[Something I did not anticipate when I proposed doing a Goetic demon project: that these entities are part of modern magical practice as opposed to "just" being stories. So I found a number of witches and ritual magicians talking about their experiences with working with Ronove. Apparently he's pretty chill as far as demons go, and goes by Ben these days as much as his classic name. He also picked up a fire affinity somewhere along the way--some 20th century occultist was handing out elemental associations like August Derleth. Of course, since I'm writing for Pathfinder, I wanted him to be appropriately evil for a daemon... but one who could very easily convince you he's a chill guy. At least until he uses suggestion to get you to slit your grandmother's throat.
If you'd like to support the Pandaemonic Parliament project, see some bonus monsters, or just help a girl out, come join the Creature Codex Patreon. Don't you think it'd be fun to be the 69th member?]
Ronove
CR 18 NE Outsider (extraplanar)
This monstrous man has curling horns growing from his brow and a skull-like face with hollow eyes and a lipless mouth. He has a branching tail and a staff, both of which seem to aid his balance as he walks with crooked legs.
Ronove is a thanadaemon and a master of rhetoric, a skill often undervalued in Abaddon, where most daemons would rather kill than convince anyone of anything. Ronove has a reputation of being one of the most pleasant and reasonable of the Goetic fiends to work with, and he has persuaded a number of binders that he is not even evil. Of course, Ronove is as death obsessed as any daemon; namely, he is an active advocate for any policy or course of action that kills the elderly. Ronove’s influence has led to truly heinous policies of elder abuse and gerontocide being adopted, encourages the elderly to kill themselves in order to “not place a burden” on their loved ones and societies, and generally hardens the hearts of people towards the aged and infirm. Ronove engages in calm, rational conversation on the subjects of resource depletion, euthanasia and utilitarianism over an extended period of time, until the idea of killing a specific elderly person “to reduce their suffering” no longer seems like an unreasonable proposition.
Ronove does not much like combat; he sees it as a sign that words have failed him. Nonetheless, he is a thanadaemon, and when called to fight can sap life with the touch of his claws or staff. His staff is a staff of dark flame, and he often opens combat with a fireball aimed into a crowd to maximize collateral damage and to distract heroic types with attempting to save people. Ronove is usually accompanied by support staff and bodyguards, which are typically mortals on the Material Plane and hydrodaemons on the lower planes. In either case, he has little compunction about abandoning these minions to their deaths and fleeing if a fight turns against him.
The Pandaemonic Parliament contains multiple arch-devils and even a few of the demon princes on its board, but none of the Four Horsemen are willing to participate directly. Each has sent a favorite agent as a representative, however, and Ronove fulfills that role for Charon. Ronove is a devoted servant within a den of vipers, and Charon has no doubts as to his loyalty. Ronove is an incredibly gifted speaker, and skilled at persuading other members of the Parliament to vote according to his, and Charon’s, wishes. His abilities are such that even devils and demons find him reasonably trustworthy, and Ronove has become a sympathetic ear and even confidante to many members of the Parliament’s support staff—guards, secretaries, pages and the like. Of course, this is exactly how Charon wants it.
