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Denizens of
the Abyss
A list of the inhabitants of the Abyss

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General Observations on Demons
Spawned in the raw chaos of in the infinite layers of the
Abyss, demons are the manifestation of malign chaos,
the embodiment of vile perversion and elemental ruin,
engines of destruction barely contained in monstrous
form. Possessing no compassion, empathy, or mercy,
they exist only to destroy and shriek their hatred of all
things in an unbearable tumult.
Demons full number can never be known. Their forms
are as varied as their powers but even the weakest of
these creatures are hideous to behold, their features the
stuff of nightmares. The most powerful fiends are
anathema to mortal sensibilities, their mere presence
enough to drive other creatures to madness.
As living engines of annihilation, demons have an
innate desire to destroy while causing as much pain as
possible and share a singular thirst for destruction and
mortal blood. Some demons are representative of great
abyssal hordes, dwelling in that realm in incalculable
numbers. Others are called into being to wreak havoc in
the planes or in the world, then they are never seen
again. Demons remain mostly mysterious and
incomprehensible.
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The smarter and stronger rule those of their kind who
are weaker and less intelligent. The less intelligent will
attack without question and fight until slain.
No demon can ever be subdued.
Spawn of Chaos
Out of filth and carnage, the innumerable hordes of
demons manifest as extensions of the chaos and evil left
in the Abyss after the deities, devils, and other powers
begun forging their own domains.
Most demons spawn spontaneously from the very
essence of the boundless Abyss, which hungers for chaos
and evil, using its creatures to bring more of the
universe back to its ultimate starting point. For this
purpose, even its most diverse demonic creations have
qualities most useful in spreading chaos and evil, as well
as a burning desire to do so. Chaos being Chaos, there
are incalculable kinds of demons in the universe and
they cannot be described collectively: if some represent
uniform strains identical to each other, others are
unique monstrosities. Other demons are even created
from mortal souls shunned by the god, cursed, or
otherwise trapped in the Abyss.

There are three main races of demons, the Tanar’ri, the

Obyriths and the Loumaras. Some demons were created
by demon lords (or else), and uncountable other kinds
exist: the demons cataloged here represent only a
fraction of the horrors the Abyss has spawned.

Whispers from the Abyss

The terrible acts of violence and depravity that
epitomize demonkind are inspired in part by a strange,
semi-sentient quality that permeates the Abyss. This
sentience whispers in the dreams and visions of every
demon, calling it to dominate that dark realm layer by
layer, and promising ultimate power to the one demon
that can conquer the Abyss in its entirety. All demons
respond to the Abyss's calling, slaughtering and
deposing one another in endless violence.

Capricious Elevation
Demons respect power and power alone. A greater
demon commands shrieking mobs of lesser demons
because it can destroy any lesser demon that dares to
refuse its commands. A demon's status grows with the
blood it spills; the more enemies that fall before it, the
greater it becomes.

By expending considerable magical power, Demon

Lords can raise lesser demons into greater forms.
Demon lords only rarely elevate demons to the highest
ranks, fearful of inadvertently creating rivals to their
own power.
Protected Essence
Abyssal Invasions A powerful demon can take steps to safeguard its life
Wherever they wander across the Abyss, demons search essence, using secret methods and abyssal metals to
for portals to other planes. They crave the chance to slip create an amulet into which part of that essence is
free of their native realm and spread their dark ceded. If the demon's abyssal form is ever destroyed, the
influence across the multiverse, undoing the works of amulet allows the fiend to reform at a time and place of
the gods, tearing down civilizations, and reducing the its choosing.
cosmos to despair and ruin. In particular, demons are
drawn to the mortal realm like carrion creatures to a Obtaining a demonic amulet is a dangerous enterprise,
corpse, exulting in the destruction of the living world and simply seeking such a device risks drawing the
whose spirit and beauty is the antithesis of their own attention of the demon that created it. A creature
realm of evil and chaos. possessing a demonic amulet can exact favors from the
demon whose life essence the amulet holds, or inflict
Some of the darkest legends of the mortal realms are great pain if the fiend resists. If an amulet is destroyed,
built around the destruction wrought by demons set the demon that created it is trapped in the Abyss for a
loose in the world. As such, even nations embroiled in year and a day.
bitter conflict will set their differences aside to help
contain an outbreak of demons, or to seal off abyssal Truths about Demons
breaches before these fiends can break free.  With few exceptions, most demons are very
intelligent and very charismatic.
Eternal Evil  Each type of demon, and especially the high-level
Outside the Abyss, death is a minor nuisance that no Demon Lords and Princes, have unusual
demon fears. Mundane weapons can't stop these fiends, characteristics and many supernatural and
and many demons are resistant to the energy of the extraordinary abilities. Demons are typically not
most potent spells. When a lucky hero manages to drop affected by some forms of attack.
a demon in combat, the fiend dissolves into foul ichor. It  Demons are chaotic and selfish, but where there’s
then instantly reforms in the Abyss, its mind and one demon, there’s usually more. Demons that can’t
essence intact even as its hatred is inflamed. The only summon other fiends are usually more pack-
way to truly destroy a demon is to seek it in the Abyss oriented or might even work with non-demons.
and kill it there.  Demons love bloodshed, but they also revel in pain

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 and suffering. Fiends often have many ways of
escaping encounters that become too dangerous. On
occasion, fiends can also see greater profit or more
amusement in leaving a fight while the outcome is
still in doubt. They will usually return, though.
 Nearly all Demons have enough evil cunning to
allow them to exploit any situation to their
advantage. Unreliable servant, disloyal henchman,
whim-driven master—a demon can fulfill all these
roles.
 The Abyss calls to Demons. First and foremost,
demons exist to spread chaos and evil—the nature
of the Abyss. If demons expect to be on the Material
Plane for long, they will often either find places
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reminiscent of their chaotic homes or create them.
Fiends like to open portals to the Abyss to expand
the influence of chaos and evil throughout the
planes, if not for reinforcements.
 Most of Demons are able to move from their own
plane into those of Tarterus, Hades, or
Pandemonium or even roam the astral plane.
However, they cannot enter the Prime Material
Plane without aid.
 Because most of them have a special form of
telepathy, demons are able to understand every
intelligent communication. Hence most Demons are
likewise able to converse.
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Tanar’ri
There in the Abyss, where others endure endless
torment, the tanar’ri thrive.
Creatures of strength and cunning and treachery,
fiends motivated not by doctrines but by insane,
violent inner drives, the tanar’ri are
unpredictable and unmitigated evil. They
completely shaped by their own will, driven by bursts
of creativity and manic insight, filled with impotent
rage against a multiverse that cares nothing for them.
They are the masters of the Abyss.
History
Current rulers of the Abyss as a whole, and certainly
the most numerous of demonkind, the tanar'ri came to
be only once the first evil mortal soul arrived in the
Abyss—the interaction spontaneously resulting in the
first tanar’ri, Demogorgon. More followed, and as the
process soon became commonplace on the Abyss, the
tanar'ri shape grew more stable. Many of earliest
tanar'ri, like Demogorgon, Juiblex, the alkiliths, and
the myrmyxicus had few, if any, humanoid aspects, the
raw chaos of the Abyss making them primeval and
monstrous. Other tanar'ri, such as the hezrou and
glabrezu bear the mark of sibriex alterations and have
an almost mechanical aspect to parts of their bodies.
Ecology
It is believed that the first tanar’ri were forged from
the souls of the first humanoids drawn to the Abyss. As
a result of these ties to the mortal realms, most tanar’ri
incorporate humanoid features into their forms and
they tempt mortals into crimes of passion and vice,
evils of appetite.
Most tanar’ri feed on either flesh or the life force of
other living beings. It appears that they derive more
nutrition from a victim by instilling terror in it before
the kill. Whereas most predators simply stalk and then
kill, tanar’ri add a third step: stalk, terrify, kill.
Society
Tanar’ri form the most populous and most diverse
group of demons, and their numbers are unimaginably
vast. The Abyss is their home, their legions spilling into
nearly every layer of the plane, but they are also the
most encountered demons outside of the
roaming the Astral and Ethereal planes,
ceaselessly to seek fresh victims. Less intelligent
tanar’ri often attack without question and fight until
slain.
The tanar’ri have little use for anything besides power,
and a strong lesser tanar’ri who bests a greater cousin
gains higher status in the Abyss. Their petty battles for
position are endless. The only class free from these
totally
are
power struggles is the molydeus, who seems curiously
divorced from the tanar’ri power structure.
Creation and judgement
When a mortal who devoted his life to chaos and evil
dies, his spirit wends its way to the outer plane that
most closely matches the essence of his former being:
the Abyss. Some other sages argue that the gods simply
punish them by consigning them to this horrible plane
populated by demons and other evil creatures. There,
these souls, hatched from the reality of the plane itself
at the moment of their deaths, undergo everlasting
torment at the behest of dark powers. Despite this
origin, most tanar’ri cannot remember (or don’t care to
remember) their Material Plane origins, and believe
themselves to be the superior race in the multiverse.
The fiends have established a method of selection that’s
really just a dark mockery of a lawful, ordered system.
The mortal spirit becomes a disgusting larvae demon
and appears in the mountain of Woe (the 400th layer
of the Abyss), where it is judged by pompous
nalfeshnee:
 Spirits with little promise become manes, fit only
as food or supremely expendable soldiers. The
Abyss, newly dead that take the form of manes are lowly
driven and tormented.
 Spirits that seem sufficiently evil and malleable
become dretches.
 Especially proud spirits that need to learn humility
– and humiliation- become rutterkin, mightier than
either manes or dretches but also more reviled.
Being tanar’ri, the judges’ decisions are most probably
completely arbitrary.
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The tanar’ri transform just about all the larvae that
appear before them. That is part of the reason the
tanar’ri so staggeringly outnumber the baatezu, who
apply much stricter standards when it comes to
choosing a larvae; fewer acceptable larvae means
fewer baatezu.

Demonspawn loathe their own existence and fear

everything around them. They slave away in servitude
and fear, hoping to go unnoticed by their masters – for
notice means torture and pain – while perversely
longing for the spark required to transform them into
a higher-order demon. All demonspawn might, over
centuries, progress up a ladder of power and evil until
they become dretches or rutterkins at the whim of a
powerful nalfeshnee or demon prince and eventually
transform to a vrock after untold time spent fighting
and surviving in the Abyss. Such elevations are rare,
for most demons are destroyed before they attain
significant power. The greatest of those that do survive
make up the ranks of the demon lords that threaten to
tear the Abyss apart with their endless warring.

The “ladder” of demonkind is more of a circle or a drop

of blood. It is said that Demon Princes exist at the top
of the droplet and are, to some extent, out of the circle
of existence. Barring a major calamity of uprising, no
Demon Prince need fear a plunge back into the
reservoir of fiends below. But again, if the Abyss is
home to chaos and evil, and demons are an extension
or a personification of the Abyss, how could they
function under a simple structure? Their hierarchy is
based on power, not predictability.

In any case, not all tanar’ri rise from larvae demons,

as most scholarly documents and experts agree that
most demons form out of the raw matter of the Abyss,
blossoming spontaneously in its chaotic maelstroms,
and demonspawn could instantly become any level of
demon, depending on the “desires” of the Abyss itself.
Moreover, many types of tanar’ri can breed to produce
young naturally.
Individual souls seldom (if ever) become
incarnate, but it is thought that certain particularly
evil and powerful individuals from history have
become certain sorts of demons after death, for
example by making a bargain with Demogorgon or
Orcus, promising to serve that prince faithfully in
exchange for guaranteed rebirth as a powerful demon
after death. These demonic reincarnations appear to be
the exception rather than the rule.
Different tomes of knowledge disagree on the finer
points of these claims. The demonic life cycle might be
as unpredictable as the Abyss.
An endless variety
How many different kinds of tanar’ri
unknown: since the very birth of the multiverse itself,
the fiends have adapted themselves to the rigors of the
Abyss, and that has shaped every successive form
they’ve ever taken. When fiendish
spontaneously on one of the layers, it’s because the
larvae there have managed to evolve to such an extent
demons that they can survive. On some layers, the process is
more difficult, generations of larvae growing tougher
until one of them rises up from the chaotic soup of its
pain and assumes a form that can exploit the layer’s
harsh environment.
The race has a set of standard shapes, ones that appear
often enough to make folks think the tanar’ri have an
organized system. But for every form we see, there
might be fifty we don’t. The forms of the tanar’ri are
not licked into a hierarchy. They all begin from one of
a few common points: dretches, manes or rutterkin.
After that, the only thing that governs their climb is
their lust for power.
exist is Balors, mariliths, and other powerful demons stand
below their Princes and remain somewhat removed
from the masses of demons: they possess some
individuality and can gain favor with their lords.
life rises However, if they become too dangerous or fail in their

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service, the demon princes or the Abyss itself can
plunge them back into the general pool.
Demonologists organize the chaotic distribution of
demons into broad categories of ascending power with
member varieties. The two main distributions listed
below seem to be non-coherent with one another, but so
is the Abyss.
In any case, these classifications actually mean little in
tanar’ri’s lives, and they are at best merely broad
estimates of destructive power.
Types
In the oldest of classification, most demons fit into one
of six major types, with the weakest categorized as
Type 1 and the strongest as Type 6. Demons outside the
six main types are categorized as minor demons and
demon lords.
 Type 1: barlgura, shadow demon, vrock
 Type 2: chasme, hezrou
 Type 3: glabrezu, yochlol
 Type 4: nalfeshnee
 Type 5: marilith
 Type 6: balor, goristro
Another list (and seemingly more recent) shows demons
by order of ascending power:
 Least: dretch, manes, rutterkin
 Lesser: alu-fiend, armanite, bar-lgura, bulezau,
cambion, maurezhi, succubus, uridezu, yochlol
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 Guardian: molydeus
 Greater: babau, chasme, goristro, nabassu,
wastrilith
 True: alkilith, balor, glabrezu, hezrou, marilith,
nalfeshnee, vrock
The only purpose of the lesser and least tanar’ri is to
fight in the Blood War.
Traits and Combat
All tanar’ri are very tough and seem to be almost
immune to electricity and poison, and quite able to
endure acid, cold and even fire, although results differ
depending on the type of demon.
All tanar’ri also have powers, typically casting a
magical darkness on limited areas, and/or being able to
see in the dark. A lot of them have been noted to
teleport without effort from one location to another,
though it is impossible to make a clear list of which
fiend does or does not have the ability, as things change
in the Abyss, and something granted for true at one
moment may be proven false at another. It is most
certain that the more powerful the fiend, the more
tremendous magical powers and resistances it has.
In any case, most tanar’ri seem to share the ability to
summon others of their kind. Between their arrogance
and disdain for owing favors to one another, however,
tanar’ri are often reluctant to use this power until they
are in obvious peril.
Death
The topic of what happens to tanar’ri when they die is
another cause of much debate, but many sages
acknowledge the following basic concepts:
 Demons do not grow old, and they do not die of
anything remotely resembling natural causes.
They may return to the unformed Abyss, their
essence becoming part of the evil and chaos of the
plane.
 If a demon is killed outside the Abyss, its body
eventually returns to it, unless trapped though
magical means. No matter what happens to the
demon’s body, its “essence” falls back into the raw
chaos of the Abyss, where it is then reformed as a
new demon.
 Death can only be seen as a failure for a demon, so
it is unlikely to avoid punishment altogether.
When a demon dies on another plane, it risks
falling back into the general pool of demonspawn
finding itself “demoted” in power and essence,
which is not to be taken lightly. Even balors risk
this eternal cycle when they battle for their
abyssal lords. Only the direct intervention of a
demon prince can possibly spare this punishment.
The important exception to all of this occurs when
a demon is magically summoned out of the Abyss,
in which case it simply returns unharmed when
the spell ends (or when the demon is destroyed), no
matter what happens to it in the meantime. Thus,
demons summoned to the Material Plane have
 little fear of death.
 If a demon is killed while within the Abyss, its
body and essence are permanently destroyed. For
this reason, many demons are relatively more
cautious on their home turf than when wreaking
havoc on another plane. While a demotion through
reincarnation is not ideal, most demons view it as
a much better option than a complete annihilation.

Demonic death throws

Demons that have souls do what they can to avoid
death, knowing that their plots and personal power
will dissipate with their own destruction. Even the
dimmest demons, though, realize that the Abyss's goal
of ultimate destruction includes them.

Demons often die in startling ways. When a balor dies,

it explodes in a blinding flash of light and flame that
consumes its corpse and sends whatever soul it
possesses shrieking back to the Abyss. Few lesser
demons die as spectacularly, but neither do they
usually just fall to earth and rot: from the lowly dretch
to the powerful balor, the intrinsic chaos of the
demonic form lends itself to dangerous death throe
attacks.

Listed below are examples of what has occurred at the

death of a Demon.
 The corpse melted into a pool of black, tarlike
ichor.
 The head began cursing in a dozen different
languages and voices, after which the corpse
simply winked out of existence
 Two snakes forced their way out of the killing
wound and began devouring the corpse from either
end. When attacked, the snakes disappeared along
with the remains.
 The corpse crumbled to dust, leaving enough
powdery remains to fill a small bag
 The flesh of the demon rot away, leaving behind
only a skeleton
 Half the demon’s body was engulfed in flame, while
the other half froze solid and fell to the ground,
shattering
 A hole opened up in the fabric of the universe, and
unseen force sucked the demon into the hole with a
loud “pop”.
 The skin of the demon peeled away, leaving its
muscle and organs exposed
 All the bones and muscle tissue in the demon
leaked out its wounds in purple smoking rivulets of
blood. The remaining sac of skin bubbles sat quietly
on the ground.
 The body discorporated into a foul smelling mist
 Sparks and lightning burst around the killing
wound, blackening the demon’s skin. In moments,
the lightning consumed the corpse, leaving a
smoldering spot on the ground
 The demon’s body immediately transformed into
stone and shrunk down to the size of a tiny
statuette.
 Vermin exploded out of the corpse, consuming it
and then fleeing in all directions
 The demon turned translucent and then
disappeared in an explosive flash of light, leaving
its shadow image on nearby walls
 The demon’s skeleton tore itself free of its flesh, took
three steps, and then crumbled into dust
 Shadowy hands reached up from the floor and
pulled the corpse into the ground, leaving behind
no sign of the demon
 The demon fell, its corpse exploding into tiny
duplicates of itself. The tiny demons immediately
began fighting among themselves until only one
remained which then vanished in a puff of smoke.
 Blinding yellow light exploded out of the demon’s
eyes and ears. Cracks appeared in the creature’s
skin as the light spread, consuming the fiend’s body
in harmless but spectacular energy
 The demon fell to the ground, and its flesh rot
away in an instant, leaving behind a sickly odor.
The bones remained, but they turned to dust at the
slightest pressure
 The demon's death cry overwhelmed creatures
close by.
 The demon's body twisted and teared into a vicious
whirlwind.
 A demon's animus manifested a lesser version of
itself that leaped out from its own remains.
 The demon dissolved into a cloud of noxious vapor.
 The demon's organs liquefied into a blast of toxin.
 The demon freezed solid within a pillar of ice that
exploded into deadly shards.

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 bribes. Adarus equally enjoy grisly trophies, keeping all
sorts of body parts adorned with the belongings of the
fallen they do not process, fascinated as they are by
other shapes and forms of flesh. Such mementos remind
the adaru of its specific victims as it picks over its
treasures, chuckling and recalling the fond memories of
the torment it inflicted.

Habitat/Society: Adarus are native to the Abyss. They

are most common on the 444th layer, where their
terrifying corruption has transformed the barren
landscape into a soupy morass of sticky mud, where
dismembered body parts harvested from the countless
petitioners cursed to spend an eternity of torment in
the mud’s depths float.

Adarus have a following of demons and other wicked

creatures and are never found alone. They prefer
Adaru babaus, since those cruel fiends mirror the adaru’s
sensibilities, and the two complement each other in
Adarus are cunning demons that function best when combat.
leading bands of other tanar’ri into battle. They are
Adarus are aware of their standing when compared to
beings of utter corruption, as well as capable leaders
the more powerful denizens of the Abyss. They pale
that bolster their followers and hinder their foes.
before the sheer brutality of the balors and the
Description: An adaru has a scaly blue millipede-like savagery of the goristros, but many mighty demons
body, marred with scores of weeping dimples. Each have a use for the cunning adarus, who employ all
filthy orifice sprays corruption by emitting clouds of sorts of trickery to form squads of brutal minions.
foul vapor. At its hind end is a great sucking organ
To make up their lack of raw power, adarus worm
crusted with filth, while at the other end snaps a face
their way into the minds of lesser fiends, lying and
like that of a human child with long brown fangs. The
making false promises. Some see through the cheap
creature has countless bright orange armored insectile
ploys, but the weak and desperate are easily fooled,
legs, each narrowing to a sharpened point. It uses these
especially when faced with an opportunity to increase
appendages to run, swim, tumble, climb with eerie
their own standing. Thus, adarus recruit heavily from
grace, and to burrow through almost any surface. As
lesser demons, exploiting them and discarding them
the creature moves, its grotesque parody of a child’s
with caprice. Those that can’t be cajoled are charmed
face gnashes its dripping brown fangs. An adaru’s body
and end up doing the adaru’s bidding anyway.
grows up to 2m50 long and weighs as much as 115kg.

Combat: An adaru always has a cadre of fawning

Ecology: Adarus are pitiless creatures whose existence
followers that it has charmed or lured into service.
is defined by the suffering they inflict on others. They
When battle is joined, the adaru first orders its minions
carelessly use their minions, expending them in great
to engage. It then moves to a position where its fetid
numbers. Such massacres amuse adarus, and they
cloud turns the tide against its foes and benefits the
giggle throughout a battle, even if they are losing.
greatest number of its allies.
Adarus are treachery and deception given form.
An adaru can use the organs dimpling its body to
Legend has it that when a mortal speaks an untruth
release a spray that sickens the good and emboldens the
that has grave consequences, a new adaru is born,
wicked. This substance slicks the ground, further
taking shape in the bowels of the Abyss. It experiences
hindering those who aren’t evil.
a sudden awareness and a powerful urge to work
wickedness. A number of adarus spend their existence
An adaru’s greatest asset is its speed: it can scuttle
searching for the mortals that awakened them,
across nearly any terrain, swim though most types of
scouring the planes to reward their creators with
fluid, and even burrow through solid rock. An adaru’s
excruciating pain and endless torment.
freedom of movement ability gives it even more
mobility, defying the snares opponents might try
Adarus have no need for food or drink, but savor the
against it. It prefers flanking positions that aid its
bloody gobbets torn from their victims, exclaiming at
underlings, delivers nasty poisoned bites while
the savory fluids and relishing the morsels that slide
avoiding immediate retaliation, possibly crawling up a
into their gullets.
wall to a place unreachable by its opponents. It uses
Adarus are also famed for taking trophies: an adaru teleportation to escape an unfavorable battle.
loves wealth and collects it as a sign of its importance.
Adarus are resistant to spells, but good-aligned
It favors jewelry and items that bring up memories of
weapons can penetrate their dense hides.
its misdeeds, but also keeps coins and gems to use as

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Alkilith

An alkilith thrives in the foulest and most inhospitable

places of the Abyss, acting as personal agents of the
unspeakable Abyssal Lords.

Description: Alkiliths take the form of shivering messes

of phosphorescent green corruption, surrounded by a
cracked, leathery coating secretion that oozes more of
their vile protoplasm in a continual process of exuding
and reabsorbing hide. 3 to 7 dark, swollen eye-globules
dot its surface, spreading out around its disgusting
body to observe what’s happening around it.

Alkiliths are usually the size of a regular human, but

they have been known to be able to shape their bodies
to fit in cracks that are as small as 3cm wide, and tales
claim an alkilith has no limit to its size—travelers of
the planes have spoken of alkiliths the size of lakes in
the deepest reaches of the Abyss.

Ecology: Alkiliths are closely tied to the various slimes,

jellies, and oozes found on many prime worlds.

Whenever possible, alkiliths bring the hateful spite and

corruption of the Abyss to unfortunate prime-material
worlds, and in some cases, the seeds of evil and
pestilence planted by an alkilith can overvhelm an
entire land, plunging thousands of mortals into a living
nightmare of senseless war and devastation.
Habitat/Society: Alkiliths are corruption and pollution
made hatefully alive. They are feared by much of
demonkind, probably because many tanar’ri have no
strong resistance to their horrible acid or vile cloud of
poisonous gas.
Alkiliths aren’t very common in the Abyss. Normally
they retreat into regions so despicable and unclean
that even other tanar’ri hesitate to follow, hence
avoiding babaus and glabrezu since the Blood War is a
tangential concern for the them.
Alkiliths have an unusual purpose among the tanar’ri:
they exist to corrupt and to pollute all they touch,
spreading chaos and evil throughout the multiverse,
extending the reach of the Abyss by despoiling
anything that comes into contact with it. They will
destroy with unholy delight nearby environments and
things that are beautiful and fan the embers of fear or
resentment into raging hatred. They have even been
known to ignore enemies to defile a fresh deposit of
water, but will however savagely attack any
encountered baatezu.
These shapeless horrors are also used by Demon Lords
for assignments (as envoys, agents, or assassins) in
areas that most demons would hesitate to travel to, for
alkiliths can survive and even thrive in the most
chaotic and unlivable areas of the Abyss. A great
number of their missions take place within the Abyss,
as the lords of the tanar’ri spend much of their time
scheming and feuding with each other, but from time
to time they’re sent into the Great Wheel or onto the
Prime Material Plane on an errand of vile corruption.
As creatures of the Abyssal Lords, alkiliths aren’t well-
liked by their peers, but they’re guaranteed a certain
measure of protection.
Combat: Alkiliths are extremely dangerous in close
combat. Even though they have a gelatinous shape,
they can move at a decent speed and make fast attacks
with their dreaded pseudopods of acidic slime. They are
also capable of assuming a semi-rigid form, and their
pseudopods can wield weapons and manipulate objects
with surprising precision.
Alkiliths can be injured only by weapons of cold iron.
Slashing or bludgeoning weapons don’t cause alkiliths
serious harm.
They have also the ability to assume gaseous form, but
it is quite a long process for the fiend to make the
transition to cloud and back again.

13
 An anzu is 7m50 feet long with a 20 meters wingspan.
It weighs four tons.

The dreaded anzu rank among the greatest terrors of

abyssal slies and are particularly favored by Pazuzu
and his flock. They soar through the tainted skies,
constantly seeking powerful magic items to steal. They
either hoard these items in their gruesome bone and
offal nests, high in abyssal mountains or treetops, or
they wear and wield them with their telekinetic
powers.

Although they are intelligent, anzu are often willing to

serve as mounts for demons and particularly powerful
mortals, as long as they are well-rewarded with magic
tiems for their serviture,

A particularly massive and deadly anzu is said to

guard Pazuzu’s lair on the 503rd layer of the Abyss.
Anzu
Combat: an anzu rarely attacks an anemy upon sight.
Usually, it remains silent and hidden so it can observe
Description: This monstruous birdlike creature is the
its prey for several hours, studying strength and
size of an elephant. Its body is that of a powerful four-
weaknesses and determining who in its targeted group
winged eagle, its feathers greasy and dripping with
has the most magic items. When the demon attacks, it
black oil. The creature’s wing feathers are particularly
first seeks to incapacitate or kill those with the most
rigid and razor sharp along the outer edges. Its legs are
magic items. If hard pressed, it grabs up fallen bodies
powerfully muscled and end in large orange talonsé
and attempts to flee with them.

The monster’s head is horrifying: despite the fact that

The anzu’s bite is particularly arrowing, and it has a
it is feathered, its visage is that of a hateful lion with a
poisonous breath that causes insanity and
long snout and a formidable set of teeth. Its very
hallucinations.
breath is visible, seething from between its froth
speckled lips and teeth in thick green coils. It can also summon other tannar’ri (mainly vrocks),
and see invisible things.

14
15

Armanite
Armanites (also called the Dark Horsemen or the Dark
Riders) are tanar’ri that serve their masters as
cavalry. They resemble demonic centaurs and are
encased in armor of demonic chitin strong enough to
repel mortal steel
Description: An armanite resembles a pale, undead
centaur. It has the lower body of a muscular horse and
the torso, arms, and head of a sickly human. Its flesh is
pale and festers with sores. Heavy horns of a ram or a
bull protrude from its brow, and patches of bristly hair
protrude from chinks in its intricate full plate armor
suit. Its tail and the manes down its spine are stiff
bristle, and the flesh on its bellies sags so much that
older armanites sometimes look like gutted half-horses,
dragging their entrails beneath them.
All armanites wear black, fluted armor that seems
more ornamental than functional. Because of their
great strength, the armor is much heavier than
ordinary armor and more effective than it might
appear. Armanites are never without their weapons:
flanged maces, wavy flamberge swords, and heavy
crossbows or composite bows.
Some breeds of armanite are more kangaroolike in
their nonhuman half. Their front limbs are hands,
capable of manipulating weapons and small items.
A typical armanite stands 2m70 tall and weighs
around 1,2 metric ton.
16
History: In ages past, fomorians enslaved six Feywild
centaur clans. The captives were forced to serve as
armorsmiths, beasts of burden, expendable cavalry,
and playthings. Corrupted by the brutality of the
twisted giants of the Underdark, the centaurs began to
follow their tormentors' example. Eventually, the
centaur slaves broke free, escaping into the depths of
the Underdark. There, they stumbled on a portal
leading to Pazunia. A few searched for a way home to
the Feywild, but the darkness of the Abyss quickly
claimed the others. Abandoning their kin, they took up
lives as abyssal mercenaries and were transformed
into demons. Today, the armanite legions serve
whichever demon lord offers the best pay in territory
or soul larvae.
Ecology: Armanites devour the blood and spirits of
their fallen foes and some stories say that they prefer
this sustenance to any other, although, as with other
outsiders, they have no need to eat or drink. Their
favorite preys are varrangoin, baatezu, and yugoloths,
in that order.
Armanites breed, and female armanites are roughly
half as populous as their male counterparts. The sexes
live separated from each other for most of their lives,
and they inevitably fight among themselves if allowed
to mix. Males and female herds only mingle during
mating, which occurs on fresh battlefields (for example
after a successful battle against the baatezu).
Youngs are herded along with the servants and camp
followers until they seize weapons of their own from a
fallen member of the troupe and slay an enemy, at
which point they join the adults. They mature quickly
and are full grown within a year. Immature armanites
are orphaned quickly and receive no special treatment
or care.
Habitat: Armanites can be found on any layer of the
Abyss that is commanded by particularly militant
demon princes. The Plains of Gallenshu (layer 377) is
commonly held to be the source of the armanite race,
for this layer is rife with thousands of constantly
warring tribes of these demons.
Society: Like their centaur forebears, armanites are
fiercely territorial. They tolerate no interlopers into
their lands or within the realms of their masters.
Arrogant and clannish, these demons employ
coordinated tactics and a militaristic discipline that
even devils admire.
An armanite lives for war. With little else to occupy it,
it fills its time with combat. An armanite not in battle
or planning war is actually at its most dangerous and
unpredictable, because it has no target on which to
unleash its rage.
Armanites are the mercenaries and scavengers of the
Blood War, collecting their pay and their dinner from
the bodies of those they slay, living by devouring the
flesh and spirits of the fallen, and both sexes enjoy the
chance to do battle. They serve their masters well but
expect plunder in return; failure to provide it results
in desertion or rebellion, even on the eve of battle.
Their reputation for fickleness is well earned; if they
receive orders they don’t like, they simply leave.
Most herds of armanites specialize in a particular
battlefield duty, such as scouting,
skirmishing, archery, or the like. Since they quickly
grow restless when battle grows scarce, they never take
part in sieges.
Armanites encountered in smaller numbers are almost
always ragged survivors of a raid gone awry. Since
they often turn on each other when there’s nothing else
to fight, it’s far more common to encounter a lone
armanite than to find them in groups of half a dozen.
foraging,

The 24 known towns of the armanites on the Plains of

Gallenshu are each ruled by a Konsul, a master of as
many as a hundred packs. A few of the Konsuls are
spellcasters. Rumors claim that two or the Konsuls are
also priests. The known immobile towns are Amber,
Basalt, Bloodstone, Bone, Clay, Cold Iron, Dark Spring,
Gray Glass, Jade, Mageblood, Maroon, Obsidian, Ochre,
Oxblood, Purpure, Silver Spike, and Steelshank. The
seven remaining towns are the towns of the female
armanites. These small encampments of tents, carts,
and large, wheeled towers change their name
whenever they move.

Some armanites take on rutterkin as grooms, smiths,

riding auxiliaries, and servants, though this is rare.
They despise all forms of least tanar’ri and abuse them
mercilessly.
Strategy and tactics: Armanites are mobile shock
troops in the Blood War, able to strike and retreat
quickly. They depend on the rush and fury of their
charges to preserve them, rather than on tactics,
spellpower, or careful timing. They prefer raucous,
chaotic group combat to formal duels or feats of arms.
An armanite knows its role on the battlefield and
revels in it. Each pack of armanites (usually troops of
eight to twelve) always follows a single charismatic
leader called the Pathwarden or the Knecht, who rules
through promises of plunder and threats
punishment. A Knecht often provides ranged support
with his arrows while allowing his troops to charge the
enemy. Packs that lose their leader roam without
direction, destroying everything they meet until either
they are destroyed or a new Knecht rises from among
the ranks.
Because they operate well as independent groups,
armanites are often selected to undertake special
missions for Abyssal Lords. On such missions, they
typically carry an individual troupe banner and the
banner of their current master or mistress (such as
Graz’zt’s diagonal black-and-white slash or Pazrael’s
golden talon on dark), proclaiming their allegiance to
their lord. This allegiance can be extremely tenuous:
the loss of the lord’s banner in battle is sometimes all it
takes for a troupe to switch sides.
The individual banner is the symbol and unifying
principle of each warband; without it, the armanites
feud among themselves. Soon their group falls apart
and disbands to attempt to join another troupe.
They often brawl like warhounds in the halls and
citadels of the tanar’ri, and provoking a fight with one
armanite means a grudge match with the entire
troupe. Armanites despise the bariaur and attack them
on sight.
Combat: An armanite charges into battle, using its
superior spear skills to fell enemies as it waits for them
to unwisely attempt to flank.
The armanites’ primary mode of attack is a set of
withering strikes from their spiked hooves, crushing
shields or breastplates. An armanite charges to deliver
of
maximum destruction and mayhem, and once engaged
in melee, it switches to a heavy flail that it spins
wildly, swinging as it kicks with its hooves.
Some troupes also carry heavy crossbows or short
curved composite bows with wicked barbed arrows.
Armanites who have crossbows or bows can fire spark
bolts.
An armanite’s greatest treasures are its masterwork
lance, heavy flail, composite longbow, full plate
armor…Armanites carry no other items of value. These
weapons and armor are often engraved with Abyssal
runes and are always kept in immaculate condition.
Armanites can also gallop into the skies. This form of
flight allows them to gallop slowly up from the grounds,
as if they were climbing an invisible hill. Flying
armanites cannot change direction quickly, but the
assault of an aerial charge can be devastating on
opposing ground based troops.
They suffer damage from holy water.

17
 The massive arrows notched in the bows draw the eye,
and the emaciated limbs with which it holds its twin
bows obviously conceal an abyssal strength.

Description: Otherwise humanoid, an arrow demon's

remarkable feature is its four arms. Lean and wiry, the
creature holds expertly two powerful longbows in its
left arms and draws the strings back in parallel with
its right arms. Emaciated but possessing unnatural
strength for its frame, an arrow demon's body is also
completely hairless, and its gray skin has a strange
sickening oily wetness, feeling like cured leather to the
touch. The creature's long legs end in four-jointed toes,
and it grips the ground as it walks.

An arrow demon stands some 2 meters in height but it

weighs only about 30 kilograms and can communicate
telepathically.

Habitat: Arrow demons are native to the Infinite

Layers of the Abyss. However, they also populate the
Blood Rift, a plane where demons and devil wage the
eternal Blood War. Conjurers are also to blame for
bringing arrow demons on the Prime Material Plane
with summoning spells.

Combat: Arrow demons are dangerous by themselves,

but created to serve in massive battalions, they play a
devastating role on the endless abyssal battlefields,
where they fight in ordered ranks surrounded by
hundreds of their kin, most deadly when they can
stand still and shoot every round. Companies of arrow
demons are often shielded from melee combat by
masses of demonic fodder, lesser troops numerous
enough to slow an onrushing enemy, and fielded by
their commanders in large units where they rain huge
numbers of arrows down on their foes, a massive fire
capable of destroying entire armies.

The very effectiveness of these tactics have given

arrow demons an importance in the ranks of the
demons higher than their sheer physical power would
otherwise earn them. although an arrow demon must
still give way to any greater demon, large groups of
the abyssal archers know they are too valuable to their

Arrow Demon demonic lord's battle plans to be gainsaid by any but

the most powerful individual demons.

Arrow demons are valued tanar'ri created specifically

More often than not, arrow demons carry quivers of
to fight in the armies of the Abyss. Like other demons,
arrows set with heads made from alchemical silver,
they are cruel beyond mortal measure, knowing
adamantine, and/or cold iron to overcome the
nothing of compassion or altruism. They scorn virtue
resistances of their most commonly-encountered
and despise hope, yet they understand clearly that
otherworldly enemies.
their continued existence depends on their value to
their masters.

18
Babau

Also called one-horned horror or ebony death, Babaus

are tanar’ri that roam the layers of the Abyss,
recruiting lesser and least tanar’ri for the vast armies
of the Blood War. They also serve as a spy or assassin
to more powerful demons of the Abyss (and even
sometimes to spellcasters on the Material Plane). A
babau demon possesses the cunning of a devil and the
bloodthirstiness of a demon.

Description: a babau stands about 1m80 tall and

resembles a gaunt humanoid beast covered in dark,
stretch taught leathery skin, with pointed ears and a
long curved horn-like growth protruding out of the
back of its skull. Babaus have long, wicked claws
covered with dirt, blood, and decaying flesh. Their
movements are very quick, sharp and mechanical,
emphasizing their alien nature. They also are covered
by a protective slick blood-like secretion that damages
anything it touches like corrosive acid.

Ecology: Demons and devils clash endlessly for control

of the Lower Planes. One of these battles pitted the
legions of the archdevil Glasya against the screaming
hordes of the demon lord Graz'zt. It is said that Glasya
wounded Graz'zt with her sword, and the first babaus
arose where his blood struck the ground. Their sudden
appearance helped rout Glasya and secured Graz'zt's
place as one of the preeminent demon lords of the
Abyss.

Babaus are sneaky and sly. They delight in murder and

Combat: The babaus usually try to summon another
sadism; their stealth setting them apart from their
more overt demon-kin. They take pride in devising babau before battle so they can both lay devious plans

means of slowly killing their targets, inflicting the plans and strike with sudden ferocity. They’ll usually
greatest amount of pain while staving off death – and attack the most powerful foe first, hoping to eliminate
thus the end of the suffering – of their victims. true threats quickly and then toy with the rest.

Although they can use their claws and their sharp

Habitat and Society: Babaus are integral to the Abyss
horn in combat, babaus are intelligent and prefer to
and important in the Blood War because they are the
use weapons, usually those requiring two hands to
grim recruiters of the Blood War armies.
wield. Babaus have enchanted magical weapons, and
Lesser tanar’ri hate babaus because they roam around can use any weapon they find. They fight fiercely
recruiting for the vast Abyss armies. To escape service, unarmed when necessary and have innate spellcasting
numbers of lesser tanar‘ri sometimes gang up on a abilities. Babaus are immune from attacks by
pursuing babau and try to kill it. nonmagical weapons.

True tanar’ri have close ties with babaus: if a babau is Any creature who meets a babau’s glowing red gaze
attacked, a true tanar’ri might notice and come to its risks to be greatly enfeebled.
aid – not through any sense of loyalty, but rather to
Babaus can gate in cambions or another babau. There
further the Blood War. Most demon lords have at least
is also a chance that a true tanar’ri comes to the aid of
several babaus as minions. This causes the lesser
a babau in trouble.
tanar’ri to fear babaus even more.

19

Balor
Greatest and most terrible of the true tanar’ri, the
balors (also known as type VI demons, and called fire-
demons, roaring demons, raloog, and conflagranti) are
the undisputed terrors of the Abyss. Figures of ancient
and terrible evil, they rule as generals over demonic
armies, yearning to seize power while destroying any
creatures that oppose them. They motivate the tanar’ri
involvement in the Blood War and derive immense
pleasure from others’ suffering.
Description: A dark aura of repulsive power surrounds
this towering humanoid. It has huge bat wings that
propel it with unnatural speed and agility. Lurid
searing flames dance over its dark red skin. It has long
wicked claws and grotesque fangs that drip venom. In
one of its massive clawed hands, this creature bears a
sword made of lightning that looks sharp enough to cut
even to the soul. In its other hand, it bears a many-
tailed whip licked by tongues of fire.
Balors are about 3m60 tall and weigh 2 tons.
Ecology: Balors are one of the most terrible creatures of
the Abyss, and each has its own individual name. They
constantly strove for more power for themselves and
20
chaos, terror, and misery for others.
Nothing is more important in the Abyss than the Blood
War and the balors ARE the Blood War from a
tanar’ri perspective. In that sense, they are the ecology
of the Abyss, driving the creation of new beings and
mandating their survival.
Habitat/Society: Balors are found serving as generals
under demon lords or even as minor princelings.
Sources conflict as to the total number of these demons
that exist. But at least twenty-four balors are known to
exist, and up to six hundred and sixty six have been
suggested. They wander the Abyss, recruiting armies
and commanding them in battle against the baatezu.
Balors are said to be more organized than other
demons. They recognize all planes as potential
battlegrounds in the War. They make pacts with
mortals to perform services in return for power in the
mortals’ planes. The more followers or allies they gain
there, the more magical power they command in the
Blood War.
Combat: A balor prefers to battle from afar, using
spells and abilities and ranged weapons. Its battle
prowess is fueled by hatred and rage.
Balors wield a flaming whip that magically wrap
around the victim -who is drawn into the balor’s bodily
flames- and a vorpal longsword that channels the
power of the storm. When a balor is killed, it channels
his demonic fury in its death throes, falling within a
blast of fire or a blinding flash of light that can destroy
even the hardiest foes, and destroys any weapons the
balor is holding.
Balors are cannot be surprised and are able to summon
hordes of dretches or a single more powerful tanar'ri.
Notable balors: Errtu was one of the original six
named “Type VI” demons. The other five were Ndulu,
Ter-Soth, Alzoll, Wendonai, and Balor. These demons
later took the name of balor to refer to their breed of
demon as a whole.
 Balor, the most powerful balor and for whom the
race was named.
 Errtu, archenemy of the Companions of the Hall.
 Chare'en of the Army of Darkness that attacked
Myth Drannor. He raised a huge gnoll army in
theThunder Peaks, before being defeated and
imprisoned.
 Wendonai, Champion of Lolth. He was sent to
corrupt the Ilythiiri and later the drow. He later
became the tool to kill the goddess Eilistraee.
 Baalbisan. An offspring of the hezrou Zaxis who
was actually a fallen marilith named Bethsiva,
with a rank even higher than hers. Also one of the
demons of Ammon Jerro's Haven. After the
trespassing of Kalach-Cha, he was released by
Shandra Jerro.
 Axitharadrazel
Bar-Lgura

The bar-lgura (sometimes called leaping demon)

represents the savagery and brutality of the Abyss.

