Eidolon Lore

Eidolon is the term for a variety of different spiritual entities which draw
their power from belief, sacrifice, and the arcane and work in and through the
world.

Origins:
Eidolons have multiple possible origins, some are created by Fae, Gods or even
powerful magical users to serve them or their interests. Sometimes Eidolons
are created by accident when a large magical working is undertaken. Some are
born from local belief and dreams and some used to be people who have
transformed themselves into an Eidolon, usually as part of a quest to
eventually ascend into godhood or a similar level of power.

Powers:
Eidolons have limited direct power but have significant ability to work
through other agents. They can generally control animals, weather and
machinery but their main strength is working through human agents. Eidolons
have significant powers to influence and manipulate people as well as the
ability to grant them great powers and boons to enhance them. They can also
often possess people, even frequently against their will and this is their
only real way of experiencing the physical world. It is common for Eidolons to
possess people and then encourage or manipulate them into doing exciting or
interesting things for the Eidolon to experience. This often includes
extremely dangerous activities and even often fatal ones so the Eidilon can
enjoy the sensation of death before moving on.
Eidolons can create and/or control more minor spirits and ghosts and often use
them as their agents to spread their goals and progress their interests.

Eidolons do not have their own source of power, they need to draw on
supernatural power from other sources. Sacrifices, either of life or blood
help them gain power, so does power channeled through belief, worship and
other sacrifice but the most reliable source of power is arcane objects. The
valuable resources that supernatural societies hold in their vaults often
serve as some of the best sources of power for Eidolons.

Types:
There are no specific rules on what an Eidolon can be, but there are several
broad types into which they tend to fall.

Fae:
Common origins for Fae Eidolons is that they begin as some sort of spirit of
mischief that achieves a higher level of sentience and power or that they are
created by a true Fae to serve their interests or goals and grow from there.

Divine:
Divine Eidolons are usually created by a God to be some sort of servant or
further their interests. They usually are aspected in a way very similar to
the God that created them, such that Eidolons created by a war god are often
heavily focused on war and warlike activities. Some gods support their
Eidolons ascending and even want them to become a lower ranked god in their
divine court but often the Eidolon resents their divine master and are trying
to ascend behind their back and/or as a way to break away from their court and
control. These can often be particularly complex entities since they both
resent a particular god while still being made in their image.

Demonic:
Demonic Eidolons are almost always created by demons as a way to influence
Earth in a way they generally cannot do while being locked in hell. Its also
common for demonic Eidolons to be humans who have been transformed as part of
some deal or pact, either done to them or something they have sought out
themselves in a quest for power and immortality. Demonic Eidolons almost
always have the same innate desire for suffering as other demons do.

The behaviour of demonic Eidolons is usually typified by the demonic interest
in suffering, they tend to use their followers to try and create and promote
suffering and rarely can help themselves from also forcing suffering upon
their followers. This is often their greatest weakness as they try and walk
the line between maximizing the suffering and not driving people away.

Ghost:
Ghostly Eidolons are ghosts who have been able to obtain enough followers or
power after their death to ascend into something more powerful. They are as
varied as the humans who died to become them but often are fixated on the
circumstances of their death and any injustices they suffered or other grudges
they had while alive.

They often try to use their followers to carry on any missions or grudges they
had in life, wanting them to attack the descendants of their enemies or embody
the lifestyle or culture they used to have.

Cthulian:
Cthulian Eidolons come from the void and almost nothing is known about their
origin. It is suspected that at least some of them used to be human however.
Cthulian Eidolons often ascend into either powerful monstrous forms or
ethereal entities but either way they always seem to disappear from the world
shortly afterwards, presumably returning to the void for unknown reasons.

Cthulian Eidolons goals are quite alien and difficult for people to
understand, they are often unspeakably cruel but do not seem to enjoy it in
the same way as demons and often have their followers do things which make no
sense at all to the members of the cult. Hunger is the only common theme among
Cthulian Eidolons and they often will possess a human while they are feasting
or become fixating on people consuming unusual things such as drinking blood
or engaging in cannibalism.

Primal:
Primal Eidolons are usually formed from the worship of Nature or when a
particularly remarkable and unusual animal dies but some are also human
shamans or nature worshippers who are using it as a way to ascend.

Their interests vary depending on the origin of the spirit, those which are
evolved natural spirits are often deeply focused on preserving and growing the
natural world, fighting against industrialization and civilization. Those who
come from animal origins have goals which are heavily influenced by the type
of animal they are, predators encourage their followers to engage in more
predation and may enjoy possessing people while hunting. Pack animals have
cults which are more communal while other animals might be more contemplative
or playful.