Help with Daemonology.

[Logos&Eidos]

In my WIP Daemonlogy is a dangerous sub set of the prevailing magic, a rather psionics like form of sorcery. In this world Daemons are malign not spiritual entities but a component of the soul albeit a dark and atavistic one. However Some people theorize that Daemons are in fact a distinct species of spiritual entity that became intertwined with mortal souls.

There are two ways to summon a Daemon both with their risks.

Manifestation: pulls the Daemon out of the self an into the world, creating a being with a body of ectoplasm very similar to Revenant. Daemons grow and develop separately from their Summoner. A Summoner does not make sure that their own power stays comparable to their Daemon will soon find it controlling them, such reversed relationships can go undiscovered for years.

Incarnation: Is by it's very nature potentially lethal. The Summoner uses their own body as the medium for Summoning the Daemon, a single mistake would prove disastrous. When successfully performed the Summoner is transformed into a monstrous creature, gaining inhuman physical abilities and a host of other benefits that come taking on a more fluid state of existence. Incarnates are stronger than Manifested Daemons, because during Incarnation the Daemon and Summoner merge into a single entity combining the power of their Souls. Sometimes the merger becomes permanent resulting in a new individual entirely.


I have at least five different types of Daemons, Wrath, Contention(Conflict/Competition),Guile, Glamor, Fortitude.
All Daemons share certain basic abilities, they can sense, incite and feed upon the emotions connected to their nature.

It's the Daemons unique abilities which eluded me, the only Daemons who's abilities that I have fleshed out a Wrath and Glamour.

Wrath-Daemons: Are essentially berserkers. they burn acclimated rare and pain to fuel their physicality and can expel it as bizarre substance that look like fire but behaves like an acid. They can even push themselves to the point of self damage.

Glamour-Daemons: are supernaturally charming and charismatic,possessing an unconscious sensitivity to the emotions and state of mind of those around them. They radiate can sense of awe which can be enthralling or intimidating depending on how it used. They can produce Illusions of verifying degrees of complexcity. The most power and skilled can produce phantasms,approximations of real things.

 

[Queshire]

Something about the name Daemons rubs me the wrong way...

Rather than trying to match a purpose to a Daemon, it might be best to think about what sort of purposes a mage would want a summoned servant for and then Daemon-ize that.

 

[Logos&Eidos]

Something about the name Daemons rubs me the wrong way...

Rather than trying to match a purpose to a Daemon, it might be best to think about what sort of purposes a mage would want a summoned servant for and then Daemon-ize that.

That might would probably be fastest and would certainly less of a creative headache. With the way I have Daemons working they aren't brought from some other plane, they are already a part of the mage and need only awakened. Each person has only one daemon...usually. Daemons are very closely related to Spirits and Spirits are conceptual entitles, a spirit in a since is and has control over what ever concept it corresponds to. Short metaphysics lessons platonic forms exist and under pin all reality, mortal magic cannot touch this realm. Daemons aren't pure conceptual entities like spirits, their is an emotional competent to them and their powers. I was trying to establish a fixed number of Daemon types so that I wouldn't have to come up with a different magic-system for every possible type of daemon.

 

[ThinkerX]

The whole concept sounds akin to the ancient worlds conception of magic and emotion. Emotions were seen as 'spirits' possessing a person...at least some of the time. (Been years since I did any reading here).

As to splitting the 'demon' from ones self and having it assume an independent existence, that is a 'Tulpa.'

 

[WooHooMan]

I'm glad you're going with a Plato/gnostic daemons instead of the "pretentious spelling of demon" daemons. I also have always liked the idea of a magic system built around a relationship with the user and another entity like a familiar.
I'm digging it. I'd play a video game with a system like this.

 

[Logos&Eidos]

The whole concept sounds akin to the ancient worlds conception of magic and emotion. Emotions were seen as 'spirits' possessing a person...at least some of the time. (Been years since I did any reading here).

As to splitting the 'demon' from ones self and having it assume an independent existence, that is a 'Tulpa.'

Mortal magic is essentially psionics. Sorcery's mechanics are inspired by the "Law Of Vibration" and morphic field theory. Sorcerers broadcast vibrations the retune the morphic fields around them. Yup Daemons are Tupla, however the words Demon/Daemon are more familiar to the western audience.

I'm glad you're going with a Plato/gnostic daemons instead of the "pretentious spelling of demon" daemons. I also have always liked the idea of a magic system built around a relationship with the user and another entity like a familiar.
I'm digging it. I'd play a video game with a system like this.

You know I hadn't thought of what the actual relationship between Daemon and Summoner is like. Beyond the fact that if a Daemon becomes more powerful than it's Summoner it is able to reverses their relationship.


Looking for inspiration for Daemons types brought me to White Wolf I think they are Onyx Path now. White Wolfs games tend to dived their character race/classes into five broad categories;Warrior,Spy/Rouge,Leader/The Face,Mystic,Technician.

Warrior-Daemons,feed on all the motions related to conflict and have combat related abilities.

Glamour/Media or Dominion Daemons,feed on awe,adoration,respect,fear, and have abilities relating to manipulating others. possibly illusion at low levels at higher simulacrums.

That leaves the Spy/Rouge,Mystic and Technician undefined.

 

[ThinkerX]

Mortal magic is essentially psionics

Hey, that's my magic system! Read through a foot thick stack of...quasi scientific...books on psi research, picked out the abilities claimed most often that had at least some measure of evidence going for them, and went with those...plus a few extra's, like illusions.