Description: A bar-lgura looks like a hulking

orangutan with a gruesome drooping visage and
oversized tusks jutting from its jaw. The cruelty that
burns in its rheumy leering red eyes signals a hateful
intelligence. Standing form 1m50 to 2m50 tall, a bar-
lgura has broad shoulders and weighs up to 300kg. It
moves apishly along the ground, but it climbs with
great speed and agility.

A bar-lgura’s fur, matted with filth, is a deep, rusty

red and its skin, where exposed, is grayish brown. A
bar-lgura can change the color of its fur, reflexively
blending into surrounding terrain. This not only
affords the demon greater skill at hiding, but is often
incorporated into its body language: a bar-lgura turns
a brilliant fiery orange when enraged, for example, or
a dull gray when content. It has six digits per limb,
and sharp, wicked claws extend from each digit. A bar-
lgura shambles along the ground using both arms and
legs for movement, but prefers to move among trees,
rafters, vines, etc., for increased movement.
Ecology: Bar-lguras are not quite beasts, but are not
terribly intelligent. They do not hate baatezu as do
other tanar’ri. The closest thing to animals among the
tanar’ri, they receive especially cruel treatment by
more powerful tanar’ri when they get out of line.
Angazhan the Ravener King, Demon Lord of Apes,
counts millions of bar-lguras as his subjects; many of
these seethe with jealousy at his favored creations, the
proto-demons known as baregaras. Angazhan also
lends thousands of bar-lguras to his ally Demogorgon
who appreciates the ape demons’ savagery.
On the Material Plane, bar-lguras often haunt the
jungles around shrines or temples to these two demon
lords.
of 300 or more. These societies divorce themselves from
the day to day dealings of the Abyss and form their
own crude “government”, the only government in the
Abyss. Tribal bar-lgura do not obey other tanar’ri, for
their numbers protect them from the wrath of the true
tanar’ri. Still, there are tales of a balor summarily
laying waste to an entire tribe of rebellious bar-
lgura.In general, bar-lguras tend to congregate in small
packs of three to eleven led by dominant males, to take
down tougher foes, keep gruesome trophies from their
victories, and decorate their territory with such
objects. A knowledgeable traveler in the Abyss realizes
he’s in barlgura territory not only by the lack of other
demonkind but also by the disturbing fetishes and
totems these demons erect on the borders of their
lands—gruesome effigies made from sharpened
branches, discarded weapons, and the body parts of
lesser demons (particularly dretches and rutterkins).
When two bar-lgura tribes encroach on each other, the
result is always bloody warfare that ends only when
the lesser tribe has been slaughtered and eaten.

Combat: Bar-lguras are gifted climbers and look for

Habitat/Society: Bar-lguras are scouts and skirmishers
vertically defensive positions when selecting territory.
for demonic armies. They explore unknown regions for
They often claim large tracts of ancient forests or
victims to savage or fortifications to claim. Bar-lgura
clifflaced mountainsides, using sheer cliffs or tree
dislike other tanar’ri and prefer to hunt among their
trunks to gain a tactical advantage over anything that
own kind. They obey only tanar’ri of obviously greater
intrudes on their lands and they favor ambush tactics,
power than themselves.
springing forth at opponents from cover. A bar-lgura

Bar-lguras avoid regions infested with other demons, can pounce on foes with great ferocity, clawing and
since they do not share their kin’s delight in torment biting before its victim can even react.
and don’t enjoy the company of other demons. Rather,
Unlike most tanar’ri, a bar-lgura can teleport other
they think that lesser demons simply get in the way.
creatures, even if those creatures are unwilling. A bar-
It’s not uncommon to find a single bar-lgura in areas
lgura typically uses this abduction tactic on one of its
quite remote from other demonic activity—such loners
enemies to finish him off alone.
could be advance scouts for a larger force, but are
more likely to be individuals seeking an opportunity to Experts at camouflage, Bar-lguras change their
spread a little mayhem. coloration to that of their surroundings. they can see
invisible foes.
In certain areas of the Abyss, the bar-lgura form tribes

21
Bogannarr Bogannarrs are about 1m20 long, and they weigh about
25kg. They understand Common and Abyssal, but do
not speak. They communicate telepathically with each
This creature looks like a six-legged monkey with a
other to coordinate attacks.
reddish face and a prehensile tail. Its glowing red eyes,
undersized wings, and red-black fur lend it an air of
Combat: A bogannarr is a savage fighter, similar in
malevolence. It moves like a spider and has moves like
ferocity to a wolverine. Once it begins attacking, a
a spider and has bared fangs. Its tail ends in a stinger
bogannarr does not quit. In groups they are even more
that drips with ichor.
dangerous. With limited intelligence, they are well
suited to follow the orders of more powerful demons.
Description: A bogannarr resembles a red and black
monkey with six legs. It has small wings on its back
One of their usual tactics is to swarm a single opponent
that are nonfunctional. Some think that this denotes a
and drain it of life before moving on. The creature
relationship between these creatures and the more
latches onto an opponent with all six legs and uses its
powerful nalfeshnee, but no one knows for sure. The
tail to devastating effect. A bogannarr can also
bogannarr also has a prehensile tail that it can use
increase its size and grapple a foe.
both to grasp things and utilize as a weapon. The tail
sports a stinger that drips venomous ichor. Its fangs are poisonous and it can summon other
Tanar’ri.

22
23
 form of telepathy. The bulezau is not a patient basher:
if it decides it’s easier to tear the arms off a sod than
talk to him it won’t wait long to act on its impulses.

Ecology: There are at least three conflicting stories

narrating the origins of bulezaus.

In the first one, bulezaus are created from the souls of

evil witches, especially those with a proclivity for acts
of bestiality.

In the second one, before the Abyss corrupted him, the

being now known as Baphomet created the minotaurs.
As with most races, some became savage and warlike
as others came to value honor and trade. Yeenoghu
noticed this schism and mocked Baphomet, saying,
“Poor, stupid Baphomet. You have pride in your
children, but half of them are cattle in spirit as well as
in form. See how my children take what yours make
and burn what yours build.” For the sake of his bruised
vanity, Baphomet began sending his acolytes to steal
freshly buried corpses of pure mortal females who gave
their lives in the service of good deities. Consumed in
unholy rituals, these offerings gave life to the first
bulezaus.

In the third one, the first bulezaus were created by

Baphomet who sought to create a powerful army of
warriors to crush Yeenoghu’s forces. The chant goes
that Baphomet bred his minotaur servants with some
of the tanar’ri in his service. Unfortunately,
Baphomet’s creations proved too bestial to control on a
large scale. He eventually grew tired of losing favored
generals to their uprisings and released the demons
into the Abyss, where they flourished.

Unlike the goristro, the goat-headed bulezau possess

minds capable of grasping most relatively simple
battlefield tactics, and yet they tend to be dumb
enough that organized revolt is never really a problem.

Bulezau Bulezau are quarrelsome, bullying

creatures that often fall into lethal disagreements with

Bulezau (also known as capra demons for their goatlike
each other.
appearance) are tanar’ri born and bred to fight in the
Blood War. Bulezau know no emotion but rage, and Society: Baphomet sends these demons to the Material
savor only the struggle for life and death. Plane as dark blessings to his human worshipers (for
his minotaur and giant followers, he prefers to send
Description: A bulezau is shaped like a tall human
ghour demons). Capra demons tutor their wards in
over 3m60 tall, its gaunt frame festooned with patches
ever more blasphemous rites of witchcraft and steer
of wiry short bristles and its battered discolored flesh
them toward bestial rites designed to strip them of
festering with filthy and diseased open sores. It has the
humanity. On the Abyss, they serve Baphomet as
head of a large diseased goat or ram, with massive
soldiers, holding the line against other demonic hordes
curved horns, rheumy white eyes, and froth-caked lips
while ghours and goristros crash through enemy ranks.
stretched over thin, needlelike fangs. Its long serpentine
Baphomet maintains a bodyguard of fierce bulezaus of
tail is tipped with a twisted tangle of iron-hard spines.
unusual loyalty and discipline. Some other high-ups in
Its feet are clawed, not hoofed.
the Abyss sometimes create a ruthless and fanatical
guard of bulezau, deciding that it’s worth the
Although their bodies are thin and emaciated, bulezaus
headaches to have such capable and rather loyal (by
are terribly strong and capable of wielding huge
tanar’ri standards) fighters at their back and call.
oversized weapons. Their weapon of choice is the
ranseur.
As patrons of evil witches, bulezaus despise nothing
more than witches who serve the cause of good, and
Bulezau can speak the common trade-jargon of the
many direct their followers against good-aligned
planes with difficulty or communicate with a weak

24
covens. Owing to their master Baphomet’s rivalry with
Pazuzu, bulezaus also loathe vrocks, and encounters
between the two almost always break out into a fight
unless there are baatezu nearby to deal with.

Mortals who bring bulezaus into the world find them

difficult to work with but useful when unfocused
destruction is on the agenda. These demons are quick to
answer a summons from evil minotaurs, though they
resent the peaceful and honorable members of that
race.

Habitat: Bulezaus are found most often on the layers of

the Abyss dedicated to war, but also on any layer ruled
by a particularly warlike demon lord. When not at
war, bulezau bands quickly fall apart into bloody
chaos. Bulezaus encountered individually are,
similarly to armanites, almost always the sole
survivors of an otherwise complete slaughter of their
troupe. Often, such a slaughter was at their own hands,
when their commanders were unable to break up a
fight in time to prevent the group’s self-destruction. In
groups, bulezaus are always led by a more powerful
demon or creature.

Bulezau are generally well-regarded by tanar’ri of

higher station, since they pursue the Blood War with so
much enthusiasm. Tanar’ri commanders place a high
value on bulezau formations and gather such units
when possible. On the other hand, less powerful tanar’ri
rarely want to be anywhere near a bulezau since the
creature’s likely to fly off into a murderous rage at the
least provocation, regardless of the consequence.
There’ve been engagements where more dretches and
rutterkin were lost to bulezau impatience than to
baatezu action.
Combat: Bulezau live for combat and regard all other
activities as a waste of time. They make poor pickets,
sentries, or scouts since they’ve got no patience for
waiting around or attempts at stealth. Built for a fight
and excelling in melee combat, they are the heavy
infantry of the Abyss, potent and powerful melee
specialists who delight in rending flesh and spilling
blood.
Bulezaus are too stubborn and stupid to ever give up.
Despite an emaciated form, they wield great ranseurs,
great tridents, pole arms, or morning stars of wicked
design far too large for their size with unnerving
grace. Unarmed bulezau also strike with each of their
clawed forelimbs, deliver a powerful head-butt, and
lash out with their bristly tails, the tip of which bears a
bony knob studded with long, thin spines. They also
enjoy charging and using their horns to gore their
opponents.
A bulezau can be heard approaching, because it howls
with glee in anticipation of battle. The scent of blood
sends this creature into a frenzy as it seeks out the
weakest opponents. Any creature knocked to the
ground draws a bulezau’s attention and its fiercest
attacks. The demon roars in satisfaction as body after
body is crushed under its ferocious assault.
Bulezaus’ chief vulnerability is found in the hollow
space between their ears. Strategy, discipline, and
common sense have got no place in the world of a
bulezau. Tanar’ri commanders have long recognized
that it’s a good idea to keep bulezau near the war
front, since they’re just too stupid and aggressive to
remain in a noncombat situation for long: if a bulezau
sees an enemy, it charges, and if it doesn’t see an
enemy, it goes looking for one.
Demonic commanders of bulezau units often post
powerful demons nearby with orders to attack any
bulezau that starts a fight—the threat of sure death is
one of the few things that can keep bulezaus from each
other’s throats, and even then only if the promise of
battle is near.
Bulezau may be difficult troops to keep control of, but
once committed to a battle, they hold nothing back and
plunge into the thick of the fight with reckless abandon.
The bulezau are a slavering band of maniacs that’ll
attempt any attack and never retreat, no matter how
long the odds are. That kind of loyalty is hard to find
in the Abyss, even if it’s uncontrollable bloodlust
instead of iron discipline. When it takes damage
without managing to hit its foe, a bulezau is likely to
go berserk on a rampage of destruction, becoming
much stronger and harder to slay and refusing to stop
until either it or its opponent is dead. (A bulezau
doesn’t take failure well). The bulezau doesn’t recover
from its rage until all opponents are dead.
In the Blood War, Baphomet’s bulezaus fight under the
captains of every demon lord except Yeenoghu.

25
Cerebrilith

A cerebrilith is a type of tanar'ri native to the Abyss. powers of the mind.

It is notable for possessing psionic powers.
They only join demon armies in specialist roles to meet
Description: A cerebrilith appears as a giant ogre-like specific purposes, such as to slay a mortal psionicist or
humanoid creature, standing around 2m50 when psionic creature.
upright in battle. However, it normally knuckle-walks
on all fours due to its hunched back. Its body is They can also use their powers of mental domination in
relatively gangly, with skin turned slick and slimy as if larger schemes.
it continually leaked some fluid. Its skull is bulging and
Combat: Cerebriliths psionic powers allow them to
elongated, sweeping back and merging into its hunched
communicate via telepathy, cause mental damage,
back, with a bony brow and protruding fanged jaw
read minds and dominate people.
with long, thin tongue. Its most obvious feature is a
hideously swollen and exposed brain, shielded beneath
These psionic demons open battle with an assault of
a lattice of its spinal bones.
telepathic powers. When in melee range, they fight
with teeth and claws with psionically enhanced force.
Ecology: Cerebriliths spend their time cultivating their
mental powers, usually acting alone or in groups of up
A cerebrilith can summon another of its kind or a
to four, by hunting and killing mortal prey. They love number of dretches.
to kill intelligent beings and extract their brains, which
they examine in an effort to gain fresh insights into the

26
27
Chasme
Clever, swift and craven, chasmes (sometimes called fly
demons) are insectlike tanar'ri that slake their
unending thirst for blood and pain by tormenting the
weak. Chasmes travel the layers of the Abyss in search
of tanar’ri that evade participation in the Blood War.
They also often serve greater demons as interrogators,
taskmasters, or torturers.
Description: a chasme is a frightful, wretched, and
disgusting hybrid. With the body of a giant fly, it bears
two sets of large buzzing wings and carries six limbs.
The two forelimbs resemble long, slender human arms
with long-fingered hands, the other four are spindly
hooked insectoid. Emerging from its thorax, it has a
head, vaguely human but ugly and exaggerated, with
a tiny mouth, compound eyes, and a large hooked horn
where its nose should be. This nose is hard, sharp, and
can bite and suck blood. Its maw contains black, bony
ridges rather than teeth, and its tongue is hollow. Tufts
of wiry hair sprout from between the black plates that
cover its thick, insectoid body.
Even viewing the hideous chasme is a disturbing,
terrifying experience. Anyone being touched by, or
even catching sight of a chasme has to remain firm or
else flee in horror.
The chasme can walk upright or crawl upon walls and
ceilings, and fly with excellent maneuverability.
28
A chasme can grow to between 2m10 and 2m70 meters
in length. However, as suited a flying creature, it is
very light, weighing a mere 75 kilograms.
When speaking, chasmes have a rasping, buzzing voice.
Ecology: Chasmes are carnivorous, and drain a victim's
blood via their proboscises. Chasmes are cunning but
cowardly, and their keen focus on self-preservation
gives them a subtlety and caution rarely seen in
demons. They have a constant thirst for blood and
pain, which they satisfy by torturing the weak. They
are expert in the techniques of punishment and
torture, but also have a knack for deception and
determining one's real motives. A chasme’s cunning
and sense of self-preservation provide it with a subtlety
unusual in demons. Although its goal is ruin, mayhem,
and pain, it takes the time to gather power and
knowledge. Usually through lies, threats, and torture,
it coerces other beings into helping it.
An adult chasme can spawn up to ten young each
year, via pre-fertilized eggs it lays in the rotting
corpses of creatures slain in the Abyss. These eggs
hatch after three months, producing larvae-like
fiendish maggots that crawl from the corpse and
consume the corruption that pervades the Abyss. Other
demons, especially those that fly, often kill and devour
chasme larvae when they found them, so only the
cleverest survive. After a month, they metamorphose
into their adult forms and hatchlings grow to
adulthood in seven years, though they can lay their
own eggs after two.

When spilled, their blood is black, though their other

ichor is green and yellow. Hacked open, they deflate as
if hollow. They tend to smell of corpses.

Habitat: Chasmes favor lairs built against vertical

surfaces such as treetops, cliffside rookeries, or soaring
caverns with numerous ledges to perch upon. They are
common in the Abyss, and especially prevalent on the
layers of the Crushing Plain and Torremor, once home
of Pazuzu, the demon lord of all evil things that fly.

Society: Chasmes bitterly hate most other demons. They

do not like vrocks, viewing them as rivals. They nurse
a traditional hatred of succubi, and would kill them
given the chance. More powerful demons, like glabrezu
and hezrous, they fear and obey. Lesser demons, like
dretches and rutterkins, they rule over if they have the
opportunity.

Preferring the company of their own kind to other

demons, chasmes often gather into gangs of around
three to ten members. These groups soar in the skies of
the Abyss, constantly on the hunt for anything weak
and feeble to torment.
The lowly chasmes often set aside their hatred of other
demons for the chance to serve more powerful tanar’ri
masters as punishers, interrogators or torturers of
lesser demons, tasks they take with obvious enjoyment.
A chasme lives to dole out torture as punishment, and
has a gift for spotting demons that have deserted the
fight in the Blood War (how they spot these evaders is a
mystery). They take special pains to capture and
return such traitors to their masters in hopes of
gaining a chance to torment the victim further, and
avoid front-line duties in combat formations, as their
places are filled by other tanar'ri. This makes them
utterly detested among the tanar’ri, who often attack
chasmes on sight. Only their power and the backing of
the true tanar’ri protect the chasme from annihilation.
Chasmes sometimes acquire positions of influence and
power in the Abyss. In a few cases, they have even
been known to carve out small territories for
themselves, both on the Abyss or on other Planes.
There, they pressure other beings into helping or
serving them through deceit, manipulation, threats,
and torture. In this role of minor demon lords and
princelings, they keep slaves and lesser demons such as
rutterkins and dretches repressed and obedient
through the application of punishment and
intimidation, which they greatly enjoy. For this reason,
chasmes prefer strong but dull-witted allies, so they
often accompany or manipulate brutish demons. If
service to a mightier demon allows a chasme to spread
mayhem, it seizes the opportunity.
Although they carry no treasure and bear no weapons
or armor, chasmes occasionally make use of magical
items that they come across. They are also fond of
delicate artworks encrusted with gemstones.
Combat: Enjoying a fight, a chasme relies on speed and
the advantage of flight to plague its enemies while
avoiding harm. Chasmes enjoy tormenting and
torturing their victims before slaying them. They use
their speed and aerial maneuverability to maintain
ranged superiority and their own safety at range,
attacking on the wing, diving upon foes, attempting to
inflict bleeding wounds on many foes at once, and
flying off again, constantly harassing foes before
finally killing them.
A chasme is naturally armed with two claws, a bite,
and its nose-horn. It can use all these equally well, and
all deal savage wounds that bleed profusely until
magically healed. Without such treatment, a victim
will eventually die of blood loss.
A droning buzzing sound sometimes precedes the
approach of a chasme, lulling unwary listeners into a
terrible lethargy that leaves them open to attack.
Beings that fall into a comatose sleep might awake to
find themselves being fed upon and tortured. However,
a chasme usually saves its drone ability in case it
becomes cornered or overwhelmed and needs to escape,
or to complete its victory, as it can do little else while it
beats its wings in this manner. These creatures can also
be quite stealthy, and are good at noticing things and
finding that which is hidden.

29
 to sickly blue in some areas, stretched over pulsing
varicose veins. Their heads are set squarely upon their
shoulders. Dretches’ mouths are slack and slobbery
with many small fangs. Their hair is sparse and bristly,
exposing pointed ears that hang limply from either side
of the head. A dretch’s eyes slant downward and the
nose appears squashed.

They stand about 1m20 tall and weigh 30 kilograms.

Ecology: Dretches are thoroughly wicked and possess a

driving need to cause dismay and ruin. They are very
cowardly and incredibly stupid, but they are more
afraid of their demon overlords than of death: the
dretches’ weakness makes them a perfect choice for
food in an environment where food is scarce. Greater
fiends eat them in great quantities.

They are unable to speak and communicate only

telepathically.

Habitat/Society: Dretches are important to the Blood

War: the primary strength of the tanar’ri is their sheer
numbers, and those numbers consist largely of dretches.
Their inferiors, the manes, are merely dead spirits
from the Prime Material Plane. Dretches mill around
and torment the manes to avoid considering their own
lowly position.

Some dretches try to be extremely useful, hoping for

promotion. Others consider themselves so lowly that
they have nothing to lose, and they rebel. By virtue of
their numbers, they feel they can go their own way
Dretch and ignore the more powerful tanar’ri. This leads to a
huge slaughter of the rebellious dretches by more
Dretches are among the weakest of tanar'ri, repulsive, powerful tanar’ri. These outbreaks temporarily divert
self-loathing creatures doomed to spend eternity in a the tanar’ri from the Blood War, sometimes with
state of perpetual discontent. Their low intelligence disastrous results.
makes dretches unsuitable for anything but the
simplest tasks. Dretches mill about in mobs, voicing Combat: Dretches prefer to attack in large mobs to

their displeasure as an unsettling din of hoots, snarls, overwhelm their victims. Each dretch has the ability to

and grunts. Quarrelsome and stupid, dretches can be summon another dretch, but that ability often fails.

tricked into fighting one another if no leader is present.

Only their vast numbers allow dretches to survive the

Petty and wicked, dretches are also the most common rigors of the Abyss. These creatures will not flee

tanar’ri, found in massive hordes everywhere in the combat if a greater or true tanar’ri is present.

Abyss. Along with the manes, the dretches are the Dretches are so wretched they would rather die than

rank-and-file of the Blood War. fall further into disfavor by fleeing. Their natural
attack forms consist of their two claws and their bite.
Description: Dretches are ape-like creatures with arms
ending in clawed hands. They have round and gaunt, They like to gate in companions, then have the

rubbery, almost hairless bodies, and thin, spindly arms companions immediately attempt gates in turn, and so

and legs. Their skin is pale white to beige, giving way on until a vast horde of dretches appears.

30
Gadacro

Gadacros (also known as eyethieves) are lesser demons

that torment their foes by blinding them, vicious
scavengers formed from the souls of petty sadists.

Description: gadacros are small creatures with

cherubic features and purple scaled skin. They have
vicious claws on twisted hands and black talons. Their
large heads bear horns and a necklace fashioned from
eyeballs dangles about many gadacros necks.

A typical gadacro stands 1m20 tall and weighs 16

kilograms.

Ecology: Despite having no need for sustenance,

gadacros crave the flesh of the living all the same.
Specifically, they relish their victims’ eyes, preferably
plucked from the skull of a victim that still lives.
Gadacros rarely agree on who among them should have
the right to eat the tastiest bits.
Gadacros gather in small flocks led by a single powerful
individual. Smarter, stronger, and quicker than the
rest, the leader attains its position by assassinating its
rivals. A gadacro leader commonly pits its underlings
against each other for its own amusement using
favoritism to engender loyalty in certain members. The
resentment such mistreatment breeds ensures that
gadacro leaders rarely live long.
Gadacros will betray one another whenever doing so is
beneficial, and they slay any creature they can,
prolonging the ordeal as long as it is safe to do so.
Gadacros love shiny objects, and they favor baubles
they can wear or easily carry.
Habitat: Gadacros can be found anywhere in the
Infinite Layers of the Abyss, though they are common
in the Screaming Peaks of Yeenoghu’s Realm on the
422nd layer.
Society: Gadacros are like carrion birds, following
demonic
hosts to pick off the stragglers or torment the survivors
left in the wake of war. Having nothing to do with the
Blood War, they instead torment the lost and unwary
and pick the eye sockets of the slain. A few gadacros
act as spies for more powerful demons or mortal
summoners, but these informants are unreliable at
best.
Strategies and Tactics: Gadacros are wild and reckless,
hard to kill and extremely mobile. They can transport
themselves away from danger immediately, and their
scaly skin turns away normal weapons.
A gadacro is cowardly yet savage, and its talons are
deadly. Lusting after the aqueous humors in its victims’
eyes, when a gadacro hits an opponent solidly, that foe
goes temporarily blind. Once they blind a foe, the
gadacros surround that creature, intent on tearing it
apart.
If the battle turns against them, these demons can also
make illusory duplicates of themselves and bind flying
creatures to the earth. They might also attempt to
summon tanar’ri, in order to seemingly and literally
inflate their numbers.

31

Glabrezu
A glabrezu (also known as dog-demon, clobdroo,
klebguzig, or type IV demon) is a powerful type of
tanar'ri demon. Glabrezus take great pleasure in
destroying mortals through temptation, and are among
the few demons to offer their service to creatures
foolish enough to summon them. However, if its
attempts to entice or deceive fail, a glabrezu has the
strength to fight and win.
Description: A glabrezu's broad, muscular body is as
large as a giant. It has two pairs of arms: the small set
is humanoid ending in hands, while the other set is
monstrous and ends in a pair of crab-like pincers. Its
canine head is horned and it has a muzzle full of sharp
teeth. Its skin is in the range of deep russet to pitch
black. Its intelligent eyes are violet. Their skin color
ranges from a deep russet to pitch black.
A glabrezu stands from 2m70 to 4m50 tall and weighs
around 2500 kilograms.
Ecology: It is said that Glabrezu formed from mortal
envy. Glabrezu leech power from other planes and
exert their influence there with surgical precision.
Although they take little part in the slaughter of the
Blood War, their subtle manipulations and
subjugations are a deeper evil. They do not get on well
with mariliths, although the demon Marilith often
travel with two glabrezu guards.
32
Personality: Although devastating in combat,
glabrezus prefer to work behind the scenes, both on the
Prime Material Plane and in the Abyss, tempting
victims into ruin, using power or wealth and respect
undreamed of by even the most ambitious, as a lure. A
glabrezu hoards riches that it uses to fulfill promises to
shortsighted summoners and weak-willed mortals.
Their imposing stature radiates authority and control,
which they use to sway mortals into accepting their
gifts…for a price. They use lies and deception to destroy
the lives of all whom they meet. They rarely lead, but
rather act as advisors, chief lieutenants, and spies for
more powerful demons.
Every glabrezu has an impressive list of grudges, secret
agendas, and long-term schemes, some of which take
centuries or millennia to come to fruition.
Unable to change their frightening appearance, they
usually visit mortals in secret. They are most
commonly summoned directly by a mortal, such as
ambitious human wizards or drow priestesses who
hopes to make a bargain. Sometimes they find potential
victims on their own, presenting their 'gift' whether or
not the recipient wants it. Glabrezu do not have
individual names.
Society: Glabrezu are the covert agents of the
underworld. They lure weak and impulsive mortals
into giving them power. Glabrezu are also the tanar’ri
that typically respond to summonings from other
planes. When a mortal mage summons a glabrezu, the
mage is confident that strong magic will master the
situation. But mages are short-sighted compared to the
immortal glabrezu. The glabrezu knows that with each
summoning, its power there, like a seed of evil,
germinates and begins to grow.
Glabrezu possess rich treasure that they hoard in vast
subterranean lairs in the Abyss. With these masses of
gold, magic, and wealth they tempt mortals into
summoning them.
Combat: A glabrezu prefers guile, trickery, and evil
bargains to combat, but it does not hesitate to wade in.
It uses its magical abilities to confuse its foes before
attacking them with other spells or its two claws,
pincers and bite. With a successful claw attack it can
attempt to grab and pick up an opponent. A glabrezu
rarely drops a grabbed opponent unless it faces
imminent death.
Notable glabrezu:
 Belshazu
 Bizmatec
 Mizferac
 Quinix
Hezrou

A hezrou (also known as a type II

demon, grog-demon, kerzow, fesroo,
swamp demon, toad-demon or
croaking demon) is a type of
tanar'ri demon.

Description: a Hezrou bears a

superficial resemblance to a large,
roughly humanoid toad with arms
in place of forelegs. It has a wide
maw with rows of blunt teeth that
has a powerful crushing force. A
series of long spikes run the length of
its back. Hezrous can walk on either
two feet or on all hands and feet, but
always fight standing upright. Their
amphibious, frog-like skin exudes a
toxic, foul fluid with a powerful
stench, producing a cloud of
nauseating smell that chokes anyone
that stands near. Anyone overcome
lies helpless on the ground, gagging
and vomiting.

A hezrou stands 2m40 tall and

weighs 340 kilograms and
communicate using telepathy.

Ecology: A hezrou's main motivating factor is food.
Hezrou are not as intelligent or intuitive as the other
true tanar’ri. This is ideal for their duties, however, for
theirs is to obey and enforce. Hezrou are foul-tempered
and mean. They attack even those that follow their
instructions, just for sheer entertainment.
It is possible for a marilith to be demoted to a hezrou as
a punishment, bring a change in sex from female to
male. The hezrou Zaxis was actually a fallen marilith
named Bethsiva, whose child was the balor Baalbisan
with a rank even higher than hers.
plane as they wish. During these Dark Walks, as they
are known, the hezrou go forth and make pacts with
mortals. They willingly enter into service to a mortal,
typically one in dire need, but exact a heavy toll. In
exchange for a major service, such as destroying an
enemy’s castle or retrieving a lost artifact, the hezrou
secure eternal subservience by the mortal, a family
member, friend, or lover. The victims come to the
Abyss and serve as manes.
Hezrous do not have individual names, and are
between vrock and glabrezu in power.

Society: As true tanar’ri, the hezrou are integral to the
Blood War. Most hezrous serve as foot soldiers in the
demonic hordes of the Abyss: although physically
powerful, they are weak minded and can easily be
duped into sacrificing themselves by more powerful
demons.
Some Hezrous are the long arm of the imperious
nalfeshnee, walking among the layers of the Abyss
enforcing directions of the higher true tanar’ri and
overseeing the formation of armies, so they are spared
certain death in frontline duty. Due to the chaotic
nature of the Abyss, the hezrou’s services are vital.
At certain times in a century, the hezrou can shift
Combat: The hezrou, among the least powerful of the
true tanar’ri, are still creatures of formidable power.
They love to fight, more so than other demons, even
vrocks.
They combat using spells As they gladly force their
way into and behind enemy ranks, their foul stench
can sicken even the toughest foes in the heart of an
enemy's forces. If both claw attacks successfully hit a
target, the victim is in a powerful hear hug and cannot
attack.
Hezrou have very keen visual, auditory and olfactory
senses and are impossible to surprise.

33
 Jarilith

Jariliths, the elite hunting beasts of the Abyss, are

terrifying feline creatures conjured from the
nightmares of a thousand generations of mortals.

Description: A jarilith ressembles a slightly larger than

average male lion, complete with a glorious mane.
Long teeth extend from its jaws, and its claws are
longer still. The creature’s blood-red coat reveals its
origin, but it strikes so fast that the only clue most
victims get to its presence is a slight reek of brimstone.

Ecology: They prefer demonic flesh and are comfortable

hunting their favorite prey in desert, jungle, waste or
forest. Jariliths do not speak, but they understand
Abyssal. They communicate silently with one another
through telepathy.

Society: Jariliths are notoriously difficult to control, so

even the most powerful balor treads carefully around
them. They sense weakness, and to them nearly any
other creature seems weak.

Combat: A jarilith is a direct, uncompromising foe in

battle. Normally, it relies on its powerful attacks to
deal horrendous amounts of damages to its foes.
Though they often do not need the advantage, jariliths
prefer to ambush their opponents.

34
Jovoc

These vicious little black hearted fiends are spawned

from the gloom and despair of the Elemental Chaos,
born to create strife, willingly serving in the vanguard
of demon armies as they throw themselves against
more powerful foes. Their ability to inflict damage they
take on others makes them invaluable in the front lines
of tanar’ri armies. A unit of jovocs can absorb repeated
blows and spells from the enemy and still survive to
exact a punishing revenge.

Used as scouts and lookouts for demons on the march, a

jovoc’s presence in the world is often a harbinger of a
larger invasion.

Description: A jovoc is a 1m20 tall, bloated, hairless

creature of humanoid shape. It ressembles the bruised
and battered corpse of a gnome left too long to decay in
the heart of summer, and the stench that emanates
from its rough skin lends credence to this impression.
Its skin is dark blue or charred black, and its eyes are
vacant, black pools of inky darkness bulging from its Combat: jovocs are not especially intelligent, but they
rotting skull. Its mouth stretches into an impossibly are quick and experienced mobile ambushers who know
wide grin as it sizes up its prey. Each of the creature’s how to use their small size to best effect. Although they
long arms ends in a three-fingered hand with long red are relatively weak in single combat, experience have
fingernails, forever stained the color of blood. taught them how to take advantage of their aura of
damage retribution and fast healing abilities. They
Tactics: Intelligent demon commanders recognize the
often adopt a hit-and-run strategy, jumping into a
value of jovocs in their forces, particularly when
group of enemies to do as much damage as possible,
combined with ranged and area attacks. Jovocs rarely
then dashing off for a few rounds to heal.
fight in close quarters with other creatures since they
are as likely to harm allies as enemies. Mariliths and Alternatively, jovocs fighting in pairs or trios can
other commanders typically lead bands of jovocs in utilize their favorite tactic. Lurking just beyond the
battle, maintaining them in safe formations by threat reach of their enemies (preferably concealed by
and torture. Vrocks and other flying demons make darkness, a wall, or some other barrier), they begin to
great use of the havoc caused by a jovoc war band, attack one another, dealing damage not only on the
staying aloft to avoid the creatures’ destructive aura, jovocs but also on anyone caught within their aura.
then swooping down to attack opponents that try to
flee the jovocs’ assault.

35

Kastighur
Wicked and sadistic, kastighurs act as prison wardens
and hunters among demonkind.
Description: In form, the demon is roughly humanoid,
with a body rippling with muscles under a tough blue
hide, powerful legs standing on cloven hooves, and
thick arms ending in strong claws. Its visage is hideous,
its head large and weight, bearing long horns. These
horns grow slowly but continually, and they adorn
them with carvings of symbols or words.
For further protection, a kastighur "wears" armor, of a
fashion—enormous steel pieces bolted directly to its
body. A helm is bolted to its neck, a breastplate to its
torso, and other pieces to its shins, forearms, and
shoulders.
A kastighur is huge, standing somewhere between
4m50 and 6m and it can weigh up to 4,5 metric tons,
and ancient, veteran kastighurs can grow to even
greater sizes.
Ecology: Kastighurs are invariably depraved, cruel,
and driven by whim and impulse. Their chief
enjoyment is to break the wills of others through
torture, whether physical or by the exhaustion of an
unrelenting hunt. They also have an immense love for
melee combat and took to battle with great joy.
Kastighurs feed off the fear, panic, and hopelessness of
the creatures they hunt or imprison. They take great
joy in the hunting and torturing of others, prolonging
their deaths as long as possible so they can savor the
delicious emotions a little longer. However,
kastighur's appetites and impulsiveness make him
unreliable. Sometimes, a kastighur would let prisoners
escape so it could then hunt them down. In battle,
kastighur units regularly break ranks to pursue
enemies who appear frightened or fleeing. A veteran,
elder kastighur can grow to humungous size. They seek
ways to enslave and torture more advanced creatures,
such as dragons, more powerful outsiders, and mighty
mortals.
Kastighurs are also skilled trackers and hunters, on the
planes and above and below ground. They have keen
senses, and can even track prey by scent.
What riches they found usually go to their masters.
Their most valuable possessions are breastplates, bolt
directly to their bodies. However, they look for magical
items that grant other ways to move, such as to
burrow in the ground, climb with ease, or fly. Most
prized are means of crossing to other planes.
Society: Kastighurs dwell in the Barrens of Doom and
Despair, but can also be found on the Infinite Layers of
the Abyss. They despise others of their kind, seeing
them as competition in the hunt and for the services of
more powerful creatures to serve. Kastighurs are not
very intelligent and lack a reliable means of traveling
to other planes: in order to reach new hunting grounds
and places to spread pain and torment, they depend on
other demons, magical items, and potent evil mages
summoning them to the Material Plane via a gate or
greater planar ally spell.
Thus, they mostly serve more powerful and intelligent
demons, working as jailers and hunters, tasks they
found quite fulfilling. When one of the tanar'ri needs to
track down a creature, but lacks the ability to create a
retriever, they summon one or two kastighurs instead.
In the Barrens, kastighurs compete to serve the
goddesses Loviatar, the Maiden of Pain, and Talona,
Lady of Poison.
When two or more kastighurs have the same master,
they put aside their mutual hatred but their rivalry
becomes a competition, and they search always to
outdo each other.
Combat: A kastighur charges, knocks over, and
overruns its enemies. It delivers wild, brutal attacks,
has a terrifying aura and grows more aggressive
against fearful opponents. In close melee, it will go all-
out, using its strong arms to slam foes, and its long
horns to gore its victims, slamming and dealing out
catastrophic injuries at full force.
It will sometimes use teleportation to appear closer to
a target. Kastighurs are so battle-hungry, they would
even try to use this ability to appear above a flying
target, to then attempt to grapple it and take it down
to the ground as they fell.
Kastighurs use their teleporting ability with a bit of
trepidation: they don’t seem to enjoy the same greater
a teleportation that many other fiends possessed.
36
Kelvezu

Mariliths act as generals in tanar’ri armies, and balors are the

mighty aristocrats of the Abyssal hierarchy. Both find the
services of kelvezus – the infiltrators and assassins of the demonic
realm – quite useful. Kelvezus rarely lead troop; instead, they
surgically remove specific opponents (such as devils, competing
demons, or obstinate mortals) in accordance with the orders of
more powerful demons.

The kelvezu is remarkable among the higher ranks of demonkind:

because of its size – it stands barely 1m50 tall - and its humanoid
shape, it can be mistaken for a human if it uses a touch of disguise
to hide its rosy skin.

Combat: kelvezu strike from stealth, relying not only in their

invisibility but also on their gift for hiding and sneaking. Like
their mortal counterparts, these assassins try to dispatch their
targets quickly. If they cannot, they repeat and strike again when
conditions are favorable. Every kelvezu carries a magic scimitar
that ressembles a serpent’s tail and dagger that ressembles a
serpent’s tooth. Both are coated with poison.

37
Klurichir

A klurichir is a variant of guardian tanar'ri, one of

the most powerful and respected demons of the Abyss.
It is said that even a mighty balor will give a klurichir
a wide berth. They often serve and act as a right hand
to a demon lord, usually as generals just as balor are.
They are incredibly strong, and are very aware of this.
The act of summoning one of these creatures requires
either great strength or boundless foolishness.

Description: A klurichir stands around 9 meters tall.

Its broadly muscled body is covered in skin of the
blackened color normally associated with a corpse that
dies due to extreme cold. Monstrous, red batlike wings
flare from its back, and its four arms constantly twitch
and flex as if seeking fresh prey to crush and destroy.
Its face resembles a cross between a mule and a
snarling orc, and spines cover its face, neck, and upper
shoulders.
The creature’s most hideous feature is located in the
middle of its abdomen: a large, gaping mouth filled
with a slobbering tongue and rows of blunt, powerful,
grinding teeth. Just above this obscene maw sits a pair
of massive, sharp pincers the size of large scythe blades.
At rest, the pincers slowly open and close, while the
mouth rests partially open, a slow trickle of drool
leaking from its slack lips. In battle, the pincers twitch
and snap in time with the klurichir's movements, while
the drooling mouth in the creature’s abdomen slavers,
smacks, and occasionally howls.
Combat: Klurichir are proficient in nearly every form
of combat. While utilized in conjunction with balor for
their profound tactical thinking, they are also dually
prow warriors and adept mages. They are capable of
wielding weapons, though their claws and fangs work
well enough as inherent tools. These bestial menaces
can lay waste to armies single-handedly. Only the most
powerful of individuals should ever even consider
fighting a klurichir, though it is never wise.

