More on Demon Lords

[BOZ]

OK, for the sake of this thread, I'm not talking about Lolth, Demogorgon, Orcus, or Graz'zt. I'm not even talking about guys like Baphomet, Pazuzu, Juiblex, Yeeonghu, or the other well-known old school demon lords.

I'm focusing on the lesser known demon lords, the ones from that list in the old MM2, the ones from Planescape, the ones from Dungeon magazine, the name drops from the Demonomicon articles, and other more obscure ones.

There's a list that's been compiled at the canonfire wiki. What I want to know is, does anyone know of any other D&D demon lords which are not on this list?

Did the listed minor demon lords have any other appearances which are not referenced on the list? For the sake of argument, an "appearance" can even include an otherwise trivial name-drop, because many of these guys might have only been mentioned in one or two places.

I know it's fairly complete, but you know, people will still miss stuff from time to time, and then other people will catch ommissions, so it's good to ask again.

 

[Alzrius]

Not to nitpick BOZ, but haven't you...

...mentioned this...

...particular topic before?

For what it's worth, Alzrius is given a name-drop in the Planescape supplement On Hallowed Ground. There's also a magic item named after him in Polyhedron #135, the flame amulet of Alzrius (by Erik Mona, no less!).

 

[Severion]

Hey Boz, have you tried "The Fantasy Gamer's Compendium" by Gamescience? Its "Book of Demons" section has 85 demons/infernal nobles listed by name with a short description.

 

[catsclaw227]

Theres a number of them listed in The Nine Hells, Part I article from Dragon 75.

You have Nergal in your list and you even quote the article in a previous post. But there are a few other Dukes of Hell and Greater Devils not on the Canonfire list from that article.

Here's one:

AMDUSCIAS (Duke of Hell)
FREQUENCY: Unique (very rare)
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOR CLASS: -2
MOVE: See below
HIT DICE: 92 hit points
% IN LAIR: 20%
TREASURE TYPE: See below
NO. OF ATTACKS: See below
DAMAGE/ATTACK: See below
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: +2 or better
weapon to hit
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 65%
INTELLIGENCE: Exceptional
ALIGNMENT: Lawful evil
SIZE: See below
PSIONIC ABILITY: 216
Attack/Defense Modes: All/all

Amduscias is a duke in the service of Tiamat, ruler of Avernus, and leads 29 companies of abishai. He is a being of long memory and cunning strategies. He can shape change at will into a dirty yellow unicorn with eyes of flame and a purple horn, a hawk-headed man (he usually wears dark red or black robes when in this form), or his favored form: a wolf with a prehensile, constricting serpent 's tail. He does not need, and does not wear, armor in any of his forms.

When in unicorn form, Amduscias attacks with his horn (acts as a sword of wounding, for 2-9 damage), or his hooves (2 per round, for 2-10 damage each). His maximum movement rate in this form is 18"; he can "bolt" from a standing start, and some say that when horses spook or gallop uncontrollably, it is because Amduscias has affected them.

In human-like form Amduscias has average dexterity, and two or three attacks (fists for 1-2 each and beak for 1-8, or weapon and beak). Amduscias is ambidextrous and can wield two weapons if they are small (e.g., daggers or darts). This devil has above average strength when in human-like form, and a long, curved beak somewhat like a hummingbird ?s in appearance. This beak is, however, terrifically strong and sharp. His move in this form is 12".

Amduscias prefers to fight in wolf form; his movement rate is 18", and he attacks with two raking foreclaws and his jaws, or his hind claws and tail. If in a position to do so, he can use all six of these attacks in a round, against as many targets. The claws do 3-12 damage each, the jaws 1-20, and the tail 1-10 constriction damage per round plus additional damage if Amduscias uses it to immerse a held victim in water, batter a victim against a rock, etc. The tail will loosen its grip if it is severed, or if it is dealt 17 points of damage in any single round or 26 points of damage over a succession of rounds.

