Minor Demons Cast in Copper | GLOGtober

Vast and trunkless legs of stone found here (GLOGtober 23')

CHALLENGE #1 [PRIMEUMATON]

5. Cool things to replace your eyes, teeth, and fingernails with.

The sheydim will never forgive mankind the transgression of working metal.

In the days before The Great Flood, the sheydim were supreme upon the face of the Earth. They need not fear that their desires and will would be rebuffed, they had no equals among the beings of clay and earth. Then a sheydim visited sickness upon a family, taking Jabal, Jubal and Naamah down to Sheol in sickness.

They spared their sibling Tubalcain, and this was another mistake. Tubalcain - long having listened to the songs of stones - trekked to the top of Mount Qaf. At its summit it's said he tore his shirt, seven times seven lightning bolts cracked across the sky, and G-d gave him the knowledge he wanted for revenge.

Tubalcain came down from the mountain, crowned in light and carrying raw ore from the mountain. He was the first to take the blood of the world dragon - metal - and reshape in the heat of his passion for vengeance. He was the first blacksmith.

The prayer and spell he worked that day was so powerful it affected all the tribes of sheydim (and survived the power of the coming Flood). Tubalcain began the tradition of Brass-Smithing by which all exorcists, judges and wise men can fight back against The Ethereal. 

Iron corrodes and poisons creatures of Al-Ghayb. Silver reflects that power in beams of moonlight. Copper was found to trap and contain the Unseen powers, but Brass came to be used for its greater control, potency and workability in the forge. 

Sliver of a Fingernail of a Demon, Cast In Copper

In the dark, a tradition of copper-smithing survived all the advances in blacksmithing over the ages. Copper could bind sheydim, but only partially. If instead a sliver of the sheydim was bound, afterimages of their power remained, providing you were willing to sacrifice a little sympathy.

This tradition is called Sheydl-Cain or the 'Spice of a Sheyd', implying that occult blacksmiths have added spice to the original work by their craft. To bind a demon's castoff body parts in copper, one must then wear it...gifting your own appendage to the very Sheyd that you borrow power from.

SHEYDL-CAIN RITUAL

Place the rune-scrawl copper casting in a circle. At the North point place an iron blade that has been tested in battle. At the South point, burn a candle with a strong clean flame for at least 3 hours. Sit before the circle, feeling the body part that you wish to offer up to the sheydim.

At the end of the three hours, when the candle burns out, a great rush of wind overtakes you.
The body part is gone, replaced with the copper relic taken from the circle. You do not suffer a lack of sensory information, even as your organic body part has been replaced with talismanic metal.

When you wake up from rest after having taken on one of these relics, roll a D6 to see what Sensory Glimpses your mortal body-part is witness to in The Sheydim you swapped with

SENSORY GLIMPSES

1. Flitting wings and snaking bodies beyond the edge of sight, creepy crawlies climbing up cave walls that are not there upon waking [sight].
   
2. Faint chanting, calls to prayer from beyond the world of the waking [sound].
3. Sweet jam, fresh baked bread, spices unknown to the realm of mortals [taste].
4. The hug of a deceased love one, the embrace of your first love. Lips gracing Evona's, and the spongy texture of regret [touch]
5. Brimstone, freshly tilled earth or metal shavings that fade to moss [smell].
6. You cast a glimpse beyond the curtain of Heaven. Reroll one Test/Save this next day.

 

EYES

Optic of a Devout Sheydl

Copper eye inscribed with a seven-pointed star for an iris. The sheydl willingly submitted to Copper Smiths so they could enjoy in The All-Mighty's great works. 

Once per day, you may Reroll a Save you just failed against a harmful Spell or magical effect. This manifests as ethereal brass arrows shooting out from your new eye. 

Once per week, you may allow an allied creature to Reroll a Save they just failed against a harmful Spell or magical effect. To recharge this ability, partake in weekly prayers (whether it be Friday/Saturday/Sunday).

QUIRK: The sheydl is not just a passenger but a backseat driver for your Soul.
If you perform an action that seems especially counter to religious law, fill in a clock. When the clock reaches six, the devout sheydl tries to take the wheel: Save vs Mind/Grace or have the imp take the wheel. 

This results in a minute long fugue state where your body goes around righting as many wrongs as possible, casting D4 spells to heal the sick and maimed nearby.
The Sheydl does not discriminate between friend and foe or good and bad, only lawful and unlawful.

G-d help those who'd lend their eye to a Sheydl that then goes on pilgrimage

Orb of the Seductress

Verdigris rimmed eye cast from a Lillitu, one of the many Se'Irim children of Lilith and Kadmon.

