Forums » RP Discussion » Help with species/world building

So i'm reworking D&D demons for a sci fi setting, because clearly i'm actually insane.

But i've kinda hit a wall. This happens when you stare at something too long.
I kinda need someone to read over it, ask questions, point of glaring contradictions or things I haven't considered and so on.

it's uh.. a bit strange. So fair warning okay?

You ready?

I'll post it all in the next post.

Tanaari and Batezu

• Both native to the “void”, the “abyss”, the space between realities.
  
• Tanaari have the ability to see through the veil into reality, Batezu have the ability to step across the threshold by creating small temporary rifts.
  
• Tanaari are weakened by and quite susceptible to Iron and 4 Kelvin. Literally “cold iron” is their ultimate undoing. As beings of chaos and disorder the innate stability of these two states disrupts their essence.
  
• Batezu, creatures of order and structure, are susceptible to radiation and carcinogenics (basically anything that would disrupt the order and structure of their bodies) As a result they are very prone to cancerous tumors and radiation poisoning. They try to avoid high levels of radiation, which includes sunlight.
  
• Millenia ago the Tanaari and Batezu went to war. The Batezu, sick of being subjugated and used by the Tanari rebelled and fled en masse into the universe. Unfortunately for them, they soon learned that they weren't well suited to their new home. Unable to travel beyond the asteroid field they made their home (the nine hells) without serious illness, they found themselves trapped between the greater universe and the rift through which they'd jumped.
  
• Reality, thinned by so many Batezu stepping through at once, began to tear. Creating a small rift through which the Tanari could reach. Unwilling to return to their cruel masters, the Batezu took up arms and beat them back, a task they continue to do to this day.
  
• Succubi and their Batezu equivalent Erinyes are the same entities, half breeds, half batezu and half Tanari, they possess the abilities of both but only half the sensitivity to “Cold Iron” and radiation. Centuries of exposure to low level cosmic radiation has rendered the Erinys sterile, but they still operate as spies and contacts for the Batezu, able to travel further into the universe before sickness overcomes them. They capture mortals (Often Tanari agents), bringing them back to the 9 hells to interrogate and convert.
  
• Succubi also act as spies and contacts, but their main role is to seduce mortals to produce half breed children. Half mortal children tend to be born without their fiendish parent's severe weaknesses and though unable to jump back and forward from the abyss at will and unable to see through it, they are usually quite loyal to their succubus mothers and make excellent agents beyond.
  
• Succubi and Erinyes can drain the life from a mortal and do so to undo the damage of radiation damage. They almost always kill their mate, taking his life force to heal themselves before returning to their home.
  
• Succubi and Erinyes can pull mortals through the veil with them. This is how Succubi children enter the universe.
  
• Upon leaving the veil, mortal entities “scatter”, that is, their essence is spread across the universes, all realities, creating a version of themselves across all potential universes. The Batezu blood in their veins protects them from losing their minds completely during this process, in fact many are completely unaware other universes exist or that there are other versions of themselves out there, just like every other mortal born into these other dimensions. Batezu likewise scatter, but unlike half breeds, they're aware of their other selves via a weak form of telepathic connection. They're aware of one another, but they can't properly communicate with one another.
  
• The Batezu wish to wipe out the tanari and return to their home lands. The Tanari wish to recapture the Batezu and go back to using them for their own gain. The Tanari wish to enslave and dominate all things, the Batezu care more about reclaiming what they see as “theirs” and would happily burn the universes to get their way. Neither side care much about the collateral damage of their war or the mortals they draw into it.

Questions:

What happens when a mortal is dragged back to the abyss? Mortals return to the “them shaped hole” left and do not scatter again when they leave, so if on is dragged into the abyss, their other selves are unaware. Mortals are pretty separate from their other universe selves.

Do half mortals do the same? Does that mean upon leaving there ends up infinite thems across the multiverse? What happens to the other thems when one is drawn back to the Abyss? Most often their succbi parent doesn't want to drag them back, pulling multiple psyches back into the Abyss, thus compiling them all into one individual tends to drive the person a little bit insane and insanity isn't that helpful in an agent and spy. However, as the demon's link with the mortal realm is strongest at certain locations and points, they DO often send out a calling, a sort of siren call to their children to return to this spot for debriefing or to hand over something they need to deliver. This calling effects all versions of that scattered self, across all universes they feel a tugging, a pulling sensation and an irristable need to return to a specific spot (usually the point at which they first entered the mortal realm). Some half demons have the mortal fortitude to ignore this calling for a time, but it's difficult, a constant tugging at your very soul, coaxing you home.

It only works if the half mortal still has their mother in their head. Most do, after all, why would they kick her out? As the only way to remove the posession from your mind is to nearly die, it just doesn't come up that often and if it does, the half mortal is usually still so loyal to their demonic parent they'll willingly allow her back in anyway.

How far can the Tanari "reach" across the universe from the Abyss? - Where rifts form they have a better chance to reaching across, prying into the minds of mortals. The link is stronger in blood relatives, half breeds for example acting as the eyes and ears of their succubus mother. Once they've settled a psychic connection, they can stretch their sight as far as that indivdual travels.

How much control does the succubus have over her half mortal child or grandchildren? Can she possess them? Are there any other limitations to who she can get into the head of? - I'm thinking the darker a person's "soul", the easier it is to manipulate them and the easier it is to worm into their mind. Posession is limited, a constant battle is going on between the host's psyche and the demonic passenger. The end result depends on the mental fortitude and willpower of the posessed as to how much of "them" can break through the fog and fight back.
The demon can speak to the host, it's like she's in the room with them. They seem to talk or argue with themselves. The demonic passenger will use every manipulation at her disposal to get the host to cooperate. Threats, bribes, promises. Some may even just hide, just below the conciousness, never making their presence known, acting just as a passenger, observing.

How do you get rid of a demonic passenger? - Make the host body unappealing and uncomfortable. Demons are pushed out of a body when it dies and the process is pretty unpleasant for them, many will chose to leave at the point they believe a body is close to death to avoid being violently kicked out as the mortal soul departs. They also feel everything their host feels. Best way to remove a possession is PAIN or the genuine threat of death (drowning or suffociation for example). It's not pleasant for anyone.

How many mortals or half mortals can a demon "possess" at once? - With her own children she always has a conduit open, there's always a link but she has to focus on the specific individual one at a time to hear or see or communicate directly. Those who aren't her children, her direct offspring (regular mortals, grandchildren, etc) it's one at a time. Because they exist as individuals across multiple realities, rather than scattered fragments of one entity, each mind is somewhat more unique and the concentration required to worm in and overpower an unwilling host takes a great deal of strength and focus.
With her own children it's less posession, more being "along for the ride", a voice in her child's head. With mortals, it's active posession, often resulting in near complete domination of that mind and hijacking of the body to use as a puppet.