Creatures: Demons

Bats, screeching

A screeching bat is a large, dangerous bat-like creature, pitch black with ice-blue unblinking eyes. It is a touch and ferocious creature.

When the screeching bat screeches, any who can hear it within six yards must make a fortitude roll or be unable to do anything except cover their ears and try to avoid the painful noise. Their defense is at a penalty of four.

Screeching bats do not usually appear in large numbers in hell, but appear on Earth in hellish infestations or accompanying a demon.

Blood puddles

Blood puddles are black putrescent slowly bubbling puddles of thick, gooey blood, formed from the tormented souls of murderers and torturers. The puddles are immune to normal weapons. They may be affected by fire or cold attacks (at half damage). Magical weapons do only their bonus in damage.

Blood puddles may combine into larger puddles. Multiple blood puddles may combine into a single blood puddle with a level equal to their total levels. Large puddles may break apart into smaller puddles of lesser levels.

Blood puddles move by pooling across and up surfaces. They move at half speed moving straight up a surface. Their touch burns living flesh for level d6 points of damage. Armor is only half effective against the blood puddle’s oozing attack. Thus, armor that would give a bonus of 4 only gives a bonus of 2 against a puddle attack.

Brood of Kerberos

The brood of Kerberos are the offspring of the underworld’s canine guardian. These hell hounds have from one to three canine heads. The more heads they have, the more powerful they are. Their level is two plus the number of heads they have. They may attack as many times per round as they have heads.

The brood look like dogs at first sight, but closer examination reveals a reptilian cast to their thick skin. Some even have a snake for a tail.

The brood are often summoned to serve as guardians, and are difficult to surprise. They have a bonus of 4 to surprise and other perception rolls even when sleeping.

The bite of one of these hell hounds is poisonous. The poison is strength 5, with an action time of 1 minute, and causes d4 injuries.

A quarter of the brood have a snake for a tail. The snake may attack separately from the head(s) and is as poisonous as a head.

Crowns of eyes

Crowns of eyes often appear as part of a demon lord’s retinue. It appears as a rubbery, rust-red ball of bumps and cracks, two to three feet in diameter. Seven blood-red heavy-lidded eyeballs emerge from prehensile stalks around the top, forming the Crown of Eyes. The eyes are equidistant, allowing the Crown to see in any direction. When sleeping, four of the eyes sleep at a time, leaving three eyes awake covering most directions.

It has three clawed, bird-like legs. Crowns move quickly and are difficult to surprise. They may jump to a height of two yards, and may crawl up walls and upside down on wooden or dirt ceilings. They will often try to attach their long, sharp claws to their victims. A called shot is required, and the victim is allowed an evasion roll to avoid attachment. Once attached, the crown of eyes does d6 points automatically each round, though its defense bonus is reduced to 2.

Blunt weapons do little harm to a crown of eyes. Unless the blunt weapon has a bonus of at least +1, it causes no damage to the crown, otherwise it does one quarter damage. A crown of eyes is generally immune to non-magical fire, and will take no damage if it makes its reaction against magical fire, half if it fails.

When a crown of eyes ruptures, it explodes in a fire of hot ash, causing 2d4 points of damage to anyone in two yards, or d4 to anyone in four yards. An evasion roll is allowed to take half damage. (This counts as magical fire, so it might damage nearby crowns, rupturing them also.)

The crown of eyes eats the eyeballs, ears, and tongues of its victims with its gummy grey mouth. Crowns may talk, but generally make little sense. These souls have been tortured beyond imagining in the fires of hell and have lost all semblance of sanity.

Death’s heads

The death’s head is a skull attached to a boney spinal column. It moves in a snake-like fashion, its rear bones slithering silently, its forward bones supporting the grinning skull. Death’s heads are usually encountered guarding some place or item for an evil master.

It may gaze to paralyze once per three rounds. The victim must make a willpower roll to avoid being paralyzed for d6 rounds. A paralyzed victim drops to the ground quivering. Otherwise, the death’s head attacks by biting or by strangling. Strangling requires that it make a called shot, though on a paralyzed victim this might not be difficult. If not paralyzed, the victim may make an evasion roll to avoid strangulation. If the evasion roll is failed, the death’s head automatically strangles the victim for d4 points per round thereafter.