Ronove CR 18
XP 153,600
Thanadaemon bard (negotiator) 10
NE Medium outsider (daemon, evil, extraplanar)
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., true seeing; Perception +25
Defense
AC 35, touch 16, flat-footed 30 (+4 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 deflection, +13 natural, +6 armor)
hp 291 (15d10+10d8+160)
Fort +16, Ref +22, Will +23
DR 10/good; Immune acid, death effects, disease, poison; Resist cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10; SR 29
Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee staff of dark flame +28/+23/+18/13 (1d6+8 plus 1d6 fire plus energy drain) or 2 claws +27 (1d4+5 plus energy drain)
Special Attacks bardic performance (36 rounds/day, DC 23, binding contract, counterargument, dirge of doom, distraction, fascinate, fast talk -2, inspire competence +3, suggestion), draining weapon, energy drain (1 level, DC 25), fear gaze, soul crush
Spells CL 10th, concentration +18 (+22 casting defensively)
4th (3/day)—denounce (DC 24), freedom of movement
3rd (5/day)—charm monster (DC 23), glibness, inveigle person (DC 23)
2nd (6/day)—fox’s cunning, heroism, suggestion (DC 22), tongues, voluminous vocabulary
1st (8/day)—biting words, cure light wounds (DC 19), disguise self (DC 19), identify, share language
0th—detect magic, light, mage hand, message, prestidigitation, read magic
Spell-Like Abilities CL 15th, concentration +23 (+27 casting defensively)
Constant—air walk, true seeing
At will—greater teleport (self plus skiff and passengers only), plane shift (self plus skiff and passengers only, Astral, Ethereal, and evil-aligned planes only)
3/day—animate dead, desecrate, enervation
1/day—summon (level 4, 1d4 hydrodaemons 80% or 1 thanadaemon 35%)
Statistics
Str 20, Dex 19, Con 22, Int 22, Wis 20, Cha 26
Base Atk +22; CMB +27; CMD 43
Feats Alertness, Blind-Fight, Combat Casting, Dodge, Extra Performance, Greater Spell Focus (enchantment), Improved Initiative, Inspiring Mentor, Mobility, Omnipresent Mentor, Power Attack, Spell Focus (enchantment), Telepathy Tap
Skills Acrobatics +24, Bluff +33, Diplomacy +33, Intimidate +33, Knowledge (arcana, history, nobility, planes, religion) +26, Knowledge (local) +35, Linguistics +12, Perception +29, Perform (oratory) +28, Sense Motive +38, Spellcraft +31, Stealth +24, Survival +22, Use Magic Device +28
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Daemonic, Draconic, Infernal, Necril, Undercommon; telepathy 100 ft.
SQ jack of all trades, master of rhetoric, rogue talents (convincing lie, scrying familiarity, shades of gray)
Gear staff of dark flame, robe of blending, +2 mithril chain shirt, headband of mental superiority +2 (Spellcraft), ring of the sophisticate, ring of protection +1, cloak of resistance +2, wand of cure moderate wounds (25 charges), 250 gp
Special Abilities
Bardic Performance A negotiator bard gains the following performances
Fast Talk (Su): At 1st level, a negotiator can use performance to affect the perceptions of any number of targets that can hear him. While the negotiator performs, these targets take a –1 penalty on saving throws against enchantment (charm) and illusion (figment, glamer, or shadow) effects, as well as a penalty on Appraise checks equal to half the negotiator’s level (minimum –1). A target that fails its Appraise check believes that the object in question is worth 10% more or less (negotiator’s choice) than its actual value. At 5th, 11th, and 17th levels, the saving throw penalty increases by 1 and the shift in an object’s perceived value increases by 10%. Fast talk is a language-dependent, mind-affecting ability that uses audible components. This performance replaces inspire courage.
Binding Contract (Sp): At 9th level, the negotiator can bind another creature’s promise to the negotiator with a geas. This acts as lesser geas, except the creature must have Hit Dice equal to or less than the negotiator’s level. The target can negate this effect with a successful Will save (DC = 10 + 1/2 the negotiator’s level + the negotiator’s Charisma modifier). The geas is discharged if the negotiator breaks his end of the bargain. Using this ability requires 3 rounds of continuous performance, and the target must be able to see and hear the bard throughout the performance This performance replaces inspire greatness.
Draining Weapon (Su) A thanadaemon’s energy drain attack functions through any melee weapon it wields.
Fear Gaze (Su) Cower in fear for 1d6 rounds, 30 feet, Will DC 25 negates. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Master of Rhetoric (Ex): At 5th level, the negotiator can take 10 on any Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Knowledge (local), or Sense Motive check if he has ranks in that skill. A negotiator can choose not to take 10 and can instead roll normally. In addition, the negotiator can take 20 on one of those skill checks (without spending any additional time) once per day at 5th level. This ability replaces lore master.
Rogue Talents (Ex) At 2nd level, a negotiator gains a rogue talent, as the rogue class feature of the same name. At 6th level and every 4 levels thereafter, the negotiator gains an additional rogue talent. A negotiator cannot select a rogue talent that modifies the sneak attack ability. This ability replaces versatile performance.
Soul Crush (Su) A thanadaemon can crush a soul gem (see cacodaemon) as a standard action to gain fast healing 15 for 15 rounds (this is a standard action). This action condemns the crushed soul to Abaddon—resurrecting this victim requires a DC 28 caster level check.
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