Asmodeus, the Dark Prince

Spurned God of Tyranny, Deals, and Ambition

Where the other Spurned are more overt in their methods, Asmodeus prefers to wait in the back and plan, waiting for all the pieces to fall into place. He is known to the mortal races due to his everchanging nature, and for having perhaps the most numerous followers of the Spurned. He draws in people who have the drive to push themselves further at the expense of others, and to concoct great plans to keep themselves at the top. If they succeed, they earn his respect; if they fail, then that was the plan all along.
His worshippers tend to insist that everything they do is all part of his grand master plan. How true that is remains a mystery, but the Lord of Lies' methods are unquestionably devastating. The impact of Asmodeus' deals isn't immediate, often taking years to fully set in. But when it does, it is no exaggeration to say that his actions and schemes have undone entire nations singlehandedly.

Divine Domains

Trickery, Death

Divine Symbols & Sigils

Asmodeus' symbol, much like himself, is everchanging. Some consistent ones have cropped up over the years, such as a crimson seven-pointed star with an eye gazing from within.

Tenets of Faith

Concoct great schemes and impossible plans that others could only dream of making. They are your tools of control.

Bring change to the world around you, no matter the cost.

Those who do not stand beside you are not worth the time to waste; they will only get in your way. Better yourself without them.

Divine Goals & Aspirations

Asmodeus' goal is to scheme and bring change. Not for any end, for the continued schemes are the end.

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Asmodeus, fitting his nature, is everchanging. Some ancient depictions show him as being a towering humanoid demon with pale red skin and black eyes, dressed in fine crimson robes.
More modern depictions show him as something abstract, a vaguely-humanoid creature with strange skin and an impossibly-wide smile with a pair of long, flexible horns tipped with white and purple arcane fire, but those are the only consistencies in the modern versions.
The skin of Asmodeus varies; at one moment a deep crimson, another a jet black, and once more a light blue. Little about the Prince's form remains consistent. His skin bubbles and crawls with changing faces, who leer and mock at onlookers.
As he speaks, the faces repeat the words but with subtle differences, or provide a commentary that throws doubt upon his words.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Frustratingly to many scholars, the exact details of Asmodeus' history vary wildly across different accounts, and only exist in myths and legends, but he has been around at least as long as the Primal Deities. Some say that he appeared in the world when the All-Maker created the world, but stayed beneath notice until the time was right.
Some theologians say that he is an aspect of the Traveller, or vice-versa. This comparison frustrates worshippers of Asmodeus to no end, who find the Traveller's chaotic nature frustrating and an ever-present thorn in their schemes.
The nature of Asmodeus' Spurning is also unknown, as he is believed to have been a thorn in the side of the Gods for some time, and already inhabited the Wastes by the time that the other Spurned were born. Whatever the case, Asmodeus' history is steeped in trickery, schemes, and bloodshed.

The War of the Spurned

The Age of Demons was a chaotic time; the dark, base impulses of early mortals had resulted in the creation of five new Gods: Herula, Gieri, Ravash, Kos, and Vandros. Sensing their immense power, Asmodeus made his first appearance on the Material Plane, drawing them to his side with promises of power and influence.
Compared to his allies, Asmodeus took more of a backseat role in this conflict. Where Ravash and Vandros were content to wage slaughter and war, and Kos, Gieri and Herula twisting the minds and desires of mortals to their end, Asmodeus simply sat and watched. He had allowed these four to amass immense power, and now they were a match for the Primeval Gods themselves. All he needed to do was watch them work, and intervene when needed.
However, the First War of the Gods changed with the arrival of new beings, beings with immense Godlike power in their own right, but not any that Asmodeus recognised: Avrona, the Shining Blade, and Serenity, the White Dove. Two new goddesses, one of war and one of peace. These new Gods proved to be a deciding factor in the War of the Gods, with Serenity's overwhelmingly peaceful nature able to make Vandros stop while Avrona and her armies destroyed the forces of Ravash.
As punishment for their actions, Asmodeus and the four soon-to-be-Spurned were thrown into the Wastes Beneath the World; familiar territory for Asmodeus, but new for the Spurned. Here, Asmodeus would sit within his Labyrinth, and wait.
For the next millennia, Asmodeus would occasionally intervene in the matters of mortals in order to bind them into his immense schemes. It wouldn't be until the Second War of the Gods, almost 8,000 years after the First, that Asmodeus would make an appearance on the Material Plane again.