38
39
Manes
Simpering and pitiful, manes are the lowest of the low,
the chaff and rabble of the Abyss, feeble and nearly
mindless tanar’ri with no will of their own, devoted to
savagery and fury, contributing nothing but their own
pitiful hate to the surrounding environs. Plentiful and
weak, they have the dubious honor of serving as the
primary food source in the Abyss.
Description: This humanoid is bloated with rot and
rancid gas. Maggots and other carrion creatures, that
literally feed on the mane, squirm in the sores on its
pasty gray flesh. Its filmy pale white eyes show the
barest sign of sentience and constantly drip disgusting
liquids. Manes have sparse hair, and long cruel claws
and jagged sharp teeth.
A mane stands less than 1 meter tall. Despite its
bloated appearance, it weighs only 7 kilograms.
Though they respond to their masters’ commands in
Abyssal, manes shrieking babble only barely
approximates speech.
Ecology: Born of chaotic filth and abyssal detritus, the
40
weak and pitiful manes are the lowest form of demonic
life, the transformed physical shell of a chaotic evil
mortal’s soul after it reaches the Abyss. Those who
were particularly cruel and evil in life are confined to
the Pits of Despair on the 400th layer of the Abyss. The
Pits are thought to be hidden beneath the Mountain of
Woe, but of this place, wizards and sages know only the
name.
Manes do not advance in the standard manner.
Rather, they are occasionally transformed into more
powerful demons at the whim of the Abyss. Once in a
great while, a particularly cruel or unusually
intelligent mane catches the eye of a powerful demon
that engineers the mane’s “promotion” to a more
powerful tanar’ri. There is no order to these
transformations; a mane could be turned into a lowly
rutterkin, or it could reform as a more powerful
demon, such as a vrock. A mane only rarely retains
shattered fragments of its memories as a mortal, yet
those creatures are the most likely to ascend to higher
forms of demonic life. In the most despicable and cruel
of these cases, a mane can eventually rise to become a
powerful tanar’ri, such as a molydeus or balor.
Orcus, the Prince of Undeath, has the power to
transform manes into undead monsters, most often
ghouls and shadows.

Other demon lords feed on manes, destroying them

utterly.

Habitat/Society: Manes are the most pathetic beings on

the Abyss, viewed as sub-tanar’ric and scorned by
everything there. This does not bother the witless
manes.

Manes are usually encountered in packs of six to

fifteen individuals, but when not given a higher
purpose by more powerful demons, they can travel in
gibbering, snarling hordes that sometimes number in
the thousands. Their hatred drives them to attack
anything that isn’t a demon. In such great numbers,
non-tanar’ri fear them, and they are called to the
Material Plane by those seeking to sow death and
chaos.

Like the dretches, manes are viewed as a widely used,

highly expendable fighting force. Many demon armies
contain vast mobs of thousands of manes used to wash
over an opposing force. These wretched armies are
difficult to maintain, for the manes are literally too
stupid to understand commands. They can temporarily
form a regiment, but eventually wander about
aimlessly, paying no heed to orders. If brought to a
battle, however, they make excellent soldiers; once they
see the enemy, they attack tirelessly. Sometimes they
attack even when such a tactic does not favor their
army, but such is war in the Abyss.

Otherwise, they are sold as slaves or food in Abyssal

cities (being often used as currency between evil
spellcasters and evil outsiders), hunted for sport, or
simply left to wander aimlessly, seeking an end to their
horrid non-lives.
Unaware of their position in the Blood War, manes
have no way to improve the cruel treatment they
receive. They do not understand the concept
treasure and do not carry such with them.
Combat: Though they are consistently slow, senseless
and stupid, largely ineffective and feeble combatants,
manes are remarkably effective in mass combat and
make good use of swarm tactics. They obey their
masters without question, blindly plunging into battle,
sacrificing themselves heedless of any danger. These
creatures disregard their own existence and fight until
slain.
When formed into legions, manes carry maces. One
of major problem with arming the manes, however, is
that they quickly forget how to use the maces, drop
them, and fight with claws and teeth.
Killing a manes simply dissipates it into a noxious,
stinking cloud of acidic vapor that reforms in 24 hours.

41
 commonly adorned with precious
jewelry and bear highly decorated
weapons.

Ecology: Marilith secretly feel that

they are the true force behind the
Blood War, that the balors have their
place only because of their great
power, and are otherwise
unnecessary. They may be right, but
the power of the balors remains
unchallenged.

They communicate using telepathy.

Habitat/Society: Bold and cunning,

mariliths are strategists and
tacticians, the generals for the Blood
War. Where balors are the influence
and energy behind the war effort,
mariliths devise battle tactics and
coordinate the true tanar’ri (except
for the balors, of course). These
demons possess keen minds and a
finely honed sense of tactics, and are
able to unite and lead other demons
in common cause. Due to the chaotic
nature of the other tanar’ri,
coordinating their activities is nearly
impossible. Mariliths are often
encountered as captains at the head
of a demonic horde, where they
embrace any opportunity to rush
headlong into battle.

Mariliths hate the glabrezu. They feel

that the subtle warfare of the
glabrezu is a children’s game and
inferior to proper warfare. Mariliths
Marilith try to discredit the glabrezu in any way they can.
They would completely destroy the subtle beasts, but
Wielding a wicked blade in each of its six hands, a the all-powerful balors favor the glabrezus’ tactics.
marilith is a devastating foe that few can match in
Combat: Mariliths love physical combat when
battle.
opportunity presents. They size up any combat before
Description: terrible to behold, Mariliths (also called getting involved and take full advantage of terrain,
snake-demons or hissing demons) appear as half snake, obstacles, and the opponent’s disadvantages. They can
half humanoid. From the waist down, these creatures attack with each of their six arms and constrict a
have the bodies of giant snakes, with huge, green, scaly victim with their deadly snaky tails. They cannot be
coils. Above the waist they are beautiful, comely fooled by illusions.
females. Besides the obvious snake body, the feature
that identifies a marilith is its six arms. They are

42
Maurezhi

The maurezhi (or carrion

demons) are a plague in the
worlds beyond the Abyss, a
scourge of evil that taints any
plane it seeps onto. Maurezhi
prey on mortals, spreading
chaos and evil through their
fearsome appetites. Like the
nabassu, maurezhi gain
strength with each mortal they
devour – but instead of
absorbing mortal life forces, the
maurezhi feed upon corpses,
stealing portions of their
victims’ memories and
appearance.

Description: a maurezhi bears a

strong resemblance to a
common ghoul or ghast, but its
faintly glowing white eyes and
slow, ragged breath easily
distinguish it from them. Its
posture is hunched and feral, its
skin gray and leathery, and its
hands filthy talons. The
maurezhi’s face slopes into a
short, fang-filled muzzle, and its
ears are catlike. Maurezhi leap
and caper in sudden,
unpredictable movements when
excited or angered. The only spilled ichor of Kabiri the demon prince of ghouls, who
sounds its rattling bone-boxes can make are gibbering then drove the wretched creatures from his domain to
howls, grunts, and shrieks. wreak havoc throughout the Abyss.

Ecology: maurezhis are demons formed from the souls Habitat/Society: Most maurezhi recruited by the
of murderers who cannibalized their victims. They babaus or hezrous are doomed to serve as marauders
grow stronger, more intelligent and more dangerous and skirmishers in the Blood War, but a few find ways
with each of their voracious feedings. They seek out to escape onto the Outlands or the Prime and begin a
opportunities to slay and devour the most powerful career of bloody murders and vile feasts. Between
and intelligent mortals they can find, wherever they suitable victims, maurezhi are fond of haunting
can find them. They delight in consuming waylaying
graveyards and barrows, sating their taste for the flesh
lone travelers, assuming their appearance, and
of mortals.
tormenting the victim’s loved ones and using their
acquaintances to seek out other victims. In the Abyss, a typical maurezhi’s never had the
chance to consume a human, but a small percentage of
Although maurezhi devour all kinds of carrion and maurezhi encountered there will be full-grown
corpses on a daily basis, in order to gain power they creatures that have returned to the Abyss at the peak
must personally kill the victim and devour her. The
of their power. These tanar’ri function as assassins and
grisly process requires no less than half an hour. The
spies, roaming the Lower Planes to keep an eye on the
maurezhi is then able to call upon the memories of the
baatezu war efforts.
victim it has consumed and assume its appearance. It
is said that a faint odor of death lingers near a Combat: Maurezhi enjoy stalking and terrifying their
maurezhi masquerading as one of its victims. The victims. They prefer a sudden surprise attack to a
maurezhi can use any physical talent its victim head-on challenge, but they’re not afraid of a fight.
possessed and can speak while in assumed form (and They strike with each of their filthy claws and rend
know all the languages the victim did). with their slavering jaws. Maurezhi can make
lightning-swift leaps to close with their prey.
The resemblance with ghouls or ghasts is not a
coincidence, for the first maurezhis formed from the

43

Mavawhan
Known to some as ice demons, these gaunt tanar’ri
have dwelt on the Iron Waste for ages, certainly longer
than Kostchtchie has been the ruler of the realm. Once,
vast flocks of mavawhan ruled the skies above and the
ice caverns below the Iron Wastes, but Kostchtchie and
his minions hunted many of these flocks to extinction.
Only the canniest and toughest survived. The Prince of
Wrath despises demonkind, and he seeks to slaughter or
enslave the mavawhans at every opportunity.
Description: This strange humanoid creature seems to
have a body carved of bloody ice. Its bat-like wings are
partially transparent and loom behind it, the edges
caked with razor-sharp icicles. Its body is muscular yet
lean, with pale blue and white skin covered with jagged
black runes. Its face is elongated, with a large fanged
mouth, four snakelike eyes in a single row, no nose and
long down curving horns of transparent ice. It has a
black mane of hair that tumbles back from its head and
down in numerous braids fixed with silver bangles and
tiny bones. The creature’s arms are long, folding up like
the arms of a praying mantis, and its long tail ends in
a jagged mess of six icicles like blades.
Society: Though great numbers of mavawhans still
44
dwell in the Iron Wastes, their numbers have steadily
dwindled, and the vicious Mavawhans have spread
across the Abyss and into the Material World.
Mavawhans dwell exclusively on the fringes of the
Iron Wastes, avoiding Kostchtchie and his hunters. It’s
likely that larger concentrations of them live in the
most remote regions of this layer, for rumor hold of an
immense hollow mountain where the mavawhan
overlords roost and plot the reclamation of their
ancestral lands.
Those demons that remain free are more than willing
to serve as guides for explorers in the Iron Wastes, and
can prove invaluable in avoiding the hazards of that
layer. Hence, many of Kostchtchie’s enemies have
taken to seeking out and hiring mavawhans as spies,
scout, and advisors, since their vast knowledge of the
Iron Wastes and their comfort in dwelling there make
them ideal for the job. For their part, the marawhans
welcome any aid from beyond the borders of the Iron
Wastes, as distasteful as it might be to admit they need
help in westling back control of the frozen realm.
Combat: Mavawhans are known for their single-
minded fury, and for the magic that turns their
victims into statues of living ice. A mavawhan exsudes
a bitter aura of cold. Its sting injects a deadly cold that
freezes the victim from inside out. It can be countered
by magical fire.
The creature can move across icy surfaces with
complete ease.
A mavawhan prefers to ambush its prey, lying in wait
and then hedging victims in with ice and fog. Against
creatures that avoid these ambushes, a mavawhan
generally engages in melee, relishing the chance to
freeze its foes to death. Mavawhan bravery falters
against foes immune to cold and they generally break
off combat with these targets if possible. Mavawhans
stay in constant motion, striking new targets each turn
in the hope of transforming as many foes as possible
into living ice.
Mavawhans are vicious marauders that have an
affinity for other creatures of cold, including jarrlaks,
elementals, and frost giants not in the service of
Kostchtchie.
45

Molydeus
A molydeus is a powerful tanar’ri, described as
“guardian”, which serves as an enforcer for a powerful
demon lord.
Description: A Molydeus is a powerful humanoid with
a light shade of red-orange skin. It has paw like, three-
toed feet and clawed hands, and is extremely muscular.
Its skull ressembles the head of a leering demonic
hyena, with silver eyes and great slavering fangs.
From the back of its head sprouts a long prehensile
serpent with a curiously spined head that observes
everything that happens behind it, coiling and hissing
menacingly. The writhing snake symbolizes Molydei’s
mistrust of their master and uncertainties about their
given task.
Molydei wield a massive twin-bladed great axe carved
with jagged runes and a glittering red ruby set into the
base of its shaft.
46
A molydeus stands 3m50 tall and weighs 680 kilograms
and can read the thoughts of others
Ecology: There is a legend about the origins of Molydei
saying that when Tharizdun discovered the Shard of
Evil and buried it in the elemental chaos, he charged
seven angels with the protection of his treasure. The
celestial beings were naturally obedient to the wishes of
the god, but were unsure if they were doing what they
should. This left them frustrated and angry. Proximity
to the shard caused their forms to violently wrench
apart, turning them into the powerful two-headed
demons known as the Molydeus.
Some powerful spellcasters have the hubris to try using
gate spells to call a specific molydeus to do their
bidding. These spellcasters are well advised to have
powerful assistance at hand, for a molydeus does not
suffer taking orders from anything other than the
demon lords themselves.
Molydei collect vast amounts of treasure over their
immortal lives. Although much of this treasure is spent
on bribes and other forms of upkeep for their Abyssal
holdings, they usually keep enough on their person to
satisfy their greed and to augment their already
impressive abilities.
Habitat/Society: Molydei are found throughout the
Abyss, although they are by no means numerous,
almost always encountered alone or with a troupe of
weaker demons; it is a rare event in which a molydeus
is forced to confront another of its kind.
Their most common behavior is to roam the Abyss
looking for demons to enlist into the Blood War. They
also search for true tanar’ri that stray from the cause
of the Blood War. By enforcing the loyalty of the true
tanar’ri, the molydei play an important role in the
Blood War. They report directly to the balors, but even
balors are not above reproach, and the molydei would
turn against one that strays, since they have no loyalty
towards any tanar’ri and will try to destroy any of
them at the slightest sign of infidelity.
A molydeus may also be hired by another demon of
higher rank, such as a balor or a demon lord, to destroy
a specific target. Molydeus rarely last long on the job
however, and typically leave their posts violently.
Another common position for them is to be one of the
many generals of a Demon lord, and due to the fear
and power they command they often rule many, many
demons as if they were demon lords themselves. They
do not enforce their doctrine on non-true tanar’ri, for
they assume that these are all disloyal by nature, and
that only constant threats and punishments keep them
in line, but when they find intruders they punish them
however they want.
Other demons fear it for the fact that its venom can
poison even other demons. The threat of
transformation into a mane is one of the few shared
fears among demonkind, and no creature causes it
more than the molydeus.

When not hunting rogue demons or other interlopers, a

molydeus can be found at its Abyssal fortress, basking
in the glory of its past victories: on some layers of the
Abyss they rule vast nations of demons as if they were
themselves lords.

Combat: A molydeus is one of the most dangerous and

ruthless tanar’ri, feared by many even more than the
dreaded balor. The fiend is fearless in combat, trusting
its fast healing, spell resistance, and resistance to
damage to protect it from anything its enemies might
use against it.

Once in melee range, a molydeus activates the dancing

quality of its axe, and its heads take turns biting. The
snake head injects a venom virulent enough to harm
creatures normally immune to poison. Those slain by
this vile poison are transformed into manes.

A Molydeus is bound to its battle-axe. If a Molydeus is

slain, its axe dissolves in to a puddle of ichor. The only
way to get this powerful weapon is to take it from a
living molydeus. If separated from its weapon, a
molydeus will not rest until it recovers it, stalking the
thief day and night without end until the axe is
recovered and the thief horribly killed.

Molydei are immune to damage by most normal or

magical weapons and heal at a phenomenal

Notable molydeus: Grekzith

47
48
Myrmyxicus

The Myrmyxicus is a massive, eel-like monstrosity that

rules the aquatic areas of the Abyss and is among the
most powerful of Demons. It is slightly stronger than a
balor, but weaker than a klurichir.

Description: A Myrmyxicus’ greasy green body is eel-

like, measuring nearly 7m50 in length. A tall row of
spines runs down its back, and the tip of its tail ends in
a slavering lamprey mouth. The myrmyxicus has a
powerfully muscled humanoid torso with four arms
arranged symmetrically around the chest which
hold scythes. Six octopoïd tentacles are arranged in a
similar manner around the creature's waist, where its
torso turns into its long eel-like tail. The head of a
myrmyxicus resembles that of a prehistoric sea reptile,
with a fanged snout and tiny black eyes, but with the
addition of three pairs of curling horns like those of a
ram.

Society: The devastating and terrible Myrmyxicuses

are among the most powerful of the Tanar'ri, feared
and respected by almost anything they encounter.
They rule vast regions of the Abyssal oceans from
floating citadels made of millions of tons of fish
skeletons and razor-sharp shells and coral. They are
their own masters, and they never serve any other
creature for long. Many spend ages looking for ways to
transport their floating citadels into the seas of other
Abyssal layers or other planes to expand their empires.

Combat: In combat, few creatures can match the

horrible fury of an enraged myrmyxicus. It spreads its
attacks out among any creatures it can affect, focusing
its attacks on a single target only in the rare case when
it meets a creature that poses a challenge.

A Myrmyxicus can exhale a black vapor that

Finally, the thick, tarlike blood of a myrmyxicus
nauseates any creature, or constrict and grab and
sprays upon any creature that hits the Demon, making
grapple with them. More notably, the Myrmyxicus has
it become nauseated
the ability to infuse any masterwork scythe it touches
with magical energies, transforming it into an unholy
scythe.

49
Nabassu
Nabassu (also called zubassu, zubazu or death stealers)
are demonic assassins with strong ties to the undead
creatures spawned in the Abyss. These portal demons
cross over into the mortal world with greater
frequency than others of their kind. They are feral
hunters stalking the doorways between the Abyss, the
world, and beyond.
Description: This sinister creature’s body is tall and
sinewy with leathery wings, tightly corded muscles. Its
head is long, with small horns and ears like a bat’s. Its
teeth, almost tusks, are set in a mouth that seems too
large for its head. Its steely gray eyes glow with a
hateful yellow light. Its long fingers end in equally long
talons, and scales cover its wings and skin. Tufts of
black fur stud the tops of its shoulders. The demon’s
back and arms are dull black, while the chest and belly
are a sickly dirty gray.
A nabassu stands 2m10 tall and weighs 65 kilograms.
History: When Orcus was first corrupted by the Abyss,
so too were a number of his elemental servants. A
flight of gargoyles were twisted into horrific forms and
infused with a fraction of their lord's necrotic power.
In this way, the nabassus were some of the first demons
to be born. These demons thirsted for the destruction of
living things and became obsessed with finding a
means to escape the eternal vortex. They yearned to
enter the mortal realm, whose races would feed them
as they wrought the destruction that would glorify
50
their master. On the Plain of a Thousand Portals,
nabassus were further corrupted, becoming imbued
with portal energy and attuned to the connection
between the Abyss and the mortal realm.
Ecology: nabassus have two stages in their life cycle:
juvenile and mature. Juvenile nabassu dwell on the
Material Plane until they are powerful enough to
return to the Abyss.
Nabassu are the only fiends that live a part of their
lives on a foreign plane. They bear a particular hatred
for those that dwell there, as if they blame the denizens
of the Material Plane for the humility of this exile.
They are a scourge of humanity.
As soon as a nabassu is created, it immediately plane
shifts to another plane (usually the Outlands or the
Prime), and begins growing in power by the slaying of
humans and spilling of innocent blood. They seek out
rural areas on the Material Plane, preferably areas
where there are enough humanoids to feed on, but not
so many that they’re likely to face powerful defenders.
If it survives long enough to reach maturity, a juvenile
nabassu plane shifts back to the Abyss, having done its
duty spreading fear and death on the Material Plane.
A nabassu changes plane in this manner only twice in
its lifetime and does not bring any other creature with
it.
Juvenile nabassu’s greed is low on their list of vices.
Once a nabassu matures, this changes. A mature
nabassu’s greed is a powerful thing, and it often sends
its minions out to seek highly specific treasures and
trophies to display in its Abyssal fortress, where it
gathers a great treasure, at least half of it consisting of
strange and unusual trophies gathered from around
the planes.
Habitat/Society: Peering through the gates of the Plain
of a Thousand Portals and into the natural world,
nabassus strike out at explorers, sages, or hapless
bystanders who venture too near those accursed
passages into the Abyss.
significant physical portion of its body is eaten by the
nabassu while the remaining portions quickly rot away
to a foul smelling paste. A juvenile nabassu that
devours enough humanoids in this fashion instantly
transforms into a mature nabassu (some say this
number is around 30). Newly matured nabassu plane
shifts back to the Abyss with any items currently in its
possession, abandoning its ghoul minions.

Juvenile nabassus are never encountered on the Abyss.

Once they return from their tour of carnage on the
Material Plane, nabassus often establish dominions on
Abyssal layers not controlled by demon lords, ruling
areas as debased kings or queens. They will reside in
one of the fortress of the Abyss for the rest of their
immortal existence, demonic recluse within their
Abyssal fortress, using their numerous minions to
handle any problems that arise.

Some mature nabassus that escape this mental trap

A juvenile nabassu uses darkness to get in close to its
choose not to establish a domain, and may directly
prey, changing the coloration of its flesh between
usually serve Orcus. Nabassu assassins are particularly
various shades of black, gray, and brown, and then
valued by Orcus as elite agents since their close
making sneak attacks and using its deadly gaze,
association with the undead amuses the demon prince.
clawing and biting until its foe is dead and it can feed.
Nabassu that please him are often granted loyal
undead minions of their own to use as they please.
A mature nabassu is far more dangerous. It can only
Others, instead, work as mercenaries; a few serve the
be lethally wounded by good-aligned weapons, and its
King of the Ghouls.
life-draining gaze is much more powerful than that of
a juvenile nabassu. Before combat, it always summons
Some nabassus can be found haunting any of the
tanar’ri to send into combat as front-line troops:
multitude of passageways and portals between the
babaus or hezrous and even in some cases a glabrezu.
Abyss and the world. They ally with any other demon
The nabassu enjoys barking orders and uses these
or creature that promises not to get in the way of the
summoned minions to help it flank prey and make
slaughter they seek. Nabassus remain strongly devoted
sneak attacks.
to Orcus, however. When they are found far from the
portals that give them power, they are typically in the
A mature nabassu can also establish a vampiric link
company of undead and other demons serving their
between itself and any living creature. The target finds
dark master.
that whenever he damages the nabassu, be it with spell
or weapon, he takes the same amount of damage. Even
The role these monsters play in the Blood War is
the effects of spells are duplicated and affect the caster.
unknown.
If it hasn’t killed anyone rapidly, it retreats to
Combat: All nabassus go through two distinct stages of regenerate for a while, picking off singular targets
growth, fledgling and mature, that have different with its gaze.
combat abilities. However, in both phases the nabassu
Nabassus are drawn to the vicinity of abyssal portals
can attack with magic but prefer natural attacks, two
and demon gates whose power fuels the defensive value
claws and a bite, especially against a helpless enemy.
of a portal link. A nabassu focuses on a single
These create greater terror in the victim and,
combatant, relentlessly hounding that target. The
therefore, greater pleasure for the nabassu.
demon uses its flight and teleportation to evade other
All nabassus have a death stealing gaze: any humanoid combatants until its chosen foe falls.
creature drained by it dies, and is immediately
transformed into a ghoul under the nabassu’s
Nabassu Deathwing
permanent command. The death-stealing gaze has no A deathwing’s dark appetite can consume a victim’s

effect on creatures that are not humanoids.
A juvenile nabassu can feed on the body of a helpless
living humanoid, devouring both its flesh and life force.
If the victim is slain by a special “coup de grace”, a
soul in combat, leaving its foes’ husks scattered across
the battlefield. It chooses the most powerful looking
melee combatant as the target of soul devour. Once it
knows that this foe attacks the deathwing at its own
peril, the demon then ignores it, staying in motion
across the battlefield with life stealing lunge.

51
 leaving empty husks of
useless thoughts. These husks
then transform into other
forms of tanar’ri in
ceremonies involving
unimaginable torture.

Nalfeshnee crave humanoid

flesh above all else. They
keep their larders filled with
humanoids abducted from
the Material Plane, then eat
those creatures alive during
elaborate feasts.

Thinking of themselves as
refined and cultured,
nalfeshnees employ stained
and rusted cutlery when
they dine.

Habitat/Society: Nalfeshnee
are the most intelligent
tanar’ri, considering
themselves superior even to
the balors. Nalfeshnee do not
act on this feeling because
they recognize the balors’
greater strength. However,
a nalfeshnee seldom passes
up an opportunity to
secretly embarrass a balor,
foil its plans, or even prolong
the Blood War. The
nalfeshnee rule the 400th
Nalfeshnee layer of the Abyss, where they sit on flaming thrones
on the Mountain of Woe. There they judge the mortal
life forces that pass into the Abyss.
The nalfeshnee (also called boar-demon or gashnulfu) is
one of the most grotesque demons - a corpulent
Combat: Though the nalfeshnee usually sit atop their
mockery of ape and boar standing at least twice the
thrones and judge the masses of mortal lives in the
height of a human, with feathered wings that seem too
Abyss, they are devastating in combat, using their
small for its bloated body. These brutish features
wings to soar above the front ranks and reach
conceal a remarkable intelligence and cunning.
vulnerable adversaries that can be dispatched with
little effort from the thick of battle, they telepathically
Few beings terrify mortals more than the nalfeshnee.
bellow commands to lesser demons, even as they inspire
Mortals who pass into the Abyss eventually come
a sense of dread that forces their foes to scatter and
before one of these “lords of woe”, there to suffer
run.
judgment and the pain of transformation.

They can also attack with their two claws and bite, but
Description: Nalfeshnee are 6 meters tall; most of their
prefer a special attack that releases multiple rainbow
immense strength goes simply to support their bodies.
beams that shoot in every direction. Foes are
They combine the worst features of ape and boar, and
temporarily stricken dumb and wander in a trance,
their small wings appear unable to bear their
envisioning its greatest fear.
ponderous bodies. Nalfeshnee have red, glowing eyes
that pierce the mind and seem to draw energy from A nalfeshnee can also attempt to gate in babaus or
just a glance. vrock.

Nalfeshnee can communicate with any being using a

Nalfeshnee are never surprised. They are immune to
powerful form of telepathy.
non-magical weapons, but can be hit by weapons of
Ecology: Nalfeshnee feed on hatred and despair, cold-wrought iron.
emotions they can draw out of any being they see. They
devour these feelings from the life forces they judge,

52
Palrethee

According to legend, palrethee were once ambitious

demons who yearned to rule the Abyss as balors.
Despite their great malice and sadism, these lost souls
failed in some unknown trial by fire, and now they
burn for all eternity. Many balors use palrethee as
sergeants or messengers, taking great pleasure in
reinforcing the ambitious demons’ subservient
positions. This connection between the two kinds of
tanar’ri has lent credence to the bard’s tales about the
palrethee origins.

A palrethee is a tall, emaciated creature of humanoid

shape, with blood-red or blue skin and bony white
vestigial wings. The entire length of its body is
sheathed in fire. The creature can alter the color and
appearance of its flames at will, making them appear
translucent and ghostly, the red-orange shade of a fiery
forge, or even blue-white and delicate. No matter how
the flames look, their effects remain unchanged.

Combat: palrethee have all the necessary combat

abilities to enjoy the din of battle, but these arrogant
fiends often believe themselves to be above the petty
assignments they receive. Desperate to acquire magic,
mortal souls or some other currency with which they
can gain power, they try to make bargains, use
humans as tools, or trick unwary mortals into doing
their bidding.

When forced into combat, a palrethee usually employs

its fear ability to scatter as many opponents as
possible, then wades into melee with its flaming
longsword. Any creature hit by a palrethee might
catch fire.

They are immune to fire.

53
Rutterkin excruciating process of transformation does not cease
being painful despite its completion. As a result, these
demons are constantly howling and shrieking in pain.
The rutterkin are pathetic, malformed tanar’ri, a type
of least demon among the weakest and most bullying,
A nalfeshnee might also create the rutterkin directly
born from the lowlier manes. They wander the planes
from the life forces of evil but incompetent beings who
of the Abyss, outcasts in their own deranged society.
come before them for judgment.
Rough, crude, and bestial, rutterkins understand
nothing but brute force. Ancient stories of the origin of the rutterkin say that
many millennia ago, a race of humans in a distant
Description: a rutterkin appears as a horribly
corner of the Prime Material Plane experimented with
deformed, terribly ugly human. Its features are
plane and probability travel. These cerebral beings
asymmetrical and deformed. Its mottled green and
explored the Prime Material Plane and eventually
violet skin is hairless except for one or two
expanded into the Inner and Outer Planes. When they
uncomfortable looking patches of wiry bristles. The
discovered the Abyss, they were enslaved by the
fiend has a distorted and elongated head with tiny red
tanar’ri, who had never before encountered beings
eyes that swell with hate, and backward-pointing ears.
other than themselves. Originally, tanar’ri abuse
changed the rutterkin into what they are, but now
This hunched and misshapen figure stands 1m80 tall.
other types of creatures can become rutterkin as well.
Ecology: The malformed body of a rutterkin arises
Rutterkins are the epitome of the horror that is the life
spontaneously from a dead mane, shrieking with the
of a demon. Crippling pain wracks these creatures,
pain of its grotesque birth. Rutterkins are formed from
driving them into a permanent murderous rage. Their
raw manes, typically when a demon lord needs a
only recourse is destruction, and the hope for death in
stronger breed of soldier for his armies, but not one so
combat that might end their suffering.
strong it can’t be easily kept in line. The process of
creating a rutterkin from a manes is said to be so gut
Rutterkins are unique among demons in that their
wrenching that to simply observe it is to invite
anguish sometimes leads to a greater transformation.
blindness. The process can be applied to more powerful
Rutterkins that distinguish themselves with their thirst
demons as well, although only if they are captured and
for destruction and a history of brutal kills tap into the
held helpless—many demon lords use this as a method
chaotic essence of the Abyss, undergoing a rebirth into
of punishment when outright death is too merciful. The

54
a greater demon of a random type. A demon that has
been a rutterkin never recovers from that experience,
and it will resort to any means to seize and hold power.

Rutterkin communicate using telepathy.

Habitat/Society: Rutterkin are complete outcasts, at

best cannon fodder in the Blood War, at best taking the
field alongside hordes of manes and other lesser
demons. Rutterkin more truly represent chaos than
their kin, for they are bound to no cause, have no
society, and serve no master. Even the chasme ignore
them. However, least damaged rutterkin do
unwittingly serve the tanar’ri, disciplined to becoming
foot soldiers of Abyssal armies.

Hideous even by demonic standards, these tormented

abominations live only to destroy.

Rampaging, undisciplined rutterkins universally so

hate their low position that they wander the Abyss in
solitude. They can be found anywhere in the Abyss, but
mainly on layers unclaimed by more powerful demons.
They often seek out others of their kind—not for
companionship and commiseration but to heckle,
belittle, and beat up. They are usually encountered in
gangs of three or more when not part of a standing A rutterkin can also attack with their two claws. They
army. A rutterkin gang is a cruel and bullying force. dislike this attack because their malformed bodies feel
Near the bottom of the pecking order, groups of these pain if they strike, so rutterkins groan and yelp when

demented demons seize any opportunity they can to
deal out a little pain to anything weaker than
themselves: they attack any non-tanar’ri they see, and
even least tanar’ri, savaging it with ruinous glee.
Although the rutterkin are usually far too weak to stop
intruders, these pathetic creatures try to gate in
reinforcements, thereby spreading the alarm.
they attack with their claws.
Few rutterkins wear armor, and aside from their
masterwork snap-tongs and tri-blades, don’t carry
anything of value.
A rutterkin has few spell-like abilities. The ability to
summon other tanar’ri is its greatest power.

Combat: Rutterkin are known for the strange weapons

they carry. Some of their favorites include:
 A snap-tong, ending in a sharp spike that has one
or more crescent-shaped pincers designed close
around it. The device that continues to inflict like
damage until the opponent breaks free
 A polearm with a double crescent head
 A saw-toothed flatchet
 A tri-blade: this thrown weapon consists of a three-
bladed wedge launched from a sling-like device.
Rutterkins usually carry five of these for use in
ranged combat
Rutterkin Foot Soldier
The rutterkin foot soldier lives only for battle,
throwing itself against its foes with one simple goal.
Destroy all creatures that oppose it, or end its
miserable life by dying in the attempt.
A rutterkin foot soldier lurches into battle, wailing in
pain as it lashes out with snape-tong and bone barb. Its
foes try in vain to avoid the creature’s fearful gaze,
which can leave the strongest combatants reeling. A
rutterkin’s weapon of choice is the snap-tong. This short
polearm ends in a sharp spike that has one or more
crescent shaped pincers used to grab victims.

55
 Skurchur

These wretched looking demons are master of lies and

deception.

Description: the creature’s body looks somewhat like

that of a plucked and wingless vulture, but its short
legs appear humanoid, as to its arms that end in large
bird-like talons. It has a long neck like a vulture, yet its
head more closely resembles an eel’s with overly long
jaws filled with translucent needlelike teeth. Although
it stands just over three feet in height, its thin tail is
outlandishly long, reaching nearly sixteen feet in
length and resembling a knotted voil of twisted hair
with tiny barbs and cruel hooks.

A skurchur is 1 meter tall in its natural form and

weighs about 20kg. They prefer to operate in the form
of an immaculately dressed and well-mannered
halfling or gnome.

Ecology: skurchurs delight in the role of advisor, and

take special pleasure in deluding an otherwise kind
and benevolent leader into accepting them in this role.

The whispered advice a skurchur gives to its false allies

are intended to seem helpful and wise on the surface,
yet when acted upon spread misery, pain and horror.
Just as a succubus tempts mortals with sins of the flesh,
the skurchur tempts mortals with sins of the mind.

Combat: a skurchur typically enters combat in an

assumed humanoid form. They favor daggers rapiers
and stilettos.

In its natural form, it has much more potent

weaponry. Its tail has an extraordinary reach.

One of its most insidious abilities is its power to

enhance the beauty of any creature it touches, by
drawing out and consuming the target’s willpower and
intuition.

56
Solamith
A corpulent creature of all-consuming hunger, a
solamith is a manifestation of depraved gluttony,
drawing energy from the spirits it devours. That power
charges its flesh with spiritual fire, which it uses
against its enemies by tearing away and hurling bits of
its own body.
Description: A solamith is a corpulent monstrosity that
lumbers forward on slab-like legs. Its horned head, set
with burning eyes and full of flat teeth, seems to float
on a pile of sagging skin, making a cradle with rings of
flabby flesh. Pressing out against the green-veined and
pallid skin of its great gut one can see screaming faces.
A solamith stands 3 meters tall and weighs up to a ton.
Ecology: Solamiths prowl the Abyss in search of lesser
demons and petitioners to eat. A solamith first tears its
victims to pieces, then becomes a dainty e ater, chewing
slowly and appreciating the spiritual effervescence of
each morsel. Once a meal is finished, a new face
appears just under the skin on a solamith’s gut, silently
pleading for release.
Solamiths are stupid but tough. They don’t have strong
egos. They are content to prowl the Abyss, devouring
other creatures instinctively and paying no heed to the
suffering they cause.
Solamiths do not collect treasure and have no need for
the baubles coveted by others.
Habitat/Society: Solamiths are fierce tormenters that
press weaker creatures into service. They sometimes
work with demons of equal or greater strength, if only
57
to ensure their own safety. Creatures that can summon
and control demons use solamiths as gatekeepers and
artillery.
Solamiths roam singly or in pairs, but they are
commonly found among the troops of mightier fiends.
When in the presence of a more powerful demon or evil
entity, a solamith fawns and snivels, hoping to be
taken in as a pet or prized soldier. Solamiths can be
found throughout the Infinite Layers of the Abyss,
wandering as fierce hunters across the blasted
landscape. Large numbers of solamiths, enslaved by
more powerful demons, serve as mobile artillery in
armies or as sentries under the watchful guidance of
hezrou commanders. Particularly successful units
tattoo their kills on their guts.
Strategies and Tactics: Despite its imposing bulk, a
solamith is a soft target that must rely on protection
from its allies. It avoids melee and uses its abilities to
keep adversaries away, moving around the battlefield
with surprising speed. A solamith can pound its foes
with slams, but it normally peels away parts of its
body, then hurls the chunks of flesh, which explode in
bursts of necrotic energy and fire that can harm even
those who are normally immune to fire. Although dim-
witted, they have keen spatial awareness and an
intuitive sense of how to best use their ability. If it can,
it maneuvers to continue using it as long as possible.
When a battle ends, the solamith gorges on the fallen to
replenish its cannibalized flesh. Its favorite food is the
flesh of mortal humanoids.
A solamith’s injuries knit closed at a remarkable rate.
Magic weapons or good-aligned weapons work best
against a solamith.
 glowing eyes.

Ecology: The temptresses of the

Lower Planes are subtle and slow.
They seduce mortals with their
charms, ultimately killing them and
taking their life forces to the Abyss.
It is said that succubi formed from
mortal lust.

Succubi can speak the language of

their victims. They also
communicate using telepathy.

Habitat/Society: The destruction of

mortals increases the power of the
Abyss. With this power the succubi
aid the eternal war effort of the
tanar’ri, who therefore tolerate
them.

Succubi act independently of

tanar’ri society. They work of their
own volition and ultimately answer
to no one. The greater and true
tanar’ri seem content with this
situation.

Incubus: lncubi are the male

counterparts to succubi, but they
are far less common. These
creatures travel to the Prime
Material Plane to tempt female
mortals and always appear as the
most perfect male specimen of
whatever race they are tempting.
However, succubi and incubi do not
mate to perpetuate their kind.

It is uncertain why there are more

succubi than incubi. Sages suggest
that mortal men are far more
susceptible to the temptations of
beauty than are women.
Succubus
Combat: Succubi are not warriors: when pressed, they
defend themselves, but flee when possible. When
Beautiful and seductive, the succubi are the
trapped, they can attack with two fists.
temptresses of mortals. Whereas the glabrezu tempt
men of power, the succubi choose men of passion and The kiss of a succubus drains energy from its victim,
energy. causing the loss of vital energy. The succubus lures a
mortal man into activities of passion and then drains
Description: Succubi appear most often polymorphed
energy from him. Even after a drain, the heat of the
into stunningly beautiful women with perfect figures
moment is so strong that most men do not notice. Most
and smooth, milky skin. They may also appear as any
of them continue, heedless of danger.
demihuman race. However, they do not often deal with
demihumans, because humans’ fiery nature makes Succubi are affected only by magical weapons. They
them easier prey. are immune to all fire-based attacks, magical or
otherwise. They may also attempt to gate in a balor.
Succubi look more tanar’ri in their true form: that of a
beautiful woman with large wings and sinister,

58
Turagashnee

Nearly 2m70 tall and gangly, this creature has long

legs, arms, and fingers far longer in proportion to its
torso than a human’s. Its elongated head is completely
featureless except for a single gaping maw, with rows
of razor-sharp fangs, that extends vertically from the
creature’s chin to the base of its skull. Its hide is a
mottled grey, like a stone hued serpent. The middle
finger on each hand is thicker and longer than the
others and capped with a a wicked talon, as is the
middle toe on each foot.

Ecology: The turagathsnees are the primary servitors

of the Ebon Maw. Despite their inherently chaotic
nature, they are unswervingly loyal to their prince.
Even when summoned by mortal conjurers for
unrelated tasks, they attempt to turn their actions to
benefit the Devourer, always seeking a way for him t
escape his prison.

Turagathsnees speak abyssal but prefer to

communicate via telepathy.

Combat: turagathsnees enjoy melee combat, as it gives

them an opportunity to sate their appetite for sentient
beings. They prefer to swallow opponents whole, but
they do not hesitate to use their other abilities if the
situation demands.

Turagathsnees dislike fighting from a distance but are

happy to take advantage of their reach. The demon’s
natural weapons, as well as any weapon it wields, are
treated as evil and chaotic aligned for the purpose of
over-coming damage reduction.

They often grab their foes and take them to their

mouth to swallow them whole by distending their jaw
greatly. Their gullet is partially extra-dimensional, but
it is possible to get out of it.

59

Uridezu
Uridezu (also called rat-fiends) inhabit the Abyss,
where they serve the various tanar’ri.
Description: Uridezu are hulking, man-sized creatures
resembling leprous, muscular hunch-backed rodents
walking on two short legs.
Marginally intelligent, rat-fiends are capable
carrying out simple commands, and are bright enough
to change tactics or flee if they are threatened with
destruction.
A rat-fiend’s body is maintained on planes other than
the Abyss by its life energies. If killed on another plane,
a rat-fiend’s body will completely disintegrate within
five minutes of its death.
Ecology: Rat-fiends are unnatural creatures, and act as
predators or scavengers when on the Prime Material
Plane, sometimes setting up lairs in urban areas and
preying on local animals and unfortunate inhabitants.
In such cases, they usually dwell in ruins, cellars,
slums, or other regions with large numbers of rats,
using their rodent-control abilities to command local
creatures to do their bidding. Such rats act as scouts
and bodyguards for their masters, scavenging for their
own food.
In the Abyss, rat-fiends who do not serve other tanar’ri
are scavengers by nature, filling a niche similar to
that of ordinary rats on the Prime Material Plane.
They are a constant nuisance, lurking in shadows,
grabbing scraps of food and attacking rutterkin,
dretch, and other low-level tanar’ri.
Apparently created from magically-mutated or
particularly ferocious rodent-like creatures of the
Abyss, rat-fiends retain a connection to the rats of the
Prime Material Plane. A rat-fiend can command a
dozen normal or half a dozen giant rats to do its
biddings, but only in areas where rats are normally
found; in other areas, a rat-fiend is on its own.
Habitat/Society: Uridezu are very low on the Abyss’s
social ladder, abused and tormented by other tanar’ri.
Highly resistant to the effects of other planes, rat-
fiends are often sent on errands by higher-level
tanar’ri (typically balor, succubi or glabrezu) as slaves,
servitors, messengers, and assassins. Tanar’ri
sometimes award or loan rat-fiends services to mortal
servants or allies, but such individuals are often
incompetent or quarrelsome.
On occasion, they are stranded on the Prime Material
Plane. Because they are so ill-treated on their home
plane, rat-fiends like traveling to such locales, where
they can terrorize entire communities, and even
sometimes be found as familiars or servants of
powerful spellcasters.
Particularly accomplished rat-fiends are treated well
by powerful tanar’ri lords as long as they continue to
be useful. Old or unsuccessful rat-fiends often find
themselves served up as dinner by their masters.
of
When encountered in the Abyss, rat-fiends have no
treasure. Those rat-fiends that set up lairs on the Prime
Material Plane accumulate treasure, both from victims
and in the form of loot brought by their rat-servitors.
Combat: Rat-fiends slash with their claws and bite with
their sharp incisors. Victims struck by a rat-fiend’s bite
can be paralyzed and be carried off by the rat-fiend,
who will then take them back to its home plane.
Rat-fiends are highly vulnerable while returning to
their home plane, for they must remain stationary and
not be disturbed to recover. For this reason they
usually arrive on or leave the Prime Material Plane at
an isolated area.
60
Vathugu

The bestial vathugus are

formidable demons used by
Zuggtmoy as guardians.

