Fiend Friends
Last week, we released a book that we consider to be more or less the ultimate authority on the research, summoning, and binding of fiends and other outsiders, The Deluxe Guide to Fiend Summoning and Faustian Bargains. In addition to giving you everything you ever wanted to know about making deals with devils and other lower-planar entities, this massive tome also comes with no less than 72 unique fiends, straight from the famous Key of Solomon, greatly expanded upon and given unique and inventive stat-blocks. For only $17.99, the thing’s a real deal.
The reason that I bring this up is because while last week was Fiend Week in celebration of this rather large undertaking, we found that we really wanted more time to write articles about fiendish things. So, we’re doubling down and going into Fiend Week, part 2. Which is good, because at the end of last week’s article I promised you new cleric and witch archetypes designed to interact with the new fiend summoning rules from The Deluxe Guide to Fiend Summoning and Faustian Bargains. Well, here they are.
New Cleric Archetype
Demoniac
Demoniacs do not restrict themselves to demons, but rather apply their devotion to lower-planar beings of a wide assortment. They typically gravitate towards one specific fiendish sponsor, usually a powerful demon prince or devil lord, or one of the goetic dukes, princes, or kings described in The Deluxe Guide to Fiend Summoning and Faustian Bargains. Others simply devote themselves to the idea of the lower planes as a whole, doing everything in their power to bridge the gap between the Material Plane and the hellish planes of evil.
Domains: A demoniac gains only a single domain. She may not select the good or healing domains, or any of the subdomains associated with those domains.
Fanatical Calling (Su): Once per day, when a demoniac makes a calling check in order to summon an outsider with the evil descriptor, she may add a bonus equal to twice her class level on the check. This bonus is not applied to any checks made to bind the outsider.
Favored Servant: Whenever a demoniac would gain pact points (such as by performing human sacrifice, giving up her own soul or someone else’s, giving up wealth, performing services, etc.), she gains 1.5 times as many pact points as she normally would.
Spontaneous Summons (Su): A demoniac can channel stored spell energy into summoning spells that she hasn’t prepared ahead of time. She can “lose” a prepared spell in order to cast any summon monster spell of the same level or lower. She can only summon evil-aligned creatures or creatures with the fiendish template in this way.
This ability replaces the spontaneous casting class feature.
New Witch Archetype
Fiendbond Crone
These witches specialize in the binding and summoning of evil outsiders, which they get to do their bidding, and to enhance their magical capabilities. Though they are somewhat less self-sufficient than other witches, and suffer when cut off from their fiendish slaves or patrons, this rarely becomes an issue, as the power they gain from the fiends they summon is formidable indeed.
Fiendish Summons (Sp): A fiendbond crone adds summon monster I to her familiar for free at 1st level. At 3rd level, and every two levels thereafter, she adds the next-highest summon monster spell to her familiar for free (summon monster II at 3rd level, summon monster III at 5th level, etc.). Whenever the fiendbond crone casts a summon monster spell, if the summoned creature would gain the celestial, entropic, or resolute template, she may choose to have it gain the fiendish template, instead. Additionally, any time she uses a summon monster spell to summon an evil-aligned creature or a creature with the fiendish template, that creature has maximum hit points for its Hit Die, and gains a +1 morale bonus on attack and damage rolls.
Patron: A fiendbond crone may still select a patron, as normal, but does not gain any spells known as a result of selecting one (for examples of patrons that can provide benefits beyond granting spell knowledge, see Advanced Arcana III).
This ability modifies the patron class feature.
Student of the Planes (Ex): A fiendbond crone gains a bonus equal to 1/2 her witch level (rounded down, minimum 1) on all Knowledge (planes) checks made to identify outsiders, as well as on all Knowledge (planes) checks made to research the name, sigil, or other information about summoning outsiders. For more information on researching the names, sigils, and other information about outsiders, see The Deluxe Guide to Fiend Summoning and Faustian Bargains.
This ability replaces the hex gained at 1st level.
Fiendish Servitors: Beginning at 4th level, the fiendbond crone becomes better at negotiating for service from a fiend. Whenever she purchases the service boon from a creature she has summoned, the pact point cost for that service is halved (reducing it to a number of pact points equal to 1/2 the fiend’s CR for up to one week of service). For more information on boons, see The Deluxe Guide to Fiend Summoning and Faustian Bargains.
This ability replaces the hex gained at 4th level.
Fiend-Powered Magic: Beginning at 8th level, the fiendbond crone becomes better at negotiating for magical aid from a fiend. Whenever she purchases any magic boon from a creature she has summoned, the pact point cost for that boon is reduced by 1 (minimum 1). At 16th level, the pact point cost is reduced by 2, instead. For more information on boons, see The Deluxe Guide to Fiend Summoning and Faustian Bargains.
This ability replaces the hex gained at 8th level.