ECOLOGY

Environment any (Abyss)
Organization solitary, pair, or conspiracy (3–12)
Treasure standard

Vilsteth demons, also known as corruption demons, are calved from the essence of the demon lord Baphomet's realm of the Ivory Labyrinth. Vilsteths form from the souls of corrupt and deceitful politicians, priests, and power brokers—those who in life abused and misused whatever ephemeral power they wielded. The defining sin of these souls was pride, fueled by vanity and a desire for adulation and ever-greater authority to be wielded in whatever selfish way they saw fit, coupled with a furious envy of anyone more beloved, respected, or feared than they. Vilsteths epitomize these traits, and can often be found lurking in monuments dedicated to important political figures or disguised within statues of prominent saints and heroes. In their natural form, vilsteths are over 7 feet tall and weigh 400 pounds.

Ecology

Like all demons, vilsteths aren't born in a biological sense. Instead, the souls of corrupt mortals find their way to Baphomet's labyrinth after judgment, and in there gradually transform into these crooked beings.

From their positions of power, the sinful souls that birth vilsteths manifested every kind of malfeasance, from pecuniary greed to self-indulgence of gluttony, sloth, and lust in life, but the common thread is always the arrogation of the self over the state or church or whatever organization upon which they presided, coupled with a narcissistic smugness that their pride and pleasures were of greater import than any other consideration. Of course, these sinful leaders' cynical pragmatism demanded that they keep their perverted proclivities secret, as they knew those beneath them would never understand, so each spun an ever-expanding labyrinth of lies to keep their corruption under cover.

Some succeeded, living out their days shrouded in their sinister secrets; others failed spectacularly, leading to dissolution, schism, treason, social collapse, and revolution when the extent of the awful truth finally surfaced. Whether their sins were ever exposed, however, their corrupted pride and devious secrecy drew their souls into the Abyss and the Ivory Labyrinth of Baphomet, where they formed into vilsteth demons.

Vilsteths do not eat or drink in the usual sense. Their faces are like ivory masks—unmoving, impassive, and implacable, with only the glow of their amber eyes to mark their attention. Instead, they are emotional parasites, feeding on the reactions of others, sowing confusion and suffering and feasting upon the psychic residue that follows. Likewise, they do not speak with voices that humans might understand.

Their communication is purely telepathic, from a subtle whisper to a psychic scream, echoing down the corridors of the minds of those to whom they “speak” and pushing them, whether gently or urgently, toward acts of sabotage, sedition, and sin of every kind.

Habitat & Society

Corruption demons are often solitary creatures who work independently on their schemes, though they sometimes summon lesser demons of like talents to further their pernicious agendas of subversion. They amass vast monetary wealth for common bribery and for lavish parties hosted by their minions in order to tempt and corrupt the unwary and the unwise. They encourage and inspire artists and sculptors to raise great monuments and masterworks for their own glory, and through these graven images they spy and speak and exercise a quiet dominion upon the great and small alike, working through prominent and respected leaders to delude the masses and subvert the common good.

When vilsteths are encountered outside of the Abyss, these demons are often found in places where Baphomet's cults hold power. In rural areas, such cults may form around insular villages that have abandoned the traditional gods of hunt and harvest, trading them for a predatory faith hidden from the eyes of outsiders.

In urban settlements, cultic cells and clandestine rites conducted behind masks and veils work together to suborn existing governmental, legal, and cultural authorities.

Vilsteth demons may visit Baphomet's faithful in either milieu, acting as ambassadors and agents provocateur, often sitting in judgment of those who have violated the cult's confidentiality and helping to design and implement their agendas for anarchy and societal upheaval.