Who's your favorite demon lord?

[Zhangar]

I've gotten a lot of mileage out of Kostchtchie as an antagonist in multiple games. (I have a little word doc of various advanced demons with class levels labelled as the Kostchtchie Special Forces.)

His agenda is very straight forward, very horrible, and extremely aggressive. If a world's got the concept of male and female genders, then Kostchtchie has a foothold, and he means to change things for the worse.

I'd wanted one of my games (my mythic RoW game, actually) to culminate in the party finally ending him, but that game had to go on hiatus.

[W E Ray]

Seriously, in my long running Korvosa campaign Shivaska and the Mothman are peripheral/ distant nemeses together that the PCs are nervous about, and thankful that it seems only peripheral and distant, not something that's in their face. I predict when it hits the fan they will be quite disturbed.

[Potato disciple]

Oh man an evil campaign Revolving around restoring ol' kochie's death sounds delicious...

[Eric Hinkle]

It'd be easier for me to list demon lords I'm not fond of. Even that revolting creep Menxyr has some appeal if only for the sheer creepiness and pettiness of his schemes.

But my current favorites are Jezelda, Shax, and Zura. All three have realms that the unsuspecting can stumble into without even knowing they've entered the Abyss. What can first seem like a Gothic or slasher horror adventure can end up with your PCs trying to save themselves and the mortals around them from the depths of the Abyss itself.

That and Jezelda's a werewolf. I like werewolves and wolf-creatures.

Shax and Charnelhome especially remind me of Dr. Channard and his hospital from the second Hellraiser movie. The PCs chase some of his cultists into a 'dungeon', Shax's realm, to save some people. At first it should be easy for them, and then you learn that the cultists seeking Shax's favor found it and you have to rescue the victims and yourselves from new-made Sons of Shax.

[PM_aka_Pazuzumeister]

Somebody call for a rude dude with attitude?

[Tinalles]

I really like Jezelda. She's so delightfully straightforward! Rule the weak through fear and savagery, expand the pack by passing the blessing of lycanthropy to the worthy, and feed the flesh-hunger on the full moons. Simple! Though her obedience does make it kinda hard to keep a low profile.

Sadly, Jezelda is dead in my campaign. She fell in combat with Cernunnos, and the PC will soon finish absorbing the last of Jezelda's power, after which she can rewrite the lycanthropy templates as she sees fit.

That being the case, I'll go with Nocticula, for hedonism and twisty intrigue.

[Squeakmaan]

Tinalles wrote:

I really like Jezelda. She's so delightfully straightforward! Rule the weak through fear and savagery, expand the pack by passing the blessing of lycanthropy to the worthy, and feed the flesh-hunger on the full moons. Simple! Though her obedience does make it kinda hard to keep a low profile.

Sadly, Jezelda is dead in my campaign. She fell in combat with Cernunnos, and the PC will soon finish absorbing the last of Jezelda's power, after which she can rewrite the lycanthropy templates as she sees fit.

That being the case, I'll go with Nocticula, for hedonism and twisty intrigue.

Now that is ambitious *slow clap*

[Tinalles]

And it all came out of a random encounter with 1d4 werewolves four years ago (real time).

I seriously didn't intend to make lycanthropy a major thing in this campaign, but it's burgeoned into a major plotline. In a way, we STILL haven't resolved that random encounter even though all three of those particular werewolves are long dead.

[Potato disciple]

What did cernunos have to do with jezelda? And how did you construct the fight with jezelda lacking stats?

[Tinalles]

@Potato disciple: That's a looong story. I'll sum up.

What did Cernunnos have to do with Jezelda?

Cernunnos was the PC's patron. He granted her some mythic tiers to assist in her overarching mission of closing the gates of Sevenarches.

Jezelda was the major antagonist of the third gate. Verdessa thwarted her plans. She didn't take it well, and showed up personally to kill Verdessa, which prompted Cernunnos to intervene.

How did you construct the fight with Jezelda lacking stats?

I handled it as a cinematic. I just wrote a scene and read it aloud to the player with suitably dramatic intonation, and pausing for input from her at scripted moments.

In fact, here are my notes from that session. They're rather long, so I put them behind spoilers. Please note that there's quite a lot of homebrew lore sprinkled in there, so please don't take it as canon in any way, shape, or form.

