So for those that are not aware, in campaign one of Critical Role there is an entity called Orthax, in broad terms Orthax is a very powerful Shadow Demon that wants people to commit acts of revenge/vengeance. Orthax is capable of bestowing various abilities and powers but these are never really revealed in the campaign so I've taken the liberty to do some homebrewing and lore building to flesh things out a bit. So here we go:
1) A Cycle of Vengeance:
None can say from when or where Orthax originated but like most Shadow Demons it seems bound to the material plane and owes no allegiance to any known Demon Lord in the Abyss but what is known is that it’s influence ranges far and wide and comes in many forms.
Although none can say how old Orthax is, some think it may have once been a Vrock or similar bird-like demon as when Orthax is glimpsed in its true form it has a certain vulture like appearance and this may be why Orthax treats the souls of those it deals with in the manner that it does. Orthax has little interest in ongoing manipulations of creatures that are strong willed and it is often likened to a carrion bird as it seeks to take the souls of the weakest willed creatures it can find and those who are near death or reek of desperation are its favourite to deal with.
Although few have seen Orthax true form those that have tell of a being of immense durability and abilities that can rend the psyche of those it attacks and even manipulate them into attacking allies.
It is said that whenever an oath or curse of revenge or vengeance is made or when someone swears to avenge a wrong that their words maybe carried through the shadows and be heard by the entity known as Orthax; The Demon of Shadows and Vengeance, it may then make itself known to the person who uttered the words. Such a meeting is usually through dreams, these may be while the person sleeps or while they day dream. When such a dream occurs the person sees their oath, curse or vow coming to fruition, the target of their ire laid to waste and left in ruins and they are filled with a sense of accomplishment and well being. These dreams and the illusions Orthax shows the person are but shadows and very rarely come to pass but are enough to sway many creatures, mortal and immortal alike.
Orthax is known to have a wide variety of creatures in its service and these include entities such as other Shadow Demons, Night Hags, Oni, Shadows and even a Rakshasa is rumoured to do Orthax’s bidding.
Those who come to welcome Orthax find themselves gifted with inspiration, information, magical powers or physical aid but Orthax manipulates it’s followers to widen the scope of their desire for vengeance so that it is never truly attained or completed and often perpetuates an ongoing cycle of seeking revenge and vengeance and it is this cycle that Orthax seeks to perpetuate.
Orthax has a growing number of Tieflings in its service. Unlike other fiends Orthax does not sire Cambions who go on to sire Tiefling progeny, instead some mortals who bargain with Orthax find themselves changed and imbued with magical powers. Such Tieflings are imbued with powers to manipulate shadows and create illusions and carry some form of elemental resistance.
Other followers of Orthax find themselves branded with a mystical sigil known as the Shadow Brand. This mark bestows some enhancements to the creatures natural abilities as well as magical powers although, much like those that become Tieflings, this comes at the cost of their previous familial heritage.
Inspiration granted by Orthax is a somewhat chaotic affair. For some it sparks creativity and allows them to produce works of art, music or plays with great dramatic effect where the subject of their ire is forever portrayed in some derogatory fashion while for other followers it might develop into great leaps of innovation or invention. Orthax’s power of inspiration is perhaps its most devious weapon as such a boon rarely shows any ties to its influence and can have longer lasting effects beyond the intitial manipulation.
Throughout its long existence Orthax has learned many secrets of spell-craft and often passes this information onto its followers to grant them a few minor magical powers or elevate them to the status of Warlock. Warlocks in service to Orthax can cloak themselves in the appearance of a Shadow Demon and twist the nature of their spells to effect peoples mental faculties.
Rarest but likely the most formidable of Orthax servants are those that swear an Oath of Vengeance. These beings, who some refer to as Paladins, are committed to stalking the world and helping anyone who wants to take revenge or avenge some wrong doing. These people are often unawares that Orthax has manipulated them and they may otherwise maintain a pious or otherwise goodly demeanour. This can please Orthax greatly as these individuals move in realms and spread its influence in places that would otherwise be anathema to it.
2) In game effects:
So all of this can be broken down to the following game mechanics and someone in service to Orthax will have one or more of them.
Tieflings:
Anyone who has become a Tiefling in service to Orthax uses the base Tiefling in the PHB with the following changes: 1) The Hellish Resistance trait grant resistance to one of the following: Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, Poison or Thunder damage. 2) The Infernal Legacy trait changes to Shadow Legacy and now grants the following spells: at level 1 they can cast Minor Illusion at will, at level 3 they can cast Disguise Self once per long rest and at level 5 they can cast Invisibility once per long rest. Charisma is they spellcasting ability for these and when these spells are cast they seem to pull the local shadows to form the effects.
