#devil binder

 We have another archetype that channels fiendish power, but rather than having this power forced upon them by an ancestor’s hastily-made deal with a demon, today’s subject chooses not only to willingly bind a devil, but force it to give over much more power than it normally would, subjugating the forces of darkness for their own purposes.

Naturally, this archetype is heavily connected to the Hellknight organization, and is actually a picture-perfect example of their philosophy. Seeing the order of the home of devils, Hellknights seek to emulate what they see as perfection to protect and cultivate such societies, usually by putting down rebellions and the like.

These devil binders, like other Hellknights, see themselves not as servants of devils, but as the ones that put Hell to work for them, binding diabolic eidolons and forcing them into service with their magic making full use of their abilities towards their own ends.

With the powerful magic they command to force obedience from these beings and even extract powerful magic from them, surely they are the masters here, tempering the sinister nature of devil-kind to use their abilities for the good of all, right? Right?

…Right?

Devils, like other outsiders, are immortal beings capable of hatching plans that take centuries to come to fruition. Certainly, all may rage at being shackled by a summoner, but who’s to say that they aren’t exactly where they want to be, especially when they have exclusive access to the inner circle of a powerful mage that at least has some philosophical beliefs in common with them. What’s more, more evil devil binders may have cordial relationships with their eidolons.

In any case, these conjurers promise a power set steeped in sinister sources while not requiring you to be evil yourself to possess them, though the temptation is always there, and so is the very otherworldly being behind those temptations.

 Naturally, these binders must be at least lawful, if not lawful evil in their own right, and they bind with a devil eidolon. However, unlike other eidolons, these beings are kept under heavy control, and gain attacking power much slower than others, though they do become more charming much faster, perhaps in hopes of gaining more influence over their binder.

The majority of these eidolon’s power, however, is directed towards infernal magic, letting the fiend cast a variety of spells on the summoner’s behalf (or more accurately, their beck and call). These range from protections against chaos, fiery spells both moderate and overwhelming, many spells to charm and dominate, aiding in the binding of other devils, teleportation, and even invoking primal words to stun foes.

These summoners also wrest infernal power from their eidolons for their own purposes, giving them many abilities associated with sorcerers with diabolic magic in their veins, ranging from conjuring hellfire, growing wings, and the like.

Additionally, befitting the origins of this discipline with the Hellknights, these summoners grant their eidolons the ability to smite the chaotic.

Interested in a summoner with devilish powers and a spellcasting-heavy eidolon? This archetype might be for you. The lower attack bonus and inability to gain more than three attacks means these eidolons are never going to be heavy damage dealers in close combat, but they still can be useful as defensive combatants if granted the right evolutions. Their real power, however, comes from using their spell-like abilities to diversify and support their summoner, and the two together might be back-row spellcasters, or in an inversion of what we normally see, the summoner might be up front while the eidolon gives support with spells and flanking.

 In most cases, the duo we’ve been discussing are something rare among summoners in that they are almost guaranteed to not like each other very much, and even if they are more cordial, both likely still view the other as a means to an end, leading to a dynamic we rarely see with the summoner. Something worth exploring, methinks.

  Within the ruins known only as the Black Iron Keep, there lies evidence that the fortress was once used by powerful mages to bind devils to serve them. However, now, the castle stands empty, blackened and burned, with signs of deliberate vandalism in infernal text. Perhaps there remains secrets to control the diabolical, but would it be worth it?

 Seething with frustration, the apostasy devil Mockery has been trapped for a thousand years in a prison in the realm of Freedom. At first, he thinks them mad when his guards reveal a chance for is freedom, then that it must be some trick. However, the truth is much more shocking. He will become the eidolon for a lawful summoner, his seductive power and corruptive rhetoric shackled, in hopes that he will slowly turn from evil. This would be absurd, but he finds the summoner, a musetouched aasimar, to be shockingly competent and unfazed by his words.