Demon Lord - To Reign in Hell

[Amanojyaku]

Characteristics: Intelligence, Willpower, Charisma
Skills: Acrobatics, Arcana, Ballistics, Brawl, Charm, Command, Deceive, Disguise, Drive, Forbidden Lore, Intimidation, Larceny, Perception, Persuasion, Politics, Scrutiny, Stealth, Weaponry
Magic Schools: Conjuration, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy
Sword Schools: Dread Crown

Lesser Fiend
Level: 1
Prerequisites: Power stat at rank 1, Arcana 2, Forbidden Lore 2
Feats:
Arcane Blade OR Ki Strike
*Discipline
Extracurricular Study
*Sound Constitution
*Sound Constitution
Spell Might
Weapon Proficiency (Any)
What Army?
Wholeness of Body
Level Completion: Gain the Blasphemous Oath feat.

Mazoku
Level: 2
Prerequisites: Power stat at rank 1, Arcana 2, Forbidden Lore 3, any two magical schools at rank 1, Blasphemous Oath
Feats:
*Discipline
Disdain the Weak
Extracurricular Study
Hardy
Improvisational Magic
Jaded
*Sound Constitution
*Sound Constitution
Strong Minded
Level Completion: Gain the feat Devil-Tiger Apotheosis.

Dread Fiend
Level: 3
Prerequisites: Power stat at rank 2, Arcana 3, Forbidden Lore 4, any two magical schools at rank 2, Devil-Tiger Apotheosis
Feats:
Diamond Body
*Discipline
Extracurricular Study
Hellfire Halitosis
Nerves of Steel
Poker Face
Spell Penetration
*Sound Constitution
*Sound Constitution
Level Completion: Gain the feat Devil-Tiger Ascendancy.

Fiendlord
Level: 4
Prerequisites: Power stat at rank 3, Arcana 4, Forbidden Lore 4, any two magical schools at rank 2, any one magical school at rank 3, Devil-Tiger Ascendancy
Feats:
*Discipline
Extracurricular Study
Mental Fortress
Perfect Self
Purge the Unclean
*Sound Constitution
*Sound Constitution
Swift Attack
True Grit
Level Completion: Gain the Demon Lord feat.

Archfiend
Level: 5
Prerequisites: Power stat at rank 4, Arcana 5, Forbidden Lore 5, any two magical schools at rank 3, any magical school at rank 4, Demon Lord
Feats:
Adamant Will
Armor of Contempt
Death Before Defeat
*Discipline
Extracurricular Study
*Sound Constitution
*Sound Constitution
Spell Shield
Stop the Tide
Level Completion: Gain the Great Demon King feat.

FEATS

Adamant Will
Your force of will is such that it grants you an additional raise on all opposed tests as part of spells or feats that deal with spells (such as Redirect the Hurricane).

Blasphemous Oath
Whatever the source of your ascension, it now truly begins with the internalization of scorn for your lessers, a bitter vow that encases your heart in scalding hatred like a shell of molten brass. Gain the Hatred (Mortals) feat. You can take any feats that reference Hatred as if they appear in your class progression.

Demon Lord
The brass chrysalis has shattered, releasing the limiters of your soul. You are an exalt, and "do as thou wilt" is the only law you need obey. Increase the distance at which you can make saving throws against teleportation spells by 15 meters per level. In addition, whenever you would spend a Hero Point to use the Hellfire Halitosis, Improvisational Magic, Purge the Unclean, or Stop the Tide feat, you can spend 3 resource points instead. Doing so is still a Free Action.

Devil-Tiger Apotheosis
The true monsters of the Wheel fear no mortal arms, and even separate from the Warp you can feel its power begin to make you one. Gain the Daemonic trait.

Devil-Tiger Ascendancy
The howl of the ascendant fiend chills even those who claim to know no fear, igniting the forgotten survival instinct. Any attempt to move out of your reach while engaged in melee provokes an opportunity attack. If anyone within 5 meters per level away from you attempts to cast a spell allowing them to teleport, you can make an Arcana + Willpower test as a saving throw against that spell. If this saving throw succeeds, the spell fails.

Disdain the Weak
Gain a bonus on attack and damage rolls against anyone of a lower level than you, equal to the difference in level.

