Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous executions, the unrelenting vindictiveness, with which more than half the Bible is filled, it would be more consistent that we called it the word of a demon than the Word of God. It is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize mankind.
An Extra Special Thanks to: White Wolf Game Studios, which without, Daemon would not have been possible.
We Dedicate this Work to: Casar, who is actually a Daemon is disguise -- No, really!
I can be reached at:
Frank Torkel
1095 Mohawk rd.
Niskayuna NY, 12309
USA
E-Mail: grandthief@globalone.net
Note: For a more recent version of Daemon, see the author's Web site at: http://www.albany.net/~diabolos/.
The Storyteller System, Vampire: the Masquerade, Werewolf: the Apocalypse, Mage: the Ascension, Wraith: the Oblivion, Changeling: the Dreaming, and A World of Darkness are all trademarks of White Wolf Game Studios and the use of these trademarks is without their permission. The mention of or reference to any companies or products including White Wolf Game Studios and their respected products, is not a challenge to the trademarks or copyrights concerned. This work is designed rather to increase consumer interest in their products.
Note: Please keep in mind that this is a game, a game that discusses mature themes. This work presents real-life beliefs, but is not designed to be taken as Satanic propaganda or occultist lore. If you are offended by such subject matter then please stop reading. Reader discretion is advised.
When the wolfsbane blooms, or when the virgin wakes, we are there to devour their essence. We will grant them love, power, or wealth. Such things mean nothing to us, we treasure only their souls.
We watch from hidden caves and from the streets, and strike when we wish. No one is safe, not the Kindred, Garou, Magi or Fey. We stalk the Umbra and Shadowlands too, corrupting all those who cross our paths. We slay our enemies and betray our friends. We respect only our own, for we are the true creatures of corruption, we are the Daemon.
Not all of our kind are evil however, this you must know. Our forefathers committed great sins, and so we live in Hel, punished for their deeds. Those of my Ilk however, have expanded our consciousness and seek penance for their deeds, until we may once again be judged. This done, we will regain our positions as great lords of man, and will sit beside our cousins, Angels once more. Listen closely as I tell you these things, for one day they may save your life, or maybe even your soul.
The Luring is near, do not think it is not. Our children fight on, and soon only one Ilk shall remain. We will then lead the other Daemons onto earth, and destroy the wretched fools who hinder us. First however we must conquer Hel, and beat the other creatures into submission. With their help we may take earth, and make it into an even darker world. The Luring draws near... yes, the Luring draws near indeed...
Greetings mortal...
Do not fear me, I know who you are. I am Arcadian, a Daemon of immense power. For years I have watched you studying necromancy and the arcane. Power is what you want, and this power I can give you. Do what I ask, and you shall have what you desire. Immortality you say? No problem. I will make you as immortal as the Kindred, or as powerful as the Garou. There is a price, however. Your soul will be mine, but that is not important now.
We call ourselves the Daemon, demi-gods and the rulers of Hel. In the past we Daemons have given power to many mortals and immortals alike. Anything you want to know or have can be yours. But remember, you must tell no one of our meetings or you will die effortlessly. For now that is all you must know. Well then, let's get down to business...
Welcome to Daemon, a sub-campaign for the World of Darkness. This source book is in no way intended or designed to start a whole new campaign. In fact, Daemon is meant to be played alongside a previous campaign to enlighten the chronicle or add a bit more "flavor" to it. Daemon is a source book designed to create or add a new character to the game, a demon character whose main purpose in the game is to add souls to his army of the damned. This game is based on that facet of character White Wolf has previously only briefly gone over in a few source books. Now, Daemons can be used to enhance a story and bring forth a whole new element to the Storyteller system. Designed alongside the concepts of mythical and religious demons, the Daemons described herein supplement those described in various World of Darkness source books. Such books of note include The Book of Madness, and The Storytellers Guide to the Sabbat.
In Daemon, various things must be kept in mind. The demons of most religions are stereotypically evil creatures whose main purpose is to defile and corrupt others. This is not so however, which is shown in many early myths. In fact, in many earlier civilizations, including Pagan mythology, there were things spoken of that resembled demi-gods, creatures from beyond who had great powers. These creatures popped up throughout history and influenced humanity in many ways. Whether good or evil, the beings of Hel, a place shrouded in secrecy, were creatures that played a greater masquerade than even the Kindred. These creatures hid their true selves in such secrecy, that most other supernatural creatures barely know more than a few tidbits of knowledge about the Daemons.
