Demon Worship

Demon Lords (from Faiths of Corruption)

Demon lords are not true gods, but they offer power all the same to mortals on the Material Plane. Their incredible strength, guile, and willingness to deal with mortals make them a tantalizing source of might. There are numerous demon lords, and they crave worship to bottom their savage ware against their neighbors. Every demon lord’s alignment is chaotic evil, and Chaos and Evil are two of their domains.

Should you choose to worship a demon lord, your worship is usually within a small cult aimed at specific destructive and evil goals. You stand against civilization and order because you do not rule it, and when you gain power, you use it cruelly and bloodily. You may worship the demons only for power, rather than true devotion, but the effect is the same. Your rites vary, but all of them spill blood and sacrifice souls to the Abyss, and you fight viciously with other demon cults, whether physically or spiritually, because their worship strengthens the enemies of your lord, and your lord’s enemies are your own. Presented here are 13 of the best known demon lords (there may be more).

If you worship Abraxas, you seek magical power at any price—even if it means the death of all who love you—for the might of the arcane is your only passion. His other domains are Knowledge and Magic and his favored weapon is the whip. You are a cruel master, relentless in your pursuit of mystical power, and you brook no rivals.

If you are not among the ape-men of the Mwangi Expanse and yet your worship Angazhan, then you are one who seeks to awaken the beast within yourself. His other domains are Animal and Plant, and his favored weapon is the spear. You may lie quiet for a time but only so you can burst upon your foes and watch them quiver in terror.

The worshipers of Baphomet are mostly minotaurs, but if you are not, you are one of those whose mind in a labyrinth. His other domains are Animal and Strength, and his favored weapon is the glaive. You are both sly and brutal, a stalker, and you love nothing more than springing a well-laid trap. Indeed, you might even stage a ceremony when you hear of adventurers coming so that you can capture them for a sacrifice to the Lord of Minotaurs.

Those who follow Cyth-V’sug. Prince of the Blasted Heath, realize the true powers of disease and infestation. The demon’s other domains are Earth and Plant, and its favored weapon is the scimitar. If you worship Cythi-V’sug, you revel in the filth of the world, and you offer bloody elven sacrifices to it in order to be closer to your lord.

You may appease Dagon if you are a sailor, but if you truly worship him you lure ships to their doom on rocky shores and call forth monsters of the deep with great sacrifices of meat and blood. The Shadow in the Sea’s other domains are Destruction and Water, and his favored weapon is the trident. If you are mad enough to worship him, your demonic heritage may reach back to one of his numerous monstrous sea creatures.

Those who worship Deskari find strength in the horde. His other domains are Destruction and War, and his favored weapon is the scythe. You recognize that your lone flurries of anger are often too insignificant to strike with real power, yet you belong to a faith that—striking together—deals devastation that rivals the strength of the apocalypse. You burn farmers’ fields and harvest locust eggs, scattering them far and wide.

Gogunta inspires worship most frequently from debased swamp-dwellers such as the evil boggards and you are probably a creature with a love for mud and mires. Her other domains are Death and Water, and her favored weapon is the whip. You may be the descendants of a lost empire, reduced to its foulest essence, and you snatch children in the night and sacrifice them upon an altar of water-soaked logs and twisted trees.

If you worship Kostchtchie, you are likely a giant or an Ulfen warrior, a brawler so proud of your prowess that you will admit none before you. Kostchtchie’s other domains are Strength and War, and his favored weapon is the Warhammer. You are a reaver and a destroyer, and you call on your lord to lend your arm strength as you massacre villages with your foul laughter ringing to the sky.

If you follow Nocticula, you love the shadows as much as your love the caress of flesh. Her other domains are Charm and Darkness, and her favored weapon is the hand crossbow. You live by breaking your word and murdering those who trust you. You are likely an assassin, with a cohort of like—minded killers, and though none of you trust each other, your collective dedication to the hunt is unparalleled.

As a follower of Orcus, you seek to elevate the Prince of Undeath to his proper place on Golarion, and this means that you work tirelessly against the cults of Zura and Urgotha alike. Your worship is not much different from theirs, but you refuse to see praise that should go to Orcus be directed at rivals. The Prince of Undeath’s other domains are Death and Magic and his favored weapon is the heavy mace.

Pazuzu, King of the Wind Demons, is one of the abyss’s most tireless possessors of mortal flesh and you seek ways to trick others into speaking his name. His other domains are Air and Trickery, and his favored weapon is the longsword. You decorate shrines with his name and grim visage and carve his runes into the most prominent features of the idol—the avian wings, demonic face and serpentine phallus—and at these shrines you sacrifice the eyes and tongues of your enemies to your evil lord.

If you follow Shax, you are a torturer, but unlike the Kuthites, you do not practice pain on yourself. You are more bloody—minded and less poetic, but the screams (and eyes) of your victims are just as delicious. Shax’s other domains are Destruction and Nobility, and his favored weapon is the dagger. You are a lone maniac and your reverence for your lord is spoken as you take your trophies.

If you follow Socothbenoth, the world is yours for pleasure. You take it as you will, carving holes through reality and sating your hungers on whoever is weakest. His other domains are Charm and Travel, and his favored weapon is the quarterstaff. Your appetites do not extend merely to the flesh; you are an abuser of drugs and poisons, and nothing holds your interest for long.

Worshipers of Zura long for human flesh. Her other domains are Death and Madness, and her favored weapon is the rapier. You bathe in blood to keep your skin young and wear the hair of your sacrificed children upon your head. Your goal is endless life, and you will kill anyone or do anything if it lets you achieve this dream.