But with me, 'demons' are often Lovecraftian entities, not Tulpa's.

 

[Logos&Eidos]

Hey, that's my magic system! Read through a foot thick stack of...quasi scientific...books on psi research, picked out the abilities claimed most often that had at least some measure of evidence going for them, and went with those...plus a few extra's, like illusions.

But with me, 'demons' are often Lovecraftian entities, not Tulpa's.

Sorcery works by drawing forth and projecting the soul's aether-energy, the art has five disciplines which covers most psionic powers, plus alchemy and daemonology.

The War and Dominion daemons are done,though I'm open to any suggestions

War-Daemons:Feed upon the emotions tied to conflict and can insight them in others. they radiate an aura of menace and can strike fear into or break the will of those weaker than they. Being warriors they are hyper-vigilant and possess a radar like awareness of their enemies. in addition to their ability to since violence emotions. They have an excellent atunmment to the world's rythme ,which supplements there already outstanding reaction times. War-Daemons can turn their stored up emotional-energy into a fiery blast that despite looking like flame behaves like acid. they can heal others a necessary skill for one in a battles. They can generate Force-fields that protect them from all things hostile;ranging from small personal auras to massive barrier fields.


Dominion-Daemons: All so known as Glamour Daemons are physically among the weakest of their kind. feed on awe,adoration,respect,fear. and store that energy as the fuel for their other abilities. They possesses a supernatural charm and are incredibly charismatic. while they cannot read minds they are very sensitive to the emotions and state of minds of those around. They can induce a sense of awe which can be enthralling or intimidating. they exert a subtle pull on all minds around them luring the susceptible into their service. They can turn other beings into their thralls. Thralls are loyal to their master and are in synch with their follows acting with surprising coordination. Dominion-Daemons can even use their power to coordinate non-thralls. Dominion-Daemons can draw power and knowledge from their thralls. with a large enough group of followers dominion Daemons are unstable.They can look through eyes if any other thralls. the true measure of a Domion-daemon's strength by the number of connections that they can safely maintain.

 

[ThinkerX]

Sorcery works by drawing forth and projecting the soul's aether-energy, the art has five disciplines which covers most psionic powers, plus alchemy and daemonology.

Again, sounds a lot like my system. Lessee...

1 - Mental or Telepathic magic - ESP, spells of mental influence, plus a sort of invisibility. For want of a better place, illusion magic is a sort of subset. Protective magic (against demons and hurtful magic is another subset. This whole collection (barring illusion) is fundamental to the rest.

2 - Telekinesis - moving external objects with the mind alone. Includes levitation. Can be used to influence the weather.

3 - Metabolic or life magic. Aka healing magic, mostly drawn from faith healing but also including spells that can greatly increase ones speed, strength, or alter features. For very powerful magic users (mostly non human), includes limited shape shifting.

4 - Projective magic, information/action at distant points in space. Starts with clairvoyance or remote viewing, grades up to teleportation. True adepts (again, mostly nonhumans) can open portals between worlds.


5 - Pyrokinetic or fire magic.

To which I add Runes / Alchemy / Ritual, a vast mishmash, some very effective, but mostly dubious. Much is badly misremembered lore from the long vanished 'ancient aliens' - the race that imbued selected humans and others with greatly enhanced psionic ability millennia ago.

Then there is summoning magic, based around sacrifices and true names (as per much magic in the ancient world), except the summoned entities are often straight out of Lovecraft.

Similar to yours?

 

[Logos&Eidos]

Again, sounds a lot like my system. Lessee...

1 - Mental or Telepathic magic - ESP, spells of mental influence, plus a sort of invisibility. For want of a better place, illusion magic is a sort of subset. Protective magic (against demons and hurtful magic is another subset. This whole collection (barring illusion) is fundamental to the rest.

2 - Telekinesis - moving external objects with the mind alone. Includes levitation. Can be used to influence the weather.

3 - Metabolic or life magic. Aka healing magic, mostly drawn from faith healing but also including spells that can greatly increase ones speed, strength, or alter features. For very powerful magic users (mostly non human), includes limited shape shifting.

4 - Projective magic, information/action at distant points in space. Starts with clairvoyance or remote viewing, grades up to teleportation. True adepts (again, mostly nonhumans) can open portals between worlds.


5 - Pyrokinetic or fire magic.

To which I add Runes / Alchemy / Ritual, a vast mishmash, some very effective, but mostly dubious. Much is badly misremembered lore from the long vanished 'ancient aliens' - the race that imbued selected humans and others with greatly enhanced psionic ability millennia ago.

Then there is summoning magic, based around sacrifices and true names (as per much magic in the ancient world), except the summoned entities are often straight out of Lovecraft.

Similar to yours?

A little yes.

The five disceplines of sorcery break down into

1. Psychokinesis. Kinetic energy control with a slight bleed over into gravity and inertia.

2. thought and emotional effects a grougped togather with life-force manipulation. the mind and body are connected after all.
Daemon summoning is filed on this as a sub-disciplined.

3. Radiant energy control which splits into,pyro,photo and electro kinesis.

4. matter manipulation Alchemy. it also deals with the generation of ectoplasm.

5. teleportation. soul-energy is it's own medium and can be used for travel.

I'm putting the presence of eldritch abominations into the back ground of the world" the war of light and shadow" they don't have an impact on the story that I'm building.