Temptation and wickedness are the known portfolio of the seducers of men and collectors of spilled seed. What few know is that The Lillitu are also accomplished herbalists and healers in their free time.
You gain +2 to any rolls made to heal the wounded and the sick, and everyone who rolls to restore Morale in your presence adds +1 to the roll. People you are attracted to find it hard to ignore your words, but they are not compelled by a mere eye alone.

QUIRK: The life of a Lillitu is to conceive Banim Shovavim (wayward children, part mortal and part sheydim), and your Lillitu does not stop just because they've borrowed your eye.
When you fail a social check (persuading, lying, intimidating, etc) roll a D6. On a 1, your vision slips back to your own eye, observing sexually depraved acts only possible in the unseen world between Men and G-d. 

Witnessing these half-divine sex acts restores all Morale you have, but social interactions with mortals for the rest of the day are at Disadvantage, as you're recovering from what you just bore witness to.

On any given day you may burn a paper square with the Lillitu's name tied together with red string.
If you do, the roll to check for this Quirk the rest of the day is a D10 instead of a D6.

TEETH

Crown of Mammon

Molar crown of The Great Beast of Avarice, spread too thin to be a conscious threat to all of his debtors. While wearing this the tooth appears of solid gold, twinkling at the slightest parting of your lips.
You have +2 Reaction with merchants, creditors and nobles. They will always grant you audience (but if their reaction is poor they will likely want something from you).

QUIRK: Your tooth is in the mouth of Avarice Itself. Holy trappings (incense, clerical vestments, blessed water and food) makes you violently sick.
Camels spit at you, scorpions die when they sting you.

Each time you pass up an opportunity to amass wealth, fill in a clock. Each time you ostensibly commit charity fill in two wedges. When the clock reaches six, you have starved The Great Beast too often and he uses your tooth to sate his appetite: you taste blood and flesh, and someone close to you has a new bite mark over their heart. They know it was you.

Troubadour's Incisor

Copper tooth of a Maziqin who acts as a herald in Hell's grand armies. It is needle pointed and oversized no matter the mouth it finds a home in, but never pokes or stabs its host.

When you sing, people are compelled to listen. Your smile wins you purchase in the hearts of those you pass in the street, and your laughs disarms even the most jaded watchmen.

One per week, you may sing a ballad of rumors. This rumor can comprise any information you wish, but its subject must be someone nearby. It becomes the talk of town; in a settlement larger than a small town it spreads to D6 nearby areas (on a 6 the whole settlement hears whispers). 

If you go to 0 Morale and become unconscious, there's a 4-in-6 chance that your body sings out the ballads of the Maziqin who has taken your mortal tooth. This emboldens those who wish you harm, restoring their Morale and souring the last rumor you sewed.

HANGNAILS

Cast of Taam

Hangnail of a Se'Irim that wishes it was born a human artist. While wearing this, you can slip into a kind of otherworldly hyperfocus to accomplish complex tasks. You have +2 to complex hand-eye tasks like lockpicking, disarming a trap, crafting art (this includes crafting talismans, potions or other adventuring items), etc. In addition, artists will marvel at your creations no matter their quality.

QUIRK: The call of hunger is sated beyond your measure by Taam's focus.
You cannot regain HP/Morale by eating.

If a week goes by and you have not wasted at least D4 x 100 copper on a heartfelt art piece, fill in a clock. When that clock reaches three, Taam fights back: the next time you rest, you feel compelled to enter into isolation and break down D8 x 100 copper of valuables you own into a worthless art piece.
(You gain XP = copper wasted)

Leaving out 25 copper worth of jam as an offering to Taam removes a wedge from the clock (elderberry is his favorite, but he'll settle for anything).

Nail of Hir'Iyl

Thumbnail cast of a Venom Angel, the Se'Irim brood of Samael who work vengeance against The Holy for Evona's rejection of their sire. It is a thumbnail that seems to shimmer with unseen runes at the corner of one's vision, and constantly works to perfume and moisturize the wielder's hands.

If a person willingly takes your hand in a companionable handshake, you may inflict them with the venom of Hir'Iyl. It sets in D6 minutes later, and has a DV (d20 floor) of the same amount. It inflicts a fever for one minute, then belching, then unease, then boils on the breast in the shape of one of God's Names, profuse sweats the next, and when six minutes have passed they are taken to the grave.

Your saves versus Disease have DV +2.

The venom angels live in the poison swamp of the unseen realm, and your nail becomes a conduit from there to your surroundings. Each time you wash your hands, fill in a clock. When the clock reaches eight, milk spoils, foodstuffs stale and flourish with mold in your surrounding area. 

FIN

Really liking the design space here, and will likely return to it once I've thought even deeper on the subject. Having a magic item's quirks be "the body part you gave up is being worn by a demon/faerie/sheydim living their lives" is dope as hell