The Lockpick of Solomon (Class: Advocate Redux)
While the Advocate has not yet seen play (as far as I know), I've come to the realization that it's somewhat overly-complex and redundant in places (what was I thinking, putting two separate "you have at-will demon butlers" features back to back). This post is meant to rectify that, with simplified and better thought out rules while keeping the core identity.
Now then, from the top!
The Advocate
(Adapted from hex cultureās fox royalty.)
Skill: 1. Courtly politics, 2. Con artistry, 3. Magic circles and sigils. Also, see Otherworldly Teachings.
Starting equipment: Grimoire containing the name and summoning methods of your starting familiar, chalk, 12 candles, offering bowls, athame dagger.
A: Bound familiars, Demonic Court, Otherworldly Teachings, 1 familiar
B: Occult Consultation, rank 2 familiar
C: Touch of the Other, rank 3 familiar
D: Court Induction, rank 4 familiar\
Bound Familiars: You do not cast spells under your own power, but instead command spirits (technically called demons, though that has worse PR) to do it for you. At A template, you start with a singular familiar of rank 1. The rank of a familiar determines the power of the spells they cast (1 MD per rank) and their general rank in their hierarchy (rank 1 demons are barely given any respect, rank 4 demons may be considered nobility among their kin). They do not fight for you unless that is the purpose of their spell. All familiars know one spell, at least that you know of. As you are not the one casting these spells, you donāt have to worry about mishaps and dooms, but you may not ask a demon for more than one spell each day.
Additionally, rank 1 familiars specifically are easily bound and ordered. They can essentially act as an at-will Unseen Servant, capable of doing anything you would expect a weird little imp to be able to do. This does not include fighting. They are not particularly competent, but you have no limits on how much you can command them. Note that while they can effectively teleport within line of sight and can be invisible while acting, they canāt carry anything with them while they do so, and are vulnerable to any sort of spirit-repelling things such as warding circles.
A familiarās spells are based on rank and the demon court they belong to. Rank 1 familiars roll 1d6 on their courtās list, rank 2 familiars roll 1d8, rank 3 familiars roll 1d4+6, rank 4 familiars choose any spell from 9-12. You may recruit more familiars in play via negotiation, either directly or by finding the name and summoning methods first. Permanent recruitment always involves initial offerings or services of some kind, varying by the demon in question, and demons of a rank higher than your templates in this class will refuse to be bound to you outside of very lopsided deals. Though you can recruit familiars without a hard limit, you may only have two rank one familiars and one familiar of each higher rank following you at a time, though you can choose to fill higher slots with lower ranks.
If you obtain MD from some other source, you can use these MD to empower your 1/day cast of a familiar, or to cast a familiarās spell entirely with the MD without using up their daily cast.
Favored Court: All advocates have a specific variety of demon that they are specialized in. Choose a court and one of its associated spell lists. All familiars you gain from leveling up are of this type. When you encounter demons of this type, they will always be neutral to you at worst unless you have wronged them specifically, though this does not necessarily extend to your companions. Additionally, you can speak and understand their language. However, each favored type of demon imposes a restriction upon you, and breaking it will remove your protection and effectively put you in debt to all of your familiars at once.
Otherworldly Teachings: In addition to assisting you directly with spells, you also know how to summon and bind demons to teach you as well. Gain a new skill every template that fits the theming of your demons (examples are given for each court).
Occult Consultation: While low-rank spirits lack the competence to accomplish tasks that arenāt right in front of them, those of higher rank are much more capable, though they also know their worth. Any demon of rank 2 or higher may be asked questions about the world and give answers, as below: You may ask the GM a question regarding a person, creature, object or location in the world. The question must be posed in in-game terms, no asking for HP totals or AC etc. Your spirit will give a cryptic answer on the subject, most likely gleaned from their superiors and/or subjects. Each rank of spirit allows for a single follow-up question on the same subject. Once you have cast this spell regarding a particular thing, you must interact with that thing before you are able to glean further information by use of this spell. You can still ask questions of other things or places.
Touch of the Other: You begin to transform physically as a result of your contact with otherworldly entities. The specifics vary based on court, but this always allows you to see demons of all kinds, as well as invisible creatures as a lensing of light (which is to say, Wizard Vision).
Court Induction: You are an honorary demon now, and spirits will flock to you willingly. Whenever you seek out hirelings, you also find an equal amount of demons and monsters, which can be recruited as hirelings or as familiars for the appropriate costs. Ordinary folk tend to have issues working alongside demons.