Extra Context:

This is the climactic confrontation of third arc of the Sleeping Queen campaign that I ran. The soloist PC, Verdessa, is adventuring in the shadowy land of Undrendal, which lies beyond the third gate of Sevenarches. Tainted with the sin of gluttony due to an ill-advised ritual just after Earthfall, the realm is ruled by Laine, an elven vampire bard. In exchange for the item she needed to close the gate, Verdessa made an uneasy pact with Laine to oppose the forces of Jezelda. Those were a group of lycanthropic Oakstewards led by the traitor Leoti, formerly Voice of the Wind and a member of the Oaksteward council. As our scene opens in the courtyard of Castle Venatris, Verdessa has just defeated Leoti and the last of her minions, with the assistance of her cohort Ardulia.

The Eosian Accords referred to below are an agreement between the gods not to directly fight one another, in order to avoid starting another war of gods like the conflict with Rovagug. Even the evil gods would generally prefer existence to continue existing. Infractions against the Accords are judged and punished by the Eosian Council (typically a panel of three deities, one good, one neutral, one evil).

On a final note, Verdessa had become a vampire just a session or two before this point in the story (due to a highly unfortunate random encounter). We had already established that Cernunnos harbors a particular dislike for undead. Some of Jezelda's dialogue below depends on that. Also, earlier in the campaign Verdessa had contracted lycanthropy, and then cured it with Cernunnos' aid -- hence Jezelda's particular fury at both of them.

The scene, as read, with some minor edits:

The area is strewn with the bodies of the dead: werewolves, vampires, the unafflicted of both sides. Leoti, battered by our heroine's final assault, finally collapses -- dead, or unconscious, it doesn't matter.

For a moment, stillness settles on the field. Then, a vast howl shakes the entire world. A fiery chasm opens before our heroines, and from it springs a vast shadowy form: Jezelda, Mistress of the Hungry Moon. She springs onto the field howling and slavering.

"No! I will not accept this defeat. My champion may have fallen, elf !@$@#$, but my power is undiminished. Now, you die!"

She takes but one step forward before another voice splits the field from behind Verdessa. "Hold, monster!" It is Cernunnos.

J: You! Out of my way, meat.

C: Never. Your champion was fairly beaten. Would you really risk starting a godswar over this matter?

J: Neither you nor I are gods, meat. We are DEMI-gods. The Eosian Accords do not apply.

C: I disagree. And I suspect the Eosian Council will as well.

J: When have any of those spineless lumps done anything? They will ignore what happens here.

C: Aolar thought the same, and look what happened to her. It's over. Go home and lick your wounds.

[a long pause]

J: *snarl* Very well. I will forsake the field -- but only on one condition.

C: And what is that?

J: *points at Verdessa* If I must lose this fight, I will at least ensure that YOU do not win, either. Withdraw your patronage from that #@#%$. She's not even on your side any more! She has betrayed you as surely as she betrayed me. Let her succeed or fail in her undertaking without any aid from YOU.

C: I swore to give my aid to this woman, and I stand by my word.

J: She's not a woman any more, she's a monster who feeds on the blood of the innocent. If you were true to your beliefs you would hunt her down yourself. No! Either take your gifts back, or one of the two of us dies today, and DAMN the consequences!

C: *turns to Verdessa* I will not go back on my word to you, Verdessa. But I ask you -- would you willingly forsake the powers I have granted you to avoid this fight?

[Verdessa voluntarily agreed to forsake her mythic tiers to prevent this conflict.]

C: Thank you.

Sadly, he holds out his hand and makes a slight pulling motion. You feel a sense of loss, and weakness that suddenly resolves itself into familiarity: this is what it feels like to be a mere mortal once again.

C: There. Are you satisfied?

J: Heh heh heh ... sucker.

She lunges for his throat, and fight you had hoped to prevent breaks out anyway. The battle takes place almost faster than you can see. Claws slash, antlers clash, arrows fly. The fight ranges all over the castle grounds: Cernunnos bull rushes Jezelda into a tower, sending a spiderweb of cracks all through it. In turn, she kicks him so hard he flies halfway across the field -- his feet plow a massive furrow in the ground when he lands. Back and forth it goes: sometimes Jezelda has the advantage, sometimes Cernunnos. A stray shot from Cernunnos' bow brings a tower collapsing down on Jezelda. When he approaches the rubble, she bursts howling forth and falls upon him fang and claw.

