Daemons

*"Only a fool trusts a Daemon. They are made of the very stuff of change, the raw madness of the Warp made manifest. However, like men, Daemons are creatures of greed, pride, and arrogance, and these are things I trust completely*

**Daemons** (pronounced like demon, but always spelled with that a) are powerful beings, neither real nor unreal, which do not obey the laws of physics; indeed, their very existence is a warping of reality. They reside within the Realm of Chaos, and usually are organized into groups obeying the rule of Chaos Gods. Though daemons are commonly associated with Chaos, independent and Order-aligned daemons exist as well. It should be noted that even though the word "Daemon" is their widely accepted name by the mortal races, it is not necessarily the name they call themselves. In conversations with mortals they actually like or at least tolerate, daemons often call themselves "Neverborn", and many Chaos worshippers prefer to use this term. They are manifestations of the psychic emotions of psychically powerful species and individuals, like humanity. They reside in the chaotic and hellish psychic dimension known as the Inner Realms.

Daemons can only enter realspace under certain conditions, like being summoned in a ceremony or crossing through a warp rift. Even then, because they are made of warp energy and solidified emotion, they don't last long outside of the Warp, so in order to stick around, they have to either drag the Warp into realspace (resulting in a Daemon World in extreme circumstances) or be bound in a host. They can possess hosts, although the weak mortal frames limit their power, unless they are psykers or mages and usually possession is only done to commit acts of mischief or deliver messages to other mortals. Psykers are the preferred choice of host, especially the powerful and uncontrolled ones, and they also happen to be a favourite method of opening Warp rifts -- their powers make them shine in the Warp, which attracts daemons like moths to a flame; all the daemons have to do is wait for the psyker's control to falter, and move in to take possession.

Daemons are functionally immortal in that even if their physical forms are destroyed in real space, their essence will return back into the Warp/RoC where they will be ready to wreak havoc once they have another opportunity to go back, unless there are special circumstances preventing them from doing so such as being trapped in an object (such as a Tesseract Labyrinth or enchanted item), or special incantations that imprison it. Nature is said to abhor daemons, at least those of Chaos, and while they can appear easily enough in areas of heavy magic, their grip on the physical world is tenuous; sufficient injury, magic, or simply waiting too long can cause them to dissipate, and they can normally retreat in this manner if things go south for them in battle. Chaos daemons have a particularly tough time manifesting around holy places. It *is* however also possible to give a daemon a "true death" in that it is permanently erased from existence, but this normally requires some incredibly rare artifact, absurdly complicated rituals, or a psyker/wizard of immense power

## Types

Ever since the ancient Realms of Chaos sourcebooks, daemons have been divided into three groups: Greater Daemons, Lesser Daemons, and Daemonic Creatures.

#### Greater Daemon

Greater Daemons are the most powerful of the Chaos God's immortal servants, and it's Very Bad News when they arrive in the real world. They are also the most difficult to banish, as they invariably have tremendously long names, not to mention enough power to give any would-be banishers a hard time. Fortunately for those living in realspace, Greater Daemons are also the most difficult to summon: they require great sacrifices and elaborate ceremonies to even enter the real world, and will not last long without continued exposure to Warp energy. Unfortunately, where Greater Daemons go, hordes of lesser daemons inevitably follow. Greater Daemons are capable of independent thought and are highly intelligent, though this intelligence is heavily influenced by the emotions that form them. Some Greater Daemons are in fact mortals who were particularly revered by their chosen god. Greater Daemons are also stated to have their own goals independent of their Chaos God, usually by just not advancing any greater goal but at times can even be a hindrance to the greater plans of Chaos; this is always met with forgiveness, as any punishment from a Chaos God is ridiculously rare for any Daemonic being.