Description: two pairs of

great horns protrude from
the sides of this creature’s
vaguely reptilian head, and
its toothy crocodilian jaws
have a curious underslung
look. It has no eyes, and a
forest of mushrooms and
writhing tendrils grows on
the top of its head and down
its back like a mane. Its lower
body splits into three
elephantine legs, the feet of
which split again into three
wide talons that splay out
around each foot. Three
tentacles, also arrayed
radially, protrude from the
base of the monster’s head. Each of these tentacles ends A vathugu lives vicariously through its controlled
in three flexible fingers. The creature itself is a nasty minions, and often these poor souls can do more
mix of pale yellow, tan, and white, with brilliant damage to a region than the vathugu itself.
crimson spots along its back. It sweats a disgusting pale
blue ichor. Combat: in battle, a vathugu uses any controlled
creature to run interference. Once it enters melee, the
A typical vathugu is 4m20 long and weighs 2,7 tons. demon prefers to split its attacks among as many
targets as possible. Against superior numbers, it often
Habitat/Society: Zuggtmoy’s cultists often call uses trample to move through a battlefield with ease to
vathugus from her realm in the abyss to serve as take command of key defensive points.
temple guardians or to bolster their armies. A vathugu
has no interest in monetary wealth ans instead A vathugu can lash out at any corporeal living
demands its payments for service in the form of living creature with the tendrils that grow from its head and
sacrifices. back. The tendrils writhe into the victim’s body and
establish a link with the vathugu’s mind. By
On the Abyss, vathugus not in Zuggtmoy’s service concentrating, the vathugu can sense and observe
carve out large territories in which they brook no through the victim’s senses. The vathugu can also
intrusions from less powerful demons. control the victim’s physical movements, force the
victim to cast spells. The subject’s mind at all times
A vathugu loose on the prime material plane follows
remains under its own control, it can even speak.
similar goals and attempts to establish a domain of
several square miles in size. It allows those who Any creature struck by a vathugu’s tentacle sees his
convert to Zuggtmoy’s worship to remain in its flesh and bones wither and rot away into a drippy
territory, but this allowance typically doesn’t buy such fungous mess.
creatures immunity from the Vathugu’s hunger for
long. Once it establishes a foothold, the vathugu seeks Although not itself a plant, a vathugu’s body is closely
out a powerful local creature to control. The demon analogous to a monstrous fungus. It is immune to all
then uses the creature against its will to spread chaos mind affecting effects.
and misery beyond the vathugu’s established domain.

61
 Coveting pretty things, vrocks turn
against each other for the chance to lay
claim to cheap jewelry or ornamental
stones. Despite their love of treasure,
vrocks are difficult to bribe, seeing no
reason to bargain when they can simply
take what they want from a would-be
bargainer's corpse.

Vrock eat their fallen foes after combat

and communicate using telepathy.

Habitat/Society: Vrocks are an elite

fighting force used in important battles
of the Blood War. They are often sent on
missions such as infiltration and other
covert missions. In battle they
coordinate with each other with perfect
timing.

Combat: Vicious fighters, vrocks gobble

humanoid flesh whenever they can.
They are never surprised and always
attack first in melee. Vrocks are
immune to attacks from non-magical
weapons.

Vrocks can attack with their hand

claws, their beak and their foot claws.
Because of their dexterity and extreme
battle prowess, vrocks can direct each of
these attacks against different
opponents.

The vrocks also attack with a stinging

ejection of spores from small glands
situated under their wings. Once the
spores have hit, they implant themselves
just below the surface of the skin where
they grow and sprout until the victim is
covered with thick, vine-like growths.

Once per battle, a vrock can emit a loud,

Vrock
Probably the weakest of the true demons, Vrocks (also
called vulture-demons, screeching demon, wulox, or
voord) are dull-witted, capricious fiends that live only
to create pain and carnage.
deafening screech. This screech deafens
and stuns everyone earing it. Vrock typically use it
when near death, screeching just before they teleport
away.
A vrock can attempt to gate in two dozen manes, half
a dozen bar-lgura, or one nalfeshnee.

Description: A vrock resembles a giant hybrid of
humanoid and vulture, with strong, sinewy limbs
covered with fine gray feathers; long necks and vulture
heads; and wicked claws and beak. Its gnarled, bestial
body and broad wings stink of offal.
Ecology: Vrocks are powerful fighting machines from
birth, loyal to their own. They travel in groups of up to
eight (more when entering battle).
When five or more vrocks fight together in battle, they
may join hands in a circle, then dance wildly,
screeching and chanting in ancient languages. Then a
weave of energy crackles and scintillates in the air like
lightning. Anyone around the dance of ruin is then
damaged. The dance can be disrupted and must be
started again if a vrock takes too much damage.

62
Wastrilith

There are things in the lightless depths of the Abyssal

Oceans older than the demons themselves, and among
them are the dreaded water lords of the Abyss, the
wastriliths. They intimidate undersea denizens so
much that even unintelligent creatures serve them.

Description: A wastrilith is a horrendous piscine fiend

over 12 meters in length, combining aspects of an eel
and an angler fish, with jaws full of needle-sharp teeth.
Two bulging lidless eyes stare out of its blunt head,
emitting a cold blue light, giving is the appearance of
leering fish with a humanoid torso. It has two spindly
arms ending with raking claws, and its long spindly
body ends in a powerful fluke.

Ecology: Wastrilith enjoy devouring creatures foolish

enough to venture near their homes. They leave the
remains outside to feed sharks and warn away other
curiosity seekers.

Wastrilith are nasty-tempered and are well known to

ignore the wishes of the summoner, kill him, and
rampage until such time as it wearies of the plane.
Until that time comes, the water lord can amass
considerable power beneath the waves, creating havoc
in the area. It is unknown why wastrilith do this,
inasmuch as they rarely take their treasure back to
their home plane.

Wastrilith seem to reproduce after the manner of

mortal creatures, though they are immortal like other
outsiders.

Habitat/Society: Untold miles of open water stretch

across the lower realms, large enough to swallow
countless Material Plane worlds, but many wastriliths
are found on Gaping Maw, the 88th layer of the Abyss,
a dark and cold watery plane.

Each wastrilith stakes out its own domain in the

even the River Styx is host to these aquatic fiends.
depths, typically including a 40 kilometers diameter
circle which it rules with an iron fist. At the center of Combat: Wastrilith are canny opponents, rarely giving
territory is the fiend’s palace, be it a marvel of their enemies advantage and certainly no quarter.
undersea engineering, a simple hole in a coral reef, or a Because they do not believe in suffering needlessly,
crude temple built by its followers - a motley
they send their minions forth to combat enemies:
assortment of lesser aquatic fiends and fiendish
typically a dozen sharks, and even more sahuagin, a
versions of Material Plane sea life.
handful ixitxachitl, or a couple of water elementals. As

Often lairing in its palace, a wastrilith is territorial long as the minions continue the attack and the fiend

and does not allow other powerful creatures to
establish themselves nearby. Once it has established its
territory, it does not stray far from it, protecting what
is his, and not medding in matters outside it.
Despite their pretensions of rulership, wastriliths are
often pressed into the service of demon lords of the
Abyssal seas. Dagon, the demon lord of sea monsters,
counts thousands of wastriliths as vassals in his realm,
and many of them he lends to Demogorgon. Wastriliths
also guard the shoals of Nocticula’s Midnight Isles, and
itself is not threatened, it lets them fight by themselves.
A wastrilith can breathe out a blast of boiling water in
a huge cone and can attack with its two claws and bite.
Water- and cold-based attacks cause no damage to the
wastrilith. In addition, water elementals sent against
the fiend do not attack it. Indeed, a water lord has a
good chance of wresting control of water elementals
from the summoner, as long as the water elementals
have approached close enough of it.

63
Obyriths
If the tanar'ri embody the evil
of the Abyss, the Obyriths
embody chaos. The strange and
horrific obyriths are primeval
demons from eons past. It is
certain that the Obyriths
existed before the first mortal
was born, before the advent of
intelligent life on the Material
Plane, even before the gods.

The obyriths were once legion.

They ruled the Abyss and use to
wrought chaos and evil upon
the multiverse. The rusting iron
fortresses of these eldest demons
now crowd the Plain of Infinite
Portals, crumbling testaments
to a near-forgotten age. Now,
obyriths dwell only in the most
remote corners of the Abyss:
their kind has been in decline
since the rise of the tanar’ri.
Although a few tenacious
examples continue to make
their presence known on key
layers, they are a defeated
force, a dying race shuddering
toward extinction.

Obyriths forms are hideous to

behold, rarely if ever
incorporating elements
possessed by mortal creatures—
they came from the Age Before
Ages, and the multiverse almost
seems as if it would like to
forget their hideous
countenances. Their sighting is
so noxious and horrific that
those who encounter an obyrith
for the first time are subject to
some form of insanity. Blindness
is no protection against this
madness: obyrith’s presence is
an affront to all senses. The
insanity caused by an obyrith is
permanent in most cases, but
can be removed with great
powerful spells. Some obyriths have developed creation, where the gods—already sickened and
humanoid forms, but these seem more like coincidences horrified at what they found alive in the Abyss—
or cruel attempts at mockery than anything else. The accidentally imparted it in the primal soul.
wretched influence of these primal forms can be seen in
primitive, basal creatures like insects, spiders, All obyriths seem immune to mind affecting spells,
resistant to some forms of damage (like fire) and heal
cephalopods, and the like. The unnatural fear many
people have of these things that flop and crawl may very fast. Obyriths seem to see beyond illusions and
communicate via telepathy.
stem from a primeval racial memory traceable back to

64
Draudnu

Draudnus are ruthless killers created to rid

the Abyss of non-obyriths. They fight an
eternal but hopeless war in the fields of ruin
and misery that make up the vile home of
demons.

Description: A draudnu is a hairless

creature about the size of a human that
surges forward on three muscular legs
attached to its top. They have thick and
rubbery skin, and three arms, each ending
in a hook of bone wrapped in hardened,
scaly flesh. Their bodies, which seem to be
biologically reversed, are covered in dark
blisters fluid that pop when struck, swollen
sacs bulging from its body. A single pulsing
red eye stares out from a mass of featureless
wrinkled flesh that must be the creature’s
head, but that mass is at the creature’s
bottom. From around its eye extend three
arms, each ending in a hook of bone.
Draudnus stand 2m10 tall and weigh about
130kg.

Those who look upon a draudnu come to

believe that they have something growing
inside them, a sickening thought that can’t
be shaken.

Ecology: Draudnus are born without an

ounce of kindness, wild with a thirst for
vengeance and bloodshed. Since the
terrifying days when Obox-Ob ruled in the
Abyss, before the tanar’ri rose up and cast their
creators down, draudnus have always been born in the
bone fields surrounding the nameless castle of Pale
Night, the Mother of Demons. Formed from the
remains of eladrins who foolishly waged a campaign
against demons all the way into the 600th layer of the
Abyss, draudnus are created by Pale Night. She steps
out onto a fragile balcony of her fearsome citadel and
gazes over the skeletons that litter her domain. With a
dreadful whisper, she breathes life into eladrin bones,
recasting them in a form conceived in the very heart of
lunacy.
Draudnus have no use for wealth, treasure,
anything of the kind. They have none.
Society: Draudnus were created to hunt and to kill.
These fiends go forth bent on murder, filled with a
hatred of all creatures except obyriths. They
mercilessly slay anything they can, especially the
minions of Baphomet on the 600th layer of the Abyss,
reveling in destruction and bloody torment. Born from
the corruption of the remains of celestials, they retain
little of the memories and none of the harmonious
virtues of their former selves. They fear only their
ancient mother, Pale Night.
Combat: A draudnu is a fierce fighter that can extend
its hooks up to 4m50. It can detach hooks to hold its
or prey in place. It uses its speed to command the fight
and rarely eschews attacking.

Environment: Draudnus, also called Children of Pale A draudnu charges to within reach of its foes, then
Night, are native to the Infinite Layers of the Abyss. begins madly hacking away with its hooks. When
They are common on the 600th layer, enslaved to the facing multiple enemies, the draudnu tries to
Mother of Demons. immobilize two. It then focuses its fire on immobilized
targets, felling them as quickly as possible before
Draudnus, like other obyriths, are scarce, having been moving on to new foes.
hunted nearly to extinction by the tanar’ri. Antisocial
by nature, they are rarely encountered in groups that Draudnus have acid-filled sacs all over their skin,
contain more than four members. which burst when the demon is struck.

All draudnus are resistant to spells.

65
 closest an ekolid comes to displaying
recognizable emotion is the horrid
gleeful chattering it makes while
watching its young hatch from a
screaming, living host.

Ekolid’s “stingers” are actually

ovipositors that implant eggs in its
victims. Ekolids are capable of seeding
hundreds of eggs in an hour. These eggs
hatch in seconds, and only certain spells
can kill the eggs before they hatch.They
have little interest in dead bodies, so the
availability of living victims is usually
the only thing that moderates their
violent reproductive cycle. Newly
hatched ekolids grow rapidly, achieving
full size over the course of only 6 hours.
Fortunately, young ekolids are
ravenous during this period and feed
upon their siblings, generally ensuring
that only one or two demons survive to
adulthood.

Rumors of larger or even gargantuan

ekolids persist, said to be more than 10
times the size of a standard one,
although if these creatures do exist,
they likely dwell only in the most
remote of all corners of the Abyss. These
ekolids are said to be unusually dull-
witted.
Ekolid
Ekolids generally have no interest in treasure, leaving
behind whatever their victims might have carried as
An ekolid is an obyrith insectoid demon that sees other
they move on in search of new prey.
life forms as little more than incubators for its eggs.
Ekolids embody a primal fear of infestation. Their
Environment: Ekolids are a low example of obyrith,
visages can unhinge even the most resolute of minds,
creatures too numerous for the tanar’ri to exterminate
forcing those who succumb to endure hallucinations of
completely but not trusted enough to actually be used
tiny biting insects for the rest of their lives.
in the Blood War. They were mostly left to their own
devices until they were rallied under the banner of
Description: the hideous demon’s ant-shaped body is
Obox-ob, one of the only remaining obyrith Demon
about the size of a small wolf, yet its numerous spindly
Lords. Now they are found nearly exclusively in his
legs spread nearly 1m80 across. It combines the
realm, and when encountered outside of it there’s a
features of a winged ant, a scorpion, and a spider. The
good chance that they are performing reconnaissance
back part of its form is a bulbous, lime green egg sac
for him.
that seethes and roils with what you can only assume
are live specimens. Its face is a horrific brown mass of
Ekolids prefer warm climates and are most often found
skulls and jaws bound together by a giant mass of flesh.
in desert layers of the Abyss. They are particularly
Vertical mandibles gnash above a cluster of black eyes, prevalent in the Driller’s Hives (layer 2) and the Plains
and three pairs of membranous wings sprout from its
of Gallenshu (layer 377), where they are a constant
thorax. Six vicious stingers protrude from its
menace to that layer’s armanites. Ekolids have an
midsection, promising a slow and painful death. Its
obvious affinity for the obyrith prince Obox-ob; they
body trails off into a writhing mass of tails, each tipped
are particularly common on Zionyn (layer 663), where
in an upward-curving stinger protruding from a
they serve him as minions.
distended bulge.
Society: Although it’s not unheard of to encounter a
An ekolid weighs 20 kilograms. Coloration ranges from
lone ekolid, these creatures more often travel in packs,
brown to red, with a pale yellow underbelly and
roving in constant search of new victims in which to
crimson mandibles. All ekolids have black eyes.
implant eggs and propagate their vile kind.

Ecology: Ekolids are driven by the urge to reproduce

Ekolids generally don’t form societies. The most notable
constantly, infesting non-ekolids with their eggs. The
exceptions to this rule are the ekolids of Zionyn. Here,

66
under the rule of Obox-ob, the ekolids build vast hive
cities out of the bodies of those that have served as
their incubators. They coat these bodies with resinous
ooze harvested from the shuddering oceans of Zionyn,
resulting in morbid cathedrals and towers of the
preserved dead. An ekolid city is a nightmarish
mockery of a decadent human city, with marketplaces
dedicated to supplying exotic creatures to serve as
incubators, vast temples dedicated to Obox-ob, and
immense open-air forums where the demons can
observe “performance hatchings” by powerful ekolid
nobles.
Rarely, a group of Zionyn ekolids finds its way to the
Material Plane, where it builds smaller scale versions
of its Abyssal home. In these cases, the ekolids usually
just cover the walls of existing stone structures with
preserved dead, rather than using them as the primary
construction materials.
Strategy and tactics: Although an ekolid is intelligent,
its tactics in battle are simple. Since an ekolid is
supernaturally fast, its primary advantage is its speed.
67
It rushes up to its prey and attempts to implant as
many eggs as it can into every available target. Once
an ekolid has implanted at least one egg in each
creature in the group it is fighting, it retreats to a
secure place to watch its young hatch. If any
implanted creature survives the birthing process, the
ekolid returns to implant more eggs.
A creature that observes an ekolid begins hallucinating
that tiny biting insects are infesting its hair, skin, and
clothes. Each time an ekolid places a sting attack, it
implants an egg just under the creature’s skin. An
implanted egg hatches rapidly, at which point a
ravenous ekolid grub gnaws its way out of the victim.
Newly hatched ekolids are otherwise harmless, but
grow to maturity quickly over the course of only a few
hours. A hatched grub falls to the ground after
crawling free of its host.
Ekolids are immune to mind-affecting attacks and
poison, and they are highly resistant to damage,
particularly damage from weapons not made of cold
iron or infused with lawful energies.
 Society: Although the
obyrith demons are
nowhere near as numerous
as they were in the Age
before Ages, enough survive
to this day to give a horrific
hint to the variety of shapes
these demons held.
Golothomas are most
common in the lightless
tunnels of the Writhing
Realm of Ugudenk, the
177th layer of the Abyss.
Their association with
Sertrous is partially
accidental, owing to a
coincidental likeness of
form. As the Vanguard
nears its goal and the
abandoned Abyssal layer of
Hungry Tarns grows full
with petitioners, golothoma
demons become increasingly
common in that realm’s
poisoned bogs and
bottomless lakes.

Ecology: Although
golothomas understand a
few words in Abyssal, they
are only barely intelligent
Golothoma enough to belch them out in a mockery of conversation.
They are hardly more than horrific predators driven
Mouthless, cyclopean and serpentine, these obyriths only by a ceaseless hunger to feed, not from any
live by consuming creatures caught in their biological requirement but from the deeper need to
supernatural shadow. They are also capable of consume the bodies of other creatures.
reaching between dimensions and attacking far away
foes with the spider-like claws that circle their single Combat: A golothoma’s tail runs with thick, sticky coils

eye. of black shadow. It deals acid damage to any creature

it strikes. A creature struck by this attack has to have
Description: A golothoma has a vaguely serpentine great reflexes, or some of this shadowy acid clings to it.
body, although its flanks bulge in odd places and horns
protrude from random locations along its knotted A golothoma can reach between dimensions to strike at

length. Its tail rises up into the air like a scorpion’s, distant targets with its claws.

and even without a stinger it drips with black,

Since a golothoma has no mouth, it feeds by absorbing
steaming acid. The creature’s face is little more than a
flesh through its writhing shadow. Any creature
single yellow snake eye. Arrayed around this eye in a
within the demon’s reach might fall into the shadow
radial pattern are five insectoid arms, each with three
that exists whatever the surrounding lighting. In
joints and covered with horns and ridges. Each arm
complete darkness, it’s more difficult to see the
ends in a nest of talons and claws. The creature’s
shadow’s boundaries.
shadow is misshapen and doesn’t match its body.

68
Laghathti

Laghathti are octopuslike

demons that have existed for
eons in the Abyss and are
particularly at home in the
black depths of the River Styx.
They also crawl up from the
depths to hunt prey its bleak
shores.

The oily black waters surge and

froth as a storm of tentacles
erupts from below. Five of the
midnight-blue tentacles have a
pale blue underside studded
with hundreds of tiny mouths.
Five others are slimmer and end
in wide paddlelike fins. Another
two are shorter and more
muscular, terminating in long,
crocodilian jaws that make a
horrific high-pitched wailing.
The thing seems to have no
body, only an indistinct knot of
writhing ropes and tendrils at
its core.

Description: Laghathti loosely resemble demonic octopi
A laghathti's tentacles span a length of 7 meters from
tip to tip, with the central knot of its body comprising
a roughly spherical mass about 2m40 in diameter. A
laghathti weighs 340 kilograms.
Environment: Laghathti are most common in the dark
tributaries of the River Styx, although they can be
encountered anywhere along this endless river's route.
They can travel overland, although they seldom stray
far from the River Styx.

Ecology: Laghathti feed on memories and can drain Laghathti often travel in schools of two or more,
them away with horrific speed. A laghathti can also floating lazily along the currents of the River Styx or
implant stolen memories (or even completely prowling its shores in constant search of prey. Far of
fabricated memories) into a mind as easily as it can the River Styx, these demons are almost always
wipe them away encountered alone. Laghathti found alone outside their
normal home are stranded and constantly seek a route
Laghathti demons are immune to the effects of the back to the River Styx.
River Styx and they enjoy feasting on the memories of
living creatures. When a laghathti gains a particularly Combat: A laghathti prefers to lie in wait, hiding just
tragic or depressing memory, it spends hours or even underwater and waiting until prey comes within its
days reveling in the despair of the memory. It even reach. At this point, it charges through the water.
shares it with others, especially if the target seems to be
A laghathti can see in all directions at once and cannot
particularly susceptible to depression and sadness.
be flanked. If surrounded, it abandons its single target
In the larger scheme of things, laghathti are fairly tactic and flails out at anything in reach. Laghathti
unintelligent creatures. They know and understand the are aware of the effects the River Styx has upon those
concept of rational thought but are incapable of who fall into its waters and do not hesitate to retreat
manifesting it themselves. Instead, they live into these dangerous depths with grappled foes.
vicariously through the stolen and undigested
A laghathti not only heals damage quickly but also is
memories of those they assault. Laghathti release bodies
highly resistant to weapons and to most forms of
to float away once they have taken everything they
energy.
can from its mind.

69
 Sibriexes are up to 5 meters tall and weigh 700
kilograms.

History: Sibriexes are ancient creatures of an alien

universe, holdovers from a time that predates tanar’ri
dominance of the Abyss. They were spawned from
clans of obyrith slavers, savants, and flesh crafters.
During the Upheaval, they were called upon to
augment the armies of the Queen of Chaos with fiendish
grafts. The sibriexes were too canny, however, to allow
themselves be roped into the war. As a result, they
survived that war relatively unscathed and now serve
the new tanar’ri lords as sages and sculptors of flesh
much in the same way they served the obyrith lords of
old. They haunt the Abyss and the planes beyond,
dedicated only to increasing their own power.

Ecology: Sibriexes view the grafting of flesh as an art

form. Their ability to create grafts out of raw Abyssal
chaos makes them valuable allies; they are often
encountered in the lairs of other demon lords or
powerful spellcasters. Sibriexes are incredibly vain and
usually demand an excess of guards, physical comforts,
and regular offerings of gold and magic. In most cases,
it’s only a matter of a few weeks before the sibriex
itself is in charge, with its supposed “master” a
charmed puppet at the demon’s beck and call.

Environment: Sibriexes might have survived the

downfall of the obyriths, yet even at the height of
obyrith control, their numbers were never vast. No
new obyriths have been created since the Queen of
Chaos retreated into the depths of the Abyss, and it
seems likely that the conditions for these demons to
reproduce were lost along with the obyriths’ dominion.
The total number of remaining sibriexes is unknown,
but it certainly doesn’t number much more than a few
hundred. As a result, these demons are spread far and
wide across the Abyss, never more than one to a layer.
Their lairs are formidable fortresses guarded by armies
of lesser demons and charmed monsters.

Society: Sibriexes are powerful and highly intelligent

creatures. They bully and torment weaker creatures,
and they tend to avoid creatures smarter than them.
Sibriex
As a result, they generally exist outside of the politics
(such as they are) of the Abyss, controlling large
Ancient and enigmatic, a sibriex is a master of
fortresses or swaths of otherwise unclaimed Abyssal
augmenting and enhancing the flesh by grafting
regions.
Abyssal matter into the physical body of the subject.
The presence of a sibriex wreaks havoc on the minds of A sibriex is a sculptor of flesh. It can create fiendish
most mortal creatures. Those who succumb to this limbs and organs out of Abyssal chaos and graft them
madness eventually degenerate into simpering fools. to living organisms. It can also squirt acidic bile from
feeding tubes that sprout from its underbelly. The other
Description: A sibriex is a large, bloated figure that
demons with which the sibriexes are kin they regard as
floats lazily in the air, a malformed face the size of a
raw material for their experiments. The battlefield is
wagon. Where its ears should be are instead a pair of
the flesh crafter‘s playground, allowing it to
atrophied arms with hands ending in tremulous digits.
experiment in the creation of new demonic forms.
Everything below its neck is a writhing nest of puckers
Sibriexes played a major role in the shaping of the
and stalks. It is tethered to the surrounding ground by
tanar’ri race. Many scholars have noted the strange
four steel chains that end in razor-sharp spikes it uses
features that many tanar’ri share—parts of their
to “walk” along the ground. The unsettling stink of
bodies seem almost artificial in appearance. These are
rotting flowers surrounds the creature.
the ancient marks of sibriex influence on developing

70
tanar’ri races. Whether the sibriexes had a larger goal
in mind when they augmented the race that would
ultimately replace their kin as the rulers of the Abyss
remains to be seen.

Sibriexes take great pleasure in collecting magic items,

obscure works of art, and other valuable commodities
and decorating their lairs with them. They often keep
magic items that are worn on the body, not for
themselves (since few magic items conform to their
blasphemous frames) but as rewards they can bestow
upon their minions.

The sibriex are arrogant creatures that have no equals

among their allies. They are found either as the lords of
lower level thralls, or under the dominion of a powerful
demon lord. Even when serving a more powerful
master, a sibriex seeks out any opportunity to free
itself, growing increasingly ruthless and cruel in the
process.

Strategy and tactics: A sibriex floats in the air and

wears a harness fitted with chains it can animate and
use to lash at enemies in reach. They do so with
shocking speed and grace, striking with one chain and
then anchoring it to allow its other chains to strike in a
single fluid motion.

A sibriex usually spews bile at an enemy, attempting

to reduce it to pools of acidic gore or at least nauseate
it. It attacks the mind in attempts to cull allies from its
enemies.

A sibriex’s bite is much less dangerous, but will be used

against any creature within reach without hesitation.

A sibriex horror aura spreads debilitating fear among

its enemies. The foul nature of the sibriexes can infect
other creatures, creating vile spawn beholden to more
powerful masters.

71
 Certain ancient ruins in near-
forgotten rifts in Shadowsea tell of
something more, of how the
uzrollus were perhaps the
dominant form of life in the
Abyssal realm. These cities were
built to conform to the uzollru’S
alien form, and the dizzying
spires and bulbous buildings of
these cities fill the viewer with a
sense of horror and nausea. It
seems certain that the uzollru
were once far more intelligent,
and one can only hope that the
minds of these immense monsters
remain in decline.

Combat: The sheer size of the

obyrith demon can struck anyone
seeing it dumb,

Uzrollu’s tentacles constricts its

foes and drains their life off,
liquefying flesh and bone at a
horrific rate for the monster to
absorb through gasping pores that
open along the tentacle length.

Vast and varied are the

monstruous denizens of the
Shadowsea. The fact that the
fearsome uzollru are neither the
largest nor the most dangerous
creatures of this layer speaks
volumes of the danger of delving
too deeply into the lightless
abysses of this submerged realm.
Uzollrus scour its depths,
Uzollru constantly on the hunt. Although they have no
biological need to fast and can live without eating,
This immense monster vaguely resembles a swimming uzollrus relish the act of liquefying and consuming
centipede, with dozens of barbed flippers instead of living flesh with their feeding tentacles. Their appetites
legs. Its head is like a sea anemone, with a single red are fueled by hatred, and they do not remain satiated
eye bulging in the center. Five longer tentacles for long.
protrude in a radial pattern around the eye. Etending
When an uzollru senses life, it quickly swims to
from either side of the creature’s head are two
investigate. In most cases, such an investigation is
immense lobsterlike, each ending in a spiny claw.
mere prelude to the uzollru’s attack. These creatures
Uzollrus are Dagon’s heralds. When the prince of the prefer to attack intelligent prey, as they take perverse
Darkened Depths desires, he makes his favor or wrath glee in striking dumb their food with their form of
known through these obyriths minions. An uzollru in madness (or barring that, the stunning gaze of the
contact with Dagon abandons its hunt to set upon its demon’s bulging eye). The uzollru’s tremendous claws
appointed task with a single-minded intensity and are used to capture and hold prey while its feeding
ferocity. Tales of uzollru armies sent to destroy a tentacles extend from behind its central eye to latch on
Shaozsea mounts are among the most oft-whispered to the victim.
fears among the realm’g doomed souls. Although rare,
The touch of an uzollru’s tentacle dissolves flesh,
uzollrus have been known to find their way to the
allowing it to drink its prey with ease. The body of a
Elemental Plane of Water or even the material plane.
creature killed by an uzollru is a horricif seepong
When they do so, their imprint on the surrounding
carcass filled with winding tunnels of missing flesh and
environement is swift and unmistakable in its utter
bone.
destruction.

72
Verakia Combat: Verakias particularly enjoy battling foes in
tangled jungle undergrowth, since the jungle itself
seems to recoil in fear at their advance, allowing the
This monstruous creature has a draconic lower, with a
mighty demons to move through tangled terrain with
long spiked tail and reptilian feet, the front two of
ease and maintain mobitlity in regions that bog down
which include large gutting talons. Its upper torso is
most other creatures.
more humanoid, with large and powerful arms that
end in two-fingered hands. The inner finger of each
They generally reserve their breath weapon for attacks
hand is larger than the other, and ends in a large,
on foes they an’t easily reach or when faced with
scythelike claw with a serrated inner curve. Its head
multiple foes – a verakia much prefers the thrill of
has four eyes and an immense mouth with a long
making a full attack against a single target. Those who
snakelike forked tongue. Two horns angle down like
die from this overwhelming assault are in many ways,
that of a bull. A third horn runds back form the rear of
the lucky ones. Many of those who survive an
its head. Red smoke pours from the corners of its maw,
encounter with a verakia are changed forever,
and the inside of its throat glows with fire.
transformed into murderous lunatics who unwittingly
carry on the mighty obyrith’s need for ruin wherever
The ravenous and destructive verakia is to the Abyss
they go.
what the mightiest the tyrannosaurs are to the
Material Plane: savage perfection. They were the
Creatures seeing a varakia might become obsessed with
original lords of the Screaming Jungle, existing since
the raw fury and murderous potential represented by
long before the first wave of tanar’ri came to be, ruling
the demon’s teeth and claws. The obsessed victim
a hidden realm unsuspected even by the majority of
attacks the nearest living creature with any slashing
the obyrith lords of the time. When Demogorgon
weapon it finds until the target is dead. The rampage
claimed Gaping Maw as his realm, it was in no small
will continue until the creature dies (of thirst or
part due to the presence of these mighty demons – he
hunger), is slain or cured with a powerful spell.
saw in them echoes of his own primeval nature and
primordial menace. The unbridled fury of its whirling claws and tail often
overwhelm its enemies with their destructive power
For their part, it remains unlikely the verakia have
and leaves them stunned.
even noticed the change from obyrith to tanar’ri rule
of the Abyss. Smart enough to enjoy the pain and fear The enormous verakia has a breath made of blood red
of their prey, yet dumb enough to think of themselves flames. Those touched by the flames are horrifically
as the mightiest demons in the jungle, the verakia are scarred physically and mentally, as the fire burns
content to rule the depths of the Screaming Jungle as away emotions as well as flesh.
they always have, coming to the briny shores only
when pursuing prey or out of idle curiosity.

73
Loumaras
The loumaras are ancient by mortal standards but are
a relatively young demonic race and a fairly recent
addition to the Abyss. As a result, few loumaras have
yet become powerful enough to be recognized as demon
lords; Sifkhu, who has been captured by
the succubus queen Malcanthet, is perhaps the only
one.
The loumara are born from an abyssal layer known as
the Dreaming Gulf, the phantasmagoric 230th layer of
the Abyss. They result from the last remaining vestiges
of a pantheon of dead gods, cast-off waste products of
the dead memories and dreams of several forgotten
deities. The dead pantheon was killed eons ago by the
Abyss itself, when Demogorgon baited them into
destroying the layer of one of his rivals; as the angry
gods ripped an entire layer free from the Abyss, the
74
Abyss lashed back, slaying them all so that only their
thoughts remained. Now the lingering dreams and
nightmares of the forgotten pantheon is slowly being
consumed and digested by the Abyss.
What the Abyss “excretes” from these dreams are the
loumaras, demons that are more like ghosts
or undead than demons.
All loumaras are usually invisible, bodiless immaterial
creatures, evil unfettered by the limitations of physical
bodies. Most of them possess living creatures or objects
to more efficiently work their evils and carry out their
own twisted goals. Their indistinct natures and lack of
physical forms have resulted in relative obscurity on
the Material Plane, yet their taint in the mortal realm
is far greater than most would imagine, and their
presence is well-known on the Abyss.
It is speculated that each breed of Loumara evolved
from the dreams of a different deity, that each is a
corruption of that god's specific portfolio. The decadent
dybbuks, who possess the bodies of the dead in order to
indulge in mortal sins, are believed to have spawned
from the dreams or nightmares of a goddess of love and
art. The murderous guecubus likely formed from the
nightmares of a god of law and peace. Spawned from
the nightmares of a dead god of healing and
craftsmanship, the caligrosto come into the world with
a red lust for the edge of a blade, And from the dead
echoes of the goddess of fertility and nature come the
deadly manitous. Other loumaras doubtless exist in the
Dreaming Gulf, but to this point only these have been
encountered with any frequency elsewhere.
To date, the incorporeal loumaras have not ranged far
from the layer of their origin, spreading out into the
surrounding Abyss like a stain, and seem more focused
on possessing and corrupting mortals of the Material
Plane (into which they slip through tiny tears in
reality), than in engaging in the petty politics of their
elder demonic breeds.
Still, in places where mortals thrive in the Abyss, one
can find the taint of the bodiless loumaras. Dybbuks
seem most attracted to the realms of the demon lords
Graz’zt and Malcanthet, since these locales offer the
brand of hedonistic pleasures that fuel the creatures’
debased appetites. Guecubus infest the great
marketplaces of the Abyss—the citadel of Broken Reach
on Pazunia, Graz’zt’s triple-capital of Zelatar, and
Demogorgon’s insatiable city of Lemoriax—where they
possess visiting mortal merchants and “ride” them back
to the Material Plane. More powerful and ambitious
loumaras are thought to exist in the depths of the
Dreaming Gulf, but few enough have emerged that any
demon inquisitor knows exactly what to look for to
sniff out interlopers.
Dybbuk

Disembodied intelligences spawned by the Abyss,

dybbuks inhabit and animate dead bodies to work their
evil.

Description: A dybbuk is incorporeal and silent. A

faint brush of cold, the fleeting scent of moldering lilies,
and a sudden conviction of loss mark the passage of
this indistinct shape. Its form is visible only as a
flickering shimmer in the air accompanied by faint
tendrils of pale smoke. The creature’s basic shape is
that of a writhing jellyfish with an indistinct face
floating on the surface of its body. Scores of smoky
tendrils trail from the underside of its body to a length
of 1m50. These tendrils braid and twist together,
effectively forming two arms when needed.

Ecology: Much of a dybbuk’s existence consists of

leapfrogging from lesser body to lesser body, constantly
scouring its environment for a suitable host. It sees
these bodies as stepping stones, with each transfer to a
new body putting it closer to its intended target: a
dybbuk’s driving need is its eternal search for a perfect
body. To a dybbuk, a perfect body is one that is
undamaged from violence, quite handsome or beautiful
for its race, and has many links to its society’s
leadership. A dybbuk hopes to possess such a body
before anyone discovers the victim has died, so that it
can go on living the victim’s life without arousing
suspicion, allowing itself to be overtaken by that
Society: Dybbuks are lonely creatures, and can be
society’s sins and vices, plunging hedonistically into
found in groups only where there are many corpses to
depravity until the body is ruined or it is otherwise
possess, such as on a recent battlefield.
forced to abandon its plaything.
Dybbuks sometimes fight each other over a single dead
A dybbuk has no access to the memories of the
body, even if multiple other bodies of acceptable
creatures it possesses. After taking possession of a
condition are available.
corpse, a dybbuk can inhabit such a body indefinitely,
and the body doesn’t age while possessed. Strategy and tactics: A dybbuk avoids combat unless it
is possessing a dead body or is unable to escape. It can
A dybbuk typically has a specific person targeted as a
be killed when it is without a host and avoids combat
perfect body and does what it can to get closer to this
as a result. When disembodied, it hides or tries to kill
targeted victim, with the goal of either engineering the
its chosen victim at range by attacking his or her
person’s accidental death or catching the victim alone
mind. If this fails, it moves in to deliver a death touch.
(in which case it uses its death touch to kill its target).
A dybbuk cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, or
Killing a host body possessed by a dybbuk does nothing
fire, and it is resistant to cold.
to hurt the dybbuk itself.
A dybbuk’s touch can cause instant death.
Environment: Dybbuks are found in the Abyss at sites
of great battles or near large graveyards. They are not
fond of regions heavily populated with undead, since
they have no use for bodies that are already animated.

75

Guecubu
Using possession, the formless guecubu takes over the
bodies of living creatures to advance strange patterns
of murder.
Description: A guecubu has no real physical body. It is
naturally invisible and incorporeal as a result. May it
be seen by magical means, a guecubu resembles little
more than a twitching gray mass of vapor about 1m50
in diameter. In its presence, the coppery scent of fresh
blood wells up strangely in the air, despite the lack of
any obvious source. A guecubu’s presence is easily
dismissed as a bad dream, symptom of fatigue, or
minor hallucination.
Ecology: A guecubu’s driving need is to commit
murder. Guecubus are born from dream stuff tainted
by evil. They can possess and control the body of
sleeping humanoids, and most of the time act like a
76
parasite. Once it has claimed a host, a guecubu
generally assumes the role of rider, allowing its host to
continue to exist as it will. A guecubu’s presence can go
undetected for months, even by its host. At some point,
a guecubu begins asserting itself, driving the host to
commit murders and other heinous crimes until it can
no longer do so.
Guecubus are always encountered alone, since each of
these evil demonic spirits thinks of itself as the single
true manifestation of the Abyss’s will. A guecubu isn’t
particular about who or what it possesses.
A newly formed guecubu might recall portions of its
source dream as distant memories, but generally they
are defined more by their current host than by any
real personality of their own.
Society: Guecubus believe that killings form some sort
of pattern, and enough spilled blood will eventually
reveal the meaning of creation in this pattern. This
belief might or might not have actual merit, but
certainly guecubus believe it. The great pleasure they
take in forcing their possessed hosts to kill friends and
family is a testament to their cruelty.
They rarely form groups with other guecubus,
preferring to remain hidden and anonymous.
However, many of them can be found in the Dreaming
Gulf (230th layer of the Abyss), where they are created
spontaneously from the raw, churning chaos of dreams,
gaining life of their own as they become infused with
the raw stuff of the surrounding Abyssal chaos.
Guecubus exist only to murder the living. They have no
real desire to gather treasure, gain power, or rule
nations.
Environment: A guecubu prefers to dwell in rural
areas, where people able to exorcise it are less likely to
interfere with its plans.
On the Abyss, guecubus can be found anywhere; they
are particularly numerous in the Dreaming Gulf,
where the roving dreams of dead gods drift on alien
currents and sometimes open portals to the Material
Plane.
Strategy and tactics: The incorporeal guecubu’s touch
can put a creature into a deep sleep, and its natural
invisibility allows it to flit through combat without
fear to reach those whose bodies it covets. Its only other
mode of attack is to rely on telekinesis to hurl objects
through the air. While possessing a living creature, a
guecubu uses the best tactics available to that
particular creature.
Caligrostro

Caligrostos are perhaps the most sadistic of the known

types of loumara. They live within weapons, having a
particular affinity for slashing weapons such as
swords. A Caligrosto's greatest desire is for the weapon
it lives within to be carried into battle and allowed to
inflict suffering. It will often enhance the weapon with
magic properties, so that people will be more inclined
to wield it.

Description: When not possessing a slashing weapon, a

caligrosto looks similar to the last creature it damaged,
though it remains somewhat blurry and ghostly, as
incorporeal as a fiendish shade. Otherwise, the
caligrosto is an invisible, shapeless mass.

While a caligrosto can move through solid objects, they

do so only in cases of extreme peril, since doing so
forces them to leave behind their weapon and abandon
their current fiendish shade. A caligrosto forced to
abandon a favored weapon becomes obsessed with
reclaiming control of that weapon, and once it does so,
its wrath invariably turns upon those who forced it to
abandon its blade.
Ecology: A caligrosto is far more likely to possess a
weapon in an active shop, forge, or armory than it is to
possess weapons in remote hidden treasure caches or
abandoned battlefields. These hateful demons live for
little else than the thrill of cutting, but powerful
demons or other creatures can sometimes convince
platoons of caligrostos to serve them as guards or
soldiers. As long as a caligrosto legion is allowed to cut
and stab on a regular basis, these demons quickly
become used to the guarantee of new victims and the
security of dwelling in the shadow of a powerful lord.
Environment: Caligrostos can be found in
environment that would have a slashing weapon, and
prefer to be in those places that have the greatest
potential for both wielders and victims (though a
wielder can definitely become a victim).
Strategies and Tactics: Once a caligrosto possesses a
slashing weapon, it waits patiently for a prospective
wielder to take it.
Caligrostos can infuse weapons with various qualities,
plus they can weaken an opponent by a mere touch.
They can be forced out of a weapon by adapted spells.
Combat: After a caligrosto has tasted the flesh and
blood of a creature, it tears free from its wielder’grip
and becomes fully able to carry on with its remorseless
need to cut and slice living flesh from bone, taking the
form of a shade and mimicking whatever creature the
weapon struck most recently. It will then proceed to
any slaughter whatever it can find, usually starting with
its one-time wielder.
Slashing weapons aren’t particularly effective against
it, and slashing attacks can cause unexpected damage
to the being the caligrosto is imitating.