The War of the Gods

The defining moment of the Age of Myth was what became known as the War of the Gods. The Eight Spurned deities rose up and invaded the Material Plane, corrupting people and places and choosing their champions to fight at their sides, while the Primeval Deities chose their champions to fight in their stead. Another band of deities, those lead by Freyja, would join the war later to seek vengeance for past crimes committed against them.
For Asmodeus, it is believed that the events of the war were set in motion by him. While the war itself was technically started by Lolth, who stood against what she considered to be the tyranny of the Primeval Deities, it is believed that Asmodeus planted the first seeds of doubt in Lolth's head. This is commonly disputed, especially Lolth's own followers, who believe that Lolth's stand against the Primevals' hypocrisy was of her own volition.
The War of the Gods also saw what many consider to be Asmodeus' first seeming mistake in his plans; during the War, he came face-to-face with The Traveler. The details of the fight aren't known, but the Traveler was said to have caught Asmodeus off-guard, banishing him back to the Wastes where he has remained until this very day.

The Modern Day

In the modern day, Asmodeus is worshipped as the patron deity of the Ashen Empire on Orynsol, who venerate him as their saviour and guardian. Many of the Empire's high-ranking officials are said to have made deals with him directly, and are thus able to summon Demons from the Wastes.
Interestingly, the Ashen Empire worship Asmodeus not as a god of Mutation and Lies, but rather as a God of Hope and Ambition, saying that Asmodeus represents the idea that one can change their lot in life and overcome the odds through their intellect, cunning, and determination.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Church of Asmodeus

Worshippers of the Dark Prince follow his doctrine of change and schemes; they often concoct these vast, labyrinthine schemes that make no sense to those on the outside, but have far-flung after effects that couldn't have been predicted.
High-ranking members of Asmodeus' church tend to be powerful and wealthy, as they have often made use of schemes to seat themselves in positions of great power and wealth.
Most priests of Asmodeus are expected to still abide by the laws of wherever they, and only take sacrifices and offerings from willing victims.
Asmodeus's faith is strongest in the Ashen Dominion and its smaller protectorates, who venerate the Dark Prince as their saviour and protector.

Clergy

Asmodeus' priests tend to dress in strange outfits whose colours seem to change on a whim, with eyes being dotted across their design; for ceremonies or rituals, they wear masks that obscure their entire face, with a wide toothy grin spread across the mouth.

Organizations

The Church of Asmodeus is taking an active role in caring for the orphans left in the Twilight Wars of Ochiadia; various monasteries have been established, though they are not public in their devotion to the Prince. The most well known is the Sisterhood of the Open Eye in Last Light.
The Angels of the Changing Hand are a group of Knights and scholars that represent Asmodeus's scheming aspect; they work as mercenaries and generals for hire, often helping instruct armies to victory, at a cost.

Demonkin of Asmodeus

Asmodeus' Demonkin are among the most horrifying Demons, but in ways that are often not immediately obvious.
At the top of Asmodeus' pecking order are the Changelords. These demons are perhaps the least overtly-demonic of their kind, closely resembling the modern Tiefling in that they look like demon-touched mortals, except something about their appearance looks...off to those who look at them. These Changelords wield a great gift of hindsight and futuresight, able to see detailed images of the past and future, which they then relay to their master.
The most aggressive and numerous of Asmodeus' demonkin are sometimes as known as Changespawn. Formed from those who worshipped Asmodeus and disappointed him, these feral, mindless creatures are perhaps the most eldritch-looking demonkin, closer in appearance to the aberrations of the Great Void than any of their fiendish brethren. Very little is consistent about their forms, and they change frequently from moment to moment.

Speech

When spoken to, Asmodeus' speech is a cacophony of dozens of voices mingling together into a coherent whole. However, it is not uncommon for some of his myriad voices to contradict each other.

Relationships

The Stranger, the Giver of Gifts

Hated Enemy (Important)

Towards Asmodeus, the Dark Prince

-1

-1

Subversive

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Asmodeus, the Dark Prince

Prank Victim (Important)

Towards The Stranger, the Giver of Gifts

-4

-4

Dishonest

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History

The relationship between the Traveler and Asmodeus is an odd one. In many ways the two are incredibly similar, both being deities of change and evolution. However, Asmodeus defines himself as being a creature of his word to a malicious extent, while the Traveler's deeds are more chaotic and unpredictable.

Divine Classification

Spurned Deity

Religions

• The Broken Chains
• The Spurned

Alignment

Lawful Evil

Realm

The Labyrinth of Lies

Honorary & Occupational Titles

The Everchanging
The Lord of Lies
The Scheming King

Spouses

Siblings

Ruled Locations

• The Labyrinth of Lies

The Flesh-Change

Those who devote themselves to Asmodeus and act in ways that please him are sometimes blessed by one of his gifts: the Flesh-Change. These cultists of Asmodeus often suffer mutations that range from longer limbs or extra eyes, to the body thickening and changing into an impossible form.
Those who displease the Lord of Lies, however, may find themselves changing into one of Asmodeus' Change Spawn, the lowest, least intelligent, but most numerous of his Demons.