The Strange
Whether sinner or saint, a spirit who finds her way to Lotan's fire is changed. All the good is burned away, leaving a charred, evil husk. ~Unknown
If a wandering spirit in Ardeyn is not corralled by the Court of Sleep, it descends the endless dark roads until the fires of Lotan engulf it, transforming the spirit into an ashen demon pledged to the Sinner. A demon remembers only fragments of its life—every good memory is cauterized and every slight, misfortune, snub, and pain is amplified. The resulting mind knows only hate and the desire to tempt others into the same state as itself.
Having no flesh, a revealed demon is a shadowed, ephemeral horror. This immaterial nature allows it to possess others. A demon can cause great harm in a short time by forcing its possessed host to lie, steal, and deliver violence upon loved ones.
A demon prefers to attempt possession before its potential host is aware of its presence, but it might choose to possess a victim in combat, too.
One way to exorcise a demon, as anyone with Ardeyn lore might know, is to command the demon out in the name of the Maker and his Incarnations. This grants the possessed character an additional Intellect defense roll to eject the demon and can be attempted once per day.
Motive: Hungers for others' pain and fear
Environment (Ardeyn | Magic): Anywhere
Health 30
Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound (5 points)
Armor: 2
Movement: Short; immediate while flying
Modifications: All stealth tasks as level 7.
Combat: A demon can attack a creature with its touch. Either the touch inflicts a moderate wound (5 points) as the target's form is decayed and eroded by necrosis, or the demon can attempt to possess the target. The target of an attempted possession must make an Intellect defense roll or become possessed, whereupon the demon's form disappears into the target.
The first round a character is possessed, he can act normally. On the second and subsequent rounds, the possessing demon can control the actions of the host, but the character can attempt an Intellect defense roll to resist each suggested action. Successful resistance means that the character does nothing for one round. On other rounds, the character can act as he chooses. A possessing demon's actions are limited to attempts to control its host and leaving the host.
A possessed target is allowed an Intellect defense roll to eject the demon once per day, barring any exorcism attempts. The difficulty of the defense roll increases by 1 for each day of possession after the first seven days.
A demon not possessing another creature can pass through solid objects whose level is less than its own.
Interaction: A demon allows a possessed host to act normally, as long as it doesn't reveal the demon's presence. If its presence is known, the demon might negotiate, but only after a tirade of lies and obscenity, and the demon likely betrays any deal reached.
Use: A crypt found beneath a newer structure has demons within it. A call goes out for someone to clean out the threats before they do harm.
GM Intrusion: The PC who attempts an exorcism of a possessed target is successful, but the demon moves directly from the former victim into the PC. The PC can make an Intellect-based roll to eject the demon, but only after the first round of possession.