Alphatian Craft: Demonologist
by Bruce HeardI was going to do that one, but it would seem you jumped in front of the bullet. I would have done a few things differently, especially the upper circle. Here are some ideas, mostly in addition to what you suggested. In general, I'd suggest first that demonologists are NPCs and hopelessly evil.
1st Circle
Create Magical Circle: the demonologist can create a circle to either protect someone or something from any demon, or contain demons with HD up to twice his/her own experience level. The circle can have a 15' radius, plus one per experience level.
Protection from Demons: (add this) Protection covers 15' radius if the encountered demons have half or less HD than the demonologist's own experience levels, else it is limited to the demonologist's own person.
2nd Circle
Disrupt: Demonologist can break another demonologist's magical circle or negate another demonologist's protection, provided the other demonologist is three experience levels lower.
Lore: Demonologist can attempt to find out about a specific demon's past and its present motivations. Its powers and tactics can also be found out this way. Failing the attempt by 50% or worse will yield wrong answers. The DM should make the roll for the player.
Unveil: Demonologist may interrogate a demon, while in its true form or while it possesses another body. If the attempt succeeds, the demon must stop whatever it was doing and answer up to three of the demonologist's questions (like its true identity for example). Answers to each question take no more than a word per experience level of the demonologist. Once the unveiling is completed, the demon returns to its previous activity, such as perhaps attacking the demonologist for example.
Seek: Demonologist can detect the closest demon in the same plane, or in a nearby plane (like the ethereal from the prime plane), within a distance of 8 miles per level of the demonologist.
3rd Circle
Possess: The demonologist can force the essence of the demon from its body into another (a creature or an object). A sentient victim gets a saving throw vs. spells (plus any Wisdom bonuses), however further modifiers apply: -1 if the demonologist is of a higher experience level, plus an additional -1 for every three experience levels of the demonologist above that of the victim (reverse if the victim is of a higher level). If the victim succeeds the save, the demon's essence remains inside its own body. If not, the demon occupies the victim's body, reducing the victim's own awareness into a conscious but helpless host. If the victim is killed, the demon's essence returns to its body.
Dismiss: Demonologist can force a demon to return to where it was summoned. Demonologist affects any or all demons presently under his/her control whether in their true form or when possessing another body, or 1-6 demons formerly under his/her control (in their true form only), or 0-3 demons (d4-1, in their true form only) summoned by wizards of three experience levels lower or less than the demonologist's.
Ichor: The demonologist can dissolve the body of a summoned demon and recover its essence in the form of a dark, utterly evil ichor. The demon must be contained within a magic circle to prevent it from fleeing or attacking the demonologist, as control over the demon is lost as soon as the ichor is extracted. The demon's ichor can be used to anoint an object or a creature to give it one of the demon's special abilities. Only three creatures or objects at a time can bear a demon's ichor. Creatures receiving a demon's ichor must be evil. Object receiving the ichor exude an evil aura until destroyed. The demonologist can "dismiss" the ichor's effects at any time. All abilities conferred by demonic ichor vanish upon the demonologist's own death.
4th Circle
Retain: Demonologist can attempt to extend the length of service from a demon that was successfully summoned earlier. If so, the demon remains in the demonologist's service for up to a month per experience level. If the attempt fails, the demon automatically attacks the demonologist and no longer can be affected by any of the demonologist's craft powers, ever.
Banish: Demonologist can expel a demon possessing another body or an object. Banishment requires an hour for each of the demon's HD, without interruption. Once banished from a victim, this specific demon can never possess the victim's body again. The demon must return to its body and its own plane where it remains for at least 666 years.
5th Circle (in lieu of actually becoming a demon):
Greater Binding: Demonologist acquires a demonic familiar. The familiar must have half or less HD than the demonologist's own experience levels. Not only all the rules pertaining to familiars (see AD&D rules) pertain to the demon, the demonologist can also use all the abilities, knowledge, and memories of the demon. Likewise, the demon can access its master's own memories and perception (but not its abilities). Although the demon utterly hates its master, it will serve it to the best of its abilities since the demonologist's death means its own end, and vice-versa. The greater binding cannot be undone, save by the death of both master and servant.
Note about summoning demons
(gating): The demonologist cannot control more HD than he/she has
experience levels. Excess demons or "partially controlled" demons
become automatically hostile to the demonologist. Rolling a
catastrophic failure on the gating attempt (a score of 100), still
allows the demons to show up, however all of them become hostile.