In the World of Darkness, Daemons play a larger role in the lives of many more than they have in the past. Vampires, Mages, and many other denizens of the World of Darkness are in search of quick and easy ways of obtaining mass power. This is what the Daemons offer, and they do so for good reason. Whenever a power or object is granted to a character, that character loses part of his soul, which, upon death, becomes a slave of the Daemon. This soul can be shaped into many things, among them a weapon that the Daemons use to wage their own war, which they call the Quash. In Hel, the domain of the Daemons, status is measured by how much power one possesses. The Quash, an exhibition of such power, is a great ploy similar to the Vampire's Jyhad in that it deals with conquering one's opponents. The soul of the Daemon's victims are used in Hel as soldiers that are used to gain rank and status in Hel, and eventually in the real world. The latter is known as the Luring, a time when Daemons will rule the earth, when a new leader in Hel has been appointed. In many ancient tapestries, battles are shown between demons and angels, metaphors of the great Luring.
As the Kindred have clans and the Garou have tribes, so do the Daemons have Ilks. These groups define what kind of Daemon the characters in a chronicle are dealing with. These Ilks, once peaceful with one another, have entered a phase of war, the Quash, a war that will end in a single Ilk's member becoming ruler of Hel. Until the Luring when one Daemon and his Ilk prevails, when the living world is under the foul corruption of the Daemons and their is no light left in the world, the children of Lucifer will forever fight on.
The true history of the Daemons is shrouded in mystery, much like Hel, their place of origin. According to Daemon lore however, the ancestors of the Daemons were once graceful creatures, angels who abided by God's every word. These angels, five in total, were lead by their leader, Lucifer. Being a proud group of angels these mighty creatures wanted more than they had, turning rebels. Lucifer at this time proclaimed himself as king of Babylon, an act that was selfish and full of greed. After being banished from heaven by God, these creatures took up a new home in the Deep Umbra. This Umbral Realm now known as Hel, was seized by Lucifer, and the few natives to this Realm either fled or hid from the Fallen Angels. Lucifer harnessed the Realm's power with his perverted Faith, and ruled Hel for millennia. For following Lucifer and betraying God, each of the five Fallen Angels received powers from Lucifer, the eldest and most powerful among them.
The five Fallen Angels each began their own Ilk, Lucifer having granted them each the power to create offspring. Thus was formed the Luciferentes, the Ilk of leadership begun by Lucifer himself. Shaitan gathered his powers and created the twisted Rakshasas, and Astaroth too created progeny -- the Asuras. Beelzebub looked on, and finally forged the Daimone with his great powers. Then came the last Ilk to be formed, as Beherit uneasily created the Djinn. Later came the Diabolos and Faustus too, joining the other Ilks in their eternal war -- the Luring. The combined powers that God had given these Fallen Angels, and those powers given to them by Lucifer who harnessed the raw energy of Hel, warped and mutated the Fallen Angels, increasing their power, but destroying their immortality. However, the Fallen Angels, the first Daemons, would rule Hel for ages. These combined powers however, flowing through the offspring of the Fallen Angels, grew dim as more Daemons were created. Like the Kindred, the farther the Daemon's blood was from its Ilks creators, the weaker the Daemon was.
For many years Hel was a mating grounds for the Daemons, each of them learning the magicks their sires taught them. Hel was a thriving Realm, and led by Lucifer, all went well until the prophesy. This prophesy foretold a time when the Messiah would arrive and destroy Satan, the Catholic name given to Lucifer. The Daemons thought nothing of this idle threat until one day, a bright light entered the depths of Hel. The Daemons sensed its presence and prepared for battle. The light blinded the elder Daemons, rendering all others unconscious. The Fallen Angels panicked, and warned their leader of the glowing, spherical mass approaching the very depths of Hel.
