Demon Lord, Nocticula

This frighteningly majestic creature spreads wide her runeadorned wings. Molten iron weeps from her hooves, and her three tails are studded with barbs.

Source Pathfinder #76: The Midnight Isles pg. 86
Originally posted in Archives of Nethys

Nocticula is the demon lord of assassins, darkness, and lust, and rules the Abyssal realm of the Midnight Isles, a vast archipelago formed around the murdered remnants of dozens of demon lords and other powerful foes. Having been the first succubus and then having ascended to become a demigoddess, Nocticula now sets her eyes at a greater prize – full divinity. Lamashtu is the only demon lord who has accomplished this task so far, but Nocticula aims to be the second. What kind of deity she might become is anyone’s guess ‘some believe that Nocticula is secretly seeking redemption from her demonic nature. Others say these rumors were seeded by Nocticula herself as a grand lie to distract her enemies from her true goal of becoming an assassin and seducer of gods.

Nocticula is certainly mercurial in her personality and attitude. She may simply murder or enslave visitors to her realm, or she may welcome them with open arms ‘even those who one would think were her enemies. Only a fool accepts her invitation without suspicion, for what the queen of succubi wants may change dramatically from one moment to the next.

Nocticula’s Cult

Nocticula is worshiped by assassins, the lustful, whores, shadow-using creatures, and of course succubi. These worshipers form relatively small cults, often akin to secret societies, that use brothels, nobility, or academies as a cover for their true purposes. A small number of heretics venerate her as well, not as a demigoddess of murder and lust but as one of outcasts, artists, and the glories of midnight. The fact that such heretical clerics are granted spells as surely as the rest of her worshipers has caused not a small amount of discontent among her faithful, which
Nocticula seems to enjoy.

Nocticula’s symbol is a multi-pointed crown wrapped with thorny vines. Her favored weapon is the hand crossbow. She grants access to the domains of Chaos, Charm, Darkness, and Evil, and to the subdomains of Demon, Loss, Lust, and Night.

Nocticula CR 30

XP 9,830,400 CE Medium outsider (chaotic, demon, evil, extraplanar) Init +13; Senses Darkvision 60 ft., detect good, detect law, see in darkness, true seeing; Perception +58 Aura seductive presence (180 ft., DC 43), unholy aura (DC 33)

DEFENSE

AC 48, touch 41, flat-footed 35 (+4 deflection, +13 Dexterity, +7 natural, +14 profane) hp 774 (36d10+576); regeneration 30 (deific or mythic) Fort +32, Ref +37, Will +35 Defensive Abilities Abyssal resurrection, freedom of movement; DR 20/cold iron, epic, and lawful; Immune ability damage and drain, charm and compulsion effects, death effects, electricity, energy drain, fire, petrification, poison; Resist acid 30, cold 30; SR 41

OFFENSE

Speed 60 ft., fly 90 ft. (good) Melee 2 claws +48 (1d8+12 plus 1d4 Charisma drain), 3 stings +48 (2d6+12/19–20 plus poison), 2 hooves +43 (1d4+6 plus 1d6 fire and burn), 2 wings +43 (1d4+6) Ranged Shadowkiss +54/+49/+44/+39 (1d4+20/17–20 plus poison) Special Attacks burn (3d6 fire, DC 44), cruel shot, domination, energy drain, poison, profane ascension, sneak attack +4d6 Spell-Like Abilities (CL 30th)   Constant – detect good, detect law, freedom of movement, tongues, true seeing, unholy aura (DC 33)   At will – astral projection, blasphemy (DC 32), chaos hammer (DC 29), deeper darkness, desecrate, greater dispel magic, greater teleport, power word blind, telekinesis (DC 30), shapechange, unhallow   3/day – finger of death (DC 32), quickened mass suggestion (DC 31), summon demons, symbol of death (DC 33) 1/day – soul bind (DC 34), time stop, wail of the banshee (DC 34)