Manitou

A manitou manifests, in its true form, as a horrific tangle of ghostly, thorny

vines, each terminating in a jaw of razor-sharp wood-like teeth. Manitous can
possess any animal, plant, or fey. In their incorporeal form, they can literally
tear apart the natural world with the invisible forces at their command.

When it attacks, these teeth solidify just long enough to rend and tear flesh. A
manitou takes particular delight in corrupting sylvan regions and has
singular hunger for dryad souls.

77
78
Created
Some powerful beings build demons from other demons,
or from the raw matter of the Abyss itself. These
demons can be constructs (like retrievers), undead (like
blood fiends), or even truly living outsiders (like
broodswarms), but they aren't spontaneous creations of
the Abyss. They are engineered most often at the whim
of a demon lord, but in some cases by powerful mortal
spellcasters or outsiders like night hags.
79
Kinds of created demons do not share traits—each is a
unique breed in and of itself. Quasits fall in this
category, as fiendish wizards created the first quasits
to serve as familiars and spies. That quasits do
spontaneously form from the Abyss might just indicate
that once the Abyss "accepts" a created demon it might
adopt them to its unknowing plan. In time, retrievers,
blood fiends, and other created demons might begin to
spontaneously arise as well.
 Abat-Dolor

The Abat-dolor is an independent race of beautiful

demons kin to Graz'zt. They are also called “the Black
Ones”.

Description: The abat-dolors are ebon-hued, six-

fingered, 2m10 to 2m40 tall humanoids. They are more
human and more civilized than most demons; yet they
are reputed to be the most vicious of all.

Society: Formerly divided into thirteen clans, the abat-

dolors are now broken into the nine clans of pain, each
of which has their own lord, with Elazalag serving as
their overlord. They are independent of all other
demon lords.

The soldiers wear polished red bronze plate armor and

helmets. They are armed with swords, spears, and light
crossbows. Some have swivel-mounted antimatter guns
which are used as a last resort and only by the order of
Elazalag.

Mezzafgraduun used to be held by the Abat-dolor

under Graz'zt, while he was Elazalag's consort.
However, Iggwilv came to Mezzafgraduun and
separated Graz'zt and four clans of Abat-dolors loyal to
him from the rest of them. Vuron is also held
accountable by the Abat-dolor, and they don't care for
Eclavdra.

Home: The Abat-Dolor dwell in Iyondagur, the 399th

abyssal layer, whih is attached to layers 398, 400, and
366 (Mezzafgraduun?). It is considered to be a large
wild layer.

The entrance from the Soulless Sounding is in the

middle of the great plaza of Elazalag's fortress's outer
courtyard. The palace itself is in the center of the plane
(if such a thing can be said). There are many frowning
facades of hewn stone blocks hedging in this irregularly
shaped area. Squads of Abat-dolor line the parapets on
the walls of the square. Princess Elazalag is announced
by iron rods pounding on wood and by deep horns that
shake the stones. The fortress has a massive portcullis
and drawbridge leading to the courtyard. It has just
begun to be invaded in the middle of Dance of Demons.

Hippokeres: These Demon beast are a parody of a

horses with eight thick legs and a muzzle spiked as that
of a rhinoceros. Most of them are wild, but the smaller
ones are tamed and ridden by the Abat-dolor.

Vargrineen: A type of abysmal steed used by the Abat-

dolor.

80
Alu-Fiend

Alu-fiends are the horrid female offspring of succubus

and human. They look like comely human females with
attractive, powerful features. Only their sharp,
upsloping eyebrows and wings indicate the truth.

Alu-fiends have all the powers of their sisters/mothers

the succubi. They usually communicate using
telepathy, but can speak.

Ecology: If an alu-fiend can somehow hide her wings,

she is mistaken for a human most of the time.

Some alu-fiends are not evil. This usually occurs when

a succubus mates with a non-evil human and the
offspring retains a hint of her father’s morality.

Habitat/Society: Alu-fiends tend to be hateful, even by

tanar’ri standards, because of their dual nature. They
view themselves as outcasts, neither human nor
tanar’ri. Other tanar’ri view them the same way, as
lowly and without purpose. Only the alu-fiends’ power
keeps them in contention as a lesser tanar’ri race.

Some alu-fiends are very intelligent and have become

mages.

Combat: Alu-fiends have an innate intuition that

warns them of impending danger. They have no
natural attack forms save fists and teeth. Most of them
carry enchanted weapons, often gifts from their evil
mothers. The fiend relies heavily on a weapon and
never willingly parts with it.

Alu-fiends have a tough skin and can restore their own All alu-fiends can change their shape to a humanoid
life at the expense of their opponents by hitting them. form of approximately their own height and weight,
and are affected only by specially wrought weapons.

81
 Baphomet on a whim when he
was seized with a fleeting urge
to design a demonic mount to
ride into battle, the Prince of
Beasts abandoned this plan
when the result turned out to
be too ill-tempered to trust in
combat. Today, the ankashars
are limited to the region
immediately surrounding the
Tower of Science, but they
breed true and their presence is
expanding. When his sense of
humor strikes him, Baphomet
sometimes sends an ankashar
to a cult on the Material Plane
that beseeches him for aid,
figuring that if the cult can’t
survive and benefit from such
a wildly dangerous and
unpredictable gift, they’re
better off not existing in the
first place.

Ankashar Combat: ankashars are as unpredictable in combat as

This terrifying creature looks like a skinned bull, a
man, and a reptile melted together into one horrific
single creature. Its head is a misshapen combination of
all four forms, with large horns and a fanged snout. Its
body is vaguely bull-shaped, but its six legs are a
tangled mess of limbs mixing bear, bull, human and
reptilian features. Some of its feet are hooded. It has
large batlike wings that have cruel hooked claws and a
long almost crocodilian tail.
they are in form. Their typical tactics involve rushing
from foe to foe, biting, slapping and goring their
opponents with abandon. A group of ankashars rarely
acts as a coordinated group, each focusing on whatever
opponent draws its attention or happens to be closest.
Their bite provokes a horrible disease making the
bitten limb grow deformed. The whole body of the
victim warps and grows deformed with each passing
day.

The first ankashar were almost an accident. Created by Their gaze can make someone mad.

82
Artaaglith

Artaagliths are ram-headed demonic servants of Orcus.

Their role is to create and control undead armies to be
used in the service of their evil master.

Description: An artaaglith is built much like a satyr,

with a hairy goat body from the waist down and
humanoid arms and torso above the waist. Its head is
the hairless head of a ram, with glowing red eyes and
dark red curving horns. Its skin is as pale as death, its
hair is coarse and black, and its hooves are a fiendish
red. An artaaglith normally carries a battle axe
inscribed with skulls and other symbols of death, and
this battleaxe functions as a holy symbol for the
purpose of the creature using its cleric magic.

Artaagliths are commonly called goat demons,

although that is a misnomer, since they are ram-
headed rather than goat headed. An artaaglith can be
summoned.

Combat: artaagliths are cruel and vindicative. They

are adequate combattants, but they prefer to use
undead servants to fight enemies.

Blood fiend

Blood fiends are abominations who feed on the blood of

living creatures. Initially created in the Elemental
Chaos they are just as prevalent in other planes,
wherever there are creatures to provide food for them.

Description: Blood fiends are huge creatures with a

purple-black or reddish, scaly hide, a lupine muzzle
with great fangs, red eyes, and four clawed hands.
Each of these hands has five razor-sharp claws
extending from them, as do the feet.

Abilities: Blood fiends prey on other fiends, as

vampires prey on humans. They also have the same
ability to transform other creatures into their kind. In
order to assist them in their hunts, blood fiends
immobilize their unfortunate victim with a terrorizing
gaze, making the feast all the easier for the blood fiend.
Blood fiends themselves are immune to fear. Most
wounds inflicted on them will heal in a matter of
moments.

83
 Lore: The discipline, loyalty
and single mindedness of the
bonegouge assassin are
atypical of demonkind. Some
sages believe these creatures
were interlopers that first
became demons through
Orcus’s manipulation of
abyssal energy rather than as
pure creations on his part.

It is said that Orcus crafted

the first bonegouge assassins
from a guild of shadow
assassins. The Lord of
Undeath trapped guild
members in pits near the
crystalline heart of the Abyss
for more than a century,
infusing their souls with
abyssal power. Once
transformed, the assassins
were fed an endless stream of
combatants, perfecting their
skills and sealing their place
at the right hand oftheir
master.

Encounters: A bonegouge
assassin works with others
only when ordered to do so.
This stealthy creature often
gathers demon worshiping
assassins to its side to use as
decoys on dangerous missions.
A bonegouge assassin is
sometimes sent or summoned
into the world, where it
establishes an assassin school
or leads bands of outlaws to
harass or destroy local lords.

In Combat: A bonegouge
assassin employs mercurial
tactics, poised to capitalize on
an opponent's weaknesses. It
Bonegouge Assassin lures a foe into its gloomy shroud, a black cloud of
smoke and dust, then sinks its assassin's dart into the
Pitiless and cruel, a bonegouge assassin is wholly enemy's throat before the foe ever guesses that a demon
focused on its assignment. It lusts after nothing and lurks within the gloom. After it strikes, the assassin
follows the orders ofits master without question. teleports to an advantageous position, leaving the
gloom and its victim behind.
When it takes control of an abyssal layer, a demon lord
can mold the demons there. Bonegouge assassins are
believed to be the creation of Orcus

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Broodswarm

Sinister and cruel, these swarms of tiny

demons are created by night hags and
sent out into the world to find innocent
souls for their mistresses to harvest.

Description: A broodswarm consists of

around three hundred tiny demonlings,
each of which is about the size of a
sparrow and weighs only 20 grams. An
individual demonling looks like a
miniature fat horned human, naked,
with a grin that’s too wide and a thin,
hooked silver needle in place of each
hand. It has undeveloped wings that do
not allow actual flight, although they
do grant a boost when jumping. A
broodswarm demonling’s feet end in
tiny hooves.

Ecology: The creation of a broodswarm

requires a night hag a month-long
process in the Pits of Despair on the
Woeful Escarand (layer 400), during
which time the night hag must
constantly tear loose pieces of her flesh
and feed them to fresh manes. As each
piece of flesh is eaten, that mane
shrinks into a broodswarm demonling.
Though they are not constructs per-se,
broodswarms share much in common
with them. They do not eat or drink
and have little interest in anything
other than serving their night hag
mistresses.

Society: It’s unusual for a night hag to

create more than one broodswarm at a
time, simply due to the exorbitant cost
Given time, broodswarms can conjure their creator.
of creating the sheer number of little demons. As a
The broodswarm typically waits until it has captured a
result, broodswarms are typically encountered alone.
victim to use this ability. The night hag called by the
broodswarm appears in a blast of noxious smoke and
Broodswarms are completely and slavishly loyal to
can remain indefinitely. The bloodswarm also daze
their creators. They desire only to serve their night hag
their opponents..
mistresses, and thus do not form societies of their own.
A broodswarm whose night hag is slain slowly slips
Broodswarms can manifest lengths of coarse black
into madness—within a week, the broodswarm turns on
thread from their silvery hook hands with frightening
itself, its component demonlings slaughtering each
speed. They use these threads to stitch victims up and
other until all that remains is a nasty, tangled mess of
prevent their escape. A broodswarm’s feeble wings can
tiny bodies stitched together in a bloody mound.
assist in making leaps.

Habitat: Broodswarms can be found anywhere but

Piercing and slashing weapons are not particularly
prefer to haunt urban areas. Since it can call its night
effective against a broodswarm, especially if they
hag creator from anywhere, a broodswarm need not
aren’t made of cold iron or infused with good.
remain physically close to its mistress.
It is possible to dispatch a broodswarm. The demonlings
Strategy/Tactics: A broodswarm has little interest in
that comprise the swarm are surprisingly agile,
attacking non-good creatures except in self-defense.
however.

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Cambion Cambions do not summon their own kind.

Environment: Cambions inhabit the Infinite Layers of

Although the term “cambion” is often applied to any
humanoid half-fiend, a true cambion springs from a
union between a powerful tanar’ri father and a
planetouched mother—usually a tiefling. The mother
does not survive the birth. Spurned even by their
demon fathers, cambions use their alternate form
ability to hide among humanoids and gather
information that they can exchange for the power and
prestige they crave.
Description: A cambion appears as an ugly and
terrifying humanoid about 1m80 to 2m10 tall. It has
spiky hair and pitch-black, pockmarked skin encrusted
with tiny scales and boils. Its ears are sharply pointed,
its mouth is filled with crooked fangs and its eyes burn
with a hellish light. Cambions carry forward the motif
of their pointed fangs by wearing spiked armor and
carrying weapons with sharp points. Entirely
carnivorous, they become physically sick if they eat
any food other than meat. As a result, their bodies
exude a ripe, predatory stench.
the Abyss, though some also walk the areas of the
Material Plane where they were born
The higher-ranking marquis and baron cambions result
from the unions of demon lords or princes with female
humanoid half-fiends. They are much more charming
than normal cambions.
Some cambions are neutral or even good because its
tiefling mother was not evil. These wretched creatures
are doomed to a miserable existence as lone wolves
because good-aligned communities rarely accept them.
Society: Cambions, like alu-fiends, are freaks and
outcasts. Never accepted in human society and only
poorly tolerated in the Abyss, they feel bitter and
hateful towards all, but many manage to ingratiate
themselves with powerful tanar’ri by serving as
extraplanar agents of the Abyss.
Claiming extensive knowledge of the planes, Cambions

86
pose as scholars, or sages. They are excellent guides to more ambitious than most demon-kind. As if they have
the planes and know much about demon summoning. something to prove, either to their demonic parent or
Mortals who approach them for advice are directed to to themselves. They strive to excel in some fashion,
the Abyss on one pretext or another, and the demons accumulating wealth, acquiring information, or
native to the layer in question are warned of their gathering followers. They act as catalysts for events
approach, so that they can slay the intruders and turn and major happenings.
them into larvae and manes. Most cambions excel at
this form of deception, and in fact, only succubi are Combat: A cambion can charm its victim or instill fear
better at luring mortals to the Abyss. with a single touch. It typically carries ornate weapons
and armor, many of them magical.
Because of their natural stealth and detachment,
cambions who dwell in the Abyss serve as assassins in Cambions have keen senses and are never surprised.
the Blood War. Others become bodyguards or They are as stealthy as thieves and use. Some cambions
lieutenants to the demons who fathered them, or serve have wizard abilities.
as advisors to balors or otherhigh-ranking demons.
Cambions love both deception and battle, and their
Their loyalty is almost always to the tanar’ri who
roguish, tricky nature gives them plenty of
fathered them. An intelligent cambion might become a
opportunities for both. A cambion typically assume a
wizard.
non demonic form that allows it to get close to its prey,
Loners by nature, cambions are rarely found in the then lashes out when its victim is flat-footed. It can also
company of other demons, keeping to themselves, levitate onto a rooftop or into trees that offer
surviving on their wits and alternate form abilities. concealment. A cambion prefers poisons with disabling
They prefer to dwell in planar crossroads such as Sigil or paralyzing effects, so that it can finish off its target
or in the larger cities of the Material Plane, where they with a quick coup de grace.
can lose themselves easily in the crowds and the
A cambion typically brings all its combat resources to
natives ask few questions.
bear early in a fight. Thereafter, should it begin to lose
Cambions rarely mate with their own kind, but when the battle, it might offer a truce or even surrender,
they do, the cambion line breeds true. In most cases, since it is happy to take advantage of an opponent’s
however, they prefer to find humanoid partners with most honorable traditions. A cambion losing a fight
whom they can produce tieflings. Cambions tend to be will otherwise try to escape.

87
 the Material Plane more often
than other demons do.

They are entirely vile. Some

overcompensate with extra
violence because they feel that
their lamia blood makes them less
than “true” demons. Some hunt
humanoids for sport at every
opportunity simply for the taste
of fresh blood and raw meat.

Society: Normally, the dilution of

demonic blood with mortal would
make the half-fiend offspring
little more than a slave of full-
blooded demons, but a quirk of
the carnevus’s bloodline has given
it demon status as well as a gift
for arcane magic. Thus, these
creatures are much loved by
their patron, Graz’zt, who
ensures that they are treated
with respect. He has elevated
many to serve him directly, as
members of his court. The
carnevuses repay his patronage
with both loyalty and good
service, at least by demonic
standards.

Outside of the planes where

Carnevus
Carnevuses are abominable creatures of demonic
crossbreeding. They literally speak with forked tongues,
and magic rolls off their hides like rain.
Description: This creature has two mouths and four
arms, like a nightmare combination of two humanoids,.
Its skin is covered with short gray-brown shaggy fur
(sometimes striped), and its mane like hair forms a
widow’s peak with a white stripe or forelock. Its
tongues are forked and serpentlike, and its eyes are
typically green or black. Its hands are tipped with
black claws.
Carnevus do not summon other demons. They rarely
mate outside their own kind because they have the
ability to breed true.
Ecology: A carnevus is the product of a ritualized
union between a tanar’ri and a lamia noble. It does not
need to eat, but loves to consume flesh, prefering the
meat of sentient creatures and the eggs of large birds.
Environment: Carnevus demons inhabit primarily the
45th to 47th layers of the Abyss. They travel to Sigil and
Graz’zt holds sway, carnevus
demons do not receive the same
degree of respect, though the
smarter Abyssal lords
understand their power to turn a
battle with their arcane abilities.
Demonologists and those who make pacts with infernal
powers summon carnevus demons regularly, both for
their unique talents and because their bloodlust and
hunger for flesh is easier to satisfy than the more
deviant tastes of other demons.
Some carnevuses move among humanoids, preferring
not to show their true faces to anyone other than
tanar’ri, lamias, or followers of Graz’zt. Lamias, lamia
nobles, or shadow demons often accompany carnevus
demons. Occasionally, however, one travels with a
group of rutterkin or hezrou bodyguards.
Combat: This demon’s two mouths and four arms allow
it to fight with multiple weapons while using fire and
lightning to smite its enemies.
Though carnevus demons are too weak in melee to
serve tanar’ri as front-line troops in battle, their
powerful evocations can blast through the ranks of any
foe. Thus, they typically use their magic to support a
marilith or a lamia noble in battle, plying their spell-
like abilities from the safety of invisibility, or from
behind a wall of tough tanar’ri allies, such as vrocks or
hezrous.

88
 Chokesnake

A writhing snake protruding from the neck of creatures; the serpent wraps itself
twice around the neck of its host like a necklace, and its hissing face rears up behind
the host's head.

Chokesnakes are fiendish symbionts created in Demogorgon’s Abyssal laboratories,

crafted from a snake's head severed from a molydeus demon — since this process
invariably results in the Molydeus’ death, these demons are particularly enraged by
creatures who have chokesnake symbionts.

Chokesnakes are typically implanted in a helpless creature, and the implantation is

not always successful. Chokesnakes are designed to guard their host, preventing the
host from acting contrary to Demorgorgon's wishes. While chokesnakes can defend
their host if necessary, their primary purpose is to take control of the host if it acts
out against the will of the Prince of Demons and/or smother the victim if it grows
overly rebellious

Creatures of good alignment with an implanted chokesnake are slowly driven insane.
Creatures of a non-evil alignment succumb to temptation to perform an evil act.

Clockwork Horror
Merciless and numerous, clockwork horrors are a
mechanical plague of demonic constructs bent on
exterminating organic life.
the intervention of the demon lord Haagenti, who now
controls these creatures’ allegiance in the Abyss.
Clockwork horrors also thrive beyond that realm,
increasing their numbers in the hidden reaches of
unsuspecting worlds.

Society: Unlike most constructs, clockwork horrors

possess both intelligence and free will. They work only
with their own kind and other servants of Haagenti,
destroying weaker creatures on sight. All clockwork
horrors that can see each other can communicate
televathically regardless of the distance between them.

Arachnid Clockwork Horror

A swarm of arachnid clockwork horrors can send the
most battle hardened demon troops fleeing in fear. The
numbers of these ravenous constructs swell in battle
with each enemy that falls.

Combat: Arachnid clockwork horrors swarm a

vulnerable target with coordinated attacks. When an
arachnid clockwork horror‘s foe is wounded enough,
the clockwork horror quasi instantly replicates. The
replicated spawn then attacks a new victim while the
original finishes off the wounded target.

History: Ages ago, a forgotten demon lord of iron and

artifice constructed the first clockwork horrors,
imbuing their mechanical forms with the abyssal life
force claimed from thc ritual sacrifice of his lesser
servants. Proving the success of his design, the
clockwork horrors quickly slaughtered their creator,
then escaped from the Rift of Corrosion, the 652nd
layer of the Abyss.

Swarming into neighboring layers, the horrors

consumed everything in their path as their numbers
grew. This grinding plague was contained only with

89
Crocatta their will. In addition, crocottas can also twist their
features in grotesque forms to shock and frighten their
foes.
Crocottas are unique to Yeenoghu’s realm, and they fill
a niche similar to that of the hyena in the natural
They hunt escaped slaves and explorers alike, killing
world. These beasts are scavengers that have a brutish
whatever they encounter.
cunning and an insatiable lust for killing.
Crocottas use pack tactics when hunting their prey.
Description: A crocatta (or crocotta or corocotta)
They then use haunting laughter to put their opponent
blends the features of a wild boar and a hyena. Black-
into harm’s way, slashing with their vicious tusks, only
spotted brown fur covers its head, large brown, pitted
to dart away if their foe returns with an attack of its
tusks emerge from its canine jaw. The rest of its body is
own. The sounds of their queer laughter causes the
hairless and covered with hideous, crusty sores. It has a
target to move unbidden, so each crocotta has a chance
long ratlike tail.
to tear into the enemy before closing in for the kill.

History and Origins: It is unclear whether the

Most crocottas operate in small packs, and a few
crocattas were created by Yeenoghu or were simply
demons can break them of their natural independence
coughed up by the Abyss in response to his realm being
and use them as guardians and warriors.
populated by hyena. Some even speculate they were
birthed by the union of a demon and a hyenadon. Crocottas are natural cowards and flee any kind of
stiff resistance. However, driving off a pack of
Tactics: The crocotta is a perverse reflection of the
crocottas doesn’t mean that they’ve given up. Their
natural hyena and employs many of the same tactics.
hunger and hatred wins out over their fear, and they
These demons possess a curious bark that sounds like
are sure to return until their victim is dead.
disturbed laughter. Those who hear it move against

90
Devourer

Of all the abominations Orcus has unleashed, devourers

are among the most feared. These tall, mummy-like
fiends wander the planes, consuming souls and, by
example, spreading Orcus's creed of replacing all life
with everlasting death.

Ecology: A lesser demon that proves itself to Orcus

might be granted the privilege of becoming a devourer.
The Prince of Undeath transforms such a demon into
an 8-foot-tall, desiccated humanoid with a hollowed-out
ribcage, then fills the new creature with a hunger for
souls. Orcus grants each new devourer the essence of a
less fortunate demon to power the devourer's first
foray into the planes. Most devourers remain in the
Abyss, or on the Astral or Ethereal Plane, pursuing
Orcus's schemes and interests in those realms.

When Orcus sends devourers to the Material Plane, he

often sets them on a mission to create, control, and lead
a plague of undead. Skeletons, zombies, ghouls and
ghasts, and shadows are particularly attracted to the
presence of a devourer.

Devourers hunt humanoids, with the intent of

consuming them body and soul. After a devourer
brings a target to the brink of death, it pulls the
victim's body in and traps the creature within its own
ribcage. As the victim tries to stave off death (usually
without success), the devourer tortures its soul with Combat: The devourer makes attacks with its claws
telepathic noise. When the victim expires, it undergoes and either imprison someone in his ribcage (the victim
a horrible transformation, springing forth from the is teleported inside the devourer's ribcage and
devourer's body to begin its new existence as an imprisoned there, the devourer then regurgitates the
undead servitor of the monster that spawned it, as a slain creature and the creature becomes an undead), or
zombie, a ghoul or a wight. create a vortex of life-draining energy.

A devourer doesn't require air, food (other than souls),

drink, or sleep.

91
Goristro mouth, a goristro eats it, even devouring lesser tanar’ri
among its own kind when its dim mind believe no one
is watching. A goristro eats for the sheer malicious joy
Behemoths of the battlefield, goristroi (otherwise
of consuming living prey. Tanar’ri commanders
known as siege demons or boorixtroi) are among the
usually sacrifice lesser troops for the sake of keeping
largest tanar'ri, living siege engines kept by demon
their citadels going.
lords as favored pets. Enormous, unbelievably strong,
and relatively easy to control, a goristro can reduce
Goristroi flesh is itself poisonous if ingested, so not even
even the thickest walls to rubble in minutes
powerful planar creatures or pack hunters like
armanites attack them.
Description: Misshapen, giant demon that resembles a
fiendish minotaur, a goristro is a tremendously
Many Abyssal powers treat their goristros as prized
muscular figure, a lumbering towering frame more
pets, and broker deals with owners of other goristros
than 9 meters tall, combining the features of a
for breeding purposes, since goristroi do not breed
humanoid, a great bear, and a bison. Its visage is a
naturally: they are carefully mated by their owners
nightmarish cross between bison and human with
after extensive negotiations, eventually resulting in a
lipless mouths and forward sweeping horns. Its overly
single young. The goristroi are watched throughout the
long arms are thick as tree trunks, and its hands and
entire process. Generally, the terms are that the owner
feet disproportionately large, splayed, and humanlike.
of the male goristroi gains the female young, and the
Goristroi individual colors vary from dark brown
owner of the mother is entitled to the male young
through sickly greenish yellow to a peculiar purplish
produced. The young grow to maturity within five
gray.
voracious, screaming years. This allows the lucky
owner to breed further young on his own, albeit inbred
As it approaches, its feet sending tremors through the
ones. However, abductions, infanticide (if the young is
ground with each step, a goristro usually drops to all
the wrong gender), and even outright purchases of the
fours, lumbering over the ground on its knuckles like a
live young are fairly common. Under no circumstances
building-sized gorilla.
are the parents allowed to have any influence on the
A goristro weights around 6,3 tons but the largest (and young goristro.
eldest known) siege demon ever spotted is a colossal
Habitat/Society: These huge tanar’ri can be found on
mythic goristro named Bjornganal, a 60m tall
nearly any plane of the Abyss but are particularly
monstrosity that serves Baphomet personally and
common in Baphomet’s Endless Maze (layer 600) or in
carries a veritable fortress on his back.
the Iron Wastes (layer 23), where they often inhabit the
Ecology: Goristroi were created by Baphomet. They same caverns as the fiendish giants that rule that
possess preternatural cunning when navigating realm.
labyrinthine passages and shifting corridors.
The hulking goristroi are too stupid and bestial to do
In the wild Abyss, goristroi are feral predators that more than carry out their orders, and thus their status
make no distinction between various types of prey and never reaches that or the true tanar’ri. Left to their
playthings. If something moves and will fit in its own devices, they have little ambition to be anything

92
more than effective predators and are too stupid to
keep treasure.
Goristros are often encountered as lumbering guardian
pets in a more powerful demon’s lair.
In the Blood War the goristroi are highly valued and
much desired by demonic commanders to serve as siege
engines and rallying points for lesser tanar’ri. Many
abyssal legions seek them out and press them into
service - a terribly dangerous undertaking. A hulking
goristro can be trained to serve as traveling citadel,
bearing a palanquin strapped to its head and shoulders
to carry smaller demons, acting as a living siege tower.
Depending on the size of the goristro, a “goristro
citadel” can carry four to eight creature riders and it
hardly seems aware of it.
Goristroi are important among their kin because of
their ability to absorb damage and to mete it out. They
are stupid and otherwise limited in power, but control
of a goristro is a status symbol in the Abyss, and
powerful demons lucky enough to control one often
treat it as a favored pet and treasure guardian. Hence,
the vast majority of goristroi encountered are in the
service of some Abyssal ruler, blindly carrying out the
duties assigned to them with complete fanaticism.
Goristroi ruled by an Abyssal lord or power always
wear that demon lord’s rune or symbol of servitude,
such as a collar, an arm or a wrist band, or an
implanted symbol either branded or tattooed on their
flesh or carved into the base of their horns. Such
devices typically have the power to convey telepathic
93
commands to the wearer as well as serve as tracking
devices should the masters wish to know the
whereabouts of their servants, for without direct
command or supervision, goristroi tend to wander off
on destructive rampages of their own direction and
desire.
Strategy and tactics: When a demonic army marches
on a fortified enclosure, a goristro or two acting as a
catapult can make the difference between easy victory
and a long, drawn-out siege. These gargantuan demons
shake the ground when they walk, and are capable of
levitating or clambering along sheer walls to reach
their targets.
A goristro is incapable of subtlety and has only a
rudimentary grasp of combat tactics. It charges into
battle and pounds enemies, either with the massive fists
that ending its long and very powerful arms, or by
stamping against opponents within reach, resorting to
hurled boulders only when it can’t easily reach
creatures pestering it with ranged attacks.
There is never a question of retreat or morale when
dealing with these brutes, though the threat of long
falls can induce paralysis on the field of action. In all
other respects, they always continue to follow their
given commands until completion or death occurs.
A goristro heals its wounds remarkably fast.
Goristroi are capable of clambering along walls like a
spider or floating up into the air using levitation.
Against foes they still can’t reach, they hurl massive
boulders.
Ixitxachitls

Aquatic ixitxachitls are the faithful servants of sea devils.

Demogorgon, dwelling throughout the natural world.
These fiendish manta rays have a hunger for mortal Ixitxachitl Demon Ray
flesh that is never satisfied. In undersea coral cityscapes, these demon rays darken
the water with blood from a thousand sacrifices.
Lore: Legend has it that Demogorgon created the
manta rays when he was a primordial. The rays' loyal Combat: Few aquatic species are as cunning as
descendants' followed him into the Abyss and were ixitxachitls, which strike from hiding in silt clouds and
corrupted, becoming the ixitxachitls. Weak by the beds of noxious weeds.
standards of most other abyssal creatures, these
fiendish rays dwell in protected areas of the Brine Ixitxachitl Priests
Flats and in the mortal world, where they control huge The most faithful servants of the Prince of Demons in
areas of ocean in Demogorgon’s name. the mortal realm, ixitxachitl priests torture, kill, and
sacrifice for the glory of Demogorgon.
Encounters: Though they freely ally with aquatic
undead not beholden to Orcus, ixitxachitls prefer to Combat: An ixitxachitl priest uses its vampiric fangs
work with their own kind. Ixitxachitls despise as often as possible, draining a victim's vitality as it is
sahuagin, and ally with any creatures that fight the sacrificed in Demogorgon’s name.

94
Kalaka

Baphomet creates Kalakas from mortal humanoid into the teeth of its allies. Once the kalaka takes a hit, it
thralls he subverted and abducted from the world, uses unexpected reinforcements to punish its foes
remade to serve the Prince of Beasts in the Endless before pressing its attack with its glaive.
Maze to ensure their obedience and loyalties in their
new roles as protectors of his realm. Each creature is Encounter: Kalakas are foot soldiers used to fight
unique in appearance, and each suits Baphomet’s mood Yeenoghu’s and other Baphomet’s enemies. Often, these
and caprice at the time of its making. demons form up into small squads to hunt down
escapees, repair tunnels, or maintain traps.
Tactics: The kalaka uses its glaive to drive its enemies

95

Lilitu
The sly and seductive lilitus are masters of mocking the
divine. They infiltrate temples, corrupt priests, and
slowly convert their victims to the worship of the
demon lords.
Description: A lilitu’s true form is a disturbing cross
between a beautiful humanoid woman and a cruel
demonic creature. A lilitu could easily be mistaken for
a beautiful woman at a glance: a lithe and graceful
figure destined to inflame desire in those around her. A
closer look, however, reveals sharp talons, vacant
white eyes, and cloven feet, distorting and perverting
that beauty into something disturbing. Burnt and
broken fragments of wings protrude from her back, lost
in the transformation from succubi to lilitu, and her
four writhing, three meters long, sting-tipped tails give
testament to her ruinous nature.
A lilitu stands 1m80 tall and weighs 57 kilograms.
Ecology: A lilitu is born from the ashes of a slain
succubus. The ritual of transformation and ascension
to lilitu form is different for each succubus but always
involves a ritual that culminates in the sacrifice of an
entire congregation of faithful worshipers who believe
they are worshiping a benign deity. The succubus must
be able to cast divine spells and must lead the ritual
(which is usually disguised to resemble a harvest ritual)
to its climax—the burning of the church and its faithful
in a fire set from a portal opened to one of the deepest
furnaces of the Abyss. The succubus’s body is consumed
in a blast of supernaturally hot fire, but she is reborn
from the ashes as a lilitu.
Lilitus subsist on the profane joys of corrupting
priesthoods and twisting the worship of the faithful to
that of a particular demon lord. Their natures shield
them from most forms of magical detection, and their
96
ability to pose as powerful clerics goes a long way
toward allowing them to gain an impressionable town’s
gratitude.
Habitat/Society: Lilitus can be encountered anywhere
on the Abyss. On the Material Plane, they prefer urban
regions where they can blend into crowds to more
easily work their corruptions on religious society.
A lilitu spends much of her time in an assumed form,
usually that of a specific attractive humanoid who
plays an increasingly important role in the local
religious scene. Once she has corrupted a particular
temple to the faithful worship of a demon lord, she
leaves the temple in the able hands of a dominated
minion and moves on to her next target. Over time, a
lilitu creates a vast network of interconnected cults,
outwardly worshiping different deities but in actuality
paying homage to one of the rulers of the Abyss. A
lilitu might need to teleport back and forth to renew
dominations, but eventually her minions succumb to
her influence so completely that when they learn the
truth about their faith, they accept it gladly.
Lilitus do not usually enjoy the company of their own
kind, finding them abrasive and off-putting: they
regard other lilitus as competition, even if they are
working for the same demon lord. A lilitu that learns
of another’s proximity turns all her resources to that
interloper’s destruction.
Lilitus treat succubi with similar disdain, since any
succubus can become a lilitu, given time. Most lilitus
ascribe to the “kill them before they become trouble”
approach to dealing with succubi. Some lilitus have
even been known to hire mercenaries to hunt down
and destroy succubi - they take delight in the delicious
irony of a group of do-gooders unknowingly working
for an evil greater than that which they are sent to
end.
They regularly cavort with other kinds of demons,
especially the more ambitious ones.
Lilitus who have proven their worth on the Material
Plane often serve demon lords as favored diplomats,
messengers, spies, and assassins. They get along well
enough with most other kinds of demons and are
particularly fond of glabrezus.
All lilitu clerics worship one of the demon lords (most
of them worship Graz’zt or Malcanthet). A lilitu
usually carries magical gear and equipment.
Strategy and tactics: Like her lesser succubus kin, a
lilitu prefers to avoid direct physical confrontations,
relying on dominated minions or other allies who don’t
realize her true nature to rise to her defense. She
remains at range, using her abilities to support her
allies.
Unlike a succubus though, a lilitu is a fairly competent
melee combatant. If forced into melee, a lilitu reverts
to her true form and uses her stingers and claws.
Lilitus are particularly fond of suggesting armored
characters to quickly remove their armor so she can
get a better look at them, or suggesting to divine
spellcasters that their holy symbols and other religious
paraphernalia has been corrupted by her presence and
should be hurled away immediately.
Lilitus are masters of trickery and can pose as clerics
with such skill that even magic cannot reveal their
deception.
A lilitu can embrace a willing or helpless living
creature with a “gift”. This boon augments beauty,
eloquence, and personal magnetism while also
increasing health, reflexes, and willpower. Until the
gift expires or is removed, the affected creature
radiates chaos, and the lilitu’s name written in Abyssal
appears as a tattoo somewhere on the character’s body.
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Most lilitu take pains to place this mark some where
that’s easily hidden. The recipient of a lilitu’s gift
cannot see his own tattoo. As long as the gift remains
active, the lilitu can monitor the character’s condition
and location as if she had placed a status spell on that
character. She can also communicate telepathically
with the character at all times, despite any
intervening distance (even across planes), and by
concentrating can observe the world around the
character as if she were there in his place. Lilitus often
use this ability to influence and trick a character into
performing chaotic or evil acts.
A lilitu’s heretical nature renders her particularly
susceptible to divine magic.
Lilitus have poisonous stingers that cloud the senses
and leech away life energy.
The Misbegotten

Born from Baphomet’s diseased imagination and terrible than the last. But one of his most appalling
consigned to the depths below his palace, the entertainments is the creation of new demonic forms
Misbegotten swells with evil, awaiting its chance to from fiends who disappoint him. The Misbegotten is
take revenge on its maker. both his greatest failure and his greatest achievement.
So disgusting, so foul was this creation, Baphomet
Description: The Misbegotten is a bloated black worm consigned it to the deep tunnels beneath his palace to
covered in quivering pustules that give it its destroy other twisted abominations he creates. The
distinctive smell. Four thick tentacles, each Misbegotten hungers for its maker, and it crawls the
terminating in a long, smooth horn, frame a tiny head, tunnels looking for a way to kill the demon prince.
which is malformed and dripping with putrid ooze
from a slobbering maw. The thing makes no sound as it Tactics: The Misbegotten flows into battle to crush its
pulls itself across the floor—only issuing a small moan opponents and glue them to the floor with the sticky
when it kills. strands of its slime. Its tentacles snake out to snatch
enemies and when it grabs them, it smashes them into
Lore: Baphomet has many diversions, each more the floor until they stop wiggling.

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Orlath

This horrific serpentine demon shares two humanoid

atop a single coiling body. Each torso weaves a set of
six humanoid arms, all clutching cruel scimitars. The
monster's two baboon-like heads glower menacingly,
their eyes beady and bright with hate.

Legends of the birth of the Orlath come from that the

great Prince of Demons Demogorgon battling a
powerful marilith. As the marilith died, several of the
teeth from the prince got dislodged from him and stuck
in the corpse. After a century the body split open and
gave birth of the first Orlath.

Orlath demons are not members of a demonic race like

the Tanar'ri or the Obyriths. They are more akin to
their own race, a race shaped by and for Demogorgon
himself. The Orlath's ability to assume humanoid form,
combined with its silver tongue and extensive
knowledge, make it an excellent spy or double agent.
The Orlath is devastating in combat, leading with a
slashing array of scimitars and savages bites. Although
it’s weaker than a marilith, orlath's increased number
of arms makes it a veritable cyclone of blood and steel
in melee.

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 and a vicious fang-filled mouth that drips with poison.
Its hands and feet are long and slender, with long,
claw-tipped digits. Warts and pustules cover its
greenish skin. In its natural form, a quasit stands
about 60cm tall and weighs 3,5 kilograms.

Quasits speak Common and Abyssal.

Ecology: A quasit is a tiny demon that delights in

tormenting mortals with vicious – and often lethal –
pranks. They delight in causing mischief and mayhem.
Sometimes, a quasit will bind itself to a mortal
spellcaster to act as a familiar. These demons do so as a
means to corrupt the mortal wizard into using her
magic as destructively as possible.

More powerful demons use quasits as spies and

messengers when they aren't devouring them or pulling
them apart to pass the time. A quasit can assume
animal forms

Combat: Although quasits thirst for victory and power

as other demons do, they are cowards at heart. They
Quasit
typically attack from ambush, using their alternate
form ability and invisibility to get within reach,
Quasits are insidious demons from the Abyss. They are
administer its poison, then try to scuttle away. Quasits
often found serving chaotic evil spellcasters as
rarely attack alone or without the ability to escape.
counselors and spies.
When retreating, they use their cause fear ability to
deter pursuit.
Description: a quasit appears to be a tiny humanoid-
shaped creature with small leathery wings, spiky horns

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Retriever

A retriever is a mindless construct created by foul

sorcery to be warriors and servants for more
powerful demons of the Abyss. They specialize in
retrieving lost or desired objects, runaway slaves,
and enemies and bringing them back to its master.

Appearance: A retriever appears as a giant spider

that stands twice as tall as a human, with forelegs
that end in large cleavers. Its body is about the size
of an ox, and its four bulbous eyes gleam
malevolently. These eyes are capable of producing
magical ray attacks that deal fire, cold, electricity,
and petrification to an enemy.

Retrievers were originally created by Demogorgon.

Sarumzhi

Sarumzhis are demons of the air,

embodiments of the storm’s wrath given
evil and destructive purpose.

The first sarumzhis were created by the

demon lord Pazuzu, King of the Wind
Demons, by consuming evil souls and
breathing them forth again in the form
of avian terrors. Since then, sarumzhis
have bred true throughout the Abyss,
and while thousands of them flock to
Pazuzu’s side to join him in acts of
destruction, millions more inhabit the
wild places of the Abyss, seeking out
titanic howling storms and reveling in
the wind and lightning.

Given their birdlike appearance,

sarumzhis are easily mistaken for
vrocks, but sarumzhis hate and fear
those more powerful demons, even when
both serve under the same master.
Sarumzhis most often live as little more
than hateful animals, but some greater
demons enslave them to use as
messengers.

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Scion of Zuggtmoy Ecology: Most scions of Zuggtmoy are created in one of
the demon queen's Gardens of Rot. However, they can
also propagate on their own by infecting the corpses of
Demons captured by Zuggtmoy’s followers are buried
mortals and demons they destroy using their spores.
alive in the horrid Gardens of Rot, transforming and
The type of scion created with spores reflects the
then rising as scions of Zuggtmoy, each a creature of
nature of the host creature in life.
reeking flesh and fungi.

