Ascended Demon: Difference between revisions

[[Being Evil Sucks]], though not all baddies [[Heel Realization|realize]] this or [[For the Evulz|care]]. What really sucks about it is that those that want to give [[Good Feels Good]] a try often find it near impossible to fully pull a [[Heel Face Turn]]. This isn't for lack of trying, but because they're a demon, vampire, or other [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]] critter whose very body is [[Made of Evil]]. Kinda hard to walk into a temple and pray for [[Forgiveness]] when you [[Holy Burns Evil|spontaneously combust]] by crossing the threshold. This is a big reason why [[The Virus|humans turned to monsters]] who [[Heroic Willpower|held onto]] [[Transhuman Treachery|their humanity]] will angst at their [[Hell|abysmal]] fate.

The demon looking to ascend has a few avenues to explore. The most common are to go on a literal or metaphorical quest to [[Find the Cure]]. If their "evil nature" is biologically based, like [[Our Vampires Are Different|viral vampirism]] or [[Our Werewolves Are Different|hereditary lycanthropy]], finding the recipe for an ancient cure or researching a new one is one possibility. When it's mystical, getting an artifact (usually a holy relic) is another. The metaphorical route requires they try and get a [[God Is Good|benevolent god]] to [[Powers as Programs|"reformat"]] them [[Pinocchio Syndrome|into a human]] or even angelic body. This often requires doing lots of good deeds or [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good|having an epiphany on the nature of good]]. Sometimes, just getting a [[Soul]] in itself is enough to earn salvation from the [[Nothing After Death]] and a [[Reincarnation]] as a [[Become a Real Boy|non]]-[[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]] being.

It's not all rainbows and lollipops though. Aside from the fear of backsliding into evil, the Ascended Demon has made enemies of his former kind<ref>(which might not be much worse for them since they're [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]], remember?)</ref>, and likely faces the [[Reformed but Rejected|distrust]] of the good guys at the chance they're a [[Civilian Villain]]. On the whole, Ascended Demons are a good way to avoid the [[Unfortunate Implications]] that those [[The Usual Adversaries]] and [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]] races are [[This Is Unforgivable!|completely irredeemable]], and usually used to provide [[An Aesop]] that ''everyone'' can earn forgiveness.

* In ''[[The Deaths of Ian Stone]]'' the Harvesters aren't really evil per se... but being extra-dimensional spirits that live off fear, and have long ago become addicted to the fear of a human facing death (and the easiest way to get that is to kill people), they are pretty close to [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil]]. However {{spoiler|a renegade Harvester has found an alternate power source capable of killing the other evil Harvesters... [[The Power of Love|Love]].}}

* ''[[Planescape: Torment]]'' has Fall-From-Grace, a [[Always ChaoticExclusively Evil|Succubus]] who runs a pleasant brothel of platonic prostitution. However, she still feels some loss from her ascension to a good-leaning [[Lawful Neutral]] cleric from a [[Chaotic Evil]] existence, hence the name.