And so it goes for some time -- they deal and take horrific damage. The castle grounds are laid waste by the fury of their battle. But they are too evenly matched: neither of them can gain a decisive advantage over the other.

Finally, Cernunnos gets Jezelda in a grapple. She twists and snarls and slashes at him, but he compensates -- and even in the midst of all that furious action, he finds a moment to turn his gaze on you, eyes deep and old and sorrowful.

He stamps the ground with one foot, and a wave of green energy washes across the ground and over you. [Your spells, tiers and mythic power points are all restored.]

And in that moment you hear him whisper to you:

"If ever you honored me, if ever you truly served good -- then Flame Strike. NOW."

[Verdessa cast the spell, as requested.]

As you go through the familiar motions, something seems different. Deeper. Wilder. As you finish the casting, the power rips out of you. It takes everything -- every last spell, every reserve of power at your disposal is torn away and channeled into a blast of white hot energy whose force bowls you over even at this distance.

When you stand once more, all is quiet; and two vast bodies lie still on the field.

The aftermath:

Being a vampire -- and having a somewhat vindictive streak towards her enemies -- Verdessa fed from Jezelda's cooling corpse, thus gaining a mythic tier and one third of the portfolio of lycanthropy.

Cernunnos survived the blast, barely, but became deathly ill and comatose as he tried to fight off a case of lycanthropy inflicted by Jezelda's dying curse. The Eosian Council sanctioned him for having intervened on Verdessa's behalf, and his punishment was that none of the deities of healing were allowed to assist him with that. Verdessa was ultimately able to heal him by tracking down the portfolio of Endurance, once held by the ancient god Curchanus, and stolen from him as he lay dying by his traitorous herald Cocidius.

Verdessa was eventually slain and restored to normal life by a champion of Sarenrae. Further, she defeated Jezelda's lieutenant Veshnal and took the second third of the portfolio of lycanthropy from him. The final third is held by Nalani, the First Werewolf and Last Scion of Curchanus; Verdessa rescued her from a prison on the moon, and she has agreed to give Verdessa the final portion of the portfolio in exchange for Verdessa's assistance in slaying Daclau-Sar, the nascent demon lord made from the body of Curchanus. That's scheduled to be the final confrontation of the campaign at level 20; Verdessa is currently approaching level 18, with 7 mythic tiers.

[John Napier 698]

Tinalles wrote:

@Potato disciple: That's a looong story. I'll sum up.

What did Cernunnos have to do with Jezelda?

Cernunnos was the PC's patron. He granted her some mythic tiers to assist in her overarching mission of closing the gates of Sevenarches.

Jezelda was the major antagonist of the third gate. Verdessa thwarted her plans. She didn't take it well, and showed up personally to kill Verdessa, which prompted Cernunnos to intervene.

How did you construct the fight with Jezelda lacking stats?

I handled it as a cinematic. I just wrote a scene and read it aloud to the player with suitably dramatic intonation, and pausing for input from her at scripted moments.

In fact, here are my notes from that session. They're rather long, so I put them behind spoilers. Please note that there's quite a lot of homebrew lore sprinkled in there, so please don't take it as canon in any way, shape, or form.

** spoiler omitted **...

Daaamn!!! Wish I could dream up a sequence like that.

[Potato disciple]

That's so cool! Makes me want to write one of my own...

[Psiphyre]

It was pretty awesome!

Carry on!

--C.

[tonyz]

I do classics. Lolth is still around in all my campaign worlds.

Plus Demogorgon, after the Savage Tide adventure path.

[Set]

tonyz wrote:

Plus Demogorgon, after the Savage Tide adventure path.

I never cared for Demogorgon, in the day. I was a fan of Yeenoghu, of the original four (and Orcus, to a lesser extent), and Grazz't, of later arrivals.

But Savage Tide totally turned that around, and made me a huge fan of Demogorgon!

[Vidmaster7]

Demigorgon cause two heads are better then 1. (which I feel is probably the main reason he is in charge.)

[Potato disciple]

Vidmaster7 wrote:

Demigorgon cause two heads are better then 1. (which I feel is probably the main reason he is in charge.)

AGREED