Amduscias can change forms in one round (during which he can do nothing else except speak), and is restricted to the forms described. He can use the spell-like powers listed below, one at a time, once per round. Note that (as with other devils) verbal, somatic, and material components - as spell-casters on the Prime Material Plane know them - are not necessary. Amduscias' spell-like powers are: pyrotechnics, produce flume, fire shield (either version), detect invisibility, detect lie, read magic, locate object, dispel magic, telekinesis (5,000 g.p. maximum weight), find familiar (for another being; the familiar will be an imp), and faerie fire. Amduscias can cause fear (save vs. spell to avoid) in anyone within 3? he points at (but only one target per round). Once per day he can use a symbol of stunning.

Amduscias is sometimes called the "Reconciliator of Foes," because he is a skillful actor and negotiator, and Tiamat often employs him to mediate in disputes between devils or her kin. While in any of his forms, Amduscias can speak and understand perfectly any language (cf. tongues spell). When encountered, Amduscias will only have treasure with him if he is in his human-like form; if so, it may be of any type. Amduscias regenerates 2 hit points per round. He can summon (with a 70% chance of success) 1-3 abishai at will.

 

[BOZ]

Catsclaw, that one is a devil rather than a demon.

Alzrius, this is a new take on an old theme. Right now, I'm trying to nail down what we know about what demon lords appeared where, and all that, trying to be as complete as possible. I've also decided to go down everything on the list, one at a time.

First of all, I started with all the demon lords we know of who are not in the index at the back of FC1. The index was rather extensive and got just about everyone... but not quite everyone. Some of them were left off on purpose, some were left off by mistake, some existed but maybe had not yet been nailed down as demon lords, and some were yet to be created. So that yields the following list, which is as complete as I could get with the books I have:

Nql is the oldest of these forgotten demon lords. He was mentioned in the 1976 supplement Eldritch Wizardry, in the "Codex of the Infinite Planes" entry on page 43. The Wizard Tzook recorded some information, although much of it appears only in fragments: "... so knowing both the secret and the spell which would unlock the Way to this horde of the Demon Prince Nql ..." It's been speculated that he may not actually exist, or that "Nql" is possibly a fragment of another demon's name. But you know how demons are, we may never know the real truth!

Ereshkigel and Nergel were both included on the big list of demon lords on page 35 of the 1983 Monster Manual II, but I believe the designers of FC1 omitted them intentionally, most likely because they were named after real world deities instead of real world demons. A demon named Nergal appeared in Gary Gygax's Gord novels, as a prince of "unlife".

Arlgolcheir was mentioned in Dragon #116 in Ed Greenwood's article "Rogue Stones and Gemjumping" (page 55). He was said to have been desroyed by Laeral, with the aid of Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun and the mage Alduth of Neverwinter. He was further developed by Eric L Boyd in Dungeon #148 in the adventure "Wells of Darkness" as one of the powerful beings trapped in one of the wells.

Maelfesh was featured in Rose Estes' Greyhawk novels. I haven't read any of these books, so I really can't tell you anything useful about him.

Zanassu the Spider Demon was first included in Empires of the Sands, where he is said to rule over the evil creatures of Spider Swamp, and he is given a full stat block and description on page 61. He was later reported in the book Demihuman Deities as having been slain by the drow god Selvetarm.

Gorion was mentioned in Dragon #139 (Nov 1988) in the "Lords & Legends" feature on page 18. His evil had spread over the southern portion of a land called Sard, until he was banished by a band of adventurers.

Miska the Wolf-Spider and the Queen of Chaos were first mentioned in the second edition 1989 Dungeon Master's Guide by David Cook, under the "Rod of Seven Parts" entry on page 91, and the Book of Artifacts also on page 91, but they weren't fully developed until the Rod of Seven Parts boxed set adventure in 1996. Their backstory was further developed in the Age of Worms adventure path, and while they were both mentioned a few times in FC1, they were not included in the index in the back of the book.

Xazivort appeared in From the Ashes in 1992 on pages 91-96 of the Campaign Book in the adventure "The Sin Eater" by Carl Sargent. He is not to be confused with the xvart god, Raxivort, as he is a "powerful, unique tanar'ri" able to possess living beings; may not be an actual demon lord.

Lindyrm was mentioned in the Planescape adventure, The Deva Spark (1994) by Bill Slavicsek on pages 2-3 where it is revealed that the titular deva is seeking to uncover the demon lord's plans.