Emotional demons

Emotional demons are individual, named demons that have no physical form of their own, but only of the thing or creature they are summoned into or take control of. They may possess other creatures if the appropriate ritual is performed.

Each emotional demon has a name. As named demons, emotional demons may gain demonic power. They gain their power through the intense emotions of living, intelligent creatures. Each emotional demon feeds off of a specific emotion, such as fear, lust, or anger. When any living, intelligent creature within level hundred yards of the demon undergoes intense emotion of the type the demon feeds from, that creature should make a willpower roll at a penalty of the demon’s level, or gain one injury point. That injury point becomes one point of demonic power for the demon. An emotional demon can suck no more than one demonic power point per creature per day.

An emotional demon may store up to level times three points of demonic power. They may have up to level times four points of power in play at any one time. If they start to exceed that number, they’ll need to start dismissing summoned creatures, dropping illusions or mental control, or de-animating undead.

Emotional demons will have three demonic powers or specialties, plus one demonic power for every odd level.

Emotional demons usually start at fifth level when summoned from the shadows, but may gain levels over time.

While emotional demons are immune to normal weapons, their hosts might not be. The demon may or may not care if the host body dies. They can retain control of the host body after it dies, as long as they had control when it was alive.

Demons: Gargoyle

Gargoyles are covered in a crusty, stone-like skin. These grey creatures sport curved horns and dark, bat-like wings that seem far too small to lift them into the air. The gargoyle is immune to non-magical weapons.

Gargoyles are often found as part of the retinue of demon lords, and are sometimes summoned by powerful evil sorcerors or sent to the service of powerful evil rulers. They are crafted from the souls of thin-skinned petty tyrants and vindictive bureaucrats.

Demons: Gorgon

Gorgons are beauty and terror combined. They often guard paths to the underworld. They are formed from the souls of those narcissistic sinners whose own physical beauty seduced themselves. Their demonic forms are extremely beautiful, except for their hair, which is covered in writhing and hissing snakes.

When attacked, the gorgon may attack up to three opponents at a time with these snakes, and may also attack with a weapon if so skilled. The snakes are venomous. On a successful called shot, the victim must make an evasion roll or be poisoned. Gorgon poison is strength 3, with an action time of one round, and causes d3 injuries.

Worst of all, though, is that merely to look upon the hideous snakes of a gorgon’s head is to become petrified, turned to a marbled statue. Each look requires a willpower roll to avoid petrification.

If a viewer attempts not to view the snakes, this can become an evasion roll instead. However, anyone in combat with the gorgon under such circumstances will be at a penalty of two to attack the gorgon and the evasion roll will need to be made each round.

The blood of a gorgon, if allowed to fall to natural ground, spawns poisonous snakes. On any successful bladed or pointed attack against a gorgon, roll d20 against the damage done. If successful, a number of snakes equal to the d29 roll rise in the next round. When a gorgon is killed, it spawns d6 snakes per round while it bubbles away, if it dies on natural ground. Snakes automatically attack the gorgon’s opponents.

Gorgons are lesser named demons. Normally they have no demonic powers beyond the special ones listed here, but at 5th level and every odd level afterwards they can gain one demonic power. Gorgons do not gain demonic power points on their own, but are granted it while performing specific tasks.

Demons: Perytons

Having deer-like heads and feet, with bird-like bodies covered in shining green feathers (which shine turquoise in the sun), but with man-like shadows when they fly, the peryton is a beautiful but deadly creature. Their hooves and horns are sharp and hard. A peryton may attack with its hooves while flying or its horns while on the ground.

Perytons are usually found in the service of some Evil, and attack if seen. If time permits, perytons wallow in the gore of their victims.

Perytons are said to be made from the souls of travelers who have left their land and faith, explaining their shadows.

Demons: Shadow

Shadows are human-like shadows formed from souls too insignificant to make into other demonic servants. They are the most common demonic servants in Hell.

Wherever there are normal shadows, shadows may become nearly undetectable. Attempts to perceive a shadow in such circumstances are at a penalty of 10. Even when a shadow is attacking, it is difficult to see, which is why it has such a high defense.

The grab of a shadow is a soul-chilling cold. Shadows will also often throttle their opponents. The latter requires a called shot by the shadow. Targets are allowed an evasion roll. If the evasion roll is failed, the shadow has grabbed the victim by the neck and its cold grey hands automatically hit every round.

