effective caster level is frozen at whatever the warlock's happened to be when it was first imbued.

The only Boons suitable to be imbued are those that bestow a spell once per day or once per month. Those that impart a spell once (and once only) cannot be imbued, even by the most skillful of warlocks. No other daemonic Boons (such as those that grant a specialty or impart an 18 in an attribute) can be imbued. Creatures (including humans) can be imbued as talismans, but not as sigils.

A warlock can only imbue a number of items equal to double their caster level. Once they hit this limit, one of their imbued items must be disenchanted via Dispel Magic, physically destroyed, or used up (in the case of sigils) before they can create more.

Stealing Pacts

If someone is able to steal an intact pact or contract for a daemonologist, they can attempt to replace their name with the signatory's, effectively stealing the pact for themselves. The new signatory is subject to all Prices and Banes for the pact as normal. The former signatory suffers a Bane for letting his pact fall into enemy hands.

Stealing a pact requires 250 arcane reagents, one hour of concentration, and a successful threshold 7 Intelligence check, with a bonus or penalty equal to the difference between the caster levels of the original signatory and the thief.

Stealing a pact is, notably, one of the few aspects of daemonology that actually requires literacy. Success allows the thief to place their name on the signatory's line, causing the original signatory to immediately lose access to that Boon and suffer a Bane. Failure on this roll results in the destruction of the pact; the original signatory suffers a Bane as normal, but so does the attempted counterfeiter.

Studying Pacts

With 8 hours of time and 100 arcane reagents, a careful daemonologist can study a pact to try and glean more information about the exact nature of the agreement. With a successful threshold 7 Intelligence check, the daemonologist can ask the GM three yes or no questions about either a pact's Price and Boon. For example, if studying a pact, they may ask the GM:

- Will this pact allow me to cast a spell?
- Will the Boon from this pact increase my caster level?
- Will this pact allow me to cast the spell Fireball?

The GM must answer these questions truthfully, but with only yes or no answers and no additional information.

Studying Boons and Prices are primarily done to glean more information regarding the pact, and to help a daemonologist decide whether or not he is willing to sign.

There is no penalty to failing at studying a pact, with the exception of lost time and arcane reagents.

Decoding Seals

Daemonologists can also study the name and office of an individual daemon on the pact, in an attempt to decode the daemon's Seal. Seals are the true names of daemons, magical symbols of power that encapsulate the entirety of their being. Knowing a daemon's Seal allows you to summon that daemon specifically, opening the door to possibly channeling that daemon, or making them a familiar spirit. Seals are jealously guarded by those daemonologists that manage to learn them.

Decoding seals allow you to target particular daemons, allowing you to summon the same daemon multiple times or even channel them. Decoding a seal is also a threshold 7 Intelligence check. Servitors impose a -1 penalty to this check and cost 100 reagents to decode, dukes impose a -2 penalty to this check and cost 250 reagents, and lords take a -4 penalty, due to the complexity and vastness of their occult seals, and cost 500 reagents per research attempt.

Just like studying pacts, there is no penalty to failing at decode a seal, save for lost time and arcane reagents.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:37, Tue 25 June 2019.

Reagents
Magic-users of all types desire reagents. They are necessary to empower spells, summon daemons, or interact with pacts. The exact materials used vary from one magic-user to the next. An adventuring spellcaster might value of a satchet powder plucked from a Golish ruin that a Masonite Theosophist would consider sacrilege, and the charts and maps of a Rivai numerologist might be worthless to a Aventinian hedge mage.

Reagents can be bought, but are always scarce even in lands where magic is legal and the trade is permitted. In areas where reagents are illegal or magic is outlawed, they are rare. More reliable sources of reagents can be found by hunting certain magical creatures, or carefully combing an area suitable to the magic-user's magical tradition. A druidic daemonologist might value pristine wilderness, while one of the Esteemed Alumni would favor vast libraries and secret Golish grimoires. Butchering a magical creature for reagents requires a threshold 7 Wisdom check, while sourcing reagents from the environment through other means will require a Wisdom check at a threshold determined by the GM (if it is possible at all). Success on this check will grant the daemonologist 50 arcane reagents per CL.

Banishing
Ending a daemonic summoning is, under normal circumstances, easy enough. In fact, most daemonologists take great pains to make sure their daemon isn't prematurely dismissed during the summoning. All that is required is breaking or disrupting the summoning circle in some way; if your focus is simply a circle of salt or satchet powder, it's possible for even an errant breeze to dismiss a daemon. A daemonic channeling can be similarly dismissed by destroying the object that channels the daemon.

There are some situations, however, where physically destroying the focus of a summoning or channeling is problematic. For example, if a person is the subject of the channeling, or if a summoning has metastasized into a kikimora or immanence, it may not be possible or desirable to destroy the summoning circle or the vessel. Instead, a daemonologist can expend 100 reagents to attempt a "banishing", exerting their will to magically (as opposed to physically) dismiss a daemon.

Banishing takes only a round to perform, requiring a threshold 7 Intelligence check. Servitors inflict a -1 penalty, dukes a -2 penalty, and lords -4.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:00, Fri 17 Jan 2020.