To usher in the new era of the Hellish Update, we have the binder of demons, the dominator of fiends, and the quintessential master of summonings. It takes a lot to control a being as powerful, vain, and self-centered as a fiend, and these spellcasters do so with vigor and enthusiasm.

 

Read on for more about the School of Demonology!

School of Demonology Wizard v0.5

You can also find the PDF version here.

 

For our first hellish update, what better than the Demonologist itself? The tradition is a classic one, as wizards are a power-seeking lot, and great power can be found in low places just as easily as anywhere else. Sure, keeping a hold on your soul is a bit more… challenging, but what’s that in the face of the potential rewards?

 

FEATURES:

• Summon a demonic familiar! Imps and quasits – not just for warlocks anymore!
• You can also summon in lesser demonic spirits, and then bind them into magical items! You can make anything from a weapon, a chain, or a rod!
• Don’t forget to watch yourself, and use Wards of Baator to guard against demonic aggression!
• And when you finally master these dark arts, your demonic servants can be bound by your own blood!
• Last but not least, a bunch of new spells! But you might’ve already seen those here, so excitement may vary.

 

DESIGN NOTES:

• I’ll admit – demonologist is something I’ve been dying to make for a while now. I originally thought of doing it as a separate class, but eventually I settled on the wizard instead.
• The idea for this subclass is to focus on the demonic theme rather than obsess over summoning specifically. So this isn’t a summoner class, though it is one that allows you to summon things.
• Instead, the idea is to look at the essential things any demonologist needs. The first is the power to bind demons, which is given at 2nd and 6th level. The second is protection, which takes up the 10th level slot. And, finally, you need reliability.
• Prior to 14th level, summoning demons requires a lot of blood from dead sentient humanoids. You’d have to kill a sentient humanoid about three times a day just to maintain your blood consumption, which is a bit limiting for a player character. So, Prisoner of Asmodeus is meant to alleviate that a bit.
• For concerns, I have one main one – I worry that Prisoner of Asmodeus is too little, too late. I also worry that it’s too powerful for the level its at, much less an earlier level. I think that this subclass works and is (hopefully) balanced as-is, but I’d like to find some other way of organizing that aspect.

 

In any case, get ready for more hellish creations coming soon!