Asmodean Advocate (Cleric Archetype)
I ended up being really busy yesterday, so today we’re doing two entries!
The first one on the docket is a classical ideal in fiction and fantasy: the literal “Devils Advocate” that is both lawyer and worshipper of fiends.
Named for Pathfinder’s capital T.D. “The Devil”: Asmodeus, these clerics are indeed trained barristers in addition to being clergy, so you can imagine that no matter which side of a case they are on, they are serving Hell’s will in defending monsters and tyrants, prosecuting the innocent or the potentially redeemable, and generally wielding the power of law for selfish reasons.
Of course, outside of the Lost Omens setting, these attorneys may be associated with any diabolic power that commands devils, not just Asmodeus or his minions.
What really sets these clerics apart from others that are simply trained to be barristers as well as clerics that few beings have mastered the art of the technicality, the loophole, and the vaguely-defined wording of laws as they have. What’s more, they bond with supernatural allies that serve as symbols of their office and role.
As one might expect, these priests must be devotees of Asmodeus (or other lawful evil power if the GM allows), and they only gain one domain: the Trickery Domain or one of it’s subdomains.
Instead of a second domain, they gain a talking viper familiar, which they can choose to upgrade to an imp later on, giving them a small ally just as sinister as they are.
Additionally, these clerics are so used to speaking and behaving in a legally-savvy way that they can apply their simultaneously exacting and noncommittal legal diction in social situations, and are extremely skilled at law and linguistics as well.
With their familiars backing them up and their skill in legal acumen, these clerics promise to be incredibly competent legal and social players. However, their focus on deception both with the trickery domain and in terms of purely mundane affairs, this archetype can make for a cleric that manipulates things from behind the scenes. You only lose out on a domain too, so you have freedom to build them however you like beyond focusing on deception-based support.
The evils that these advocates perpetuate are numerous, from poorly-worded laws that seem innocuous at first glance but give way to oppression, prosecution and bargains that doom their target, the protection of the worst figures imaginable, and more. For those that believe in the order that Hell offers, such things might seem necessary or a natural side effect of something desirable, so twisted are their perspectives.
Rapidly proving much more than a nuisance, a peluda dragon has taken up residence in the moors outside of Balgran, preying on travellers. While the prideful dragon would never admit to being a pawn, if it could be tricked into boasting, it would reveal that it was no mere chance or opportunity that brought it here, but rather, the suggestion of a sinister lawyer seeking to make trade difficult for his client’s merchant rivals.
Normally fiendish advocate clerics follow devils, but they also appear among the velstrac cults of The Opener of Doors, She Who Invites. Such advocates are accompanied by auger velstracs, rather than imps, and offer wondrous new insights and pleasures for those willing to accept the rule of kytons.
While not fully under fiendish control, the court system of Valjhan is well-known for attracting fiendish advocates, such as the opponent the party faces now: Victor von Terminus, a cruel prosecutor who seeks punishment of the accused not for justice, but to create examples.