Demonologist

Infernal scholars who have bartered their souls for power over hellspawn. In the mortal world they are barely tolerated; in the Netherworld they are invaluable.

App status: The Demonologist class is implemented in the app. These rules come from Against the Netherworld.

Stats

| | | |---|---| | Life | 3 + level (4 at L1) | | Attack bonus | +L vs hellspawn; +½L vs all other opponents | | Defense bonus | +½L vs hellspawn; standard vs others | | Armor allowed | None (no armor, no shields) | | Weapons allowed | Hand weapons and light hand weapons only | | Starting equipment | Hand weapon, dark robe, blood amulet, forbidden tome | | Starting wealth | 3d6 gp | | Saves as | Wizard |

Hellspawn Possession

When a demonologist delivers the killing blow to a hellspawn, they may attempt to possess it instead of destroying it:

• Make a save vs. monster level + the demonologist's own level.
• On success: the demonologist "wears" the monster's body, gaining access to one of its special abilities for the rest of the adventure.
• At the start of each subsequent combat, make a new save at the same level. On failure the spirit escapes and the demonologist loses the ability.

Only one hellspawn can be possessed at a time.

Madness Immunity

Demonologists cannot gain Madness points. Instead, each time they would gain 1 Madness, they heal 1 Life (from the callous detachment that protects them).

They are immune to Madness checks in the Netherworld, including those triggered by cannibalism, soul-cube creation, and similar acts.

Abominable Gifts

Every demonologist starts with 1 Abominable Gift from either the Red Die or Black Die table. These gifts confer power but cause +2 reaction penalty with any creature not from the Netherworld (excluding undead).

Reaction Modifier

A demonologist subtracts ½ their level from hellspawn reaction rolls (hellspawn are less hostile toward them). They also add +1 to foraging saves and +1 to orientation saves in the Netherworld.

Restrictions

• Cannot be resurrected by any means.
• Cannot be Blessed by any means.
• Cannot cast Netherworld spells normally — only via the Nether Sorcerer expert skill.

Expert Skills

Commanding Presence, Knife Throwing, Lesser Necromancy, Negotiator, Scroll Maker (Netherworld spells only), Strong Will, Vampire Hunter.

Demonologist-only expert skills:

Conjuration: Once per adventure, summon a specific hellspawn as a temporary ally. Make a save vs. monster level + demonologist's own level. On success it serves for the encounter; on failure, it attacks the party instead.

Diabolic Shield: Add 2 × level to saves against hellspawn special powers.

Nether Sorcerer: The demonologist learns to cast a single, specific Netherworld spell as a wizard of the same level. Can be taken multiple times for different spells or extra uses of the same spell.

Hellbane: When an attack doubles the level of a hellspawn Weird Monster or Boss, that attack deals 2 extra wounds.

Party Notes

• Clerics of Zur and paladins of Zur will not join a party that includes a demonologist.
• A party with at least one demonologist adds +1 to the Netherworld Objective roll and benefits from several foraging and orientation bonuses throughout Netherworld travel.