#ahmuuth

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Class Feature Friday: Demodand Subdomain (Cleric Chaos or Evil Subdomain)

(art by JohanGrenier on DeviantArt, used as actual concept art in Pathfinder!)

And it’s time for another subdomain, and it’s another one tied to a type of outsider, specifically the failed and monstrous creations of the fallen titans, the demodands!

Now, the lore surrounding the titans in Pathfinder is spotty and contradictory, with some sources claiming the rebellious ones were banished to Abaddon and not the Abyss, others claim that the formorian titans were the oldest, others the danava… it’s a whole mess that somebody should go through and sort out at some point.

What does remain consistent is that the wicked, rebellious titans, even after being banished to the Abyss, were still spiteful and envious of the gods, and so sought to make their own worshippers (with blackja-), an outsider clan more powerful than most other divine servitors or mortals, and beautiful and perfect as well.

Whether it was the Abyssal clay used to shape them, the vindictive emotion in the blood they used to bring them to life, or perhaps the fundamental inability of these not-quite deific beings to truly create, (probably a bit of all that and more) their creations: the demodands, were perfect and beautiful for like half a minute before, like an amateur child sculptor’s creation, began to sag and warp, breaking down into ugly, horrific forms. Some sweating foul tar or slime, some sprouting scales, uneven fur, or horribly long skin protrusions, and all breaking down at the seams in some way or another.

But they did not die, and despite the horror and pain of their own existence, they remained loyal to the titans and eager to please (for they had been made to know no other way).

And so were born the demodands, horrors that destroy, torment, enslave, and corrupt the mortals that the gods show their love to and in turn be showered with worship from, loyal only to their creators.

(Which is why it’s really weird that this subdomain is listed as being in Rovagug and Yaezhing’s portfolios. I mean Rovagug I kinda get since I can imagine the titans ordering their creations to go out and answer the call of Rovagug's cult since their interests and goals align somewhat (or are at least useful to their goals), but Yaezhing is a god of brutal but otherwise divine judgement. I doubt he’d ever work with such beings, nor they him.

This subdomain is almost guaranteed to show up exclusively in the anti-theist cults that tend to crop up when corrupted mortals are set back loose on their homeworlds, spreading their hate to try and prepare worlds for invasion by titan and demodand forces and rob mortals of their faith in the gods. There is of course no reward for such efforts, only more servitude or death.

Of course, before we go into what these poor twisted fools actually get from the domain, I would be remiss to not mention the current flux that demodands as a whole find themselves in.

You see, aside from the nebulous and contradictory lore of titans in Pathfinder, demodands are actually another example of a holdover from D&D. Originally, demodands were an artificially created clade supposedly made by combining diabolic and demonic power, experiments by the yugoloth/daemons. These beings were exiled to the prison/like plane of Carceri, where they took to the role of wardens.

That history in various editions of the World’s Oldest Roleplaying Game (with only three unique additions from Pathfinder) means that if and when they show up again, they’ll probably receive a new name and facelift (like what happened to nightshades). Hopefully when it happens they won’t end up looking terrible and boring (like what happened to nightshades).

But with that out of the way, lets see what fell power they have to offer those unlucky enough to have been twisted to their worship!

Rather than the touch of chaos or evil powers, those who tap into this domain gain the ability to utilize a lesser form of the demodand’s infamous faith-stealing power with their attacks, briefly inhibiting the link between a divine caster and their deity.

The spell changes of the subdomain include being able to align their weapons to both chaos and evil, rather than only one. Furthermore, rather than infuse objects with life to cause chaos, these divine casters instead emulate the corrosive slime of some demodands to inflict foes with long-lasting, rapidly-spreading acid.

For both clerics and inquisitors, this subdomain has a fairly unique ability to make them hunters of divine casters, though obviously this is most effective if you have a team to fully take advantage of this shutdown since it lasts such a short time. The spells that clerics can use, on the other hand, makes one of their lower-level options more flexible, and also grants them a genuinely nasty high-damage spell that either punishes foes with high damage or forces them to waste actions to mitigate it.

Now, this subdomain is canonically only available to some of the most broken abuse victims in the entire setting, so unless you’re trying to explore that with a character that starts evil, this domain is almost exclusively going to be villain territory. It could be fun roleplaying a character that could be convinced to return to the light by making them realize that they’re no longer fully in the grip of a power that literally cut them off from their deity and other sources of support. On the other hand, be mindful of your table, and if anyone’s got abuse as a hard no, maybe eschew using it for that campaign.

Sometimes driders who escape drow society learn to look beyond the demonic powers that hold most of their former people in thrall, and call out to something, anything else. Unfortunately for Lunixa, what answered her call was so much worse, twisting her into a servant of the ones that would tear the gods from the heavens.