Because a shadow clings so well to its victims, anyone attacking a shadow runs the risk of harming the shadow’s victim, in the same way as firing into close combat. Even attacks that automatically hit the target can also hurt the shadow’s victim.

Demons: Striga

The strigae are hideous bird-creatures with long beaks that suck the blood of the living. They are the size of large birds, vaguely resembling a huge hummingbird up to a foot and a half long with a nose-like beak extending half that distance again. Their feathers are a hellish red the color of dried blood and their eyes glow yellow like a wolf's.

In Roman legend, the strigae are made from the twisted souls of old hags, and are said to take the souls of bad children into hell. In flocks, striga make a horrible screeching noise when they attack that can paralyze with fear. Anyone hearing the screeching of a flock of at least ten strigae must make a willpower roll or freeze in fear, able to defend at a penalty of three but unable to attack. This reaction may be made once per round, and once made need not be made again.

When a striga successfully attacks, the victim must make an evasion roll or the striga has attached its beak and will begin sucking blood the next round. It will do an automatic d4 points of damage per round.

For every two survival points that a striga does through bloodsucking, the striga regains one point of lost survival. When hungry, they will continue sucking for six more of the victims' survival points before detaching and flying away. Detaching (whether by the striga or by someone else) does another d3 points of damage to the victim.

Striga do not generally appear in large number in hell, but appear on Earth in areas of hellish infestation or accompanying a demon.

Waxen assassin

Waxen assassins (or shadowcasts) are clever, wily, and cunning. They will use their charisma and illusions to take over their twin’s life. These demons are summoned in the form of another creature, their twin, usually the victim they’re sent to kill or someone emotionally attached to their victim (whether through love or hate). The summoning ritual will require something special from the form they’re assuming, as well as a mass of bee’s wax. When destroyed, the waxen assassin leaves behind a mass of wax.

Waxen assassins take on the mannerisms, voice, and basic knowledge (important memories, skills, and fields but not archetypal abilities) of their twin. They don’t actually know these things, but they will have the knowledge when the knowledge is necessary. For example, a waxen assassin wouldn’t know the name of their twin’s distant cousin—until that distant cousin shows up, or someone else discusses them. The knowledge and skills arrive as necessary to perform the twin’s duties. For all practical purposes this means that they have this knowledge but can only use it for purposes of fitting in.

An assassin’s clothing can be part of its form, and they can quickly change to any appropriate clothing that their twin might wear for the occasion.

Waxen assassins are masters of illusion and will use illusion to mimic any archetypal or magical abilities of their current form. They will also use it to move surreptitiously, for spying and escape. An assassin’s illusions can take place within level yards of the assassin. On a perception roll at a penalty of the assassin’s level, a wary victim will recognize the illusion for what it is, a stringy and brittle waxy simulacrum. The assassin’s illusions stimulate all senses of either their summoned form or their current form, and can cause damage as normal for phantasms. There can be level minus three independent illusions within the overall illusion.

Assassins may use their illusions at will, but the illusion will fade half level rounds after they stop concentrating, for example by becoming involved in combat. They fade immediately if the assassin leaves.

Waxen assassins are immune to non-magical weapons and dangers. They are immune even to magical cold, and magical fire, lightning, or other elemental attacks cause half damage.

Waxen assassins cannot withstand the daylight kiss or embrace of someone who deeply cares for their twin. Within such an embrace, their form will melt away as wax, revealing a necrotic shadowy core.

Waxen assassins can temporarily take other forms, but they must ingest a part of the person or creature they’re trying to mimic. The portion must be at least the size of a finger or earlobe. Such temporary forms melt away in high sunlight, and in divine light the waxen assassin must make a fortitude roll to avoid losing the form.

Once an assassin’s form melts they cannot regain it, but they can continue to take on temporary forms.

Waxen assassins do not need to eat, but relish the eating of souls. If a waxen assassin eats the soul of a defeated creature, it may take that creature’s form at any time, even after melting and across summonings. If possible, a waxen assassin will eat the soul of anyone they kill. The soul of their twin is especially desired, and will raise the assassin’s level by one, though it also sends them back to hell for a time.

Any particular waxen assassin will have at least level minus four alternative forms and probably several more, though some of them may be archaic or alien. It takes one minute and touch to eat a soul.