Scourge of Domination

An ancient Demonic Scourge, Domination was created to cow insubordinate demonic soldiers when Hell openly warred against Heaven. The Scourge is one of the only means of mind control that demons and other such spiritual entities can be affected by. Rather than overtly altering the will of a victim to that of it's user, Domination's primary use is to inflict psychic agony on any who refuse to carry out its wielders command via a direct manifestation of a demon's spiritual fury and torment. Though not terribly common in the lower rungs of demonic society, Domination is an essential tool that its higher ranking members employ to keep their subordinates in line.

## Mechanics

Domination functions by having demons project out their own inner anguish and raw hatred into the minds of other beings, and then shaping it with their will to cause a specific effect. The more Rampant a demon is, the more potentially potent hate they may imbue into the Scourge of Domination, allowing them to use more powerful abilities, though mastering the Scourge itself is required to perform specific effects. Furthermore, demons are immune to Domination attempts by those with weaker Rampancy than them. After all, one cannot be harmed by hate and pain that is weaker than one's own.

Lastly, in order to employ Domination powers, a demon must be able to send out their rage and pain into the psyche of their intended victim. This can be gained by simply being in the presence of the intended victim, but at higher levels of mastery, it becomes possible to Dominate anyone who has been subjected to a wielder's power in the past, or even simply been in their presence.

## Powers

### Lower Mastery (Levels 1-2)

* **Castigate (Level 1):** The most basic application of Domination, this power has existed since time immemorial. With this ability, one can direct a bolt of raw hatred into the mind of someone who displeases them, inducing a burst of pain that usually drives them to their knees. The name of the power is derived for it being commonly employed to discipline servants who displease their master.
* **Command (Level 2):** Summoning their hatred, a demon projects their fury into a target's mind, and at the same time, issues a simple order, such as "run away", "get on your knees", or "hit that man". If that order is resisted, the mental rage they projected blossoms, striking the victim with pain, but abates as soon as they begin to follow through. Given the psychic nature of this power, it is less effective the more the victim would be opposed to carrying it out. Direct orders to harm themselves, for instance, usually fail.

### Minor Mastery (Levels 3-4)

* **Suppress Memory (Level 3):** This power overlaps somewhat with the Scourge of Violation, which enables demons to manipulate the memories of other beings. However, this power works on demons and other spirits. Instead of altering or removing memories, the demon commands their victim to forget them, imbuing their command with their hate. Henceforth, whenever the victim attempts to recall the Suppressed Memory, they will be racked by psychic pain, and be forced to turn their minds elsewhere. Once a Suppression is in place, it can only be removed by the demon who imposed it, a being with great telepathic potency, or a demon with mastery of Domination.
* **Dictation (Level 4):** A more advanced version of Commands, Dictations allow for more complex orders to be issued, implanting longer lasting psychic power within the minds of victims. The tormented hatred implanted remains until the tasks issued by the Dominating demon have been completed, flaring up at any attempts made to resist. Like Commands, however, Dictations are not effective at forcing victims to do things that they are absolutely averse too, like directly harm themselves or loved ones.

### Lesser Mastery (Levels 5-7)

* **Subjugation (Level 5):** By frequently Dominating a victim, a demon may slowly build up stores of hatred and malice within their mind. Once sufficient levels of a demon's agony and malevolence have been built up within the psyche of their victim, all orders they give will function as if they had invoked the powers of Domination, even when they are issued casually.
* **Purge Mind (Level 6):** Demons often find it inconvenient when the minds of those they wish to control are riddled with outside influence. For the purpose of removing such influence, the ability to Purge Minds was developed. With this ability, a demon can send a blast of Dominating power into a subject's mind, temporarily crippling them with horrific agony. At the same time, this cleanses their minds of any lingering telepathic effects, including other uses of Domination, so long as they are equal to or weaker than a demon's own mastery of Domination.
* **Willbreaker (Level 7):** Building on the weaknesses of Commands and Dictation, Willbreaker almost undoes their shortcomings, making it possible to issue orders that victims would usually be able to resist. This enables demons with this degree of mastery to issue suicidal commands to any unfortunate soul who falls under their sway.

### Major Mastery (Levels 8-10)

* **Mass Domination (Level 8):** Blissfully, the powers of Domination are limited to one victim at a time. Except for demons who master the power of Mass Domination, who are able to employ it on multiple subjects at once, granting the ability to command entire crowds of victims. This ability only allows Domination powers weaker than it to be employed on a wide scale.
* **Boundless Dominion (Level 9):** When a Major Demon develops this power, the potency of their Domination rises to such a degree that any victim who is Dominated by them will instantly have a buildup of the demon's hateful essence within their mind. As a result, the demon with this gift no longer relies on directly being within their psychic presence to Dominate them. Any entity that has been Dominated by such a master of the Scourge can have commands issued to them from any location, regardless of distance. They will hear their master's voice within their minds, and be compelled to obedience.
* **Enslavement (Level 10):** Any creature unfortunate enough to have been subjected to Domination by one with such horrific mastery of the Scourge loses control of their own desires. The master's malignant will becomes so potent within their minds that they become unable to even act against their interests without being racked by Dominating pain.

### Greater Mastery (Levels 11-13)

* **Extinguish Spirit (Level 11):** A power accessible only to Greater Demons, the ability to Extinguish a spirit allows them to destroy their fellow demons, other spiritual entities, and the very souls of mortal beings through the power of their Domination. To use this ability, the Greater Demon unleashes their soul crushing torment and hatred at a target of their choosing. The intensity of their sheer malevolence is so astoundingly potent, that the very spirit of the victim is destroyed in a burst of infernal fire.
* **Slavemaster's Voice (Level 12):** Those Greater Demons who dedicate themselves to the Scourge of Domination eventually reach a stage where they no longer need to exert conscious will to activate the powers of Domination: Their mastery is such that every command they issue is imbued with their malevolent will, making it so that virtually every being within their presence struggles to serve them, lest they be struck down by the force of their hatred. Of course, those with this level of mastery have the ability to turn off this power.... But why would they?
* **Chains of Tyranny (Level 13):** This ungodly power, known to exist only by the most prominent figures in Hell, is one of the primary reasons why Asmodeus has been able to remain in power for the entire history of demonkind, as he is the only one powerful enough to wield it. Through his absolute mastery of the Scourge of Domination, Asmodeus is able to, regardless of distance, Dominate anyone who has ever been Dominated by him. And anyone who as been Dominated by them... And anyone who their victims have ever Dominated... And anyone the victims' victims have Dominated.... And so on and so forth. Virtually all demons have been Dominated at some point or another, and have also Dominated hundreds of thousands of beings throughout the millennia, meaning that Asmodeus is capable of Dominating any one of them, any time, anywhere, so long as he is aware of their existence.