Great Demon King
The heights of power are enough to make anyone lightheaded, but you alone stand at their summit, the incarnate emperor of fiends. Increase the distance at which you can make saving throws against teleportation spells to 1 kilometer, and you can manipulate the weather and light levels in that same radius as if you had successfully cast Control Weather. You're now very clearly the villain of this story, so don't be surprised if your SM starts making your life more miserable than usual. A hero rising to face you might only be the start of your problems!

Hellfire Halitosis
You can spend 1 Hero Point to breathe fire, using the statistics of a Flamer.

Poker Face
Reading you is easier said than done. Any attempts to target you with Divination spells or the Scrutiny skill face a static penalty equal to your level.

Stop the Tide
If you would cause or be affected by Psychic Phenomena, you can spend a Hero Point to stop it from occurring at the time the Psychic Phenomena is caused.

What Army?
Enemies never gain bonuses for Ganging Up on you. They can still gain bonuses from feats like Sneak Attack.

[Amanojyaku]

Right, here we go, the counterpart to the previous one.

Demon Lord might seem like a tough nut for this, might seem like "hero but more" given my logic for that class... but no. The title maou translates to "demon lord" or "sorcerous lord." Thus, we lean more toward magic. Lots of toughness to be found here. Lots of ways to shrug off things other than pure fighting.

Spell schools were chosen based on some common themes in my JRPGs. Maou can teleport in a snap if he feels like taunting the Hero, he can twist the skeins of perception and life and death to his whim. And of course, when you're only one, Evocation is a must when it's time to face the party. And Dread Crown, of course, because maou is almost as nasty in a melee as with magic.

Feats are, again, slanted toward durability and denial. Maou will not be turned aside with something so trite as a polite chat over tea, if he's got a mind to kick your teeth in. He won't die to hit point damage so easily, either. We call these the contractual boss immunities. He'll also gain the trademark interdiction power over the course of his ascension. But, like the Hero, he's going to be a bit slow ratcheting up; maou might not need characteristics to advance, but he does need to finish each level to get the feat required for the next... and increase his power stat!

Lastly... class names. The direct translations of maou and daimaou are feats granted for level completion, of course, while the names of the last three class levels are used in newer translations of Squeenix's RPGs. Murdaw, who once used the title of Demon Lord, is now merely a Dread Fiend. Magus became the Fiendlord. And the final boss of each Dragon Quest game after the third, formerly known as Demon Kings, became Archfiends. Mazoku refers to a race of demons or devils.

But wait, you crazy bastard, doesn't this mean I can take both Hero and Demon Lord on the same character? Won't that make me explode from the inside or something? Well, yes and no, in order. Nothing's gonna stop ya; Psaro ended up being both. Just have a mind for your XP budget; they're both expensive classes with no overlap, so they're not gonna play nicely unless your SM's very generous with the drop!

[Traskus]

What if an eldarin tries to teleport away? They can’t get far but they still can.

[Amanojyaku]

Unfortunately, an Eldarin does not attempt to teleport...

[Amanojyaku]

Minor edits to make previous post clear. Note: A Great Demon King can potentially shut down Warp Step through sheer lack of light.

[Amanojyaku]

And... improved requirements for the later levels. Ideally I'll get rid of Crowned Rider here eventually, even if it is a bit fitting for that particular multiclass.

[Amanojyaku]

Crowned Rider has now been excised as a requirement, to make way for the real common thread: Whatever you are now, whatever your goals, what you once were is no better than mud caking your heels.

[Amanojyaku]

On further reflection, opted to revise Demon Lord feat for clarity. The resource point substitution still uses the same action type as spending a Hero Point... you can't use Hellfire Halitosis and Iron Curtain in the same turn, even if spending a Hero Point on one and resource points on the other.

The Demon Lord is, by necessity, a defense-oriented archetype, having to fly solo against a ragtag party of misfit adventurers that may or may not be bound together by a true Hero who've learned the true value of friendship over the course of their journey. It is, unfortunately, in my nature to forcibly maintain the disparity between offense and defense in favor of whichever side the system already favors; interaction with Iron Curtain is a thing I do not like here.

[Amanojyaku]

Ditched Sorcerous Training for Spell Penetration. Much more fitting.

[Amanojyaku]

Formatting change.

[Amanojyaku]

Replaced something the forum ate.

[Amanojyaku]

Demon Lord feat narrowed down to a specific group of feats to allow resource substitution.

[Amanojyaku]

Touched up Great Demon King's effect a bit.

[Amanojyaku]

Demon Lord, cost increased.