STATISTICS

Strength 34, Dexterity 36, Constitution 42, Intelligence 35, Wisdom 32, Charisma 40 Base Atk +36; CMB +48; CMD 89 Feats Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Craft Construct, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wondrous Item, Critical Focus, Deadly Aim, Flyby Attack, Greater Feint, Improved Critical (hand crossbow), Improved Critical (sting), Improved Feint, Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (mass suggestion), Rapid Reload (hand crossbow), Rapid Shot, Staggering Critical Skills Acrobatics +52, Bluff +62, Diplomacy +54, Disguise +51, Fly +56, Intimidate +51, Knowledge (arcana, local, nobility) +48, Knowledge (planes, religion) +51, Perception +58, Perform (dance) +51, Sense Motive +50, Sleight of Hand +49, Spellcraft +48, Stealth +52, Use Magic Device +54; Racial Modifiers +8 Bluff, +8 Perception Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Draconic, Undercommon; telepathy 300 ft., tongues SQ change shape (any humanoid; alter self), swift transformation

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Cruel Shot (Ex) Nocticula is adept at making ranged attacks to strike cruel shots that deal significant and humiliating damage. She adds her Charisma bonus to all damage dealt by ranged weapons.   Domination (Su) As a standard action, Nocticula can crush a foe’s will. The target must be visible to Nocticula and within 120 feet. It must succeed at a DC 43 Will save or fall instantly under Nocticula’s influence as dominate monster (CL 30th). If she uses domination against a humanoid creature, she may instead choose to use the ability as a swift action, and it functions as dominate person. As long as the target is under this effect, it gains a +4 profane bonus on all saving throws against targets other than Nocticula.   Energy Drain (Su) Nocticula’s energy drain functions identically to that of a succubus, except that she drains 2 levels when she uses this ability against mythic creatures, or 1d6+4 levels against non-mythic creatures.   Poison (Ex) Sting or hand crossbow-injury; save Fort DC 44; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d4 Wisdom drain plus Paralysis for 1 round. Anyone who fails two consecutive saves against this poison is permanently blinded. The save DC is Constitution-based.   Profane Ascension (Su) As a swift action while in an act of passion with a willing mortal, Nocticula may grant a profane ascension. The target’s name appears in glowing Abyssal runes on Nocticula’s wings, and a crimson mark manifests somewhere on the target’s body. The target immediately gains a +6 profane bonus to any one ability score of its choice, a +4 profane bonus to any other ability score of its choice, and the see in darkness ability. A single creature may have only one profane ascension in effect at any one time. As long as the effect persists, Nocticula can communicate telepathically with the target across any distance and may use any of her spell-like abilities through the target, manifesting them as if the target were using them. A profane ascension may be removed by a miracle or wish Nocticula can remove it as a free action, dealing 4d6 points of Charisma drain and imparting 1d10+10 permanent negative levels to the victim.   Seductive Presence (Su) Unlike most demon lords, Nocticula does not possess a frightful presence ability. Rather, she has a seductive presence that she can activate as a free action whenever she speaks or uses a spell-like ability. Anyone within 180 feet who fails a DC 43 Fortitude save loses any immunity to mind-affecting effects, charm effects, and compulsion effects, and becomes fascinated by Nocticula for 5d4 rounds. A creature affected by a mind-affecting effect while within this aura remains affected even after leaving Nocticula’s seductive presence. Creatures that succeed at this saving throw are immune to this ability for 24 hours. The save DC is Charisma-based.   Shadowkiss Nocticula’s favored weapon is Shadowkiss, a +5 unholy hand crossbow that magically creates ammunition as it fires. Once a target is damaged by a bolt fired from Shadowkiss, the hand crossbow gains the bane weapon special ability against that target’s creature type on all further attacks. Shadowkiss may only have one bane effect in place at one time. Bolts fired from Shadowkiss gain the ghost touch ability (an effect not normally available to ranged weapons). Swift Transformation (Ex) Nocticula can use her change shape ability as a free action.

ECOLOGY

Environment any (Abyss) Organization solitary (unique) Treasure triple (Shadowkiss, 100,000 gp in various jewelry, other treasure)

Originally from The Book of Fiends

Designed By Aaron Loeb, Erik Mona, Chris Pramas, and Robert J. Schwalb

Nocticula (Princess of Moonlight)

Layer: Ablinikarn, the Evershifting Vale 72nd layer of the Abyss.
Areas of Concern: Women, dark fey, the natural world, psychotropic drugs, earthy sensuality
Domains: Chaos, Evil, Healing, Moon, Plant
Favored Weapon: Sickle

A woman’s empathic mind and bodily cycles hold the key to understanding the mysteries of the natural world.

