Feb 26, 2017

Demonic Patrons for Perdition: Sapralethe

Another demon patron for Courtney Campbell's Perdition. I'm debating between playing a druid and an "inheritor" which is sort of a cleric-equivalent, if clerics were mutant wizard cultists who shot flame from their eyes and had claws. I wanted some high-concept demon options to balance out the more body-horror devil patrons in the corebook.

Sapralethe, the Unwelcome Truth
Demon Lord of Truth, Revelation, Horror, Sound, and Stone

The Old Gods created the Angel of Truth and gave it a silver trumpet by which to proclaim their dominion over the world. They charged it to separate the true from the false through the clarion tones of the trumpet wherever it went. But each time the angel blew that trumpet, there were echoes that were unforeseen, truths unintended, that were released into the world. Those echoes coursed through far caverns and mountain valleys, intermingling with one another in a cacophony until finally Sapralethe, the residue of that unwelcome and unwanted truth, coalesced.

Sapralethe is the words no one wants to hear, the secret that causes kingdoms to fall and lovers to kill, the suddenly-remembered trespass that explains an act of revenge, the perfect as the enemy of the good.  Wherever knowledge is born from rivalry, conflict, discord and the need to humiliate and dominate, Sapralethe's influence will be found. It is the bold design of new weapons, the shaming truth, the intricate logic that ensares one's interlocutor. It loves the political critique too radical for its day, the dangerous pursuit of forbidden knowledge, the stinging rebuke, the rumour that no one will admit to spreading, the frankness of the fool to the king. It despises musicians, merchants, sycophants and the timidity of the ignorant and naive. It abhors the unthinking construct, and seeks to remind it that it is nought beside the power of the mind.

Sapralethe appears as a mausoleum carved with the names of its petitioners. The inside of the mausoleum is covered in graffiti left by visitors. You must search until you find the answer to your question, however long it takes. You must leave an answer you do not wish to be known as payment for the gift. The mausoleum is decorated with statues of those found unworthy by Sapralethe.

Its herald is a vulture-headed naked giant with torn wing stumps who carries a silver trumpet and a book, each chained to its arms. The giant is unable to play the trumpet. He cannot read the book. His footsteps shake the earth long after he is gone. Sapralethe's cultists are rogue scholars, printer-heresiarchs, invidious rumour-mongers and mystics who have searched into dark realms in pursuit of ultimate truth. They dust themselves with chalk and conduct silent ceremonies in forgotten libraries of black lore.

Taboos
Never stifle an echo
Seek out and spread knowledge regardless of the consequences
Never forgive someone who has lied to you
Never destroy a statue or monument

Observances
Discover a secret (+1)
Write a dangerous secret down for others to discover (+1)
Provoke a conflict by speaking the truth (+1)
Ritually sacrifice a musician to Sapralethe (+1)
Tell a lie to avoid the consequences of the truth (-1)
Flatter or comfort another (-1)

Bond
2: Opponents you make social attacks against apply your current Stress total as a penalty to their saves against the effects of the attack.
3: You may name a creature that has lied to you, and track it via the appropriate Survival skill
4: You may use the brain of a freshly-killed sentient being to auger the future (as Augury)
5: You may reroll any save to avoid becoming Panicked, Shaken, or to gain a point of stress. If you succeed on the second roll, this condition is applied to someone else of your choosing nearby instead.
6: You can tell whenever someone lies to you. Either party in a conversation may remain silent instead of answering. You can also trade unpleasant truths. For each unpleasant truth you share, the other party must answer one question truthfully.
7: Three times per day you may speak the Words of Unmaking, affecting a 3"x 3" cone. All creatures within it must save or be deafened. All objects must save or be shattered.
8: You gain Social and Psychic Resistance 5. You are immune to damage from stress.
9: As a [Double Action] you may summon a sorrow elemental from a statue to serve you for one day. The statue must be man-sized or larger, and can only be used to summon an elemental once. Statues made within the past year summon minor elementals. Statues less than a century old summon elementals. Older statues summon major elementals. There is a 1-in-20 chance any statue has already been used by another acolyte of Sapralethe.
10: You can speak to the echoes of Sapralethe resounding in all base matter. You do not need to share a common language with your target to make social attacks. Your social attacks may affect constructs and mindless undead.
11: You castigate your enemies you for their failings, and your shaming words etch themselves into their skin. As an [Action] you can make a social attack against all enemies within 3". They must save or be Staggered for a number of rounds equal to your current Stress total and take 2d8 physical damage. Creatures with Wickedness >10 are Stunned and take 4d8 physical damage instead on a failed save.
12: You and all allies within 2" gain Fast Healing X where X is equal to each of your current Stress totals. You no longer need to sleep and cannot be surprised. When you are killed, you melt into the earth. The next time someone says your name in a place that echoes, you will reform unharmed as a naked statue within one day if you pass an Ego test (Difficulty 7). Failing the test means you are permanently dead.

Edited after Josh B's feedback.

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