The legend becomes unclear at this point, but it is said that Lucifer stormed out of his domain and approached the sphere. The sphere hovered before him, five tentacled arms reaching out around his body. Lucifer unleashed his full fury, a rage that could have decimated whole cities, but in all his greatness, he could do nothing. Lucifer yelled in pain as the orb absorbed his power, his entire essence being drained into the stem of the fingers holding him tight. In a flash of blinding light, the sphere was gone, and Lucifer with it. In their place was left behind a sparkling light, forever marking the destruction of the sire of all Daemons.
The Fallen Angels fearing for their lives left Hel, promising to return one day, a day marked as the end of the Luring. Lucifer and the Fallen Angels gone, a war soon broke out among the Ilks, a war that continues to drag on to this day; a war fought for the domination of Hel known as the Quash. This war, fought on the battlefields of Hel and earth both, are the beginning of a long reign, where only one Daemon and his Ilk shall rule.
Lucifer and the Ilks he led believed in the importance of their history. To preserve this knowledge, he and the other fallen angels wrote a physical text which they entitled the Necronomicon. This text they duplicated; five in total were written, one for each Ilk. This text contained the history of their origin, the basis' of their powers and the rites and rituals used to contact, and even control them. All the weaknesses and strengths of the Daemons were contained in this text, so that every Daemon would learn how best to use his powers, and how not to. A selection of the Necronomicon was read aloud every thirty-five days during an Ilks meeting. Each Daemon's duty was to learn the rules of the Necronomicon, a task which became impossible after the destruction of Lucifer and the splitting of the Fallen Angels.
Each copy of the Necronomicon was initially buried in its Ilks temple and removed only when it was needed to be added on to. After the destruction of Lucifer, the Fallen Angels feeling threatened, sought out all five Necronomicons. These texts holding the only information of how to control, summon, and destroy the Daemons, were all burnt in the magical fires of Hel, although one was saved, and hidden on earth. After the Fallen Angels left Hel, many Daemons sought out this Necronomicon, for all knew that much of their sires' power was described within. All search was in vain however, and the book was never found.
Until a mortal known as Abdul Alhazred (the "Mad Arab") discovered the Necronomicon, most younger Daemons had not even known it existed. This mortal, whose real name is unknown, knew the ancient language of Sumer, in which the text was written. This mortal, a marauder Mage, read the book and slowly became more insane than he was as he read on. He called forth unspeakable powers of destruction but continued living, and garnering much of Hel's powers, living as a powerful man. However, a man he was, and driven mad by such powers he disappeared, never to be seen again.
It was decided that the Necronomicon, recovered by the eldest of the Daemons, was to be hidden, for destroying such a treasure would be more than sacrilege. The "Mad Arab's" fate was obvious, a mortal in another's world. It is said by the younger of the Daemons that the foolish mortal had summoned the Fallen Angels themselves, and they in turn destroyed him. Only the eldest Daemons know what had become of this mortal for sure, and few have witnessed the last expressions on the mortal's face. The marauder did leave traces of the Necronomicon behind however, copying many parts and sending them to various places. Mortals discovering these pieces formed their own legends and stories to go with the strange artifacts found. Many Daemons have recovered such pieces, but it is said that many more are out there, in the Umbra and elsewhere. It must be understood however that many such tales are nothing but false, and many fake Necronomicons are in existence; only few of them containing any real evidence of the true book of the Daemons.
As the legend goes, the eldest of the Daemons proclaimed themselves protectors of the Necronomicon, naming themselves "Keepers of the Luring," and constructed a huge temple within the very pits of Hel. One Daemon from each Ilk joined this elite group, including the infamous Orobas, then the leader of the Luciferentes. With him went Amduscias of the Asuras, Ukobach of the Djinn, Eurynome of the Daimone, Ronwe of the Diabolos, Xaphan of the Faustus, and Shaddai of the Raksasas. The temple, surrounded by the magickal fires native to Hel, became the home of these Daemons, who have only been seen seldomly since their departure. The temple still stands to this day, constructed of sheer power. No Daemon has yet ventured into this temple and returned, for the custodians of the Necronomicon do not wish to be seen, and they hold power over all Daemons. They believe the Fallen Angels have been destroyed by the very power that destroyed Lucifer, and in their opinion, that makes them the rulers of Hel.