Demon, Bune
Image Β© Zhengyi Wang, accessed at their ArtStation here
[Something I loved about the way D&D presented the lower planes was all of the scheming and backstabbing going on, which totally has no parallels in how real world authoritarian regimes operate. The Pandaemonic Parliament is similar: its members are all working towards the same overall goal of increasing the corruption of the universe, but that doesn't mean they all like each other or tell each other everything. Souls maintaining their memories and personalities past death has come up in multiple Pathfinder APs (Jade Regent and Hell's Rebels are just the ones I've run!), and so giving the secrets of that to one of the Parliament members seemed like a good plot hook to drive stories and seed conflict within the Parliament. And with his ability to "maketh the dead change their place, and devils to assemble on the sepulchers of the dead", Bune seemed like a good candidate.
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Demon, Bune CR 19 CE Outsider (extraplanar) This three headed dragon has red scales, membranous wings and four clawed feet that splay and have too many toes. Each head has slightly different featuresβone is vaguely human, one vaguely avian, and one vaguely canine, but all have crooked yellow tusks and blue tongues. Three ribbon-like tails whip around it.
In life, the demon Bune was a mighty and cruel gorynych. Bune coveted knowledge as much as treasure and maidens, and was obsessed with achieving immortality without having to deny himself the pleasures of the flesh that undeath would take away. Bune succeeded, after a fashionβalthough he was slain by adventurers to put an end to his many atrocities, Bune was reborn in the Abyss as a demon, with his draconic body, memories and personality intact. Bune now promises mortals the same ability to transcend death and be reborn as a demon. The rituals are costly in time, money and soul sacrifices, and Bune reserves the inner mysteries only to those who impress him. Most supplicants fail to meet his exacting standards, and are toyed with and strung along with partial rituals and promises before being transformed into undead slaves.
Bune is charming and eager to talk, and uses his abilities of illusion and shapeshifting to get foes to drop their guard before he strikes. He prefers to resume his natural form in order to battle, as the shapes he can take are hardly as powerful as a three headed dragon. Bune can breathe black limned flames that damage even those immune to fire, and charm and confuse even undead creatures. Bune remembers his first death and seeks to avoid another oneβhe typically uses greater teleport to flee when reduced below half hit points.
With his interests in the pursuit of knowledge, necromantic ritual and hedonism, Bune has common interests with the three major demon lords of undeath: Kabriri, Orcus and Zura. He has acted as an ambassador between the three demon lords, welcome in all of their courts and able to act as a courier to deliver news and demands between the three. Bune has remained studiously neutral in conflicts between the three, and has been rewarded for his efforts by being chosen for the Pandaemonic Parliament. Buneβs knowledge of the secrets that allow mortals to maintain their personalities as fiends is a highly prized commodity, but Bune has so far held it close to his chest. Asmodeus has considering simply torturing Buneβs methods out of him, but the combined ire of Kabriri, Orcus and Zura could be enough to threaten collapsing the whole Parliament project. Thus, he has refrained for the time being.