Shadow Brand:
This functions for the most part as per the Mark of Shadows Dragon Mark from the Eberron: Rising from the Last War setting but with the following changes: 1) It is available to all races not just Elves. 2) It replaces the ability score modifiers for race and grants a +2 bonus to one ability score and a +1 bonus to one other score. All other abilities from the Dragon-Mark remain unchanged.
Magical Power:
This can range from Feats such as Fey Touched, Shadow Touched and Magic Initiate upto the following Warlock subclass.
Taking Orthax as a Warlock patron grants the following spells and abilities:
Level 1 Ability: Form of Shadow. This functions as per the Undead Patron Form of Dread ability but when used the Warlock takes on the appearance of a Shadow Demon.
Level 6 Ability: Shadow Rend. This functions as per the Undead Patron Grave Touched ability except that you can change the damage of a spell you cast to Psychic damage.
Level 10 Ability: Living Shadow. The Warlock now gains resistance to Necrotic damage and when in dim light or darkness they can also use the Hide action as a bonus action.
Level 14 Ability: Incorporeal Movement. Whilst under the effects of their Form of Shadow Ability the Warlock now also gains resistance to Bludgeoning, Piercing and Slashing Damage from non-magical weapons and can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. The Warlock takes 5 (1d10) Force damage if they end their turn inside an object, they are not forced out of the object but take damage at the end of each turn they remain in one.
Inspiration and Information:
At the DM’s option someone under the sway of Orthax may, after completing a Long Rest, gain either a d6 Inspiration die or gain a single piece of information that they have gleaned from their dreams.
Oaths of Vengeance:
This is simply the Paladin Oath of Vengeance where the character or NPC has been set on their path after being influenced by Orthax in some fashion.
Favourite Spells:
Orthax is particularly fond of teaching the spells: Crown of madness, Enemies Abound, Modify Memory and Shadow Blade.
****This is it for now, I'll add more if I come up with anythign else****
So for those that are not aware, in campaign one of Critical Role there is an entity called Orthax, in broad terms Orthax is a very powerful Shadow Demon that wants people to commit acts of revenge/vengeance. Orthax is capable of bestowing various abilities and powers but these are never really revealed in the campaign so I've taken the liberty to do some homebrewing and lore building to flesh things out a bit. So here we go:
1) A Cycle of Vengeance:
None can say from when or where Orthax originated but like most Shadow Demons it seems bound to the material plane and owes no allegiance to any known Demon Lord in the Abyss but what is known is that it’s influence ranges far and wide and comes in many forms.
Although none can say how old Orthax is, some think it may have once been a Vrock or similar bird-like demon as when Orthax is glimpsed in its true form it has a certain vulture like appearance and this may be why Orthax treats the souls of those it deals with in the manner that it does. Orthax has little interest in ongoing manipulations of creatures that are strong willed and it is often likened to a carrion bird as it seeks to take the souls of the weakest willed creatures it can find and those who are near death or reek of desperation are its favourite to deal with.
Although few have seen Orthax true form those that have tell of a being of immense durability and abilities that can rend the psyche of those it attacks and even manipulate them into attacking allies.
It is said that whenever an oath or curse of revenge or vengeance is made or when someone swears to avenge a wrong that their words maybe carried through the shadows and be heard by the entity known as Orthax; The Demon of Shadows and Vengeance, it may then make itself known to the person who uttered the words. Such a meeting is usually through dreams, these may be while the person sleeps or while they day dream. When such a dream occurs the person sees their oath, curse or vow coming to fruition, the target of their ire laid to waste and left in ruins and they are filled with a sense of accomplishment and well being. These dreams and the illusions Orthax shows the person are but shadows and very rarely come to pass but are enough to sway many creatures, mortal and immortal alike.
Orthax is known to have a wide variety of creatures in its service and these include entities such as other Shadow Demons, Night Hags, Oni, Shadows and even a Rakshasa is rumoured to do Orthax’s bidding.
Those who come to welcome Orthax find themselves gifted with inspiration, information, magical powers or physical aid but Orthax manipulates it’s followers to widen the scope of their desire for vengeance so that it is never truly attained or completed and often perpetuates an ongoing cycle of seeking revenge and vengeance and it is this cycle that Orthax seeks to perpetuate.
