Rite of the Infernal Throne — Legacy Incantation
Rite of the Infernal Throne adapts the third-party incantation originally titled Rite of the Diabolical See in the Dicefreaks Grimoire of Cosmic Entities Volume One. It is a dangerous 3.x-era rite for an advanced servant of Asmodeus seeking direct infernal empowerment.
At a Glance
| Type | Incantation |
|---|---|
| School | Transmutation [Evil] |
| Effective level | 9th |
| Skill check | Knowledge (religion) DC 33; 9 successes |
| Failure | Death, or severe Constitution drain and exhaustion on a successful Fortitude save |
| Components | V, S, M, XP, special requirement |
| Casting time | 90 minutes |
| Range | Personal |
| Duration | Instantaneous |
| Saving throw | None |
| Spell Resistance | No |
| XP cost | 500 XP |
Edition Status
- 5.5e / 2024: no direct official equivalent and no matching incantation subsystem.
- 5e / 2014: no direct official equivalent.
- Pathfinder 1e: not a core Pathfinder rite.
- D&D 3.5e: compatible with legacy d20 incantation mechanics, but this specific rite is third-party Dicefreaks material.
Legacy Procedure
The ritual can only be attempted during the midnight hour of a new moon, under a clouded sky and within a desecrated place.
Nine fires are lit in a circle. The invocant stands in a shallow pit at the centre and appeals to Asmodeus nine times, each time invoking one of his infernal titles.
At the final appeal, dark fire erupts from the pit. A favoured supplicant is unharmed and receives the source-defined infernal empowerment. An unworthy or unsuccessful supplicant suffers the failure consequences instead.
Failure
Failure is normally fatal. The source allows a Fortitude save DC 23; success prevents death but instead inflicts 9 points of Constitution drain and leaves the caster exhausted.
These are legacy 3.x mechanics. A modern conversion must deliberately rebuild those consequences rather than treating Constitution drain or legacy Exhaustion as though they were unchanged 2024 rules.
Material and Special Requirements
Material: rare incense and celestial blood worth 33,300 gp.
XP cost: 500 XP.
Special requirement: the original source requires ten levels in a source-specific Asmodean prestige path. In the setting, treat this as requiring the highest rank of an established Asmodean infernal hierarchy rather than importing the source’s Christian-coded title structure.
A character who lacks the required initiation may attempt the words, but the rite automatically fails under the original rules.
Using the Rite in the Setting
This rite should be rare, secret and consequential. It belongs in the hands of a long-serving infernal hierophant, an ancient cult leader, or a villain whose entire career has been built toward receiving personal favour from Asmodeus.
The rite works best as an event, not a routine spell: finding the ritual site, obtaining the components, learning the nine invocations, interrupting the final appeal, or proving that the supplicant is not truly favoured can each become an adventure objective.
Source and Provenance
Original title: Rite of the Diabolical See
Source: Grimoire of Cosmic Entities Volume One
Authors: Eli Atkinson, William Church and Serge W. Desir, Jr.
Original concept: Serge W. Desir, Jr.
Publisher/community: Dicefreaks d20 Community
The setting-facing name and hierarchy language are adapted to avoid importing Abrahamic institutional terminology while preserving the legacy mechanics and provenance.
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