I am creating a Stormbringer world with Genesys. One of the complications I am having is the "binding of demons". I am considering creating a new type of magic for this world, but wanted to get some feedback from the community on what direction I should take.

In Stormbringer they do Willpower vs Willpower checks to bind. I trying to figure out a mechanic for this, but don't want to have to make something to crazy outside of the Genesys world.

I also have a concern about the binding as they are permanent in Stormbringer and really make Sorcerer's and Priests very powerful. Any thoughts on how to do this would be appreciated. Also I wonder if it should be a talent at each Tier as to how many you can have bound. I was thinking Tier 1 you can have one bound demon, Tier 2 you can have another etc and so on.

For me Stormbringer is a perfect setting to receive a Genesys makeover, I just need a little help on the bindings. Thank you.

It's been a while since I've read a Stormbringer book and I haven't read them all so my suggestion may not be fitting.

Instead of the each "Tier" allowing another demon, perhaps attach it to the power of the demons. Tier 1 perhaps only allows binding of weak Minion demons. But, you could bind a group of them. Then Tier 2 could allow binding of a single (?) Rival demon while Tier 3 allows a Nemesis.

I would upgrade the difficulty to challenge dice, perhaps once per Tier? Then, of course, a despair results in the demon(s) binding the caster instead, if that is something that could happen in Stormbringer.

Permanent sounds pretty permanent. I would smudge a bit and force another binding action from time to time even if it's rare. Perhaps when the demon is forced to do something nearly self-destructive, the binder is caught in a moment of extreme weakness, etc.

Imo:

0 strain, demon gets a re-test. Use those advantages to keep topped up.

Also I'd make the summoner use their non combat action to issue commands.

Sturn that's a great idea, especially when bound to a weapon and the player suffers a Despair. So smudged and it isn't permanent. I like the Tier being the power of the demon as well. Also with despair having the opportunity to release a demon, it would limit players from piling on or they would be fighting their demons all the time. Thank you alot.

1 hour ago, gandalf9700 said:

Sturn that's a great idea, especially when bound to a weapon and the player suffers a Despair. So smudged and it isn't permanent. I like the Tier being the power of the demon as well. Also with despair having the opportunity to release a demon, it would limit players from piling on or they would be fighting their demons all the time. Thank you alot.

You could add setback to the test depending on how many demons total the caster has?

A couple of thoughts:

• each demonic invocation should be a Talent. With a demonic invocation you can invoke a specific type of demon. There are different Tier of demonic invocation that depend on the stats of the demon.
• each demonic invocation takes one hour per level and requires a sacrifice. The level of the sacrifice is commensurate with the power of the demon. An animal for a lesser demon. One or multiple sentient being for a Greater demon. There must be blood.
• You suffer 1 Strain per half-hour spent invoking.
• At the peak of the ceremony, do a willpower vs willpower check. « Speak High-Melibonean » is a skill you can use.
• If successful, the demon will appear and you can give one simple order to the demon who will perform the task until the next Sunset. An order must be a sentence of less than 6 words.
• You can spend advantages to achieve the following thing:
• 1 advantage = give one additional order ( 6 words)
• 1 advantage = the demon remain bound for an additional sunset
• 1 advantage = half the casting time.
• You can accept some of the demon’s demand. If you do so, discard an appropriate number of threat (thus creating more advantages).

demons have pretty weird demand ranging from trivial for low level demons (« I want to paint all your house in bright yellow ») to the terrifying (« I want to know your deepest and darkest secret ») for the most powerful.

If you roll a Triumph, you can attempt to bind the demon. Immediately roll willpower vs willpower again with the demon having 2 raises (yes, demons hate being bound).

• If you fail, the demon will attack you
• If you succeed, the object you bound the demon gains a special property depending on the demon.
• However, you will be required to perform a specific ritual once a week to keep the demon bound (for example, you need to bath the your demonic blade in the blood of a sentient being).
• advantages allow you to extend the duration between rituals. A triumph postpone it permanently.
• threats mean one of your already bound demon attempt to break free or your demonic object has some kind of flaw/weakness you ignore. A disaster mean the demon will turn on you at some stage (GM spends a story point)

The idea here is not to make invoking demons a simple mechanical system but rather something that create stories on its own ( demon’s demand, written contracts). I would recommend creating before the game a few demonic contract forms to speed things. Once it is written it is quite amusing to find all kind of interesting loopholes ( has the PC thought to add a « And After Do Not Pester Me » clause to the contract ?)