Demonspawn
- This page is about the player species. For the monster, see Demonspawn (monster).
| Demonspawn are horrible half-mortal, half-infernal creatures - the flip side of the Demigods. Demonspawn can be created in any number of ways: magical experiments, breeding, unholy pacts, etc. Although many Demonspawn may initially be indistinguishable from those of pure mortal stock, they will inevitably grow horns, scales or other unusual features. Powerful members of this class of beings also develop a range of unholy abilities, which are listed as mutations.
Demonspawn advance slowly in experience and learn most skills at about the same rate as do Demigods. However, they are a little better at fighting and conjurations and much better at necromancy and invocations. Note that unlike Demigods, they can take on gods, although not all will accept them. |
Contents
Innate Abilities
- Demonspawn deal slightly more damage when using demonic weapons (Demon trident, Demon whip, Demon blade); this effect is comparable to a few additional points of damage enchantment.
- Demonspawn are considered demonic creatures. They cannot worship any of the good gods (Zin, Elyvilon, or The Shining One), and they have vulnerability to holy damage.
Preferred Backgrounds
- Warriors: Gladiator
- Zealots: Berserker, Abyssal Knight
- Mages: Wizard, Necromancer, Fire Elementalist, Ice Elementalist, Venom Mage
Due to their demonic nature, Demonspawn are prohibited from becoming Healers.
Level Bonuses
- +1 to a random stat every 4th level.
- Average HP.
- Average MP.
- +3 magic resistance per level.
- Gain more of your "demonic ancestry" (random Demonspawn mutations) as you rise in level. The levels this occurs at are randomized, but will include at least five full-ranked mutations by level 27. Some of these mutations are available only to Demonspawn. Note that Demonspawn mutations will increase the damage you take from silver ammunition.
Starting Skills and Equipment
Demonspawn begin with the equipment and skills listed for their background, adjusted for their aptitudes.
Difficulty of Play
| Simple • Intermediate • Advanced |
Demonspawn can be a moderately difficult race to play due to their somewhat lower aptitudes, slow leveling, and demonic status, the last of which makes them vulnerable to holy effects (such as Cleansing Flame, Holy Word, weapons of Holy wrath) and precludes worship of the three good gods. This can yield somewhat slower growth and limited options in the crucial, earliest stages of the game. However, Demonspawn receive (mostly) unique, powerful beneficial mutations as they gain levels; in nearly all cases, these mutations more than compensate for their disadvantages. Aside from the unusually high 3 in Invocations, Demonspawn aptitudes are fairly even across the board, meaning that they are well suited to any background they can choose.
Skill aptitudes
The higher the value, the better the aptitude.
| Skill | Aptitude | Skill | Aptitude | Skill | Aptitude |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack | Miscellaneous | Magic | |||
| Fighting | 0 | Armour | -1 | Spellcasting | -1 |
| Dodging | -1 | ||||
| Maces & Flails | -1 | Shields | -1 | Conjurations | 0 |
| Axes | -1 | Stealth | 0 | Hexes | 0 |
| Polearms | -1 | Summonings | 0 | ||
| Staves | -1 | Invocations | 3 | Necromancy | 1 |
| Unarmed Combat | -1 | Evocations | 0 | Translocations | -1 |
| Throwing | -1 | Shapeshifting | -2 | Alchemy | 0 |
| Fire Magic | -1 | ||||
| Short Blades | -1 | Ice Magic | -1 | ||
| Long Blades | -1 | Air Magic | -1 | ||
| Ranged Weapons | -1 | Experience | -1 | Earth Magic | -1 |
History
The Demonspawn mutation system was substantially overhauled in 0.7. Prior to that version, they mutated in a generally more random fashion: mutations were only grouped into low power and high power, and Demonspawn would receive six total mutations (two low, four high power). The mutation lists, which can be found on this page, were extremely varied. For instance, "high power" mutations could be absolutely mediocre things such as 1d3 levels of negative energy resistance, or they could be potentially game breaking things such as fast movement or complete torment immunity. In addition, Demonspawn mutations had some dependence on a character's skills and deity. While the old Demonspawn may have had much more powerful mutations available to them, the lack of any coherence to the mutations, or any guarantee of getting useful ones, made them in general a much more difficult species under the old system.
Since the overhaul, Demonspawn have continued to evolve: in 0.8, they stopped receiving breath attack mutations. Later versions, particularly 0.10, have added a number of new mutations and rebalanced others.