According to Nocticula, the sensual Princess of Moonlight, women alone possess the power to experience nature as it is meant to be experienced, a gloriously chaotic panorama so complete in its majesty that it cannot be fully appreciated by the mortal mind. Nocticula’s earthy cult, the so-called Sisterhood of Sensates, believes that the mind-altering properties of certain plants and fungi, coupled with the chemicals of a woman’s body, can grant higher understanding of the limitless possibilities presented by nature’s hidden landscapes. Members gather in secluded vales under the cover of moonlight to revel in erotic frolics enriched by the liberal ingestion of psychedelic drugs. To most, they represent harmless would-be faeries obsessed with self-indulgent pleasures. In fact they are members of a relentless, widespread cult whose deep perception of the natural world gives them a powerful advantage over their enemies.

Nocticula frequently appears to her worshipers in hallucinogenic visions as a voluptuous wild woman with dried mud between her toes and a feral look in her deep brown eyes. The wry smile of her full lips reveals cunning intelligence and guile, and while she sometimes clothes herself in leather pants or a thick fur cloak, she prefers to travel as naked as the animals who inhabit her beloved wild spaces. She paints simple circles and lines upon her face, chest, and stomach, using natural dyes to accentuate her pale complexion. She resembles a mortal human more than nearly any other prince of the Abyss, but her form occasionally morphs slightly without warning, and a dim, rapidly fading trail of light follows her every movement.

Nocticula loathes the devil queen Antaia, a powerful devil who inhabits the Fourth Circle of Hell and who passes herself off as a patron of witches on the Material Plane. True, Antaia’s doctrine distances her followers from the gods and hence furthers the corruption of their souls, but the Princess of Moonlight finds the devil’s rigid teachings a betrayal of the primal, chaotic force of nature that motivates true witches. Her greatest ally is undoubtedly the demon prince Socothbenoth, who as patron of prostitution and eroticism shares her zest for sensual living. That he also happens to be her brother only serves to strengthen their powerful bond.

A Sister Sensate in the full embrace of nature’s image-inducing powers sees a world in constant change. Such is the case with the Evershifting Vale, Nocticula’s forlorn, enchanting personal layer of the Abyss. There, in clearings ringed by autumnal trees, feminine demons and female souls join in common adulation of nature, painting their naked bodies with mud and dining upon psychedelic fungus a hundred times more potent than the most powerful drugs of the Material worlds. The layer itself warps, quivers, and shakes as if controlled by a mad, narcotic dream. succubi generally manage individual covens in the Vale, while the insidious alrunes serve as Nocticula’s personal agents of vengeance, a service that often takes them far from the Abyss.

Nocticula’s cult is strongest in rural areas; many tribal or village wise women secretly honor her, and evil-aligned fey sometimes venerate the Princess of Moonlight over the queen of their own dark faerie court. Though the Sisterhood comprises females exclusively, the cult is far from dedicated to misandry. Nocticulans believe that men serve important roles in the wholeness of the natural world but that they cannot achieve complete understanding, with or without the aid of hallucinogens. Most of the order’s more sensual ceremonies require the presence of at least one man, however, and several sympathetic males assist the cult whenever possible. Though her female thaumaturges vastly outnumber males, Nocticula welcomes members of both sexes to swear their eternal souls to her in exchange for thaumaturgical powers.

Should a Nocticulan learn of a man who has physically or sexually abused a woman or girl, however, she enlists the aid of her sisters to rain down merciless retribution upon him, often inviting the victim to join the Sisterhood after the man who has wronged her has been dealt with appropriately. What strikes a Nocticulan as ‘appropriate’ often seems downright vicious to outsiders. The Sisterhood’s reliance on torture and mutilation tears a wide rift between it and other feminine nature cults, who view Nocticulans as drug-addled psychopaths whose propensity for whimsy makes them no less frightening and dangerous.

Obedience

Once per day, thaumaturges and witches in service to Nocticula ingest a small quantity of psychedelic plants or fungi, seeing in the resulting hallucinations the blessed, unholy instruction of the Princess of Moonlight. Generally, thaumaturges can locate a suitable plant with a successful Profession (herbalist) check (DC 10). If walled within a city or otherwise unable to find the appropriate material, a thaumaturge may purchase a daily dose for 10 gp. At the end of the ritual trip, the thaumaturge’s daily spell allotment is replenished.

Note: Nocticulan thaumaturges treat Profession (herbalist) as a class skill.