#daemon

Dark Apostle Erebus

Daemon Prince from Warhammer 40k

Папа Стервятник.

Writing challenges and stuff - AU-gust Day 19: Daemons

Caucasian Eagle sent by Zeus to feed on Prometheus’ liver.

Origin: Greek mythology.

Parents/Maker: Various described as a bronze automaton constructed by the god Hephaistos, or as a member of the brood of fell creatures spawned by the daemon Ekhidna.

Siblings: Nemean Lion and Hydra.


The Aetos Kaukasios (Caucasian Eagle) was a gigantic eagle sent by Zeus to feed on the ever-regenerating liver of the Titan Prometheus, after he was chained to the peak of Mount Kaukasos as punishment for stealing fire from the gods.

When Heracles set out to free Prometheus from his bonds, he shot down the eagle with a volley of arrows. Afterwards the Eagle, the Titan and Arrow were placed all amonst the stars in the form of the constellations Aquila, the Kneeler and Saggita.

flashypegasus:

“In books you always read about the shy brunette with big hazel eyes who loves to read in her local café, with a cup of black coffee on one hand, in her oversized sweater. You always read about how easily a pair of dangerous green eyes manage to obtain control over her life and her. You read about how the green eyed bad boy captures her soul and plays with her heart like a lion with its prey. And in the end, when his play is finally over, his hunger now faded, he is accepted and cherished by this very same girl who he played with for chapters and chapters. However you never read about the blonde mess, with the foxy brown eyes who spends her summer nights dancing by the bonfire, getting tipsy from the cheap vodka her friends bought on the filthy market down the street, in her jean shorts and ankle length converses, with a tattoo she got without permission. You never read about the way she, with her imperfect smile made everything about her fit together so perfectly, just like a puzzle. You never read about how she subconsciously lured boys and men with only a quick glance of her mysterious eyes and a tad vivacious wiggle of her fingertips. You never read about how dozens of guys’ first thought in the morning and at night before they went to sleep was her. You never read about the danger those very brown eyes carried and how at the end they were just another summer night for her.”

—@flashypegasus

The ram-horned, mantis-armed phasmadaemons personify death by fright. They also happen to cause death by fright (convenient, that!), courtesy of illusion spell-like abilities supercharged to be practically real, and they feed on fright, too—demonstrating, all in all, a horrifically efficient and thrifty biology.

Though phasmadaemons didn’t make it into the hardbound Bestiaries till number 6, they’ve been around since Horsemen of the Apocalypse, so GMs looking for a deep dive on their tactics, hunting habits and culture should look there. Two things in particular jump out at me, though. The first is how powerful (CR 17) phasmadaemons are—an indicator that causing death by fear alone somehow situates them closer to the daemonic ideal than, say, more base deaths such as drowning, being mauled, or exsanguination.

The second is that—though this isn’t really reflected in the rules, it’s a great story bit—phasmadaemons somehow also collect fearful imaginings and trade them with each other. I’m a big fan of the soul markets of the night hags, so the notion of even more quiddity-derived commodity trades excites me to no end.

Struck by an azata’s arrow, a thanadaemon goes mad as the celestial wound grows septic. No longer content to represent death by old age, it begins stalking the living, culling souls before their proper time—and in the process, disrupting a phasmadaemon’s carefully orchestrated hauntings. Offended, the phasmadaemon tricks mortal adventurers into hunting down the wayward thanadaemon, though all the while it also sends illusory torments to harry their progress and stoke their fear. Once the thanadaemon is slain, the phasmadaemon offers its thanks by revealing itself to the adventurers before attempting to murder them.

Fireworks, porcelain masks, and sinuous manticore puppets are all hallmarks of the Yung New Year’s celebrations. But the court sorcerer made a deal with the daemonic Lord of the Wastes to win Yung’s last war against the northern barbarian tribes, and now daemons have begun slipping unchallenged into the empire. The rise in terror and deaths are largely felt only as a malaise that hangs over the city. But that changes during the New Year parade, when a porcelain-masked phasmadaemon erupts out from under the procession’s manticore puppet and sends illusionary horrors to torment citizens.

Bugbears that perfect the art of stalking and terrifying victims are sometimes visited by a phasmadaemon. The daemon stalks the chosen bugbear over the course of three days and nights, attacking at random, setting up ambushes, and never letting the goblinoid sleep. Though few bugbears could hope to defeat a daemon in combat, if the champion does not show fear throughout the entire ordeal, the phasmadaemon will grant the bugbear some boon. Often these boons include the gift of an intelligent magical weapon, magical prowess (treat as added class levels or the half-field template),a spell-like ability, transformation into a greater barghest, or some other dark blessing.

—Horsemen of the Apocalypse 52–53 & Pathfinder Bestiary 674

Hi guys. Been a while since we did a monster. For my Blogger readers, here’s some of what’s been going on—including some fun with monster reading recommendations, some big news, and some bleak news. For my Tumblr readers, thank as always for sticking around and keeping me company.