While it is one matter for a sinful soul to be judged and then sent on to manifest upon the Abyss as a larva, from there to perhaps someday transform into a newborn demon, it is quite another to bypass this process entirely. Yet for some, the power wielded by demons is too seductive and compelling to wait for—especially considering that the process of becoming a larva almost always expunges memories of life. To this end, there are methods by which mortals can hasten the transformation into a demon—demonic implants and a vile transformation ritual.
The Transformation Ritual
The forbidden and blasphemous rituals of demonic transformation can be found only in the rarest of tomes (such as the Book of the Damned). A rare few demons, ranging from lowly quasits up to the mightiest balors, know these rituals and can teach them as well—they guard this knowledge closely, offering it only to those they deem deserving of the lore. One way to learn such a ritual from a demon is to use planar ally or planar binding to conjure the demon in question and offer it a payment in return for the secrets of the transformation ritual—this could even be a four-step process requiring a new conjuration for each step of the ritual. Not every demon knows this information, of course, so researching the name of a specific demon can add an additional level of research required before the process can begin. A character might even receive the methods by which to transform into a demon via a series of dreams or visions (typically granted to him from a demonic patron in reward for service), although this route is best left for NPCs that are strictly under the GM’s control.
First Ritual: The first ritual is the easiest, and requires nothing more than for the user’s alignment to become chaotic evil. By undertaking acts of a vile and destructive nature, the mortal consigns her soul to the Abyss even if she never finishes the second and third rituals. The mortal must select a demon lord (or a nascent demon lord or Balor Lord) at this point to serve as a demonic patron. The acts the user must undertake can vary, but should be of a nature that represents and “honors” the areas of interest of her chosen demonic patron—these acts are intended to attract the patron’s attention, after all. Even mortals who begin the transformation ritual as already chaotic evil must undergo this stage of the ritual, if only to select a demonic patron. In total, the first ritual must progress in this manner for a minimum of one year—at the end of the ritual, the mortal’s alignment changes to chaotic evil.
Second Ritual: The second ritual requires many more months of debased acts and vile plots, but at some point during this second year, the mortal must contact her chosen demonic patron, via either commune or contact other plane. A trusted minion or ally can cast this spell on the mortal’s behalf—it’s common for a spellcaster to gain a quasit familiar so that the quasit can use its commune spell-like ability for this purpose. Once contact is made, the demonic patron must be told of the mortal’s desire to become a demon—the commune or contact other plane spell cannot be used to ask any other questions. At some point thereafter, but before a year has passed, the mortal must offer a significant sacrifice to her demonic patron as a burnt offering in a temple consecrated to the demon lord. This offering can be either living or dead—in either case, the burnt offerings must be of someone that is related to the mortal by blood or family—an adopted parent or child is sufficient if, at some point the mortal and the offering once loved each other. The mortal must make a DC 20 Knowledge (religion) check to properly perform the burnt offering—if the sacrifice is or was once a worshiper of a lawful or good deity, the check drops to DC 10 (and thus becomes something that even one not trained in the Knowledge skill can attempt). If this check is successful, the second ritual ends and the mortal gains a demonic implant (typically demon senses or a demon talon) as proof of her demon’s favor.
Third Ritual: At some point after the mortal contacts her demon lord (typically after the second ritual succeeds, but sometimes before), the demon sends the mortal a vision of a task that must be completed (such as freeing a bound evil outsider from a Material Plane prison or assassinating a powerful cleric of a good religion). This task is typically one of significance to the demon lord, and in many cases one that the mortal has no hope of completing until she grows more powerful. There is no time limit for how long the mortal has to complete this task, but she must maintain her weekly devotions to her demon in the time that passes in the form of regular worship and continued atrocities in the demon’s name. Additional burnt offerings to the demon, betrayals of allies, and assaults on innocents are popular choices. Once the assigned task is completed, the mortal must perform another ritual in honor of her demonic lord—a sacrifice consisting of no less than a dozen nonevil intelligent creatures offered in the course of no more than a single week. The mortal must make a DC 30 Knowledge (religion) check at the end of the sacrifice, but gains a +1 bonus on the check for every 5 additional sacrifices offered beyond the initial dozen. If the check succeeds, the third ritual ends and the mortal permanently gains the half-fiend template.
Fourth Ritual: For many, gaining the half-fiend template is enough, but for those who wish to go even further, a fourth ritual exists. The mortal’s demon lord grants no vision or advice to begin this ritual—the mortal must take it upon herself to honor her demon lord in a manner appropriate to that demon lord’s interests and areas of concern. Once every year, on the anniversary of the day the mortal completed the third ritual, she must perform a special ceremony that recounts her accomplishments over the past year and culminates in a significant sacrifice (usually consisting of the sacrifice of an important member of an enemy faith, or of a lawful or good outsider; in either case, the sacrifice must be at least CR 9). The mortal then makes a DC 40 Knowledge (religion) check, with a cumulative +1 bonus for each previous such ritual she’s performed over the past several years. Success results in a final transformation into a full-fledged demon—the mortal loses all benefits of her previous race or the half-fiend template, but can immediately apply all of her class levels to her new demonic race (for example, a human fighter 10 could become a vrock fighter 10). The type of demon that the mortal transforms into depends on both the nature of her chosen demon lord and the GM’s discretion, but should generally not result in a total number of Hit Dice that more than doubles the mortal’s original Hit Dice.
