Demon-kin

Kye, a demon-kin of Pain, in his true form.

Demon-kin are the offspring of a demon and a mortal. They differ based on both their demon parent and their mortal parent, and thus they vary almost as widely as demons themselves.

The Taint

All demon-kin suffer from a constant desire to commit or encourage their demon parent’s particular brand of evil. The more they give in to this temptation, they more they take on the appearance of their demon side when in their 'natural' form. One who gives in completely may become a full-fledged demon, losing their humanity completely and joining their brethren in the Underworld, though they will never be as large or powerful as a full-blooded demon. The majority of demon-kin end up with this fate, for the power of a demonic temptation is difficult to resist even for one who lacks the demands of demonic blood. The few demon-kin who manage to resist their evil urges can more easily hide their demonic physical traits.

In many ways, being a demon-kin is similar to a form of demonic possession, but there is no way to exorcise the demonic taint, as it is innately a part of their blood, their being, and their very soul. They are doomed to struggle with it all their lives, should they choose to struggle at all. For this reason, priests and demon-hunters like Templar usually kill any demon-kin they find, and consider it a mercy.

Categories

Though all demon-kin bear a wide variety of demonic traits, each unique according to the type of demon that spawned them, the various traits fall under four distinct categories.

Sanguine

Sanguine demon-kin usually have some combination of sharp horns, a tail, bright and often cat-like eyes, bat-like wings, clawed fingers, and sharp canines.

Melancholic

Melancholic demon-kin usually have some combination of curved horns, dark sunken eyes, strange misty hair, black-feathered wings, and pitch-black tears and blood.

Choleric

Choleric demon-kin usually have some combination of multi-faceted eyes and ragged insect wings, bony horns, and skeletal claws.

Phlegmatic

Phlegmatic demon-kin usually have tentacles erupting from various parts of the body (face, hands, feet, back), along with a variety of other, unpredictable demonic features.

Types

Information about the demon-kin spawned by each type of demon can be found on the demon pages, or else the page of the demon lord associated with each sin:

• Malice (Apophis, sanguine)
• Greed (Baalgor, sanguine)
• Gluttony (Bushaspor, phlegmatic)
• Betrayal (Orcus, sanguine)
• Deceit (Lamia, melancholic)
• Tyranny (Saurva, sanguine)
• Fury (Furors, sanguine)
• Hate (Stygians, phlegmatic)
• Fear (Phobos and Deimos, phlegmatic)
• Sorrow (Banshees, melancholic)
• Lust (Succubae, sanguine)
• Pride (Arashk, melancholic)
• War (Makhai, choleric)
• Plague (Utarviz, choleric)
• Famine (Harpies, melancholic)
• Pain (Algos, sanguine)
• Doom (Moros, sanguine)
• Madness (Maniae, phlegmatic)
• Vengeance (Erinyes, melancholic)

Powers

All demon-kin have unique abilities based on what type of demon they are descended from, and they also have natural Demonic magic. Using any of these abilities brings them much closer to their demonic nature, however, which will result in their appearance growing more demonic. Also, all demon-kin can hide their demon traits at will, so long as they are conscious and can concentrate on doing so. If they become too startled, fall unconscious, or experience such pain that it disrupts their concentration, then the magic will break and their true form will be revealed. The more corrupt they are, the more demonic their true form appears.