The Spare Key of Solomon (GLOG Class: Warlock)
While many wizards utilize spirits to cast their spells, their power still comes from within, with their spells mostly being tools that use this power. Honing this inner power and connecting it with spells is difficult, which is why many wizards perish or give up before reaching true magical potential.
There are, however, other paths. Maybe you found the right tome of names and lore, maybe you were blessed by the right entity, maybe a familiar appeared to you and offered a bargain. Whatever the case, you are now an Advocate, one who acts as the mortal agent of strange spirits in exchange for their assistance. Though it calls for skill in negotiation and bargaining more than honing inner power and achieving a spell-favorable mental state, it is still a dangerous path. Demons are notoriously fickle and powerful.
Adapted from hex cultureās fox royalty. Thanks to the Whimsical Mountain for help with proofreading and revisions.
The Advocate
Skill: 1. Courtly politics, 2. Con artistry, 3. Magic circles and sigils
Starting equipment: Grimoire containing your starting spell and the name of your starting familiar, chalk, 12 candles, offering bowls, athame dagger.
A: Bound familiars, Demonic Court, rank 1 familiar
B: Secret Tongues, rank 2 familiar
C: Voice of Authority, 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), their statistics when they manifest (1 HD +1 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). All familiars know at least one spell, but they can also cast any spells from their lists that are in your grimoire using their MD. 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.
You may also ask for other favors by presenting offerings, negotiating, or pleading, using the demonic favor reaction table found below if the outcome is uncertain. Promises of future offerings are accepted, but you will be in debt to that familiar until you uphold your end of the bargain, during which time they will refuse to perform any services for you, even their obligated spells. Familiars will perform only one extraneous service per day. One such favor that all demons can do is manifest in the world physically to perform a task or fight on your behalf.
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 roll 1d12 and choose a second spell from spells 11 and 12. You may recruit more familiars in play via negotiation. 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. Though you can recruit familiars without a hard limit, you may only have two rank 1 familiars and one of each higher rank following you at a time.
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, and you start with 2 spells from your chosen spell list (rolled with d6s) in your grimoire. Each time you gain a level, roll an additional spell for your grimoire from your chosen list; use a d8 at B template, a d10 at C template, and a d12 at D template. 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.
Secret Tongues
Your contact with spirits and ancient tomes has given you more knowledge of esoteric languages. Your fluency with the tongue of your favored spirits allows you to gain audience with powerful demons and divine beings of your favored court, and you become conversant in the language of a court other than your own, gaining another language every template after this one. Additionally, you may read ancient texts and inscriptions, and can decode any cipher with a few days of work.
Voice of Authority
You have proven yourself an authority among your demons instead of a mere mortal in over their head. Rank 1 familiars can be order to perform non-combat tasks without needing to roll, though they will not (due to incompetence more than anything) perform long-term services.
Court Induction
You are an honorary demon now, and spirits will flock to you willingly. You now have a personal demonic servant/secretary/etc. They are a rank 2 demon, possibly one of your existing rank 1 or 2 familiars given a promotion (in which case you get a replacement familiar of their rank before the promotion), that will follow your commands loyally without the usual one a day limit. This secretary does not count towards the usual familiar limit. They still wonāt cast more than one spell per day, as their power is limited.
Additionally, 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.
Demonic Favor Reactions
Roll 2d6 when making the offer, which takes your turn if done in combat.
+1 per proper offering
+1 if you can provide a reason why the familiar would want this task performed
-1 for non-favored familiars
-1 per rank of the familiar
1-. The familiar is offended at the merest suggestion of this task. They leave to do demon things until the next sunrise, even if you havenāt cast their spell yet today, and you may not ask them for any favors besides their obligated spell until the current adventure is over and you have time to apologize in a profuse and likely humiliating fashion.
2-4. The familiar refuses to perform the service, and you cannot ask them for anything besides their obligated spell until the next sunrise.
5-7. Your offer is insufficient. Sweeten the deal and theyāll agree.
8-10. Offer accepted! The favor is performed.
11+. For once, enthusiastic cooperation! The favor is performed, and you can ask them for something else today without issue.
Demonic Courts
Devils
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. As inhabitants of hell, they have a particular affinity for contracts and tempting mortals to sin, and offerings involving these are more likely to be accepted. As beings of sin, devils refuse to allow their advocates to use their powers to improve someoneās life. Their favored spell lists are this general devil spell list along with lists from the various layers of hell. Lists for Avernus, Dis, and Minauros are provided. When you gain a familiar from one layer via leveling up, all future familiars gained from leveling must be from the general list or your chosen layer.
Kobolds and Dragons
Inhabitants of the deep places of the world, draconic spirits are demons particularly attuned to the corporeal world, and usually manifest as part of their spells. The most common are kobolds, which can appear as reptilian or canine, but more powerful spirits are akin to proper dragons. As expected, their favored offerings are treasures, gold, gems, and other such things. So great is there avarice that they donāt have any restrictions on behavior, instead requiring a payment in treasure whenever the advocate gains a level. The exact amount will vary by system, but 1/16th of the amount needed to level up is a safe bet in gold for XP systems. Their favored spell list is, of course, the kobolds themselves, though dragons also have ties to orthodox magecraft.
Fairies
Strange and capricious, the seelie courts are the first of the courts to come to mind from the word āfairy.ā Their appearances are usually humanoid, though often much smaller or larger and with strange aspects such as tails, pointed ears, and insect wings. Elves are notable members of these courts. Their desires are varied, though the most common are gifts of lifespan and acts of chaos. Iron is their bane, however, and they refuse to allow their advocates to wear iron gear or have more than one iron tool or weapon on them at a time. Their favored magics are elf magic and spells of exchanging the intangible.
Foxes
A court of beasts that have become fae long ago, foxes are masters of illusion and the spaces between. Some appear as simple canines, while others appear as humanoids draped in fine silk or as apparitions of smoke and fire. Like many fairies, they eat lifespan, but also hold a particular enjoyment of clever tricks and making fools out of people, and may accept such acts of mischief as payment in themselves. Of the courts, they are among the most caring of their own kin, and ban their advocate from ever bringing harm to another fox (unless it would be extremely funny). Their favored spells are illusions, as well as their personal school of fox magic.
There are, of course, many other courts, but they are innumerable. Perhaps you could find one?