History: Zuggtmoy once commanded legendary armies

of powerful, demonic creatures made of fungi and
rotting flesh. The power of the Lady of Decay has since
waned, as has the strength of her servants.

Society: Zuggtmoy views her scions as key to winning

the support of mortal followers, an integral part other
plots to reclaim her former power.

Scions act as front line troops for more powerful

demons dedicated to Zuggtmoy, and as bodyguards and
enforcers for the leaders of her cult in the world. Large
mobs of scions also wander the Abyss, the survivors of
skirmishes between Zuggtmoy's followers and her
enemies. Masterless scions may attack any creatures
that draw near, but also suddenly break off in the
middle of a battle and ignore all other creatures unless
attacked.

Scion of Zuggtmoy Overgrowth

Some demons are incapable of accepting defeat or loss,
even in death. When such a creature is planted in a
Garden of Rot, it becomes a mass of fungal tendrils that
threatens to overwhelm any enemies within reach.

An overgrowth chooses its targets from the musty

memories of its most hated foes in its past life. It then
hounds the target relentlessly, attempting to envelop
and consume the foe within its slimy tendrils.

Scion of Zuggtmoy Infector

Cowards and deserters rise as infectors, possessed of
deadly tendrils with which they enforce Zuggtmoy's
will.

The destroyed mind of an infector maintains a shadow

of its former incarnation’s cowardice, inspiring it to
keep a safe distance from enemies.

Scion of Zuggtmoy Spore Lord

Creatures known for their creative and inventive
minds rise as spore lords, these powerful scions of
Zuggtmoy constantly reform themselves as a shifting
mass of spores.

A spore lord treats combat as an elaborate game,

flowing across the battlefield as it ignores any attempts
to hold it back. Whichever opponent seems most vexed
by its antics becomes the focus of its attacks.

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Spawn of Juiblex

The Faceless Lord spawns uncountable children, which its foes in both body and mind, the ooze horror
congeal into formless shapes of burbling ichor. The envelops and consumes all creatures that stand before
spawn of Juiblex live for purposes unknown even to it.
themselves, fighting and dying to be reabsorbed and
live again in the name of their demon lord. Plague Hurler
The demon lords fear JuibIex’s ultimate goal - an
Lore: It is thought that Juiblex did not always have eternal rain of putrescence across every plane.
spawn, and that the proliferation of these oozes is a Juiblex’s creations are the promise of that dream, and
sign of his growing power. Juiblex shapes the essence of none are more deadly than the plague hurler.
the multitude of creatures that he has consumed over
long centuries to create new life. The spawn of Juiblex Combat: A plague hurler unleashes its pestilence
are living extensions of the Faceless Lord. They are against as many targets as it can, and some sort of rot
reabsorbed into Juiblex when they finally fall, to be it exhales to fell the strongest foes. In the world, a
used in the creation of new spawn. plague hurler uses a mortal form to infiltrate cities and
smaller settlements. Most often taking the form of a
Encounters: Oozes of every kind lurk and feed within diseased beggar or vagabond, the plague hurler
the pits of filth where the spawn of Juiblex are found. secretly carries out its dark lord‘s bidding.
Aboleths and otyughs are likewise drawn to these
servants of the Faceless Lord both in the Abyss and in Sludge Dredge
the world. In the mortal realm, spawn are commonly Bubbles of stinking sludge lurch to life. This amorphous
found in the service of the cults that worship Juiblex. creature’s hundreds of translucent eyes stare from its
filmy exterior as it chooses its next victim.
Ooze Horror
Agiant blob of sentient filth, the ooze horror is a living Combat: Their lack of intelligence makes sludge dredges
embodiment of primeval chaos. Deep within its exceptional and expendable soldiers. They throw
thousand eyes flickers a sinister cunning. themselves into battle knowing that their deaths are
only temporarily, and that they are one with the
Combat: An ooze horror’s myriad eyes inspire its Demon Lord of Slime’s unspeakable will. .
fearful infestation as it closes in for the kill. Attacking

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Tanarukk

When demonic corruption taints a tribe's leadership,

ores might turn to abyssal magic to make tanarukks.
Evil humans who control ores also use such power to
bolster their followers' strength.

The demon lord Baphomet gladly shares the secret of

creating tanarukks with those who entreat him for
power. The process corrupts an unborn ore of the tribe,
transforming it at birth into a creature much more
savage than an ore.

Although tanarukks are fearsome fighters, they are a

threat to their allies off the battlefield. Within the
tribe's lair, a tanarukk is destructive and volatile, and
best kept imprisoned. Sooner or later, a free tanarukk
rampages through the tribe, attempting to take over by
force.

Most such coups fail, but at great cost to the tribe. If a

tanarukk does seize the leadership of a tribe, reckless
war is the course it inevitably chooses.

If a tanarukk manages to breed, its blood taints

numerous subsequent generations, so its female
descendants randomly produce tanarukks. Rather than
risk raising a natural-born tanarukk, most tribes slay
such abominations.

The tanarukk makes two attacks: one with its bite and
one with its greatsword.

Yaenit

One of the vilest acts committed by the demon goddess

Lamashtu, the Mother of Monsters, was the corruption
of a legion of holy hound archons when the forces of
Heaven sent them to avenge her murder of Curchanus,
the god of beasts. The archons profoundly
underestimated Lamashtu’s newfound power, and were
devoured by the newly ascended goddess one and all.
Lamashtu took their souls into herself and let them
gestate for a year and a day, after which time she
birthed them again as the first yaenits, demons with
the heads of jackals or hyenas and consumed with lust
and hatred.

Yaenits serve Lamashtu alone. They feel no purpose in

life but to fight, breed, and spread fear. They are
commonly conjured by Lamashtu’s priests for those
purposes. A great many half-fiend gnolls and fiendish
hyenas owe their existence to these mockeries. Female
yaenits are usually more powerful than the males; they
often possess a third eye in reflection of their creator,
and appear pregnant even when not; many gain class
levels as clerics or antipaladins. Yaenits may be
mistaken for gnolls at first glance, but the prevalence
of random mutations and palpable aura of wrongness
that hangs over them quickly dispels that illusion.

104
105

Yochlol
The shapechanging yochlols are the handmaidens of the
Spider Queen Lolth and are said to enjoy her special
favor and protection. They are feared as her eyes and
ears.
Description: Yochlols are master shapeshifters, capable
of instantly changing between four forms.
 In their true natural form, the yochlols are a man-
size heap of amorphous slime, resembling
constantly melting, 2m10 tall candle with eight
whiplike tendrils writhing from its sides and a
single glaring red eye. It weighs 110kg.
 A yochlol can also assume the guise of a beautiful
young attractive, slender female human or or
elven race (usually drow), that stands about 6
inches taller than most other females of that race.
 In order to conceal its demonic form, it can also
take the form of a giant black spider that has a leg
span of 2m40 and weighs 70kg. In its drow and
true form, a yochlol's touch carries the same
venomous touch as its spider form's bite.
 Finally, yochlol can assume gaseous form, taking
the shape of a small stinking cloud.
Ecology: The chant’s that Lolth personally creates each
of her handmaidens, but this is most probably not true.
The yochlol are recruited from the numberless ranks of
least tanar’ri (mostly succubi) and subjected
unspeakable ceremonies and torture to win their
elevated station. The exact process by which Lolth
transforms a succubus into a yochlol is a secret closely
guarded by the Spider Queen, but the results are
obvious. Yochlols have no ties to their sources and are
their own race of demons in every way.
Some yochlol may be far more powerful and important
than typical, since Lolth rewards those who serve her
well.
Yochlols have no need for treasure because servitude to
Lolth is all the reward they ever seek.
Society: Yochlols stand apart from the common
tanar’ri causes and couldn’t care less about the Blood
War: they exist only to serve their dark mistress in
whatever tasks she sets before them. As Lolth’s chosen
servants, yochlols are not well-liked by other tanar’ri,
but they are guaranteed free passage in the layers
controlled by most Abyssal Lords. Interfering with
Lolth’s handmaidens is a quick way to draw her
attention, as it is well known in the Abyss that Lolth
watches over her handmaidens; any demon that resists
a yochlol’s wishes can expect to receive an unpleasant
visit from the Spider Queen’s more powerful minions
(or even from Lolth herself). As a result, yochlols tend
to be overly contemptuous of other demons, and they
both fear and hate yochlols in return. Yochlols also
take delight in dominating and inflicting cruelty on
other creatures, including other demons.
Unlike many other demons, yochlols do not have
rivalries among themselves. They work together
without complaint, and cooperate well with each other.
They’re unswervingly loyal to Lolth and place her
interests before their own – a rare characteristic in
creatures of chaos and evil. It’s been suggested that the
Spider Queen maintains some kind of charm or control
over her minions to ensure their continued loyalty, but
it’s more likely that the yochlol are terrified of what
their might do to a cross-trader or stag-turner.
Environment: The only part of the Abyss where the
yochlol are found in great numbers is in Lolth’s pits,
a where they serve as Lolth’s favored guardians, acting
as her spies, taskmasters, agents of villainy, scouts,
enforcers, and personal attendants. Outside the
Demonweb, they are usually encountered alone,
typically in disguise and engaged in espionage against
other demon lords, in areas where the worship of Lolth
is pervasive. They don’t leave their home layer except
when Lolth commands them to, and even then they’re
more likely to be sent to the Prime Material Plane than
any other part of the Abyss. A cutter who meets a
yochlol somewhere other than Lolth’s webs usually
finds that the creature’s too busy with the Spider
Queen’s business to bother with him.
Lolth sometimes dispatches yochlols to the Material
Plane to guard her temples and to aid her most devout
priestesses. On the Material Plane, they are
encountered in regions controlled by drow (although
some prowl other parts of the world, seeking new
to trophies for Lolth to acquire, usually encountered
alone). Yochlols serve drow matrons as advisors,
assassins, or in some cases as lovers. Worshipers of
Lolth view the handmaidens as direct representatives
of Lolth, and as such these demons are allowed to do
whatever they want in most drow societies. Broods of
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up to half a dozen yochlols are
encountered in areas of great
import to Lolth, such as within her
temples or at the heart of the
greatest drow cities dedicated to
the Spider Queen.

Yochlols set loose on the Material

Plane use their powers to blend
into any society they encounter,
with the intent of working
mischief and using murder,
intrigue, and deception to spread
evil and chaos.

Yochlols don't form outside Lolth's

realm of the Demonweb, and they
serve no other demon lord.

Combat: As master shapeshifters,

yochlols possess a wide range of
tactics and resources, but also
different vulnerabilities in each
body form.

In their natural amorphous form,

yochlol can attack with each of
their eight tentacles. In spider-
form, yochlol can move freely in
web and their poisonous bite
immediatly kills their victim. In
human form, yochlol favor chain
or plate mail, and weapons of
drow make, including short
swords, hand crossbows, and
javelins.

Last, yochlol in gaseous form can’t

use any physical attacks or spell-
like abilities, but are immune to
most physical damage and can
make use of their psionic powers.

Generally, a yochlol will carefully

evaluate a situation and decide if
its mistress’s interests are best
served through a deceptive
approach of misdirection and
subtlety, or a naked show of force.
In the first instance, the yochlol
hides its true form and uses its beauty and charm to Yochlols have the ability to dominate humanoids and
beguile its opponents; in the latter case, it shows itself read their minds, while leaving theirs unscrutable.
in its true form. They are immune to most forms of damage.

107
108
Other Miscellaneous Inhabitants of the Abyss
Apart from Tanar’ri, Obyriths and Loumaras, other demon races. This category parallels the created, save
fiends and creatures roam the infinite layers of the that the servitors were built by entities already well-
Abyss. versed in the art of creating life. The gods created
servitors as proxies and agents, using the raw rustler
Beasts: The Abyss periodically disgorges what, in a of the Abyss as their building blocks. When a god moves
saner realm, would be counted as beasts of the land. on or dies, its servitors generally live on as
These demons are generally (but not always) relatively increasingly free-willed entitles. Demons like the
unintelligent and serve as wildlife on the Abyss. The zovvut and the deathdrinker are good examples of
skulvyn, abyssal maw, abyssal skulker, and abyssal servitor demons who have outlived their creators.
ravager are excellent examples of demonic beasts.
Here is a list of some of these other fiends.
Servitors: The servitors are the least populous of the

109
Abyssal Drake fiendish heritage. They have powerful bat-like wings, a
serpentine neck, and razor sharp claws.

The abyssal drake is the horrific result of an ancient

Combat: An abyssal drake retains the aggressive nature of
breeding program that combines the nastiest elements of
its wyvern ancestors, diving upon prey in a barely
demons, wyverns, and red dragons. Originally intended to
controlled descent, strafing its foes with its breath weapon
serve as mount for mighty Demon Princes, abyssal drakes
of unholy fire and scattering them with its frightful
proved too unruly for such service. Now they roam the
presence, then picking off lone survivors. An abyssal drake
wilds of the Abyss, preying on demons and visitors alike.
has a barbed tail, like a wyvern, with poisonous sting. It
can attack with sting, bite, or both claws. Its claws lack
Description: Abyssal drakes resemble their wyvern
the dexterity to snatch up an opponent, so it contents itself
ancestors, but their dark red, scaled hides betray their
with merely rending its foe.

110
Abyssal Eviscerator

Abyssal eviscerator tears into enemies, ripping out their guts in a frenzy of slaughter. The dimwitted eviscerators are hard to
control because of their low intelligence, but they often end up under control of powerful, malign individuals who use them as
guardians and muscle.

They attack with razorcharp claws and talons and have surhuman strength.

Abyssal Maw

An abyssal maw is a disgusting creature

consisting mainly of teeth. Its appetite is
legendary; one maw has been known to consume
the better part of a centaur in less than a
minute. They have been created by Turaglas.

Maw demons share Yeenoghu's ceaseless hunger

for carnage and mortal flesh. After a maw
demon rests for 8 hours, anything devoured by it
is transported directly into the Lord of
Savagery's gullet.

An abyssal maw looks like a huge, toothy mouth

perched on a few stubby appendages. Its hide is a
dull brown shade.

Combat: abyssal maw serve as shock troops in

evil armies. Since they lack ranged attacks, they
usually rush into melee combat as soon as
possible, where their gnashing teeth do the rest.

111
 Abyssal Ravager (Shoosuva)

The abyssal ravager is a grotesque hybrid, part demon, part

hyena. Although its exact origins are unclear, scholars agree
that it is likely the result of demonic lust, which has no bounds
and results in all manner of bizarre crossbreeds. Other sages
argues it is a type of demonic undead, used as intermediaries
between Yeenoghu and his shamans.

An abyssal ravager has baleful eyes and elongated jaws full of

overlarge teeth. Patches of scaly hide show through its coarse
shaggy fur, and a row of curving spines just from its
backbone. Its long, warty tail is equipped with a vicious
stinger. A full-grown specimen of either gender stands about
1m50 tall at the shoulder, measures nearly 3 meters from
snout to base of tail, and weighs almost 900 kilograms.

Combat: these demons are notoriously bad-tempered and

aggressive. They tend to attack anything they see or smell,
striking it repeatedly with their paralyzing poisonous
stingers.

Lore: A shoosuva is a hyena-demon gifted by Yeenoghu to an

especially powerful gnoll (typically as a fang of Yeenoghu). A
shoosuva manifests shortly after a war band achieves a great
victory, emerging from a billowing, fetid cloud of smoke as it
arrives from the Abyss. In battle, the demon wraps its
slavering jaws around one victim while lashing out with the
poisonous stinger on its tail to bring down another one. A
creature immobilized by the poison becomes easy pickings for
any gnolls nearby. Each shoosuva is bonded to a particular
gnoll and fights alongside its master. A gnoll that has been
gifted with a shoosuva is second only to a flind in status
within a war band.

Abyssal Rotfiend

Abyssal rotfiends are demons of despair and madness,

dark souls wrapped in stitched together demon and devil
skins.

Abyssal rotfiends are demonic undead contained by

demon and devil flesh. The spirit within a rotfiend is often
a demon soul, although it can come from any evil
creature.

Orcus chains abyssal rotfiends in the halls of Everlost,

using them as guardians against intruders that can
teleport.

Tactics: the abyssal rotfiends are formidable adversaries

who attack the mind, bringing despair and desolation to
their victims. They favor demonic allies that are
maneuverable enough to get between it and dangerous
adversaries.

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Abyssal Scavenger (Abyssal Skulker)

Abyssal scavengers are thought of as vermin in their

native realm, a reputation that inspires these horrors to
seek easy hunting grounds in the mortal world. Creating
strength in numbers, a pack of abyssal scavengers can
quickly lay waste to even the largest humanoid
settlements.

Description: This demon is rather small. An abyssal

skulker ressembles a hairless ape with large hands and
feet. Knobs of horn run along the crown of its head and
down its spine. Although capable of walking upright, it
habitually creeps about on all four, keeping its body close
to the ground.

Gangs of abyssal skulkers usually stalk ahead of evil

armies and raiding parties to seek out and eliminate
enemy scouts and pickets.

Ecology: Like all demons, abyssal scavengers live to

destroy. In contrast to most of their kind, scavengers
consume the creatures they kill in order to spawn
hatchlings. In the Abyss, their numbers are kept in check
by the voracious appetites of demons more powerful than
they are. An infestation of scavengers in the world can
quickly multiply to overwhelm humanoid settlements.

These creatures are also known for a deadly side effect of

their insatiable appetites. Each scavenger carries a mote
of the raw essence of the Abyss within it. If significant
numbers of scavengers gather in tight quarters, their
abyssal essence can consume them, leaving a demongate in
its wake. Such gates rarely last for long, but they can
touch any layer of the Abyss. Other demons take
create demongates does, however, make them a favorite
advantage of these temporary crossings to the mortal
target of summoning rituals by apocalyptic cults of
world, and what began as an infestation of relatively
Demogorgon and Oublivae.
weak scavengers can quickly become a fullescale demonic
invasion.
Combat: Abyssal scavengers sneak up on their prey, then
charge as a group, staying close to each other. A scavenger
Encounters: Few sane spellcasters attempt to summon
becomes more animated and aggressive with each foe that
abyssal scavengers, for fear that their numbers will
drops to its allies’ attacks.
quickly grow out of control. These creatures’ potential to

113
Abyssal Wurm
Serpentine demons with two heads that revel in malice
and ruin, abyssal wurms guard the gates that lead out of
the darkest depths of the Abyss. The regions where the
wurms nest are so malevolent and savage that even the
Demon Lords avoid them.
Lore: Abyssal wurms are the offspring of the goddess
Tiamat and the two-headed demon lord Kothok, the
master of gates and portals. When these two-headed
wurms were first spawned, Kothok gathered them to his
breast, protected them from Tiamat‘s voracious hunger,
and set them to guard secret gates he bored into the very
fabric of the Abyss.
Encounters: Given their arrogance and their penchant for
toying with lesser creatures, ancient abyssal wurms rarely
114
allow others to dwell in their presence. They typically
work only with their kin. Abyssal wurms are paired at
demongates to prevent passage out of the Abyss, not to
stop creatures that want to enter. Abyssal wurms take
their duties as portal guardians seriously, rarely
venturing far from their posts. Only the command of a
demon lord might dissuade one from its task.
Combat: An ancient abyssal wurm toys with its prey
before unleashing its breath attack. The wurm's sheer,
scaly size and immense teeth are enough to overwhelm
opponents with fear. Each time the wurm unleashes its
breath weapon, it disappears, reforming in a more
advantageous position. If seriously wounded, the wurm
might retreat through the gate it guards. Abyssal wurms
can also push some of their foes to suicide.
Bebilith
Bebiliths closest resemble some sort of demented, demonic
version of a spider the size of a plow horse.
Description: Bebiliths stand atop six spindly legs, while the
front pair of legs, rather than supporting their weight, are
two enormous scything razor-sharp claws, each nearly the
height of a man. These claws are used to penetrate and rip
armor plating from the bebiliths’ foes. Bebiliths have a
carapace covered torso with a head featuring red multi-
faceted eyes, below which sits the grasping maw of a
spider.
Ecology: Bebiliths dwell in the depths of the Abyss. They
seem to be some form of supernatural predators of the
realm, feasting on the demons who have so brazenly
claimed the Abyss as their own. While bebiliths do not
require any sort of sustenance they seem to enjoy the taste
of demon flesh. This may be a blessing for the rest of the
multiverse as bebiliths posses the ability to shift between
the planes at will and were it not for their preference for
demon flesh they could be a much greater threat to the
115
inhabitants of all the planes. The bebilith seems to have
evolved specifically to hunt and destroy demons: they
delight in causing suffering and pain in others, but
especially so in demons. Their claws are more than able to
cut through their prey's tough flesh.
Society: Bebilith often serve Lolth, and are often found
among drow and other denizens of the Demonweb Pits,
but their limited intellect makes them poor participants in
drow schemes. Drow summon these demons as engines of
destruction or entrap them for use as guardians.
Combat: Bebiliths are incredibly aggressive and will
attack anything they see.
A bebilith moves constantly during combat, slowing foes
with burning strands of a flaming web. The bebilith's maw
is infested with a vile fluid that it inflicts on its victims
with every bite. This terrible rot is a type of necrotic
liquid, that causes accelerated rotting of the flesh.
Blight born demons

From the moment that the festering cyst of the Abyss was unholy emanations. Like the demon lords, these creatures
formed, horrors unimaginable came into existence. were either transformed into their vile forms at the
Demons slouched from that tainted womb, and its creation of the Abyss or are descendants of others who
corruption twisted primordials into demon princes. But were.
other inhabitants of the Elemental Chaos were also
poisoned by utter evil. Djinns and efreets, archons and They are the blight-born demons of the purest elements
elementals, even slaads were caught in the horrific and made anything but pure.

Dust Demon

The aftermath of the Abyss's creation engulfed a tribe of djinns,

scouring away portions of their flesh and souls until they were
little more than sentient wind and bits of debris. The resulting
demons, known as dust demons, appear as whirlwinds of dirt,
dust, teeth and broken bone that whip through one another so
that it is impossible to tell where one ends and the next begins.
Driven insane by their transformation, dust demons kill and
maim out of endless rage directed against all creatures that do
not suffer as they do.

Ecology: A dust demon consists of several entities bound

together in its unholy winds, some of which escape the
windstorm in times of stress to wreak individual havoc.

Society: Dust demons have no real society. Their constituent

wisps hunger only to shred and destroy. The souls of creatures
that die while swept up in a dust demon plunge into the Abyss,
forever to suffer as the playthings of demons. But if a dust wisp
could be captured, healed of its madness and taint, and
returned to the dust demon of which it is a part, the entire
djinn tribe would be cleansed - or so the legend goes.

Tactics: A dust demon whirls through and around its prey, attempting to catch one or two foes in its whirlwind sweep. It
releases some of its constituent dust wisps to overwhelm a single target that is near death, vulnerable to damage, or close to a
cliff edge or other hazard. A dust demon can also release a blast of wind that forces the attacker away.

Ash-Wrought Soulburner

Ash-wrought soulburners were

once efreets, but the abyssal
taint has caused their inner
fires to go out. Though they
burn flesh, their feeding drains
body heat and life energy from
other beings, leaving behind icy
corpses rather than cinders.

Ice devils sometimes enslave

ash-wrought soulburners. Their
chill nature gives the devils a
natural advantage over the
heat-starved demons.

Tactics: The soulburner projects

some kind of ash storm to
protect itself, and blasts a mind
attack against a dangerous foe.

116
Consumptive Swarm
Prolonged exposure to the Abyss normally transforms
slaads into void slaads, but those that were bathed in
energy at the birth of the Abyss were more dramatically
to infest creation. More than one slaad-worshiping cult
has been destroyed by misguided attempts to breed
consumptive parasites.
Tactics: A consumptive swarm has a ranged acidic attack.

altered. From those first warped slaads burst swarms of It then moves into melee, continually shifting to stay near

ravenous parasites combining the worst aspects of slaad weaker targets and keep them in its acidic aura while

tadpoles and demons. avoiding tougher combatants.

Although they are incapable of speech, they understand Consumptive parasites prefer to gang up on one foe and

the Abyssal tongue. take advantage their number. When fighting alongside a
parent swarm, they move to keep dangerous foes away
Intelligent slaads approve of the demonic transformation, from it.
reveling in the opportunity for even their indirect spawn

Writhing Crag so promises the opportunity for violence, but such alliances
are temporary at best.
Hideous amalgamations of jagged stone, writhing crags
love the feel of flesh and bone being crushed beneath their Tactics: Unexpectedly stealthy, a writhing crag often

flailing limbs. They have traits of both ropers and xorns attempts to surprise its targets. It takes a few rounds to

and might be descended from either - or perhaps from assess the foes, then uses its stone-melding capacities. It

some foul combination of both, fused by the same rarely flees from battle: most writhing crags fight to the

corruptive taint that transformed them into demons. death, believing that they cannot be defeated.

A writhing crag can engulf a creature in

solid stone. Up to 24 hours after a writhing
crag's death, its limbs retain the ability to
move through stone. They can be used to
retrieve creatures it has buried without
resorting to tedious rock cutting.

Encounter Groups: Like more traditional

demons, blight-born care for little more than
wanton destruction. They might cooperate
with other demons - or, on occasion, slaads,
elementals, or humanoid summoners-ifdoing

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 Blood Demon

Blood demons spawn in the snaking Blood River

within the endless depths ofthe Blood Rift. The
polluted waters of the river imbue them with a
vague sentience that focuses entirely on destruction.

Blood demons are an enigma to demonologists. At

times, these creatures move in great swarms across
the Abyss, but these swarms disappear soon after
they emerge. No one knows for certain why they
form or what happens to them. It is believed that the
blood demons are the scattered essence of an obyrith
lord that Tharizdun destroyed in the Abyss’s earliest
days, and if enough of them gather together, the
slain obyrith might reemerge from the swarm.

Encounters: Blood demons hunt natives of the Abyss

and outsiders with equal fervor. Few demons bother
trying to compel these mindless creatures into
service. Fiends lighting in close proximity to the
Blood River often attempt to drive wounded foes
toward it, hoping to inspire a blood demon assault.

Combat: The scent of blood brings these fiends to a

frothing boil. Hunger and rage drive a blood demon,
and it attacks bloodied enemies in preference to
other targets, moving twice rather than attacking in
order to run down a badly injured foe.

Bloodseep Demon

The bloodseep demon’s poison blood

weeps and spurts from its
translucent, cracking body,
hastening the death of its enemies
while healing its allies.

Combat: Bloodseep demons like to

weaken their foes before facing
them in combat, such as by
tainting enemy food sources.

They prefer grouping with other

demons, particularly those that
enjoy standing toe-to-toe with
enemies: they are sometimes
encountered with evistros or bar-
lguras. Bloodseep demon teleports
near other demons and uses its
poison or its claw attacks, but
allows allies to do most of the
damage while it heals them.

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Bodak Habitat/Society: Bodaks are very rare because they
remain upon the Abyssal Planes except when called into
service by some evil or foolish magic-user. The cunning of
Even nature despises bodaks.
a bodak might allow it to attempt control of the
A bodak may have two different origins : either the summoner. A few are found on the Prime Material Plane.
undead remains of someone who worshipped Orcus. Or a
A bodak retains vague impressions of its past life. It seeks
human who was changed to a monster after venturing
out both its former allies and its former enemies to destroy
somewhere upon the Abyssal Planes, where mortals were
them, as its warped soul seeks to erase anything connected
not meant to be. The evil of the human's nature and the
to its former life. Minions of Orcus are the one exception
exposure to demonic substances triggered a terrible
to this compulsion; a bodak recognizes them as kindred
metamorphosis from man to bodak
souls and spares them from its wrath. Anyone who knew
Devoid of life and soul, it exists only to cause death. the individual before its transformation into a bodak can
recognize mannerisms or other subtle clues to its original
Description: The sexless bodak has a dark gray, pearly identity.
skin. The muscular body has no hair, and the head is long
with oddly distorted features.
The eyes are milky-white
vertical ovals of large size.

Bodak speak the tongue of

demons and demonic creatures
well but remember few words
of human speech.

History: Orcus created the first

bodaks in the Abyss from seven
devotees, called the
Hierophants of Annihilation.
These figures, as mighty as
balors, have free will but serve
the Prince of Undeath directly.
Any one of these bodaks can
turn a slain mortal into a
bodak with its gaze. Like each
Hierophant of Annihilation,
every bodak bears the mark of
Orcus as a chest wound, an
opening where a mortal
humanoid's heart would be.

Orcus can recall anything a

bodak sees or hears. If he so
chooses, he can speak through a bodak to address his
enemies and followers directly. Bodaks are extensions of
Orcus's will outside the Abyss, serving the demon prince's
aims and other minions.
Ecology: A worshiper of Orcus can take ritual vows while
carving the demon lord's symbol on its chest over the
heart. Orcus's power flays body, mind, and soul, leaving
behind a sentient husk that sucks in all life energy near it.
Most bodaks come into being in this way, then unleashed
to spread death in Orcus's name.
The soul of a creature that becomes a bodak is so damaged
that it is unfit for most forms of magical resurrection.
Combat: A bodak seldom utilizes a weapon, although it is
very likely it will have one.
The creature's gaze lays waste to the living. Anyone a
bodak slays with its gaze withers, its face frozen in a mask
of terror. The monster's mere presence is so unnatural that
it chills the soul. Animals untrained for war instinctively
flee just before a bodak arrives.
Bodaks can be struck only by magic weapons or cold-
wrought iron ones. They are immune to some mind
affecting spells. Direct sunlight has been said to burn
away a bodak's tainted flesh.

A bodak doesn't require air, food, drink, or sleep.

119
Buggane

Bugganes are a race of blind, hairless hunchbacked giants

that dwell deep underground. They have cruel tusks and
two enormous, blunt-clawed fists that look strong enough
to shatter stone. Distantly related to ogres, bugganes share
their surface-dwelling cousins' appetite for the flesh of
sentient beings, and are coldly efficient killers who
tenaciously stalk their prey in absolute silence. Bugganes
pursue and slay those who trespass into their well-marked
territories, carrying their victims back to their lairs
where they are unceremoniously consumed by the entire
clan.

Dull-witted and savage, bugganes disdain the use of even

the most primitive weapons and tools. They rely on their
tusks and claws, all of which are capable of shredding
flesh, bone, and solid rock with equal ease. Their useless,
mole-like eyes react painfully to bright light.

A typical buggane stands between 8 and 9 feet tall and

weighs 900 pounds.

Bugganes are blind and are therefore immune to all

attack forms that rely on sight. A buggane can empower
itself to completely ignore the physicality of stone and
metal, enabling it to pass through stone and metal barriers
as easily as air.

Canoloth

The canoloth is the hunting hound

of the Abyss and hungers for flesh.
Some canoloths are kept as savage
pets, sold to those willing to buy
such monsters, and others roam
the Elemental Chaos in feral packs,
like evistros, leaving carnage in
their wake. They often accompany
a variety of demonic creatures
since their pack instinct makes
them tolerant and willing to work
with of other abyssal denizens.

Tactics: A canoloth usually move

close of its enemies and attacks
with a lash of his tongue that can
daze its enemy. It seizes the foe
with its tongue and pulls him
within easy reach of its jaws.

Despite its lack of eyes, a canoloth

has senses to detect and track
prey.

120
Cataboligne though this is only conjecture. So far, no one has
uncovered the true ‘home’ layer of the cataboligne
demons, though they are most frequently encountered
A cataboligne is a type of greater demon with
on the coldest layers of the plane.
considerable power.

The cataboligne demons are a rare race of demons that

Description: Cataboligne appears as a scaled humanoid
are used by mortal wizards as guardians for treasure
with tail and horns. Its body is indigo-skinned and
troves. Their rarity is thought to be due to a long
completely hairless. A thin film of some strange, mucus-
standing war they wage against the more numerous
like substance covers its flesh, giving it a diseased
tanar’ri, a war that the cataboligne demons are most
appearance. A row of curved horns runs vertically
likely losing.
down its spine, terminating at a short, spade-ended
tail. A pair of curved horns just from the sides of its
Combat: Cataboligne demons are very tough, vicious
head, which is composed of a large, fang filled maw and
and canny opponents. They prefer to utilize guile and
a pair of bony protrusions that hang from its cheeks
deceit to lower an opponent’s defenses before a full out
down below its mouth. Its two large, bulbous eyes have
attack. Cataboligne demons use their illusion abilities to
thin red slits for pupils.
lace the battlefield in deception and confuse their
enemies. A battle with a cataboligne demon is also a
Ecology: Cataboligne demons stand about 3 meters tall
battle with one’s own perceptions.
and weigh 320 kilograms. A cataboligne demon’s
natural voice is rough and gravelly, but at will, it can
In close combat, a cataboligne demon uses its natural
change its voice to a more ‘alluring’ tone, usually to
weapons, as well as any weapons it wields.
that of an elven female’s. Cataboligne demons possess a
surprisingly keen intellect surpassed only by a few of While lacking wings, cataboligne demons possess the
the greater demons. innate ability to fly. They also have a paralyzing gaze
and regenerate quite well: some have been seen
Habitat/society: Sages believe that cataboligne demons
reattaching a severed limb instantly by holding it to
hail from some particularly frigid layer of the Abyss,
the stump.

121
 City Corruptor (Evanissu)

When a city grows corrupt, its people succumbing to

degradation and decadence, the seams of the natural world
can be split so that the evil of the Abyss seeps through. A
city corruptor is not a punishment for a people's lack of
moral fortitude; it is a consequence. A natural predator of
the urban environment, the city corruptor stalks the dark
streets that are the arteries of the city it feeds on. As the
city’s weak and vulnerable begin to die in increasing
numbers, this foul demon spreads fear among even the most
powerful.

City corruptors appear in desperate, depraved, or hopeless

urban centers, places where the people either cannot
reverse the moral decay of their city, or where they do not
care to. A city corruptor is not attracted to combat.
Rather, the demon lusts after the blood of helpless victims
lost to an environment shifting closer to collapse each day.
To hasten the destruction of such an environment is its
delight.

These sly demons first appeared in Zelatar, spreading

quickly to other abyssal settlements. As a mortal city
decays, the nature of an abyssal city aligns with it, and a
city corruptor steps through. Only one demon passes
through during such an alignment, since city corruptors
fight among themselves for the exclusive right to claim a
city in the mortal realm.

Encounters: A city corruptor picks off the lonely and

unloved, creating a nonstop campaign of murder and fear
to destroy a city from within. A charismatic demon, the
city corruptor gathers murderers, assassins, thieves,
wererats, doppelgangers, and other urban predators to its
cause. It is only with other demons that a city corruptor
refuses to share its glory.

Combat: On its own, a city corruptor treads silently through

the darkness. A city corruptor entices a weak-willed
creature from a crowd, pulling it out of sight before
attacking. When cornered or fighting with allies, a city
corruptor favors picking off opportune targets.

122
123
 Coflizu

Massive swirling clouds of torn flesh and crimson droplets

coalescing in areas where demons have been butchered, a
coflizu forms from the loosed energy and the raw malice
latent in their rotting remains.

Encounter: A coflizu regards any creature it encounters

as an enemy, so it attacks any it can catch. Where found
in a group, a coflizu is as much of a threat to its allies as it
is to its enemies.

Tactics: The coflizu lashes out with a blood tendril to infest

the closest enemy, transferring a bit of itself into its foe.
While the enemy deals with the infestation shredding its
body and mind, the coflizu moves to rip through its
remaining opponents with its fangs and tendril attacks.

Death Demon

The Death Demon (also called ostego) is a gaunt

humanoid creature. Its hairless body is covered
with dull gray scales and two huge wings like
those of a bat sprout from its back. Its eyes glow
like smoldering coals above a mouth filled with
protruding fangs. Its large claws are metallic
black.

Little is know of the origin of the death demons.

They are neither tanar'ri nor obyrith, but some
other breed of abyssal fiend. They occasionally
cooperate with tanar'ri, but just as often rip
them to shreds like any other beings.

A death demon stands about 3 meters tall and

weighs 260kg.

Combat: Death demons have an insatiable desire

to destroy. They gleefully rip creatures apart
with their deadly claws, tearing through armor
with ease. Their powerful bite and claws can
paralyze foes, leaving them helpless to the
ostego's whim.

124
Deathdrinker

A deathdrinker revels in slaughter.

Creatures of brute force and gory
battle, they seek out combat with
sadistic glee, spreading fear even
among other demons.

Description: This massive creature

sports chipped, antlerlike horns from
which hang desiccated bodies and
skulls. The creature wears intricate
armor, and dark, pitted plates cover
legs that end in hooves. Its many-
fingered hand holds a broad
longsword.

A deathdrinker stands approximately

5m50 tall and weighs about 1300kg,
most of it muscle. It has broad
shoulders, bulging biceps, and a flat,
muscular chest.

A deathdrinker collects souls from

those hapless enough to cross its path.

Ecology: Deathdrinkers reproduce by

dripping some of their blood into
specially prepared pits of vile essence.
The blood mingles with the muck, then
clots and grows. Lesser demons tend to
a breeding pit, regularly stirring its
contents and adding fresh corpses and
blood. Eventually a fully formed
deathdrinker emerges. Deathdrinkers
enjoy creating and personalizing lairs,
decorating them with skulls and other
symbols of death, where they lounge on
large piles of corpses or bones.

Environment: Deathdrinkers like to make their lairs near
recent battles, enjoying the bounty of corpses. They are
self-serving, egocentric creatures that happily kill their
allies if doing so suits them—or if they simply feel like
seeing some blood.
A deathdrinker has treasure in the form of its magic
weapon and armor. If given access to other magic, it
favors items that make it a more effective killer. It
typically carries jewelry featuring grisly motifs such as
skulls, faces distorted in anguish, or torture implements.

Society: Deathdrinkers live in the Abyss but are not Combat: A deathdrinker makes a formidable opponent. It
tanar’ri. They use this distinction to set themselves apart is often accompanied by undeads or demons, allies that
from political intrigue and power struggles, viewing bask in its aura of unlife. It uses its allies to great personal
themselves as above such petty concerns. They’re tough advantage: since killing another creature heals a
and powerful combatants, but they’re not evil deathdrinker and improves its battle prowess, a wounded
masterminds or clever generals. Deathdrinkers are deathdrinker does not hesitate to kill one of its minions in
extraordinarily egocentric and have only one overriding order to heal itself.
interest: themselves. They see their race as superior to all
others, and each considers itself the ultimate A deathdrinker is very mobile on the battlefield,
representative of the race. They prefer to associate with teleporting to reach spellcasters or archers who hang back
other deathdrinkers, but also enjoy the company of from melee, and flying creatures.
creatures that praise, admire, and flatter them. Crafty,
A deathdrinker is resistant to most forms of damage.
powerful individuals sometimes acquire the services of a
Neither negative energy nor poison can harm it, and its
deathdrinker by sending it many gifts and fawning
attacks emphasize the powers of death.
emissaries.

125
 birth but kills one of her attendants each day. The queen
leaves the corpse for her demonets and other attendants to
feed on. When she queen dies, her surviving demonet
swarms and attendants separate to create new hives in
more bountiful areas.

A queen gives birth to half a dozen demonets an hour, and

it takes one week to form a swarm. Demonets do not hunt,
and indeed they don’t even attack intruders unless an
attendant or the queen attacks first. Demonets are born
genderless, but with a regular diet of meat, almost all
mature into male demonhive attendants.

Roughly one in three thousand demonets is female. These

females remain immature and swarm with their siblings.
When the queen dies, female demonets release a scent that
draws surviving attendants to them. The attendants then
hunt for and guard the swarm until its members mature
into more attendants and a queen. Should several demonet
swarms produce queens in this way, the swarms and
attendants split up, each seeking a new location for a hive.

Environment: Demonhives have spread all around the

Abyss, as well as other planes, through gates or deliberate
transfers by fiends. Such transplants tend to be short-lived
in the Upper Planes, where inhabitants take pains to
eradicate the threat, but the Material Plane offers a
pleasant environment for demonhives to thrive.

Demonhives can exist in any temperate and warm lands,

but they are most successful in forests and jungles. With
no
Demonhive
protection from the elements but their hives and hides,
First seen on one of the Infinite Layers of the Abyss, demonhive members find cold lands inhospitable.
demonhives are colonies of evil insectlike outsiders found
throughout the Lower Planes. Three kinds of creatures Demonhive Attendant
form a demonhive: the hive’s queen, male attendants and A demonhive attendant is a chitinous and horned
demonets. insectoid creature approximately the size of a dog with
translucent red wings. Its grin reveals a mouth of wolfish
With their aggressive and bloodthirsty members, teeth and it has disturbingly humanoid, clawed hands.
demonhives threaten all creatures they encounter and lay
waste to the areas they inhabit. Demonhives infest any A demonhive attendant measures about 1 meter long and
region with a food supply. Their demonic origins make weighs about 20kg.
them ruthless predators, and the creatures seem to enjoy
the screams of their prey being ripped to pieces. Demonhive attendants are the workers and hunters of the

Unchecked, demonhives might spread across entire planes.
Ecology: The ecology of a demonhive resembles that of a
beehive. A reproductive queen gives birth to thousands of
demonets, most of which grow up to be attendants that
care for the queen and her demonets. Attendants hunt in
hive. As the hive’s providers, demonhive attendants kill
nearly any creature they encounter while foraging and
bring their carcasses back for the queen and demonet
swarms to feed on.
The attendants hunt singly or in small groups and attack

the surrounding territory and work to construct the hive. any living thing they encounter. A combat that doesn’t
end quickly in victory draws other hunting attendants to
Demonhives prefer to occupy caves or building complexes the area within 5 minutes. The attendants hunt
that they discover, but attendants can slowly dig out a throughout a 2-mile-radius area around the hive. This is
warren of tunnels for the hive to occupy should the need the range of their hive mind, and they never willingly
arise. leave it.

Demonhive members eat only carrion and fresh meat. In combat, attendants overwhelm a single foe before
moving to the next, unless enemies threaten the queen. In
An area well populated with prey can sustain a such cases, they divide their efforts between blocking
demonhive for several months, but when food runs out, the approach to the queen and attacking those who come near.
queen begins to starve. In this state, she continues to give

126
Demonet’s Swarm snapping pincers. Wings too flimsy to support its
Disgusting, black, larvalike creature flitting through the prodigious bulk hang limply from its back, while obscenely
air on tiny red insect wings, a demonet is approximately human-looking arms reach from its body to slowly drag it
the size and weight of a rat. along the ground.