Example Courts
This list is by no means exhaustive. Feel free to think up your own using this format:
Name
Spell List: Example spell list or lists. If there are multiple lists, pick one on taking your first Advocate template.
Favored Offerings: The kinds of offerings that are especially tempting to these demons, useful for recruiting new ones.
Restrictions: The rules that an Advocate must follow for these demons. Breaking the restriction causes all demons of that type to refuse to help you until you make them each an offering.
Skills: Skills you can take with otherworldly Teachings
Transformation: The nature of your transformation from Touch of the Other.
Description: Description of the demon type, along with any unique details.
Devils
Spell List: Spells from hell. There's multiple possibilities here, with the Forge Wizard being a good general option, though spells based on the various specific layers (Avernus, Dis, Minauros) are also fitting.
Favored Offerings: Tempting mortals to sin or encouraging more unsuspecting fools to sign up for infernal contracts. A devil of any rank will always take you willingly signing away your soul as an offering, though this obviously can only be done once.
Restrictions: You cannot use your devils in a purely selfless way.
Skills: Basically any knowledge-type skill, especially if you could take a university course on it. Herbology, geology, astronomy, chemistry, etc.
Transformation: Your sclera turn black, your canine teeth lengthen, you grow tiny horns that can be concealed under a large hat, and you always smell faintly of coal smoke. You may draw up binding contracts. If someone breaks a binding contract of yours that they signed, then you immediately know their exact location and how the contract was violated, and all your devils have a range of "yes" when targeting them.
Description: Inhabitants of Hell, devils are what most people think of when they hear ādemon.ā Though varied in appearance, they tend to have similar features such as horns, fangs, bat wings, and other such classic devil features. Rank 1 devils are usually referred to as imps. They tend to be absolute bastards, though higher rank devils are better at pretending otherwise.
Foxes
Spell List: Fox Wizardry, though thieving magic is also fitting.
Favored Offerings: Lifespan of yourself or others, along with acts of mischief, especially against those in power.
Restrictions: You cannot harm a fox, unless it would be really funny. This also applies in reverse as long as you're not in debt to any fox familiars.
Skills: Anything that would be particularly useful for Mischief. Makeup, disguises, rope skill, etc. Also tracking, they're still canines.
Transformation: You gain the eyes, ears, and tail of a fox. You have the sense of smell and hearing of a fox (significantly better than that of a human).
Description: A court of beasts that have become fae long ago, foxes are masters of illusion and the spaces between. Lower rank foxes appear as simple canines, while higher ranks appear as foxlike humanoids draped in fine silk or as apparitions of smoke and fire. Notably, the low-rank foxes that will do mundane tasks for you have no thumbs, which makes them considerably less dexterous than most other courts. They hold a love for mischief and pranks, varying from harmless to malicious.
Kobolds
Spell List: These Kobolds are all the spell list you need.
Favored Offerings: Precious metals and gems.
Restrictions: None, but see description below.
Skills: Geology, metallurgy, appraisal, trapmaking, and other such mechanical or underground related skills.
Transformation: Your eyes turn reptilian and your tongue forks. You have infravision, but for monetary value instead of heat.
Description: Inhabitants of the caverns below the earth, kobolds have a repuation for weakness that is not entirely deserved. They appear as dragon- or dog-like humanoids, usually small, and are notable among demon types in that they cannot turn invisible at will. Any usage of a spell or servant will always involve the kobold physically appearing, usually through a secret door or trapdoor that definitely wasn't there earlier and won't be there if you check afterwards.
Djinn
Spell List: "Djinn" is a broad category, and thus they are highly variable. Spells of royalty and air are fitting, though there are many, many more.
Favored Offerings: Favors. Djinn have their own societies and desires, being less a single court and more an entire civilization. Favors they ask might be strange and inscrutable, acts of charity, or deep cruelty. It all depends on the djinn
Restrictions: Djinn do not enjoy being demeaned. Their advocates are not allowed to intentionally embarrass them or make them look bad, and are expected to make themselves presentable in the presence of nobility, be it djinn or mortal.
Skills: Anything you could learn in a university. The djinn you can most easily contact to teach you things tend not to teach the trades.
Transformation: Your sclera turn a light golden color. No additional bonuses, but it's relatively easy to hide.
Description: Beings of air and fire, "djinn" is an incredibly broad term in the same way "fairy" is. They tend to appear humanoid, though usually with brightly colored skin and legs that trail off into smoke. Though personalities vary as widely as mortals do, their thoughts and emotions are far more inflexible, with rage and sorrow taking weeks to calm when a mortal would take hours.