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Demon Imps
Ex Libris Nocturnis - http://www.nocturnis.net By: Michael 'Dracon' Zwiers (email: mrzwiers@wanadoo.nl) Summary: An alternate servitor for Demon: the Fallen Admit it! Sometimes keeping track of all your Thralls and followers is too much of a burden. Well, in such a situation it may be a wise choice to create an Imp. Someone to manage some or all of your underlings and attract new followers, while you can worry about more pressing needs. Imps get the task to herd followers and even Thralls from time to time, while their masters are away. But such a task is not easy at all, since the Imp must make sure that the followers and Thralls keep their Faith in the Demon. Many Imps are preachers who keep followers inspired, and supervisors making sure Thralls keep up their ends of the bargains. Demons deciding to create an Imp make sure very they choose a subject who is very trustworthy, because the Imp is given command over something that is very delicate and priceless to Demon. An Imp turning against a Demon is possibly the worst nightmare for a Demon next to going back to the Abyss. Luckily Imps rarely rebel against their masters, since they actually received some of the essence of their masters (which with the right Lores can actually be detected) linking them to their masters spiritually. Imps were actually already used by Angels since mankind expanded across the known lands. Especially Devils found them to be highly useful for putting them on all kinds of small task, and by far had the most Imps of all. Now that the Fallen are on Earth they regained the ability to create Imps. What exactly happens when creating an Imp nowadays is unknown, but the fact that standard Imps have mainly Devil Visage elements makes many Fallen believe they've summoned one of the original Imps in the target body. There are even a few Fallen who think that Imps are actually summoned Nephilim. System: Creating an Imp works the same as creating a Thrall. In fact, you can create an Imp from someone who already is one of your Thralls. First apply all normal rules for creating a Thrall (if not already done)[see D:tF pg.252]. Then spend 1 permanent Faith OR if possible 5 temporary Faith to empower the Imp. The potential Faith rating of the person now changes into a permanent rating and temporary pool, just like a Demon has. An Imp created out of a Hunter, Mage, Ghoul or any other supernatural creature loses all of his superpowers (except the ones given when Enthralled). Imps have Torment ratings as well. They start at a permanent Torment rating of the masters House rating - 1. Permanent Torment is still rated 1 to 10. The temporary rating however is equal to the permanent Faith rating of the Imp (minimum of 5 regardless of permanent Faith). The more Faith an Imp has in its master the more he can endure. An Imp can increase it?s permanent Faith at 8x rating, which will also automatically increase temporary Torment on a one for one basis. This occurs when Faith rating is equal or greater than 5. An Imp also gets the following other benefits: The ability to learn the two common Lores (7x rating, 10 XP for level 1). They get no dots directly at the time which they are created. If they received one or more levels when Enthralled, they do not have to buy those again. They do however need to build the Lores up from level 1 like normal Demons, before they can go above the levels they already have. An Imp and its Demon master can exchange temporary Faith, to the full discretion of the Demon. If the Imp is empowered to give daily Faith, this is taken from the temporary Faith pool. A Demon can opt to redirect excess daily Faith to the Imp. The Imp can be anywhere when this happens. Imps can heal damage just like a Demon can.[see D:tF pg.248] Imps get a limited Apocalyptic form, which can actually be used to Enthrall people in the name of the Imps master. Also, they can soak lethal damage when in this form. The master of the Imp can opt to possess one of his Imps just like what can be done with Thralls [see D:tF pg.259]. The standard roll is done at difficulty 4 or is automatic if the Imp has agreed to allow it. The Demon keeps his own Lores, and in addition receives any Lores the Imp had learned. The Faith and Torment rating are fully those of the Demon. An Imp has an Apocalyptic form that is build up by taking 3 normal and 3 high Torment elements from both the Visage of the Demon and of the default Imp Visage, which are the following:

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Normal effects: When activated an Imps has a slight inhuman radiance, and appear to glow a bit. Some are said to be surrounded by a thin golden aura. Superhuman Presence: +1 Charisma, +1 Manipulation, +1 Appearance. Natural Leader: -1 difficulty to all Leadership and Expression rolls. Enthrall: An Imp can Enthrall people in the name of its master. This is a very hard thing to do, since his master is not around most of the time. Also, enthralling can only be done while the Imp has this element Visage activated. Daily Faith can be directed to either the Imp or its master. High Torment effects: An Imp who activates his high Torment Visage looks a lot like the classic Imp. His skin turns red and his face shifts to a more evil appearance like a classic demon. His size remains the same though. Wings: The Imp has wings a third again his length. These wings are leathery and colored red with black. Leathery Skin: The tough red skin serves as armor and gives the Imp 4 dice to soak all types of damage. Claws and Fangs: Strength + 2 lethal damage. Visage elements given by using potential Faith points add to these effects. If somehow the Imp receives a similar power twice he can opt to activate either of the two, but never both at the same time. If an Imp has even one of the Visage elements of his master then the Apocalyptic form of the Imp will show some visual similarities to the one of his Demon master. Whenever an Imp reaches a permanent Torment of 9 a transformation unique to Imps occurs. The Imp will automatically turn into its high Torment Visage, BUT without the normal Visage elements. He will stay in this shape 24 hours per day until he somehow lowers his permanent Torment rating (which is very hard to do). The Imp is capable only of simple and often incoherent speech. Whenever the Imp reaches level 10 he becomes more menacing and dangerous. He can no longer speak and is only capable of producing very irritating high pitched laughter. When the Imp reaches this point he can no longer return to normal. Imps this far gone are often either killed or used as amusement to fight each other in an arena. Finally, if an Imp's Demon master has returned to the Abyss, the link between the Imp and the Demon is severed. The shock makes the Imp severely unstable emotionally. The Imp needs to roll his permanent Faith rating against a difficulty of 8. In any case the Imp loses all his powers and benefits he received under the rules of creating a Thrall. If the roll succeeds the Thrall will keep his Imp specific powers (the Lores he learned, his 6 Visage elements, as well as Faith and Torment ratings). If the roll fails the Imp will lose his Apocalyptic form, and Faith and Torment ratings. The only thing he keeps is any of the Lores he has learned. For system purposes permanent and temporary Faith is replaced by permanent and temporary Willpower. High Torment Lore effects now only manifest if the evocation roll is botched. Assume the Imp has a permanent Torment rating of 5 if ever necessary. This type of independent Imp is also considered to have a Faith potential of 0, since all his Faith is effectively destroyed. Independent Imps often become preachers in churches or on the streets, sometimes warning people of what is happening out there. Imps who kept their Faith and Torment ratings often start their own church communities or cults to keep reaping faith from people. Others live on Faith gained from their personal Thralls. Imps who only kept the Lores sometimes actually become Demon hunters fighting the enemies of their former master, use their knowledge of the inner workings of Demons against the Demons. Imps who botched the roll try to pick up their normal lives once more, but are often locked away for having delusions of "angel and demons ruling the Earth" or something like that.
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