Although individually less dangerous than rats, demonets A demonhive queen is measures 3 meters long and nearly
gather in huge flying swarms, whose buzzing creates a as much around. Her wings are feeble things,
mind-numbing drone. approximately the size of an attendant’s. A typical queen
weighs as much as 900kg, but a well-fed and long-lived
A demonet swarm follows the lead of attendants and queen can grow to much bigger size.
queen. When attendants or queen seem agitated or enter
combat, the demonet swarms do likewise. They do not use Strategies and Tactics: The queen remains at the center of
sophisticated tactics but simply swarm around whatever the hive, barely able to move. She relies on her attendants
the queen or attendants are fighting. A demonet swarm to defend herself and the precious demonet swarms. The
does not attack other demonets. queen is very protective of her demonets and emits a
devastating scream if a swarm dies. The hive members are
Demonhive Queen immune to this. If the queen is injured or killed, the
A demonhive queen is the heart of the hive and exists only attendants enter a frenzied haste.
to perpetuate its wanton destruction. Demonhive
attendants serve and protect the queen, but she cares little Demonhive queens always have a few swarms and
for them. Instead, she values the demonets from which a attendants nearby, and are normally found in the
new queen might arise. birthing chamber of the hive. In some circumstances, a
queen is accompanied by attendant bodyguards and
Swollen with fat and a thousand unborn young, this black, demonet swarms as the hive moves from an uninhabitable
wormlike creature has a toothy mouth flanked by lair to find a new one.

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 Demon Spawn

When the taint of the Abyss breaches the mortal world, it plants seeds that allow it to
spread. Hags and evil spellcasters conduct dark rituals to give birth to abominable
creatures, while unfortunate victims of demonic curses cradle wretched babes whose
touch turns animals feral and curdles their mothers’ milk. These demon spawn grow
from cruel children into vile adults, blighting the world with the horror of their blood.

It is said that as many varieties of demon spawn walk the world as there are demons in
the Abyss. Although the horrible forms they take have no discernible pattern, demon
spawn have a common background. Cast out or attacked as children, they hone their
dark talents as they grow up alone. Young demon spawn instinctively know what they
are, but they lack the ability to articulate their increasingly dark nature. The Abyssal
tongue comes to them unbidden as they enter adulthood, at which point the full extent
oftheir dark heritage manifests.

Shunned by most folk, demon spawn quickly learn to ally with evil humanoids and
practitioners of dark magic. They are drawn to demonic cults, whose members treat
demon spawn with reverence. At the time, demon spawn yearn to connect with their
kin in the Abyss, seeking demongates by which they can summon demons into the
world.

Demon Spawn Adept

Demon spawn are marked by deformities—a hunched back, a cat’s eye, extra digits on
hands and toes. The most cunning demon spawn quickly learn to conceal these
abnormalities. In ancient ruins, cavernous hill-tombs, and libraries of forbidden lore
they learn of damage against the target until the end of the demon spawn their true
heritage—and embrace the fell purpose for which they were born.

Combat: A demon spawn adept focuses on keeping enemy melee combatants at

a distance.

Derghodemon A derghodemon’s instinct is to slaughter, a purpose these

dread creatures fulfilled in the Blood War. Some
derghodemons live as independent marauders in the
Derghodemons are the midless muscle of the Abyss. Too
Elemental Chaos. Such derghodemons dwell in elemental
brutal and too dense to take on complex missions,
mountain ranges, earthbergs, and the caverns that
derghodemons are common among the bloodthirsty
honeycomb such locations.
mercenary bands of the Blood Rift.

Encounters: The dimwitted derghodemons can be easily

convinced to enter into one-sided or abusive contracts.
They rarely bargain individually, but on occasion, a single
derghodemon strikes a deal with a mortal spellcaster. Such
bargains are tilted in the spellcaster’s favor, but the
derghodemon doesn't care as long as it has a steady stream
of enemies to shred. Demonologists also employ
derghodemons as brute assassins and marauders.
Attempts to employ derghodemons as bodyguards often
end in the demons growing bored because of a lack of
victims, then murdering the creature they were supposed
to protect.

Combat: Employed as shock troops in abyssal armies,

derghodemons are adept at burrowing beneath and
smashing through enemy fortifiations. A derghodemon
barrels across the battlefield, moving to the center of an
enemy formation to rend and tear foes using its claws. A
derghodemon is near-suicidal in its aggression. Even when
vastly outnumbered, a derghodemon fights to the death.

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Evistro

Evistros (otherwise known as Carnage Demons) are

muscular demons of incredible bloodlust and debatable
sentience. They exist only to destroy in as injurious a
manner as possible, and they revel in the ruin they wreak.

Description: An evistro is a powerful, broad shouldered

humanoid with overly long arms hanging nearly to the
ground. Those arms end in forearms the size of tree
trunks, and massively oversized hands with thick fingers
and claws. The fiend’s fanged mouth takes up most of its
face, and its head seems slightly smaller than is
proportional for its body. They have skin that ranges from
a bloody crimson to a darker red-brown.

An evistro stands from 1m80 to 2m10 tall and weighs over

140kg.

Ecology: Evistros embody destructive malevolence of

chaos, spurred on by a burning desire to batter other
creatures in the bloodiest and most painful ways possible:
not only do they spread wanton violence, they also enjoy
inflicting suffering, rampaging across planes and worlds
in enormous hordes, leaving as much carnage as possible fiends, especially the more cunning demons such as adarus
in their horrible wake. or succubi, loosely control groups of carnage demons, and
wisely keep thems at a distance. Due to their reaving fists
Although they are similar in power to dretches, they don’t
and tendency to attack even their allies in the heat of
share the aimlessness of those dull fiends. Instead, they are
battle, they are especially loathed by other demons.
brutes among the lesser fiends of the Abyss, filled with the
singular purpose of pure destruction. Carnage demons carry no possessions.

Ecology: Some sage think evistros are demons formed from
the souls of wrathful brutes such as orcs, ogres, or human
thugs.
Other considerthem to be a forced evolution of the pathetic
dretches, the product of a demon lord’s attempt to create a
more useful lesser demon. This theory gains some credence
from the fact that, unlike most demons, carnage demons
are not tanar’ri. Their vulnerability to silvered weapons
suggests they might have been created using materials
from - or related to - devils.
Environment: Evistros are native to the Infinite Layers of
the Abyss, where mobs of them can be found on almost
every layer. Always eager to spread destruction and
slaughter, they use any portal or gate they encounter,
having no concern for where it might lead. As such, they
can also be found near any place that harbors a gateway
to the Abyss, and are more prevelantly found on other
planes than most demons, do to the simplicity
summoning them.
Society: The evistro’s particular purpose of mad
destruction doesn’t lend itself to fitting into any organized
society, even a demonic one. Evistros roam the Abyss in
unruly mobs, spreading murder and destruction in their
wake. They are encountered in groups ranging from a
pair of lackeys to mobs of thousands, but usually made up
of ten.
Its dim intellect allows an evistro to be easily enticed by
the promise of devastation. In many cases, more powerful
Combat: Evistros are perfect shock troops - their savagery
brings fear, death, and confusion to the opposing forces.
They are commonly rounded up by more powerful fiends
into mobs and sent into battle behind a first wave of
dretches, who are spurred forward in fear of their wrath.
Despite having massive claws, which they use to climb,
evistros prefer to pummel their opponents. An evistro’s
fists can pound through nearly any material. All evistros
prefer to fight alongside individuals of their kind, venting
their hatred on all other creatures. In a group, they
remain close to each other as they attack, and each one
lets its fury rather than any sense of tactics dictate where
its next attack is aimed. The more evistros present, the
more powerful their attacks become.
Evistros gladly get in among their enemies, quickly
overwhelming soft targets. They are resistant to most
forms of energy, and they have skin that only silver can
in cut through reliably.
Evistros are a danger to all creatures that aren’t evistros:
a carnage demon that has succumbed to its destructive
appetite may attack nearby allies for no better reason
than being unable to move to attack an enemy.
A lone evistro is still a brutal adversary, but such a loner
flees if seriously wounded
.

129
Ferrolith

Sometimes reffered to as Iron Demons or the Encounters: Ferroliths found in Graz'zt’s service fight only
Handmaidens of Pain, ferroliths are a twisted metallic because of the powerful bonds of servitude placed on them.
mockery of the succubi that accompanied Graz‘zt on his These demons nurse a hatred for Graz’zt, and freely ally
initial foray into the Abyss. They sought to betray him, with other demons that actively oppose him.
but the Dark Prince uncovered their treachery and cast
them into a pool of molten iron. The succubi lost their Combat: A whirling engine of destruction on the
supernatural beauty as the pool seared their flesh and battlefield, a ferrolith presents a formidable barrier to any
bonded with their bodies, and they became the first enemy's advance.
ferroliths.
Ferroliths fighting in groups target the strongest melee
Since that time, more ferroliths have crawled from combatants, slicing into them with spiked webs and razor-
ancient pits and pools of molten abyssal iron. Ferroliths sharp claws. A solitary ferrolith hits softer targets first,
retain a spark of their succubus origins: They love energized by the hope of a quick kill as it rends vulnerable
subterfuge and are incredibly cunning. flesh and bone.

A ferrolith’s hair is a rippling net of razoresharp wire

capable of shredding flesh. Its skin is tougher than any
metal worked in a forge, and its claws can tear through
virtually any physical or magical defenses.

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Fire Demon

Elemental flame shaped to demonic form and madness,

fire demons are a scourge of the planes. Born where the
Abyss burns, these creatures quickly strike out to destroy
anything in their path.

According to legend, a weapon forged in a blaze ignited by

the flames of a dying fire demon is particularly deadly
when used against other demons. Rituals designed to
banish or defeat powerful demons often require a fire
demon’s essence.

Encounters: Fire demons are commonly bound and

controlled by demonologists with a penchant for
destruction, servants of the Elder Elemental Eye, and
priests of Oublivae. Oublivae’s followers relish unleashing
these creatures in the world, touching off infernos that can
wipe whole cities from the map.

Fire Demon In Combat: A fire demon dances across the

battlefield, slipping away from enemies as it chars them
with its touch. Creatures that attack a lire demon are
lashed by tongues of flame.

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Foulpitch
A creature of congealed darkness, the foulpitch demon
hides easily in the deep, waiting to assault foes where the
lights are dim. The foulpitch demon uses its enemies
against each other if possible, otherwise using darkness,
speed and a flurry of claws to down its foes.
Description: The foulpitch demon stands 1m20 to 1m50 tall,
its thin, gangly body weighing only 35kg. It has long, thin
arms and muscular legs, both ending with claws the length
of daggers. The foulpitch demon’s face is nearly humanoid
with pinted, elf-like ears, a short nose and lower jaw that
is curved like a human’s. Its mouth is small, lined with
fangs and rarely ever closed. Its head is topped with
leathery, spiked hair that bounces up and down as it
moves. It has shadowy, amost insubstantial wings that
span 3 to 4 meters. Its skin is jet black, allowing the
creature to melt into the darkness easily. The foulpitch
demon rarely, if ever, enters the light, as simple torchlight
causes it pain.
Habitat/Society: On occasion, a foulpitch demon will be
encountered without arms. Rumor has it that they (or
their forebears) had their arms blasted away by a
powerful daylight spell, though it is most likely this is
simply a rare mutation since armless foulpitch demons
132
have clawed wings that they use in place of hands.
On its home plane, the plane of Shadow, the creature
moves freely without care of those other denizens that call
the place home. Its wings, although not giving it genuine
flight, let it navigate off the ground for short periods of
time.
Foulpitch demons live in dark places, avoiding any areas
that have light. This limits the activities of foulpitch
demons on the Prime Material Plane, as even the light of
one moon causes them pain. In absolute darkness,
however, the creature thrives.
Combat: the foulpitch demon prefers to attack en masse,
overwhelming its foes rather than engaging in a one-on-
one fight. The demons believe that the commotion that a
horde of flapping wings creates gives them an advantage
in combat. Foulpitch demon uses its lack skin and natural
affinity for the darkness to hide itself, pouncing on its
unsuspecting prey and inflicting as much damage as
quickly as possible.
The foulpitch demon lives in absolute darkness and its
body seemingly fortifies in the black. When exposed to
daylight, the foulpitch demon suffers. Torchlight is not as
painful to them as direct sunlight.
Ghour

The ghours are a race of demons in the service of (and

possibly created by) the demon lord Baphomet; whom is
best known as the patron of minotaurs. They are an
uncategorized species of demon, not belonging to either the
tanar'ri, obyrith or loumara demonic subcategories. These
monstrosities work their master's will among the
minotaurs, ogres and renegade giants that serve him.

Description: A ghour is a 6 meters tall humanoid creature

that resembles a cross between an oversized ogre and a
minotaur. Its hide is thick and hairy, its features bestial,
and its body powerfully muscled. It has cloven hooves in
place of feet; and two enormous horns jut forwards from
its skull.

Society: Ghours can be found among any group of chaotic

evil giants, ogres or minotaurs. These creatures view a
ghour's presence as a sign of Baphomet's great pleasure.

Combat: Ghours charge into combat like rampaging

elephants, pummeling opponents with their fists and
goring them with their horns. Ghours exhale clouds of
noxious gas. They can also bellow an ear-splitting roar
that stuns and deafens nearby opponents. Whenever
possible, ghours like to enter combat with a roar, blast of
their cloud, or both.

Gnaw Demon

Gnaw demons consume everything they can

get their hands on. Although they can
subsist on inanimate objects, they prefer
living flesh.

Slow and clumsy, gnaw demons keep to the

edge of the battlefield until an enemy
becomes bloodied. Then they use some sort of
teleportation to close with that enemy and
attack it.

Gnaw demons are cowardly demons that

usually choose escape over destruction.
Fleing gnaw demons can become distracted
by a weak target, so chasing them down is
often as simple as locating their next likely
victim.

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 Guardian Demon

Named for the ease with which they are bound into
service by rituals, guardian demons stalk lightless tombs
treasure vaults, and the temples of dark cults. Lying in
wait to feed and destroy, a guardian demon consistently
fulfills its deadly obligations as it awaits its release.

Some sages believe that guardian demons possess a limited

ability to see into the future. A guardian demon
instinctively knows the day it will be released from
servitude or when creatures will stray into the site it
guards. It is thought that this explains the creature's
uncanny patience and the ease with which it ambushes
intruders when they appear.

Encounters: The rituals by which guardian demons are

bound into service are numerous. These creatures protect
tombs and other sites across the mortal world. They are
found in the company of other creatures summoned or
created by powerful spellcasters, including homunculi,
golems, and undead.

Guardian Demon Abomination

The treasures of antiquity gleam in faint torchlight where
they spill from the alcoves of the ruined vault. In a
thousand years, no mortal has seen this sight, yet
something lurks here just the same. Glowing eyes and
spiraling tentacles suddenly erupt from the shadows,
snuffing out the light and the screams of adventurers who
are never seen again.

Combat: An abomination taunts its foes as it seizes a

victim and crushes the life from it with its powerful
tentacles. When a grabbed target’s life ebbs, the
abomination tosses it aside and grabs for another victim.

Guardian Demon Soul Drinker

Although being bound into service slows a soul drinker's
progress toward the upper echelons of demonic power,
these oldest of the guardian demons gain an awareness
and patience unusual among their kind.

Combat: As it consumes a foe’s life force, a soul drinker

grows more powerful in combat. A soul drinker targets
divine power users and wizards, feeding on an enemy's
knowledge and memories as it is destroyed.

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Haures

Haureses are eight legged undead demons wholly

dedicated to fighting in the name of powerful abyssal
masters. They are common among the armies of Orcus, but
many other demon lords use haureses in the front ranks of
their own forces as expendable shock troops.

Lore: The first haureses were created from goristro demons

that fell in combat defending Orcus. Experimented on for
centuries to perfect their current form, haureses have no
thought or memory of anything other than battle. These
creatures relish their roles as leaders, frontline soldiers,
and executioners in service to abyssal lords.

Encounters: Haureses are typically found carrying out

Orcus’s orders, keeping company with balors, glabrezus,
and mariliths. When at the head of armies, haureses lead
large contingents of mezzodemons, armanites and jovocs.
Haureses are rarely seen outside the Abyss, although they
have been known to range into the Underdark as
advanced scouts. Their spiderlike form is seen as an
affront to the demon queen Lolth and other demon lords
take pleasure in sending haureses against her drow and
drider forces.

Haureses in Combat: A haures skitters into combat to

assault the strongest melee combatants. Utterly fearless,
the demon jumps into harm’s way to surround itself with
foes. A haures grudgingly shares the fight with allies only
because it can’t be everywhere at once.

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Hydrodemon
Hydrodemons are the most skilled navigators of the
waters of the Blood River. Their clawed hands and feet are
webbed, granting them an agility that allows them to
swim the waters of the Blood Rift— perhaps the only
sentient creatures that can.
Description: Hydrodemons resemble toads with their
bulbous eyes and mucus-covered skin. The intricate glyphs
and sigils that adorn their chests, arms, and legs speak to
their ancient heritage and abyssal power. A hydrodemon
stands 3 meters tall, though it typically rests in a crouched
position that allows it to strike from hiding.
Ecology: Hydrodemons live as scavengers, hunters, and
guides. Able to move through the waters of the Blood
River, these lithe creatures freely explore where others
cannot. Hydrodemons sell maps to gates and ruins they
discover, as well as relics found while exploring the Blood
Rift. The deals they offer at market in the city of Morglon-
Daar are rarely as good as they seem. In many cases, a
hydrodemon has only the barest understanding of the
objects it discovers, and it is as likely to demand a fortune
for a piece of junk as to sell a rare and powerful relic for a
few soul larvae.
136
A savvy adventurer with an alert eye and a knowledge of
abyssal history can sometimes gain worthwhile items and
maps in a trade with a hydrodemon.
The hydrodemon can breathe underwater.
Encounters: Hydrodemons accompany any creature
willing to pay them for travel through the Blood Rift,
acting as couriers and scouts for demon lords and
explorers alike. Like most other demons of Morglon-Daar,
hydrodemons are sell-centered mercenaries willing to
undertake almost any task for the highest bidder.
Unlike other demons for hire, however, hydrodemons
develop and nurture their own elaborate schemes for
gaining power and fortune.
Combat: A cunning hydrodemon is adroit at setting up
ambushes to cripple or slow its enemies. Able to pounce
from a distance, a hydrodemon launches its lengthy form
at an enemy, hoping to keep combatants off balance or
push them into nearby water. The Blood River is a
hydrodemons best ally and few other demons challenge
this toadlike creature on or alongside the river’s flow
.
Immolith

Description: Immoliths are towering columns of flame and resulting in an unpredictable explosion of flesh and flame,
skeletal limbs. They often have four to eight arms and are generally spawning an Immolith.
constantly ablaze, stalking the Abyss and the Elemental
Chaos for living creatures to tear limb from limb. Immoliths generally carry the desires and needs of their
former demon selves, but gain a supernatural hatred for
Location: Immoliths are commonly found in the Abyss and everything that lives, making immoliths amongst the most
the Elemental Chaos but can also be found amongst hated beings in the Abyss. Immoliths refuse to take orders
powerful demon worshipping undead on the Prime from living creatures and cannot be summoned by living
Material Plane. spellcasters.

Ecology: When demons die their spirit is immediately sent History and Origins: It is unknown whether the first
back into the depths of the abyss where it will eventually immolith spawning was caused by a demon lord or was
coalesce into the demon again. Sometimes multiple demon simply one of the many destructive miracles of the Abyss.
spirits will fuse into one as they fall back in the abyss

137
lncubus

Darkeyed strangers lurking in twilight shadows are to be

avoided by young mortals, who must have the wisdom to
bar their windows to handsome vagabonds calling from
the street below. An incubus stalks the mortal target of its
fiendish desire, shifting between forms of mortal, beast,
and dream until it catches and savages its quarry.

Lore: When he was an archdevil, Graz’zt invaded the

Abyss with his infernal armies, bringing along his palace
servants, retainers, and harem of succubi. By the time the
Dark Prince had laid claim to his first abyssal layer, the
plane‘s corrupting power had already begun to influence
his followers. The devilish succubi were transformed into
the first incubi, extending change shape to take the forms
of beasts as a reflection of their newly chaotic nature.

Society: Serving as scouts and assassins for the Dark

Prince, the incubi soon became Graz‘zt's primary forces in
the mortal realm. In the world, their skills are uniquely
shaped to the corruption and trickery that is the demon
lord’s forte. Although an incubus can control a mortal host
at a distance, its power can be partly blocked at a site
consecrated against evil. The demon thus attempts to
obtain a creature’s trust by inhabiting its dreams,
Combat: An incubus hunts the wilds in beast form, in
convincing it to willingly accept the incubus’s dark
which it might be taken for a lycanthrope or other worldly
embrace.
shapechanger. In humanoid form, it stalks city streets and
rural crossroads, preying on the naive and innocent. An
Encounters: With their minds fractured, an incubus’s cast-
incubus targets a creature it desires, then follows that
off victims serve the demon in the hope of regaining its
creature to its home. In dark dreams, the demon corrupts
attention and favor. Rakes, thugs, and other dissolute
its quarry before consuming its body and soul.
humanoids are often found following an incubus.

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Jarrlak
The manifestation of killing cold, a jarrlak is
implacable creature that freezes the life from its victims.
These intelligent ice demons have a sadistic nature
equaled only by their hunger for power. A jarrlak delights
in trapping its foes in a frigid tomb, toying with them
before the inevitable end.
Lore: As devastating as a jarrlak is on the battlefield, these
demons are more feared for their habit of stealing select
survivors from the aftermath of combat. Dragging victims
back to its ice caves, the jarrlak encases them in ice to
watch them slowly expire. In ajarrlak’s clutches, a mortal
can linger for decades this way, enduring horrid torment.
an If rescued, a frozen victim appears not to have aged a day
since being captured.
Encounters: As opportunists with a thirst for domination,
jarrlaks ally with powerful spellcasters and demon lords
that allow them to rule over specific territories. Some
jarrlaks venture into the world on their own, hoping to
establish personal dominions in areas of frost and snow.
Combat : A jarrlak fights methodically, engaging each of
its enemies with a patient and deadly purpose. The demon
uses its powers over ice to encase enemies or block off
routes of escape, freezing each foe before moving on to the
next.
139
Kazrith
A Kazrith is a water-dwelling predator, an aquatic demon
that can be found prowling murky lakes, underground
waterways, and flooded tunnels, waiting for unwary prey
to pass by..
Ecology: Most kazriths dwell in the Elemental Chaos, but
some occasionally find natural gates leading into the
Prime Material Plane. Kazriths create vast networks of
interconnected flooded tunnels between lakes and other
bodies of water. They can then travel easily from habitat
to habitat. These tunnels are usually not far below ground,
140
so the monsters can sense potential prey walking above
them.
Society: These demons are often found in the company of
other sinister aquatic monsters.
Abilities: A kazrith uses tremorsense to detect enemies;
after locating a target, it surfaces and attacks, poisoning
its victim. The demon waits until the prey is weak from
the poison, then resurfaces and finishes it off. This demon
is also a skilled burrower, using the acid in its pores to
excrete a trail of acid in the tunnels it makes.
Mahataa
These powerful mud demons are thought to have been
born from elementals transformed during the first
moments of the Abyss’s creation. Unruly creatures that
crave pure destruction, mahataas have retained much of
their elemental nature.
Lore: Fiercely autonomous, a mahataa can be bound for a
short time, but it can never truly be tamed. Few mahataas
can be cowed or coerced into the service of demon lords,
but those that do serve make terrifying assassins and
shock troops. Some scholars believe that this willful
independence is a ruse, however, and more than one
demon lord suspects that large numbers of its mahataa
servants are actually agents, spies, and assassins for the
Elder Elemental Eye.
Encounters: Although mahataas prefer fighting alongside
their own kind, they are also opportunistic. The muddy
creatures make short-term hunting pacts with powerful
141
demons if doing so is the only way to reach a desirable
quarry. They also pair with other elemental creatures,
particularly those with an aspect of elemental stone. More
often than not, such alliances end with the mahataas
attacking their allies out of sheer capriciousness.
Combat: A mahataa swims through the mud, stone, and
muck of the Abyss in constant search of prey. Hunting
underground, a mahataa bursts from the earth and
attacks creatures less powerful than it is. After its initial
assault, the mud demon uses its superior burrowing
abilities to escape into the ground again, reappearing
where its prey is most vulnerable.
Though unruly and chaotic, mahataas rarely fight alone,
preferring to hunt with other mahataas. While in a group,
the mud creatures never give away their true numbers,
with one or more remaining underground while the others
attack above.
 Malgodemon

These monstrous enforcers are said to be

forged of abyssal stone and raw fury,
serving demons and mortals alike as
mindless muscle.

Lore: Malgodemons arc slow-witted and

servile, but their legendary greed makes
them poor allies. A malgodemon offered a
bribe is likely to abandon its master unless
another less easily swayed ally is on hand
to violently remind it of its allegiance.

Malgodemon Thug
A malgodemon thug’s thirst for violence is
equaled only by its inability to tell friend
from foe.

Encounters: Raavastas make extensive

use of malgodemons as muscle, but team
them with quasits or mezzodemons to
keep them restrained.

Combat: A thug sends foes flying with its

brutal assault, then quickly finishes off
prone targets.

Malthaurin foes up. He also uses its breath weapon, a foul caustic fluid
that corrupts flesh and causes it to beome gray and lifeless:
it as a strong link to the Negative Energy Plane, and
Malrauthin are foul creatures of the abyss who thrive on
ultimately transforms victims into bodaks, as does its foul
spreading undeath.
blood. Malthaurin’s body generates an unbearable heat.
A malrauthin resembles an overgrown demonic
attack dog. This bestial and feral appearance
hides an intelligence that, through rudimentary
for such a powerful demon, is well above that of
the average human.

This four-legged monster is covered in a thick and

scaly maroon hide, and the lower halves of tis
clawed forelegs have a volcanic appearance, a
sickly yellow-white mane runs trails down its
back, and a long spiny tail extends from its
haunches.

A malrauthin is about 6m long and weighs up to

3000kg.

A malrauthin is rarely seen on the Material

Plane, though powerful dark spellcasters will use
them on occasion.

Combat: malrauthin bites in attempts to snatch

142
Narvaezan
Description: This creature of half shadow and half
substance intentionally materialises as a being of twisted
features, with dark horns and squirming shadows behind
it. These shadows alternately appear as a billowing cloak
or large bat wings. Its strangely proportioned arms hang
almost to its knees, ending in large claws. Its feet also have
great, hooking claws that would impede its movement if it
did not fly everywhere. The most frightening aspect of this
fiend's appearance is its eyes, which burn with an evil
black-green intensity always visible unless the creature is
hiding in the shadows.
The Narvaezan communicates telepathically and can
choose to sound like an enticing whisper or a raspy
screech.
Ecology: Narvaezan fiends create lairs from shadow
substance. The entrance is no more than a dark shadow,
which the fiend can move by force of will. If hidden in an
alley or other dark place, the door is nearly impossible to
find.
143
Inside, the lair is filled with dark mist and shadows that
confuse anyone other than the fiend. Distances also seem
out of proportion, and all doors are concealed. Inside his
shadow-lair, the fiend can manipulate shadow and mist to
create illusions as needed. Not incredibly detailed, these
illusions appear along the peripheral vision and can be
extremely distracting.
If it wishes, the Narvaezan fiend can attempt to pull
someone into its lair.
If the fiend dies, his lair immediately begins to dissipate.
Combat: The Narvaezan fiend attacks with stealth,
pouncing on a victim from behind, with all four claws and
its bite. Once the fiend draws blood, it becomes more
corporeal. In this solid state, the fiend cannot simply melt
back into shadows.
The Narvaezan fiend must stay out of the sunlight.
During the day, it is confined to the shadows, or it may
retreat to its shadow-lair to await nightfall. At night it is
free to roam, effectively hiding in shadows.
Nashrou lithe form is covered by thick, glistening chitin, and its
eyes glare balefully from a cluster in the center of its body.

Nashrous are vicious predators that roam the blasted

An average nashrou weighs about 360kg. Nashrous do not
plains of the Abyss. Nashrous have only a rudimentary
grow larger by any natural process but seem to grow more
intellect at best, but they are sadistic and twisted
powerful with every creature they shred and devour.
creatures of the Lower Planes through and through.
Ecology: Nashrous exist only for the pleasure of rending
Description: A nashrou is an amalgamation of bony spikes
and devouring any other creature that crosses their path.
and talons that stands approximately 3 meters tall, with
They are swift, tireless hunters that have been known to
four long, thin legs excellently adapted to running or
pursue prey for weeks. Occasionally, their tenacity is such
jumping. Its six fighting limbs are designed to counter a
that they will follow prey through a portal to another
wide variety of threats, although the demon can use only
plane.
four limbs at a time while fighting. The massive goring
arms impale dangerous foes while the lighter, faster claws Environment: Nashrous are most commonly encountered
allow the creature to deal with other threats. The reaving on the Plain of Infinite Portals, which appears to be their
claws extend in four directions from its central body. Its native habitat. Through their use as hunting hounds by

144
powerful demons, however, they might be encountered on treasure. They have a tendency to devour their prey
any layer. where it falls, so valuables seldom accrue at a communal
lair.
They are sometimes found on the Material Plane, having
inadvertently passed through a portal or been summoned The vicious creatures are so intractable that they are
to serve a powerful spellcaster. Packs of nashrous rove the nearly impossible to bargain with. Short periods of
Abyss, while solitary demons are more common on the compelled service are preferable.
Material Plane.
Strategies and Tactics: A nashrou is a fierce fighter that
Society: Roving packs of 3 to 10 nashrous are “natural” presents a significant challenge. When fighting in a pack,
hazards of the Abyss. A strict hierarchy of importance the demons charge headlong into the thickest groups of
and privilege exists within a nashrou pack, which enemies, seeking to disrupt formations and deal as much
determines when and how much an individual is damage as possible with their goring arms and scythelike
permitted to feed. secondary claws.

The smallest, weakest members of the pack are driven
ahead of the main body to scout for potential prey. The
larger, swifter nashrous (“stalkers”) harry the pack’s
chosen prey, sometimes for hours, sometimes for days.
Once the stalkers have worked the prey into a frenzy of
fear, the highest rank (“slayers”) moves in. These largest,
strongest members of the pack are even more bloodthirsty
and savage than their packmates. Nashrous do not collect
A lone nashrou fights more cautiously, preferring to stalk
in the shadows until it can catch its prey at a vulnerable
moment. It rarely if ever attacks a group of more than
two creatures, and often flees if outnumbered in a
confrontation.
Nashrous are difficult to injure with standard weapons,
but have a weak spot

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 Needle Demon

Needle demons turn enemies against one another by

making them believe that their closest friends have
betrayed them. They wreak havoc and destruction
throughout the Abyss and take any opportunity to
bring that chaos to the mortal realms.

Needle demons possess greater cunning than most give

them credit for, and they are more patient than many
other demons. This craftiness often puts needle demons
in the role of advisors to more powerful demons and
even as the true powers behind manipulated puppets.
However, their hunger for watching foes fight one
another often gets the better of them, and they are
rarely capable of more than simple deceptions

Combat: to attack his foes, a needle demon uses spells

affecting the mind.

Neldrazu

Neldrazus hide in the shadows on the edge of a battle, then

charge in to snatch enemies away. Once a neldrazu gets its
target alone, it tears it apart with its four savage claws.

Although difficult to control, neldrazus make excellent

abductors for slavers or kidnappers that don’t mind if
their goods are slightly damaged.

Neldrazus are usually encountered with other demons, but

take any opportunity to wreak havoc. They prefer being
near places where they can keep their victims isolated,
such as narrow ledges, steep slopes, or pit traps.

Tactics: the neldrazu looks for a lightly armored enemy

and tries to bring it among its allies.

If attacking in group, neldrazus teleport in different

directions, spreading out their enemies as much as
possible.

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Nycademon
Rippling with muscles and thick tendons, nycademons are
winged terrors that soar over the charred landscape of the
Abyss, searching for prey on the open expanses. These
predators harry ground creatures for amusement, lifting
their hapless victims high into the air and dropping them.
Nycademons are nicknamed “sky demons” for their
tendency to swoop down and grab their enemies, carrying
them high into the sky and releasing them to fall to their
deaths.
They put great stock in their physical superiority over
their foes. This belief makes them overconfident when
147
facing enemies that don’t immediately show signs of power
and hesitant when facing enemies that show great
strength.
Nycademons are mercenary enough to work with almost
any creature in the short term, but their superiority
complexes soon infuriates most allies.
Tactics: a nycademon snatches a target and then flies into
the air. If the creature proves particularly dangerous, the
nycademon drops the enemy from a high altitude and
returns to the battle to grab a new prey. It may also
attack with great axes.
 faces on its skin in such a way as to place
a pair of eyes at the expected location.

The skin of an oculus is rubbery, and

chitinous plates cover its broad shoulders
and helmetlike skull. These plates can slide
over the creature’s most exposed eyes to
protect them from attack.

Oculus demons speak Abyssal and

communicate via telepathy. Unlike
tanar’ri, they do not summon their own
kind.

Ecology: Though they are omnivores,

oculus demons prefer the usual demonic
fare: blood, souls, and the flesh and larvae
of giant insects.

Rumor about the creation of oculus claims

that the first oculus was the result of a
liaison between a gibbering mouther
demigoddess and an ancient giant with a
hundred eyes—perhaps with a drop of
beholder blood.

Society: Oculus demons get along well with

beholders, abyssal giants, vrocks, and
carnevus demons, but they hate and avoid
mariliths.

They are rarely found in the company of

tanar’ri, but sometimes work with gnolls
or necromancers.

Most of them serve as mercenaries in the

Abyssal forces, but when they find a
master worth serving for, they can
Oculus become troops for an Abyssal lord.

Environment: Oculus demons have gathered on a few

Spawned in the Abyss well before the time of the tanar’ri,
layers of the Abyss—specifically those ruled by Obox-ob,
the oculus demons do not truly fit into the abyssal
Demogorgon, and Juiblex. Oculus demons prefer hot or
hierarchy. Sages once believed that all the oculus demons
humid climates with good visibility, so they avoid forested
had been captured or destroyed, but clearly some escaped
and arctic layers. They also avoid the Material Plane,
and have begun to reestablish themselves as powerful
perhaps because they can still recall their ancient defeat
Abyssal forces.
there.

Description: Oculus demons are roughly the same
height as humans, though they appear shorter and burlier
because of their stooped posture. A male oculus demon has
two long, straight horns jutting from its forehead, and a
female has four rounded horns whose tips touch over her
head. Some oculus demons have eyestalks in addition to
horns, and now and then one is born with a “crown” of
eyeballs all the way around its skull. Such crowns are
considered unattractive, and the demons who have them
are driven from the Abyss to seek their fortunes elsewhere.
Strategies and Tactics: Oculus demons prefer ranged
combat over melee. Thus, they serve demonic armies as
ranged support troops and scouts rather than as foot
soldiers. An oculus always flies prior to entering melee. An
oculus can fire bolts from its eyes to damage, sicken, panic
or even paralyze its enemies. Once in hand-to-hand
combat, an oculus wades into melee with its cruel, curved
longsword and uses its off-hand claw as a secondary
attack. They cast spells that defeat law, strengthen chaos,
and affect vision.

An oculus demon is born with at least a dozen eyes—two
in the same location as a human’s would be, and the rest
scattered over its body. Each demon gains more eyes as it
ages, so an older oculus can have hundreds of eyes all over
its body. An oculus that has relatively few eyes tattoos
An oculus is resistant to most form of damage. In addition,
it can see in darkness and perceive creatures as they truly
are.

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Perditazu

Also called maze demons, these fiends are the vestiges of those demons
and mortals who became lost in the Endless Maze and never found
their way out. Driven mad, they live on in an accursed state, seeking
to possess their victims and reduce them to their same state. They
roam the passages and corridors in search of the escape denied them in
life.

The perditazu stalk their prey, following them through miles of

corridor until their targets face another foe. The perditazu fight
independently, and what aid they give other demons is purely
circumstantial.

The perditazu attacks by vanishing into the body of its prey and
imprisoning it in a maze of delusion.

Piscodemon

The demons of the Blood Rift serve as mercenaries and

hirelings to the highest bidder. Mezzodemons and
derghodemons form the vast bulk of such military forces,
under the control of a vicious Officers’ corps made up of
piscodemons. Cruel and sadistic, piscodemons lord over
their weaker followers, although they are subservient and
fawning in the presence of more powerful creatures.

Lore: Piscodemons are masterful tacticians, capable of

planning and executing battles with the skill ofthe best
mortal generals. Unfortunately for their allies, they are
also grasping, ambitious creatures that frequently allow
their greed to get the better ofthem. They are easily
bribed and can only rarely turn down the opportunity to
betray a hated rival. Savvy characters facing a
piscodemon-led force can sometimes alter the course of a
battle by finding a way to turn the piscodemon against its
masters.

Encounters: Piscodemons fight for any creatures that can

afford their services, as they surround themselves with
lesser creatures they can lord over. A piscodemon might
agree to work for a mortal master in return for a
powerful magic item or other treasure, but a piscodemon
typically grows bored of extended service and disposes of
its master.

Combat: With their strong sense of tactics, piscodemons

are commonly found in command of companies of lesser
demons. A piscodemon prefers to unleash vision of
madness from the back of the battle, although its powerful
claws and poisonous tentacles make it equally dangerous
in close combat.

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 Pod Demon

The disgusting and demented Pod Demon creates from

their backs poisonous spawn that it uses to corner and
terrorize other creatures.

A pod demon can psychically transfer its consciousness to

any of its spawn, transforming that spawn’s body into a
new pod demon while its former body shrinks to podspawn
form.

The madness they possess seems related to the Chained

God, and some pod demons carry or wrap themselves in
chains as a symbol of their allegiance.

Society: Pod demons work with any demon that promises

them the chance to terrorize the weak and fearful with
their podspawn. A pod demon very often enters combat
with a handful of minions, and sends them out to gain
advantage.

Quarrak insatiable eaters that consume for no reason other than

the thrill of gluttony. When a battle is won, they consume
the dead, leaving nothing but rent armor and shattered
It is said that the savage Quarraks are spawned in pairs,
weapons behind.
and that if one dies, its twin perishes within a few days.
These matched demons argue with each other constantly
Encounters: Quarraks respond only to fear, and they fear
as they wreak chaos and destruction in the manner of
only demons more powerful them themselves. On rare
their kind. If they cannot find a more suitable target for
occasion, quarraks ally with evil clerics or warlocks in the
their violence, quarraks turn on each other.
mortal realm, as long as those characters provide them
with numerous opportunities to feed. Masters that fail to
Lore: The quarraks' small size leads demons and mortals
do so typically end up on the menu.
alike to assume that they are weak. However, these potent
warriors have overwhelmed numerous enemies that failed
Combat: Quarraks travel in pairs that make up even-
to appreciate their threat. With little ambition of their
numbered groups of combatants. A quarrak is hard to pin
own, quarraks are used as shock troops by numerous
down, shifting constantly to keep close to its twin in
demon lords, gathered together in large groups that can
combat. Twins attack together whenever possible.
quickly overwhelm an opposing force. Quarraks are

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Rageborn Demon

These apelike demons have become

numerous in the Iron Wastes since the
ascension of Kostchtchie. Numerous
kinds of rageborn exist, each with
diverse abilities, but all rageborn are
servitors of the Prince of Wrath. As
befits this status, rageborn are
creatures of raw fury, their battle cries
infused with the dark will oftheir lord.

Great howling storms swept the Iron

Wastes when Kostchtchie first seized
that layer. In each storm’s wake
emerged a horde of rageborn—the first
ever seen in the Abyss. These demons'
absolute subservience to the Prince of
Wrath has come to reflect his control
over the wastes, and Kostchtchie and
his frost giant followers lend rageborn
to his cults in the world. Many more
have wandered through hidden gates
in the Iron Wastes, wreaking havoc in
whichever lands they pass to.

Encounters: The rageborn do not seek

out allies. Instead, stronger demons and
mortals force them into service with
threats of violence, magical
compulsion, and promises of fresh
meat.

Rageborn Frosthurler
Frosthurlers are no less savage in
melee than their more powerful
rageborn kin. They excel at lashing out
at targets from across the battlefield,
crippling them with abyssal cold as the
frosthurlers’ allies close in.

The frosthurler is more intelligent than

other rageborn, but its tactics are no
less violent. It lobs icy projectiles after
which it flies into a rage against the
nearest foes.

Rageborn barbclaw
The rageborn barbclaw delights in cutting a destructive
swath through its foes. Creatures stuck by a barbclaw
cannot defend themselves in battle, quickly falling to the
demon and its allies.
Rageborn Ambusher
The ambusher combines the bloodlust common to all its
kind with a powerful leap that lets it fall screaming on its
hapless foes.
Combat: Though less intelligent than other rageborn, an
ambusher possesses more tactical instinct. An ambusher
always stays in motion.
Rageborn Horror
A brute that lives only to destroy, the rageborn horror
exemplifies the rageborns’ reputation for savagery. A
rageborn horror's voice alone can knock foes off their feet.
Combat: A rageborn horror is all but unstoppable in
battle, attacking with single-minded ferocity. Charging
into the fray, a horror lacks the cunning to do anything
more than repeatdly lash out at the nearest targets. Easily
goaded into a fight, rageborn horrors are predictable in
only one situation: a horror ignores other enemies to strike
at a foe that dares to challenge it.

151
 Ruin Demon

The shuddering corpse splits, spilling out

black flies grown fat on rotting flesh. Though
these vermin might appear to be ordinary
insects at first glance, each bears an
approximation of a human face. Slowly they
swarm, gathering into a solid form—a
mockery of the creature that birthed them.