Orthax has a growing number of Tieflings in its service. Unlike other fiends Orthax does not sire Cambions who go on to sire Tiefling progeny, instead some mortals who bargain with Orthax find themselves changed and imbued with magical powers. Such Tieflings are imbued with powers to manipulate shadows and create illusions and carry some form of elemental resistance.
Other followers of Orthax find themselves branded with a mystical sigil known as the Shadow Brand. This mark bestows some enhancements to the creatures natural abilities as well as magical powers although, much like those that become Tieflings, this comes at the cost of their previous familial heritage.
Inspiration granted by Orthax is a somewhat chaotic affair. For some it sparks creativity and allows them to produce works of art, music or plays with great dramatic effect where the subject of their ire is forever portrayed in some derogatory fashion while for other followers it might develop into great leaps of innovation or invention. Orthax’s power of inspiration is perhaps its most devious weapon as such a boon rarely shows any ties to its influence and can have longer lasting effects beyond the intitial manipulation.
Throughout its long existence Orthax has learned many secrets of spell-craft and often passes this information onto its followers to grant them a few minor magical powers or elevate them to the status of Warlock. Warlocks in service to Orthax can cloak themselves in the appearance of a Shadow Demon and twist the nature of their spells to effect peoples mental faculties.
Rarest but likely the most formidable of Orthax servants are those that swear an Oath of Vengeance. These beings, who some refer to as Paladins, are committed to stalking the world and helping anyone who wants to take revenge or avenge some wrong doing. These people are often unawares that Orthax has manipulated them and they may otherwise maintain a pious or otherwise goodly demeanour. This can please Orthax greatly as these individuals move in realms and spread its influence in places that would otherwise be anathema to it.
2) In game effects:
So all of this can be broken down to the following game mechanics and someone in service to Orthax will have one or more of them.
Tieflings:
Anyone who has become a Tiefling in service to Orthax uses the base Tiefling in the PHB with the following changes: 1) The Hellish Resistance trait grant resistance to one of the following: Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, Poison or Thunder damage. 2) The Infernal Legacy trait changes to Shadow Legacy and now grants the following spells: at level 1 they can cast Minor Illusion at will, at level 3 they can cast Disguise Self once per long rest and at level 5 they can cast Invisibility once per long rest. Charisma is they spellcasting ability for these and when these spells are cast they seem to pull the local shadows to form the effects.
Shadow Brand:
This functions for the most part as per the Mark of Shadows Dragon Mark from the Eberron: Rising from the Last War setting but with the following changes: 1) It is available to all races not just Elves. 2) It replaces the ability score modifiers for race and grants a +2 bonus to one ability score and a +1 bonus to one other score. All other abilities from the Dragon-Mark remain unchanged.
Magical Power:
This can range from Feats such as Fey Touched, Shadow Touched and Magic Initiate upto the following Warlock subclass.
Taking Orthax as a Warlock patron grants the following spells and abilities:
Expanded spells list: Lvl 1: Disguise Self, Wrathful Strike. Lvl 2: Pass Without Trace, Silence. Lvl 3: Clairvoyance, Phantom Steed. Lvl 4: Greater Invisibility, Phantasmal Killer. Lvl 5: Mislead, Modify Memory.
Level 1 Ability: Form of Shadow. This functions as per the Undead Patron Form of Dread ability but when used the Warlock takes on the appearance of a Shadow Demon.
Level 6 Ability: Shadow Rend. This functions as per the Undead Patron Grave Touched ability except that you can change the damage of a spell you cast to Psychic damage.
Level 10 Ability: Living Shadow. The Warlock now gains resistance to Necrotic damage and when in dim light or darkness they can also use the Hide action as a bonus action.
Level 14 Ability: Incorporeal Movement. Whilst under the effects of their Form of Shadow Ability the Warlock now also gains resistance to Bludgeoning, Piercing and Slashing Damage from non-magical weapons and can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. The Warlock takes 5 (1d10) Force damage if they end their turn inside an object, they are not forced out of the object but take damage at the end of each turn they remain in one.
Inspiration and Information:
At the DM’s option someone under the sway of Orthax may, after completing a Long Rest, gain either a d6 Inspiration die or gain a single piece of information that they have gleaned from their dreams.
Oaths of Vengeance:
This is simply the Paladin Oath of Vengeance where the character or NPC has been set on their path after being influenced by Orthax in some fashion.
Favourite Spells:
Orthax is particularly fond of teaching the spells: Crown of madness, Enemies Abound, Modify Memory and Shadow Blade.
****This is it for now, I'll add more if I come up with anythign else****