Normally preferring to fight alongside similarly-aligned clergy, Noctis the ahmuuth psychopomp is forced to seek out the party when a charge he was meant to collect for the underworld was dragged away be a fearsome demodand hunting party and their cleric-slaves. What they want with the wayward soul is unknown, but they know they could not handle such powerful beings on their own.

Presented as a summer retreat for children to learn about the outdoors, Camp Treehack is anything but recreational, founded by a demodand cultist to browbeat entire new generations to make them reject the gods and give up on outside help of any kind: parents, authorities, and the divine, and become as twisted and mean as they are.

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Flood Flourisher (Hunter Archetype)

(art by Mateusz Michalski on Artstation)

 The People of the Wastes book covers a lot of lore and options centered around the various wastelands that are well-known in the Inner Sea Region. Places such as the Worldwound, or the Mana Wastes, or even the demon-blighted Fangwood.

However, not every “waste” is dry or blighted in the traditional sense. One of the regions covered in the book is the Sodden Lands. Formerly the nations of Lirgen and Yamasa, both nations were devastated by the creation of the eternal hurricane known as the Eye of Abendego, and the constant rain and wind has caused most of those nations to be swallowed by the sea, and everything above a certain elevation to become a perpetually storm-wracked swamp.

This devastation killed hundreds, and drove others away, but a few still dwell there, being either part of cults to demon lords that delight in the unnatural destruction, or survivalists that either can’t or won’t leave for greener pastures.

Today’s subject, these so-called “Flood Flourishers” have mastered natural arts of water and marsh travel to become masters of the flooded domain they call home alongside their animal companions.

Outside of the Lost Omens setting, this archetype could easily be used in regions with a lot of water regardless of the presence or absence of supernatural eternal storms.

Regardless of where you use them, these hunters are perfect for a character coming from a marshy land that wants to use that terrain to their advantage.

 Due to their need to be able to be on both dry land and in the water, these hunters train their companions to be able to go where they go and do what they do with similar levels of skill.

They also train themselves to be especially stealthy or athletic as well, both proving useful in swampy environments.

They are also swift swimmer, either gaining a swim speed if they didn’t already have one, or becoming elusively fast underwater, making it easier to move without leaving openings for attackers.

Mobility is key when you are adept at moving in an environment that you can move in easily while your foes are hampered. As such, they learn to either strike or shoot while moving, always trying to keep out of reach.

What’s more, they are quite adept at ambushes from the water or mud. They can hold their breath for a surprising amount of time, become adept at concealing their forms, and can even sense movement in the water to known when their mark is close.

Additionally, they and their companion have mastered the art of underwater combat, able to strike with any weapon with full accuracy and power regardless of whether or not they themselves are aquatic.

With their focus on ambushing, they also train to move quickly in those critical first moments, able to do more while they have the element of surprise.

More powerful individuals can swim stealthily at a fairly rapid clip as well, sneaking up on prey.

Later on, this becomes even more impressive as their swimming speed improves.

This archetype is all about attacking from stealth in a swampy environment, so it’s definitely meant for campaigns that take place almost entirely in such environments, so keep that in mind. That being said, perhaps the biggest boon of the archetype is that all the benefits it grants apply to both the hunter and their companion equally, which is super important, since it lets them take either a normally terrestrial companion and have them be just as effective in the water, or they can take an aquatic one and get some extra bonuses. Regardless of whether you go ranged or melee, I recommend spells and feats that improve weapon damage and stealth to make you initial strike as hard-hitting as possible.

 The Sodden Lands, with their constant torrential downpour, treacherous bogs, and deadly deniens, is certainly an evocative backdrop for this archetype, but consider what other backdrops might find use for it? Perhaps a massive swamp that stretches for miles, or an urban adventure taking place in a stilt town or Venice-like waterway city.

  Redlight Bog, named for the crimson lights that are sometimes flicker from beneath the mangroves, is a dangerous place at the best of times. Tasked with keeping loggers and the lost out, Kosh traverses water and land with no issues, the lizardman accompanied at all times by his crocodile companion.

 Not all swamps are on the surface, and certain caverns in the Hollow World are home to forests of giant mushrooms and mildews that thrive in a partially flooded environment. One such region is favored by a group of drider exiles who are strangely at home in the water despite their shape, and even call upon giant diving spiders capable of swimming and constructing bathysphere like web domes of breathable air.

 An agent of death, an ahmuuth psychopomp, approaches the party for help. They have heard rumors of undead that dwell in a blighted swamp, but the rotten hunters are as stealthy as they are lethal. In exchange for their aid, the spirit offers them an unspecified boon.