Lore: The first ruin demons emerged from the

Brine Flats of the Gaping Maw in the realm
of Abysm. These creatures reproduce through
masses of insectoid eggs laid in the corpses
polluting that sea. Their black swarm clouds
hover over its blighted shores, stalking the
dim borders of the screaming jungle and
feasting on whatever creatures they find
here. The frequent storms that savage Gaping
Maw limit this demon numbers. But the
abyssal winds can also carry demon swarms
into other layers and through portals to the
mortal realm.

Encounter: With no natural allies, ruin

demons devour any creatures they encounter
- including other demons. They have no taste
for plant life, however, and corrupt treants
and similar creatures establish themselves
within the protection of a ruin demon
infestation. Ruin demons consume the flesh of
undead creatures, but they sometimes follow
insubstantial and skeletal undead to take
advantage of the carnage they create.

Combat: The ruin demon attacks the nearest

enemy, flowing over the target as a vile
swarm that fills eyes, mouth, and ears. A
victim that succumbs to the ruin demon’s vile
infestation becomes the swarm’s puppet,
flailing about under fiendish control.

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 Runespiral Demon

A runespiral demon is a large beetle that is the size of a small dog.

Arcane runes are cut deep into the thick shells of runespiral
demons, channeling deadly energy from deep within the Abyss, and
giving it mastery over lightning energy.

Society: Other demons muster runespiral demons to their cause

with a mixture of threats and promises of carnage.

Although lightning-powered runespiral demons are by far the most

common, those using other types of energy exist, each bearing a
different style of runes. Runespiral demons mainly attack with
spells using lightning.

In the lower planes, runespiral demons are typically relegated to no

particular duty as most demons don’t have the time or the care to
order them to do their bidding.

Rupture Demon

Symbiotic demons composed of evil sludge, rupture

demons slink through all layers of the Abyss,
following behind more powerful demons and
consuming the remains of their kills.

The rupture demon erupts in a gory explosion of

ichor and tentacles that latch on to a demon to make
this demon regain some energy.

A rupture demon possesses little sense of self and

virtually no sense of self preservation. It wades into
melee, attacking any creature that attack it, and
sacrificing itself.

Rupture demons are oily demons made of liquefied

evil. Barely sentient, rupture demons never work for
themselves or have their own plans. In any place
where a rupture demon is found, it’s certain that a
more powerful demon lurks nearby.

Rupture demons are the weakest spawns of Juiblex

the demon lord of ooze and slime. Sages speculate
that the rupture demon’ aiding of other demons
through their deaths must be a part of some scheme
by the enigmatic demon lord..

153
Seszrath
Cast out from the vilest pits of darkness in the Abyss, the
seszrath is a horrible monstrosity composed of fused
corpses and demonic essence. The ravening madness of this
undead demon manifests as a neverending desire to feed.
Lore: Though they do not require food for sustenance,
seszraths are driven by the perverse pleasure of hunting,
slaying, and consuming sentient prey. It is thought that
the first seszraths were created during the birth of the
Abyss. However, little is known of these creatures. In
particular, how they continue to spawn and from what
matter they are created is a source of conjecture. Some
believe that new seszraths are continually spawned by an
undiscovered demon lord - perhaps an unknown
primordial who manipulates the power of undeath as an
affront to Orcus. Others believe that seszraths are born of
a gate between the Abyss and the Shadowfell, thought to
exist at the deepest levels of both planes.
154
Encounter: Few creatures fight alongside seszraths, since
they are as likely to attack allies as enemies in the heat of
battle. Seszraths are typically found only in the company
of other seszraths or in service to more powerful demons
such as balors and glabrezus. Many demon lords maintain
forces of these creatures in the Abyss. Some have also been
known to send seszraths to the mortal realm to destroy the
cults of their enemies.
Combat: Seszraths are brutal frontline fighters, oblivious
to danger as they take the battle to the enemy. Their
tactical sense extends no further than smashing into the
nearest and largest group of foes. A seszrath ignores its
allies as those creatures circle around to pounce on foes
laid low by its vicious throw. It is typically too consumed
by recklessness to focus on slaying its foes.
Shadee Encounters: Shaadees shackled to the will of a demon lord
serve under that lord's lesser demonic servants. Groups of
shaadees light alongside glabrezus or balors sent on
Shadees are the risen manifestations of powerful
missions of destructions across the planes. If released from
spellcasters who pledged their souls to the lords of the
a demon lord’s servitude and allowed to return to the
Abyss to increase their own power. Such spellcasters use
mortal realm, a shaadee quickly gathers servants that
their dark knowledge to enslave lesser creatures, sow
remind it of its former life. Apprentice wizards and
chaos within civilized lands, and acquire vast wealth and
warlocks, the clerics of evil gods, and intelligent undead
power. When a spellcaster bound to a demon dies,
can be found in a shaadee’s service.
however, it becomes a shaadee—an undead demonic slave
eternally serving the abyssal lord its mortal soul was
Combat: Having already experienced death, a shaadee
pledged to.
knows no fear. It flies over its enemies as combat begins,
seeking a powerful warrior or leader to dominate. It then
Despite their status as slaves of their demon lord, some
descends into the midst of melee, flying if it is
shaadees regain a measure of their mortal power. By
overwhelmed. The shaadee isolates melee targets, howling
serving its master loyally, a shaadee might be granted a
as it taunts its foes.
kind of freedom—allowed to return to the world as a
hideous reflection of its living self, as long as it continues
to advance its master's agenda.

155
 Shadow demons are like devils in that they lie and scheme
to drive mortals toward evil. However, shadow demons
aim to proliferate death and destruction, not to acquire
souls and power. A shadow demon’s primary goal is
always the annihilation of life.

When a demon's body is destroyed but the fiend is

prevented from reforming in the Abyss, its essence
sometimes takes on a vague physical form. These shadow
demons exist outside the normal abyssal hierarchy, since
their creation results most often from mortal magic, not
from transformation or promotion.

Shadow demons all but disappear in the darkness, and

they can creep about without making a sound. A shadow
demon uses its insubstantial claws to feast on its victim's
fears, to taste its memories, and drink in its doubts. Bright
light harries this fiend and shows its distinct shape,
resolving it from a blur of darkness to a winged humanoid
creature whose lower body trails off into nothing, and
whose claws rend a victim's mind.

Encounter: The lurking Shadow demons interact with

Shadow Demon
Shadow demons are very rare and foul creatures from the
lower planes. Born of the unadulterated corruption of the
Abyss, a shadow demon is a fiend of consuming darkness.
Despite its resemblance to a wraith, a shadow demon is a
living spawn of the Abyss. Its powers utilize the necrotic
energy resulting from the demonic connection to oblivion
and entropy.
other demons only when they share a common goal. This
usually occurs at the behest of a powerful leader, such as a
demon lord. Shadow demons work with undead and other
creatures associated with death, such as Orcus’s
deathpriests. They act as spies, scouts, and assassins
Tactics: A shadow demon tries to ambush foes. The shadow
demon avoids combat with multiple enemies. It often
delays until it sees an opportunity to gain advantage. The
shadow demon retreats if severely wounded.

Skulvyn

The skulvyn is a bestial

demon that haunts the
reeking seas of the Abyss,
constantly on the hunt for
prey to torment and eat.
aura of magical energy that causes other creatures to
Description: a skulvyn lookds like a streamlined lizard
move and react with agonizing slowness. Skulvyns use this
with broad clawed feet that are almost flippers, its head is
aura to great advantage, remaining just out of reach of a
snakelike in shape with a wide jaw and bulging black eyes.
slowed victim gradually bleeding to death.
It has four long tails that can propel it through the water
at grat speed. The razor-sharp spines on the tails make Combat: skulvyns usually hunts in schools and concentrate
them terrible weapons as well, causing wounds that do not all of their attacks on one target. They often swarm in to
stop bleeding before the victim is dead. attack for a while and then swimm away to watch in glee
as their victim bleeds to death from the numerous wounds.
The most disturbing aspect of a skulvyn may be its strange
Skulvyns themselves are immune to their slowing hability.

156
Sorrowsworn Demon the greatest concentration of souls suffering from loss, one
can also often find a lurking sorrowsworn demon,
encouraging those feelings and sating itself on them
Creatures of loss, Sorrowsworn demons appear only after a
war or battle has finished. They prey on the feelings of
Combat: A sorrowsworn demon preys on the weakness of
great sorrow that permeate a region after the loss of its
others, and its tactics reflect this preface. It nearly always
youth and promise.
strikes from hiding.

Description: This emaciated figure stands between 3m60

The demon exudes an aura that provokes creatures to
and 4m50 tall and weighs about 230kg. Its skin is always
suffer intense feelings of despair and personal loss,
dusky black, and its face always appears as a mocking
constantly imagining the worst bereavements and failures
visage of great sadness. Batlike wings protrude from its
they'd ever known or could dread to know. Those of iron
back. Its face is a skeletal mockery of utter mourning, and
will might shrug off such thoughts; the rest are
two short, twisted horns sprout from the front of its high
overwhelmed and distracted and weakened by them.
brow. A wide maw and hooked claws clutching a massive
polearm only add to this picture of lethality. When in battle or tormenting a victim, a sorrowsworn
demon hisses and whispers incessantly, both in voice and
Habitat: Favored haunts of sorrowsworn demons include
in the mind to further weaken its opponents before ripping
mass graves, orphanages, hospitals, and the homes of those
into them.
who have lost loved ones to battle. Wherever one can find

157
Soul Demon

Rare upon the Prime Material Plane, soul demons bridge

the gap between demonic life and abyssal undeath.

Soul demons are formed when the animating life force

within a powerful undead creature capable of casting
divine magic is stripped from the rotting flesh and infused
with raw chaos harvested from Thanatos, the abyssal
realm of Orcus, Pince of Undeath. The soul demons are
thought to have been created by Orcus to defy the various
priesthoods aligned against him, suggesting the Orcus
originally wished to create a powerful demon-undead
amalgam, resistant to the spells, miracles, and innate
clerical holy powers of his hatred enemies.

Description: This terrifying creature has a skull-like head

that seems to be made of glass. Hellish red flame burns
inside its skull, and its fanged jaws are agape in a howl.
Its humanoid body is skeletally thin and partially
transparent and its long legs and arms and in spindly
and sprouts large curved horns with which it can attack.
talons.
Its body can fade in and out of solid state, and only its
head and talons remain solid.
Combat: a soul demon can channel a rays of deadly
energy, damage with its claws or bite and discharge a
Soul demons are vulnerable to silver and they can be
fragment of its foul spiritual force as a blast of black
turned almost like an undead.
flame. The demon’s head sometimes turns a blood red color

Terraguhl

Among the most horrific creatures found in Codricuhn’s

employ, the terraguhls are sentient mounds of grave dirt,
replete with twitching corpses trapped in their bodies and
compelled by madness and wickedness to bury their
enemies alive.

Formed from the Abyssal dirt of Thanatos when

Codricuhn passed through Orcus’s demesne ages ago, these
fiends are found in Codricuhn’s wake or inhabiting the
rockier spheres. They often work with other demons, not
out of any loyalty, but by shared desire to wreak havoc
and death.

Tactics: The terraguhl homes in on one foe at a time,

burrowing through the ground to emerge and attack with
its claws. The terraguhl waits for the right moment to
entomb and then maul an enemy.

158
Tomb Demon

Forged of bone and imbued with the powers of death and

decay, tomb demons are spawned in the mass graves and
former battlegrounds of the Abyss. Although each tomb
demon differs in its abilities, they share a similar form.
Their long fangs and serpentine, skeletal bodies - which
resemble a humanoid and a snake horrifically fused - are a
terrifying sight.

Lore: Tomb demons arose in the aftermath of a great

battle between Orcus and Sylbarax, an exarch of Zehir
known as the Green Death. Sylbarax entered the Abyss,
renounced his allegiance to his dark god, and became a
demon lord. His reign was short-lived. Orcus assembled a
vast host of demons and undead to destroy Sylbarax and
the serpentine servants he had drawn to his side.

The first tomb demons were created when the remains of

Sylbarax’s followers were imbued with the necromantic
power commanded by Orcus. Tomb demons have since
spread across the Abyss and beyond. Rumors hint that
these creatures continue to crawl from Sylbarax’s
festering corpse, lost in the uncharted reaches of the deep
layers. The Jewel of Gharan, an artifact still sought by
Zehir, supposedly rests in Sylbarax’s dead grasp.

Encounters: In the Abyss, tomb demons ally with others of

their kind and with servants of Orcus. In the world, tomb
demons serve the leaders of Orcus’s cults.

The cultists of Zehir take great pride in summoning and

controlling these demons, as a final rebuke of Sylbarax’s
treachery. Haagenti and Zuggtmoy have also both
Combat: A constrictor focuses on one or two lightly armed
managed to force tomb demons into their service.
targets, ignoring attacks from other creatures as it crushes
victims in its writhing coils. Only if its chosen victims
Tomb Demon Constrictor
escape does a constrictor slither into melee. It attacks with
A tomb demon constrictor’s coils crush the life from its
its writhing coils again as soon as a target presents itself.
victims, leaving only bloody bones behind.

159

Vargouille
Shrieking, flapping, and hideous to behold- with a body like
a severed head and bat-like wings in place of ears,
vargouilles boil out of the Abyss to infest other planes of
existence.
Ecology: Each vargouille carries a disease that creates
more of its kind; a flock of vargouilles on the wing is a
plague of chaos and evil waiting to happen.
A vargouille understands Abyssal, Infernal, and any
languages it knew before becoming a vargouille but can't
speak.
160
Habitat/Society : Swarms of vargouilles flap through the
caverns and skies of the Abyss. They are given little
regard by powerful and intelligent demons since
vargouilles can do them no harm. Even the weakest
demon, such as a manes or a dretch, fears vargouilles only
if they appear in great numbers. In the Lower Planes,
vargouilles rarely get the chance to eat live prey other
than vermin. More often, they lap up the ichor left behind
when one fiend kills another.
Because of their instinctive hunger for living prey,
vargouilles are eager to escape the Lower Planes. On rare
occasions, the summoning of a demon to another plane can
bring a vargouille along for the ride, attaching itself like a
tick. The precautions a mortal takes to contain and
control a summoned demon rarely account for a
stowaway, and thus a vargouille enters the world
unbidden.
Combat: vargouilles that roam free on the Material Plane
are a dire threat to all creatures, especially humanoids.
Their awful shrieking can paralyze other creatures with
fear, and such victims are helpless to resist a vargouille's
accursed kiss.
The kiss of a vargouille infects a humanoid with a fiendish
curse. If allowed to run its course, the curse brings about a
gruesome transformation as an abyssal spirit invades the
person's body. Over a period of hours, the victim's head
takes on fiendish aspects such as fangs, tentacles, and
horns. At the same time, the person's ears grow larger,
expanding and transforming into wing-like appendages.
In the final moments, the victim's head tears away from
the body in a fountain of blood, becoming another
vargouille, which often then eagerly laps up its own life
fluids. Sunlight or the brilliant illumination of a daylight
spell can delay this transformation, and vargouilles
instinctively shun bright light as a result.
The curse doesn't advance while the target is in sunlight.
Vargouilles are resistant to cold, fire, lightning and poison.
Varrangoin

Varrangoins, or abyssal bats, are

native to the Abyss but found in both
that plane and Carceri. They're like
giant bats with rotted wings and
skeletal bodies. They have long,
forked tails, and their heads are skull-
like with glowing red eyes and sharp
fangs. They undergo ritual
scarification when young, and
varrangoin spellcasters use these
scars as spellbooks.

The 377th layer of the Abyss, the

Plains of Gallenshu, is dotted with the
ruins of ancient varrangoin cities,
long since destroyed by armanites
and other Tanar'ri. The varrangoin
hate the tanar'ri for taking over
their realm, and hope to destroy
them.

Their war leader is Vis Nirrin Vis.

Voracalith

The voracalith is the most gluttonous of all demons,

content to wander the Abyss devouring anything that
crosses its path. Tales are told of whole legions of demons
that misjudged the appetites of a voracalith pack and paid
the ultimate price.

Lore: These insatiable fiends are legendary for their ability

to devour anything, and strange treasures and objects can
be found inside them. Inorganic matter - from short
swords to enormous stone idols—settles in a voracalith’s
stomach, remaining there until the creature is killed and
cut open.

Encounters: Voracaliths have no interest in alliances, but

demon lords bind them to use as shock troops and raiders.
Since voracaliths are too dense to follow complex orders,
their masters use fresh meat to lure them to a
battleground or a desired target.

Combat: Voracaliths rarely display tactics any more

clever than moving toward the nearest group of living
creatures and eating as many of them as possible. These
ravenous demons are drawn by numbers. They focus on
creatures clustered together, their tentacles dragging prey
to their ever-hungry maws.

161
 maintains more of its former knowledge,
and can use that knowledge to seek bloody
retribution against old enemies.

Encounters: Wendigos are solitary

creatures whose madness drives them to
inhabit desolate lands. These demons
sometimes hunt in the company of dire
animals, worgs, and owlbears, as well as
other wild creatures that share their
ravenous appetites. A wendigo that leads
such a hunting pack trains its servants
over time, using them to great effect as it
harries its quarry.

Wendigo Manhunter
An unfamiliar scent is carried on the
wind, and the trackers become skittish.
This far from civilization, their
imaginations spawn phantoms - a fleeting
shape stalking ever closer, reaching out,
whispering their names.

Combat: A manhunter can stalk creatures

for days before attacking. Once its feast
begins, the wendigo moves from target to
target, using beyond sight so that its
wendigo bite can strike true.

Wendigo Soulcatcher
As a wendigo consumes mortal flesh, it
grows in power. When a wendigo becomes
a soulcatcher, it takes mad pleasure not
only in slaying, but in temporarily
bestowing its curse on the creatures that
fear it. Forcing those enemies to gorge
themselves on their allies’ flesh and blood,
the soulcatcher becomes stronger still.
Wendigo
Combat: The soulcatcher seeks out a weak-willed creature
A mortal that commits cannibalism creates a spiritual in combat, inflaming that victim with its bite. The
gateway to the Abyss, through which the dreaded demon wendigo revels in the shrieks of the dominated creature’s
known as the wendigo can travel. Once it reaches the victims, taking as much pleasure from their terror as from
world, a wendigo warps the cannibal’s soul and body, the sustenance the unwilling cannibal’s attack provides.
turning into a flesh-eating monster that reflects the
madness of the Abyss. Wendigo Primal Spirit
The oldest wendigos possess a hunger that drives them to
Lore: Not all mortals that commit cannibalism draw the consume their own flesh in a grisly feast of self-
attention of a wendigo to themselves. Those that do, destruction. Wandering the world as a demonic shade, a
though, are bound within the wendigo’s form until the wendigo primal spirit is doomed to endlessly slay the
demon is slain. creatures it once called kin, but to never slake its hunger
on their flesh.
For a mortal that consumed forbidden flesh out of
desperation or dark need, existence as a wendigo is a Combat: A primal Spirit's hunger drives it into the thick of
neverending nightmare. Trapped in that demonic form, combat, where it has little to fear from blades and arrows.
the creature’s consciousness endures only enough to It eats vicariously with hunger born from fear,
maintain awareness of its hunger and the number of temporarily forcing its cannibalistic madness into its foes.
sentient creatures it has slain. For mortals that indulge in
cannibalism by choice, the curse of the wendigo can
become a blessing. A wendigo created from a willing host

162
Whisper Demon

Thoroughly evil and insane, whisper demons live for

the opportunity to see others’ misfortune. Mad and
hateful, they lust to watch other creatures take
their own lives and then to enslave their lost souls.
The fiends’ maddening telepathic whispers can
drive the strongest-willed hero to do herself harm,
and their merest touch can rend flesh and break
bone.

Description: Whisper demons are insubstantial,

ghostly, demonic creature roughly the size and
shape of humans, but as incorporeal creatures they
possess no weight. Their skin is a mottled green. If
one is wounded, the area of the injury turns a
brighter green and appears to ooze a green,
bloodlike substance, though this “blood” is also
incorporeal. The demons’ brows and chins jut
forward, making their wild eyes look very deeply
set. A whisper demon’s sneering, cunning expression
displays its delight in evil.

Habitat: Whisper demons, although native to the

Abyss, can be found anywhere in the multiverse,
leaving the Abyss whenever they can to find more
sane minds on which to prey.

Society: Whisper demons exist to drive others to take their whisper demon, babbling constantly and fascinating
own lives. They find nothing so exquisite as a creature creatures to prevent escape. Those who fall prey to the
losing all hope or its grip on sanity. Gleefully insane, whispers often attack themselves (a whisper demon can
whisper demons possess no sense of community or fair control up to nine allies it creates). Against enemies that
play. They rarely talk, but when they do, a flood of hateful aren’t affected, the whisper demon orders the allies to
desires issues forth in every language they can speak. drain the creatures, reducing their ability to withstand its
Whisper demons exist outside the power structures and maddening whispers. The demon then attacks with its
society of the Abyss. Other demons are immune to their incorporeal touches, hoping that a confused foe will finish
maddening whispers, but only more powerful demons itself off with a final lethal blow.
equipped with magic weapons risk dealing with them. All
A whisper is incorporeal, but not undead. Weapons that
others ignore them if possible and flee otherwise. Tanar’ri
aren’t magical pass right through the incorporeal
in particular, usually avoid whisper demons, but might
creature.
risk association to achieve some goal. If a creature does
decide it wants to use a whisper demon, it usually offers
A whisper demon seeks to drive others to madness and
transportation to the Material Plane in exchange for the
self-destruction. Other undead might also associate with
fiend’s service.
one of these insane demons. An undead creature’s
immunity to the demon’s maddening whispers makes it a
Strategies and Tactics A whisper demon typically travels
potent ally.
with a cadre of allies under its control. These creatures are
the souls of those who killed themselves while under the
influence of the demon’s whispers. The allies precede the

163
 Habitat: Yagnodemons can be found across the Abyss and
the mortal realm. Most of these demons, however, dwell in
the abyssal city of Morglon-Daar. Though not the most
powerful demons in that settlement, yagnodemons serve as
enforcers, with the power to banish or execute any
creature that threatens the city‘s stability. The
yagnodemons of Morglon-Daar are the closest thing that
chaotic realm has to a force of law, and the justice they
mete out is swift and deadly.

Ancient legends tell of how these demons were created in

the earliest days of the Abyss, spawned from a race of
aquatic humanoids in service to a primordial named
Throan. Throan ventured into the Abyss and was slain by
Dagon. Before he died, he cast his spirit into his servitors.
These slender creatures were transformed into the first
yagnodemons by their master's death and the taint of the
dark realm they were spawned in. Their right arms are all
that remain from their original form.

Encounters: In the Abyss, yagnodemons typically serve

other demons as guards and enforcers. Isolated bands of
yagnodemons can also be found traveling remote reaches
of the Blood Sea or the Abyss other watery realms.
Yagnodemons found in the world have typically been
bound into servitude by mortal spellcasters. Unlike many
summoned demons, these warriors respect the power of a
master whose goals allow them to wield power of their
own. A yagnodemon sometimes continues its service in the
mortal realm after the ritual that bound it has ended.

Yagnodemon Combat: A yagnodemon establishes control of a situation

through brutal displays of force. It focuses on the most
powerful foe with its harpoon, holding it immobilized as it
Creatures that see a yagnodemon for the first time often
strikes again and again. When that foe falls, the
assume that it is crippled or infirm. Its left arm is long
yagnodemon turns to its less powerful allies, hoping to see
and powerfully built to match its menacing stature. Its
them flee in the face of its rage.
right arm is shortened—weak and withered as if by some
grievous injury. Creatures take advantage of this
apparent weakness at their peril.

164
Zovvut
Zovvuts were once angels in the service of the Chained God
Tharizdun. Fleeing into exile when the Abyss was born
and their dark master was imprisoned, these demons have
been tainted by eons of servitude to him. The first of them
were created during horrible blood rites centuries ago.
Rumors also link zovvuts to Orcus, though the secret of the
creatures’ creation seems to be widely known among the
lords of the Abyss.
Description: In a mockery of their divine origins, zovvuts
maintain the distinct physiology of their angelic ancestry.
A zovvut is a muscular pale-skinned hairless creature of
humanoid shape. Its arms end in sharp, barbed claws that
are well designed for rending flesh. Foul, feathered wings
stretch upward from the zovvut’s shoulders. A third eye is
set into the center of its forehead.
A zovvut delights in exploiting its appearance to mislead
and corrupt priests of the mortal world.
Habitat:. Zovvuts can be found in many regions of the
Abyss as well as on the Prime Material Plane, doing the
bidding of anyone powerful enough to intimidate them
into obedience.
In the millennia before the Chained God‘s imprisonment,
zovvuts were angels of corruption serving the darker
deities. When Tharizdun was cast into the bottomless
maelstrom of the Abyss, the zovvuts broke with their
many masters to pledge allegiance to the ultimate
165
corruption of the Chained God. In the eons since, they have
sought in vain for their lost master. As they seek his
hidden prison, the zovvuts believe they can hear the voice
of Tharizdun, whispering to them in tormented visions.
Society: Zovvuts are often used by demonic agents in
conjunction with more combative demons.
Zovvuts resent any creature with the power to command
them and, like any demons, they constantly seek to
undermine and betray authority.
Zovvuts are commonly found serving the cults of the Elder
Elemental Eye. As long as Tharizdun remains unable to
communicate with his disciples, the Chained God’s mortal
followers venerate zovvuts as heralds and keepers of
Tharizdun‘s divine will.
Encounters: As servitors of the Chained God, Zovvuts have
few allies. They are viewed as divine creatures by most
demons, and are shunned as a result. In the remote deep
layers of the Abyss where the zovvuts search for
Tharizdun’s prison, they sometimes band together with
other demonic exiles, but rarely for long.
Combat: Zovvuts, though weaker than many other demons
in terms of combat ability, are not afraid of it. They rely
on their gaze attack to bring their foes to submission.
When forced to fight, a zovvut waits at the periphery of
melee for the right moment to fly in with its brutal melee
attacks and crippling gaze.
 Zythars—a fear that the balors are happy to exploit as
they drive their servants on.

Lore: The zythar were spawned millennia ago by a balor

legion whose members sought to seize control of the
abyssal layer of their lord. Instilled with the destructive
fury of their masters, Zythars were given power over
abyssal flame and infused with an insatiable appetite for
combat. When the balors‘ rebellion failed, the Zythars were
claimed by the victorious demon lord, and they have since
spread across the Abyss.

Zythars do not care whom they serve. They live only to see
other creatures burn, howling with dark laughter as their
enemies are consumed by abyssal fire.

Encounters: Among demonkind, only creatures with

effective immunity against fire feel no fear at the
approach of a zythar. Zythars serve balors and other
powerful demons, but they are rarely found in freely made
alliances. Outside the Abyss, zythars are known to work
with azers and fire giants, as long as such alliances allow
them to unleash the destructive potential of their living
flames.

Combat: A zythar hovers above the battlefield, laying

down abyssal flames to contain its foes. It concentrates
tendrils and bolts of flames against opponents at the edge
of the fray, staying away from enemies that close for
melee.

Zythar A zythar drops to the ground and fights with renewed

vigor once severely wounded, knowing that curse of the
balor will create a lasting reminder of its fury.
Zythars take point position in front of their balor master
in a charging demonic horde. The other demons fear the

166
Not Much Is Known About These Other Demons
Ahazu Malvachnu
A type of demon: lank and long-armed, but square- A type of demon.
shaped.
Nicomar
Chargin A type of demon. Saucer-eyed. Also spelled nikomar.
A chargin is a type of demon, scaled and ropy with
long-taloned fingers and splayed feet. Skurda
A type of scorpion-demon, described as hulking,
Dusin with flat lifeless eyes.
A dusin is a type of stocky demon with crocodile
jaws. Fearless and tough, they are often armed with Ssilhex
iron weapons. A type of demon, described as snaky. Perhaps the
same as marilith.

167
Appendix: Demon Physiology
Demons are creatures of rage and raw physicality.
Created by the Abyss to act as soulless agents of blind
destruction, they are creatures of ever-evolving form,
vicious animus, and unquestioning evil.
No one knows exactly how or why the first demons
took form. Some sages believe that the fusion of the
shard of evil and the physical instability inherent in
the Elemental Chaos was the catalyst that spawned
demonkind. Others believe that the shard of absolute
evil was, in fact, the aggregate of the wasted souls of
much of the obyrith race. When that evil fused with the
Elemental Chaos, a new kind of creature was spawned.
Whatever the case, the physiology of the demon is
dramatically different from that of any other creature.
Since demons do not have a common ancestor, body
type, or even the same needs for existence, they cannot
be easily described in biological terms. Indeed, some
scholars argue that demons possess no common traits
beyond their origins. But it is also believed that the
Abyss shapes demons to perform certain tasks,
necessitating that its creations conform in certain
ways. Unfortunately, there is little evidence on the
subject: demons are notoriously difficult to study when
alive, and when they die, their bodies either return
immediately to the Abyss or decay very quickly.
Nevertheless, chaos being chaos, some demonic corpses
have inexplicably remained available for study.
Basic functions
All living Material Plane creatures share certain
common elements. Humans, dragons, hippogriffs, mind
flayers and gnomes all eat, they all breathe; they all
reproduce in some basic biological ways. However,
demons are not Material Plane creatures and as such,
they do not have the same needs that we expect in
other living creatures . In short, demons do not share
these traits.
Eating
Demons do not need to eat. That said, a demon can
consume endless quantities of food (of any kind), and
they often take particular joy in devouring sacrifices,
especially gory or disgusting ones (most demons eat
flesh, favoring their meals still living). Demons have
been keen known to consume tons of food in a single
sitting, with no effect or consequence, leaving much
debate about where the food actually goes. The most
common theory is that their link to the Abyss somehow
transports the food back to their home plane, but no
one has yet brought forward any proof of this.
Some demons consume plant life (often quickly, in great
quantities, and more destructively than swarms of
locusts), minerals, or metals. Some consume elemental
energy or magic to survive.
Breathing
168
While they must breathe, demons have extremely
strong lungs, built to withstand a range of
environments, including the most deadly fumes of the
abyss, which kill most Material Plane creatures. As
such, demons can easily breathe in any natural
material plane atmospheres.
Sleeping
Demons do not require sleep to function normally.
However, powerful individuals occasionally do force
them into sleeplike states (by magic, poison, or other
external influences), and demons can even be rendered
unconscious, though not easily. A demon can choose to
fall asleep (which it would normally only do for
deceitful purposes), but it gains no benefit from doing
so.
Digestion
Even though demons can eat all the food they want,
they do not have anything resembling biological
digestion. The food seems to simply disappear after
ingestion, unless the demon prefers to expel it somehow.
It they choose, some demons can emit various kinds of
discharges (such as vomit, ooze from spores and other
excretions), though not for any obvious purpose other
than the joy thy take in polluting their environment.
Reproduction
Some demons can have sex if they choose (though not
all of them have the necessary “equipment”), but it is
not necessary for procreation, since the new demons
are formed directly from the chaos of the Abyss.
Demons that can have sex usually do so only as a
means to create half-fiends, though such creatures can
be created in other ways (through arcane magic or
curses).
Anatomy and Habits
The anatomy of demons mocks that of other forms of
life, and demons possess diverse shapes. The ranks of
the known demons represent specific forms that have
stabilized in significant numbers. Demons of a single
named type can have radically different powers,
however, and the greater mass of demons possess few
common traits beyond their origin.
Even before sustenance or survival, a demon's highest
imperative is to destroy. All other activities must serve
the ultimate goal of sowing chaos and bloodshed. The
seemingly endless ways of attaining that goal grant
demons their equally endless differences in physiology.
Dissection of a dretch
One of the lowest orders of demon is the dretch.
Capturing a dretch outside the Abyss is difficult, and
keeping the creature’s body from returning to its home
plane after death is almost unheard of. Even though,
one ancient student of the black scrolls inexplicably did
so and managed to document his findings. These are his no idea how it managed to excrete such filth. Perhaps
actual notes, though the initial sketch has been revised the creature vomited when no one was observing it, or
based on other accounts. perhaps the dretch simply exudes foulness from its
spores. I hope to capture another soon, so I can solve
1-muscle and tendons: this dretch possesses wiry this riddle.
muscles in its thin, misshapen arms and legs.
Unusually powerful for its size, these muscles are the 4-the brain: to my surprise, the dretch’s brain looks
key to its grasping strength. The dretch remained similar to that of a human or other material plane
conscious during the exposure of its muscle tissue, and I creature. The coloration is different – darker, more
watched as it flexed its cable like muscles in the purple – and the stench emanating from the open skull
restraints. When the dretch died, its muscles quickly brings to mind something from a tannery that was
atrophied and became very pliable and easy to cut. carted away in a rendering wagon and then thrown
Thus I believe the creature’s strength stems not only onto a pool of vomit.
from biological origins, but also from magic.

2-hands and claws: the dretch’s powerful forearm

muscles pull the tendons in its hands and give the
creature’s claws an impressive grasping rake. Note the
fingers, after death, the bones in the hand became
brittle, but before the dretch expired, they were strong
as steel. It took several blows with a hammer to break
open one of the creature’s exposed finger bones before it
died, but afterward, I snapped one between my thumb
and forefinger

3-abdomen: here is where the demon diverges most

obviously from a creature of the material plane. When
the demon was alive (regrettably, only for a few
moments), its ope abdomen appeared to be filled with a
swirling, noxious black liquid that gave off a horrible
smell. One of my assistant attempted to capture some of
this liquid in a jar, but the liquid enveloped his hand
and he ran screaming from the room (the liquid did not
actually harm him, but he recalls little of the
examination leading up to this incident). This liquid
evaporated quickly upon the dretch’s death, leaving a
tarlike residue and revealing a few small, discolored
organs. The odor remained a while longer, fading
slowly. While an esophagus of some sorts connects the
“stomach” to the mouth, the dretch seems to have no
bowels, intestines, or other digestive or excretory
organs. This also surprised me, since I fed the dretch
while it remained my captive and it consumed nearly
all organic material I put in its cage – living and dead.
It made a terrible mess in there as well, though I have
skull before the abdomen so I can examine the brain
functions while the creature remains alive
Perhaps I would stick to “indescribable”.
Whether the examiner who added his notes to the black
The bumps and striations, however, follow patterns scrolls ever captures and examined another dretch
similar to that of most higher mammals. When I remains unknown.
examine my next subject, I will attempt to open the

169
Index
General Observations on Demons .............................................................................................................................................................. 4

Spawn of Chaos .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Whispers from the Abyss ......................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Capricious Elevation ................................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Abyssal Invasions ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Eternal Evil ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Protected Essence ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Truths about Demons................................................................................................................................................................................ 5

Tanar’ri ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 8

History..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Ecology ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Society ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8

Creation and judgement ...................................................................................................................................................................... 8

An endless variety ................................................................................................................................................................................ 9

Types ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Traits and Combat .............................................................................................................................................................................. 10

Death...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Demonic death throws ........................................................................................................................................................................ 11

Adaru ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12

Alkilith ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13

Anzu............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 14

Armanite ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 16

Arrow Demon ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 18

Babau .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19

Balor ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20

Bar-Lgura................................................................................................................................................................................................... 21

Bogannarr ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 22

Bulezau .......................................................................................................................................................................................................24

Cerebrilith .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 26

Chasme ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 28

Dretch .........................................................................................................................................................................................................30

Gadacro ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 31

Glabrezu ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 32

Hezrou ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 33

Jarilith ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 34

Jovoc ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 35

Kastighur ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 36

Kelvezu ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 37

Klurichir .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 38

Manes......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 40

Marilith ......................................................................................................................................................................................................42

Maurezhi ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 43

Mavawhan ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 44

170
 Molydeus ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 46

Myrmyxicus ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 49

Nabassu ......................................................................................................................................................................................................50

Nabassu Deathwing ........................................................................................................................................................................... 51

Nalfeshnee ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 52

Palrethee .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 53

Rutterkin ...................................................................................................................................................................................................54

Rutterkin Foot Soldier ....................................................................................................................................................................... 55

Skurchur..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 56

Solamith...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 57

Succubus ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 58

Turagashnee .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 59

Uridezu ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 60

Vathugu...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 61

Vrock ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 62

Wastrilith ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 63

Obyriths .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 64

Draudnu..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 65

Ekolid ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 66

Golothoma ..................................................................................................................................................................................................68

Laghathti................................................................................................................................................................................................... 69

Sibriex .........................................................................................................................................................................................................70

Uzollru........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 72

Verakia ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 73

Loumaras ........................................................................................................................................................................................................74

Dybbuk ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 75

Guecubu ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 76

Caligrostro ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 77

Manitou ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 77

Created ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 79

Abat-Dolor ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 80

Alu-Fiend ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 81

Ankashar ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 82

Artaaglith .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 83

Blood fiend ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 83

Bonegouge Assassin ................................................................................................................................................................................ 84

Broodswarm .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 85

Cambion......................................................................................................................................................................................................86

Carnevus .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 88

Chokesnake.................................................................................................................................................................................................89

Clockwork Horror ....................................................................................................................................................................................89

Arachnid Clockwork Horror ............................................................................................................................................................89

Crocatta ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 90

Devourer .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 91

Goristro ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 92

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 Ixitxachitls ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 94

Ixitxachitl Demon Ray .................................................................................................................................................................... 94

Ixitxachitl Priests .............................................................................................................................................................................. 94

Kalaka ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 95

Lilitu ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 96

The Misbegotten .......................................................................................................................................................................................98

Orlath ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 99

Quasit ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 100

Retriever .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 101

Sarumzhi .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 101

Scion of Zuggtmoy.................................................................................................................................................................................. 102

Scion of Zuggtmoy Overgrowth ..................................................................................................................................................... 102

Scion of Zuggtmoy Infector ............................................................................................................................................................. 102

Scion of Zuggtmoy Spore Lord ....................................................................................................................................................... 102

Spawn of Juiblex .................................................................................................................................................................................... 103

Ooze Horror........................................................................................................................................................................................ 103

Plague Hurler .................................................................................................................................................................................... 103

Sludge Dredge .................................................................................................................................................................................... 103

Tanarukk ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 104

Yaenit ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 104

Yochlol ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 106

Other Miscellaneous Inhabitants of the Abyss .................................................................................................................................... 109

Abyssal Drake ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 110

Abyssal Eviscerator ............................................................................................................................................................................... 111

Abyssal Maw ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 111

Abyssal Ravager (Shoosuva) ................................................................................................................................................................ 112

Abyssal Rotfiend ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 112

Abyssal Scavenger (Abyssal Skulker) ................................................................................................................................................ 113

Abyssal Wurm ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 114

Bebilith ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 115

Blight born demons .................................................................................................................................................................................116

Dust Demon.........................................................................................................................................................................................116

Ash-Wrought Soulburner .................................................................................................................................................................116

Consumptive Swarm.......................................................................................................................................................................... 117

Writhing Crag ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 117

Blood Demon ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 118

Bloodseep Demon .................................................................................................................................................................................... 118

Bodak .........................................................................................................................................................................................................119

Buggane .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 120

Canoloth.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 120

Cataboligne ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 121

City Corruptor (Evanissu) .................................................................................................................................................................... 122

Coflizu ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 124

Death Demon .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 124

Deathdrinker .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 125

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Demonhive............................................................................................................................................................................................... 126

Demonhive Attendant ..................................................................................................................................................................... 126

Demonet’s Swarm ............................................................................................................................................................................. 127

Demonhive Queen ............................................................................................................................................................................. 127

Demon Spawn ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 128

Demon Spawn Adept ....................................................................................................................................................................... 128

Derghodemon .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 128

Evistro ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 129

Ferrolith ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 130

Fire Demon............................................................................................................................................................................................... 131

Foulpitch .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 132

Ghour..........................................................................................................................................................................................................133

Gnaw Demon............................................................................................................................................................................................133

Guardian Demon ................................................................................................................................................................................... 134

Guardian Demon Abomination ..................................................................................................................................................... 134

Guardian Demon Soul Drinker ..................................................................................................................................................... 134

Haures ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 135

Hydrodemon ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 136

Immolith ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 137

lncubus ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 138

Jarrlak ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 139

Kazrith ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 140

Mahataa................................................................................................................................................................................................... 141

Malgodemon ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 142

Malgodemon Thug ............................................................................................................................................................................ 142

Malthaurin .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 142

Narvaezan .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 143

Nashrou .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 144

Needle Demon......................................................................................................................................................................................... 146

Neldrazu .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 146

Nycademon ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 147

Oculus ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 148

Perditazu ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 149

Piscodemon .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 149

Pod Demon .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 150

Quarrak .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 150

Rageborn Demon .................................................................................................................................................................................... 151

Rageborn Frosthurler ....................................................................................................................................................................... 151

Rageborn barbclaw ........................................................................................................................................................................... 151

Rageborn Ambusher ......................................................................................................................................................................... 151

Rageborn Horror ............................................................................................................................................................................... 151

Ruin Demon ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 152

Runespiral Demon ................................................................................................................................................................................. 153

Rupture Demon...................................................................................................................................................................................... 153

Seszrath .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 154

173
 Shadee ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 155

Shadow Demon ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 156

Skulvyn ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 156

Sorrowsworn Demon............................................................................................................................................................................. 157

Soul Demon .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 158

Terraguhl ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 158

Tomb Demon ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 159

Tomb Demon Constrictor ................................................................................................................................................................ 159

Vargouille ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 160

Varrangoin ...............................................................................................................................................................................................161

Voracalith .................................................................................................................................................................................................161

Wendigo .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 162

Wendigo Manhunter ........................................................................................................................................................................ 162

Wendigo Soulcatcher ........................................................................................................................................................................ 162

Wendigo Primal Spirit ..................................................................................................................................................................... 162

Whisper Demon ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 163

Yagnodemon ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 164

Zovvut....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 165

Zythar ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 166

Not Much Is Known About These Other Demons .............................................................................................................................. 167

Nicomar ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 167

Appendix: Demon Physiology ................................................................................................................................................................. 168

Basic functions........................................................................................................................................................................................ 168

Eating ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 168

Breathing ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 168

Sleeping ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 168

Digestion ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 168

Reproduction ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 168

Anatomy and Habits ............................................................................................................................................................................ 168

Dissection of a dretch ........................................................................................................................................................................... 168

174
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