Kalphazor appeared as "A bitter old balor" in Dungeon #55 (Sept 1995), in the adventure "Umbra," page 19. I'm not sure if he was an actual demon lord, or if someone just mistakenly added him to the Wikipedia list.

Yrsillar the Lord of the Nothing appeared in Dragon #277 (Nov 2000), detailed fully and statted on page 164 in the "Rogues Gallery" feature by Paul Kemp.

Lascer, Lord of the Shadow Shoal, first appeared in Dragon 297 (July 2002) on page 27 in the article "Sentinels of the Shoal" by James Jacobs, and received a full description in Dragon #359 in the "Demonomicon: Apocrypha".

Azuvidexus the Ravenous Maw appeared on the Wizards' website in a feature by James Jacobs called "The Crawling Jungle": Random Encounters: The Crawling Jungle He later appeared as an awakened tyrannosaur who had absorbed the demon lords's evil and intellect, in the Demonomicon in Dragon #357

Malcanthet first appeared in Dungeon #112 and #124 in the Maure Castle sequels, and was featured in a big way in the Demonomicon series and FC1, so her absence in the index must just be an editorial error. She could make a return in 4E if she were repurposed as something other than the Queen of the Succubi.

The Malgoth appeared in Dungeon #117 (Dec 2004) in the adventure "Touch of the Abyss", and was mentioned in FC1 p 125. This creature was destroyed by an alliance of demon lords, but now exists as a disembodied intelligence. Erik Mona identified the Malgoth as a demon lord.

Ubothar appeared on the Wizards' website in an adventure by James Jacobs called "The Thunder Below": FREE Original Adventures: The Thunder Below (17th-level) He was later mentioned in the Demonomicon in Dragon #349

Kizarvidexus the Horned Duke appeared in Dungeon #124 (July 2005) on page in the adventure "The Whispering Cairn" by Erik Mona, and Dungeon #128, and was detailed more in the adventure "Wells of Darkness" in Dungeon #148. He slew one of the Wind Dukes of Aaqa, and was in turn slain by another of them.

Ebulon was actually mentioned in Fiendish Codex I on page 138, as a former general of Graz'zt and one of the prisoners in the Wells of Darkness, but was not included in the index.

Mu-Tahn Laa played an important role in the adventure "The Shattered Gates of Slaughtergarde" by David Noonan, first mentioned on page 3.

Veshvoriak was mentioned in Dragon #345 (July 2006) on page 31 in the Demonomicon of Iggwilv feature by James Jacobs as having been dumped in Kostchtchie's layer and having been kept alive, trapped in the ice. He was also mentioned in the Demonomicon book.

Chernovog the Green God was mentioned in the adventure Expedition to Castle Ravenloft (2006) by Burce Cordell and James Wyatt.

Vroth-Khun was mentioned as being banished from the Abyss and trapped in another realm, in the Demonomicon feature by James Jacobs in Dragon #349 (Nov 2006), page 31.

Xinivrae, an ancient foe of Malcanthet, and Sifkhu, a loumara lord described as being bonded with Malcanthet, were mentioned in the Demonomicon feature in Dragon #353 (March 2007) on page 27.

Zuregurex the Lord of the Drowned Dead was mentioned in the Demonomicon feature in Dragon #357 (July 2007), page 24

Cyndshyra of the Seven Torments, Felex'ja the Tiger King, Ixinix the Lord of Blackwater, Qij-na the Shattered, Rhindorz'zt the Black Prince, and Wejinhastala the Tempest allied with Ansitif to destroy the Malgoth, but they all assassinated or imprisoned each other; this is revealed in the article "Gazing Into the Abyss" by Eric Boyd in Dragon #357, page 67.

Rr'ikin'aka the King of Scorpions, and Ungulex were demon lords listed on page 66 as two of the several prisoners in the Wells of Darkness in the adventure of the same name by Eric Boyd in Dungeon #148 (July 2007). Also, the demon lord Voroxid is mentioned on page 81 as one of the demons whose true names are listed in a copy of the Demonomicon of Iggwilv.

Sertrous the Prince of Heretics received his own chapter in the book Elder Evils, beginning on page 112.

Zivorgian the Lady of Ripe Carrion, said to be the daughter of Pale Night, was mentioned in the Demonomicon feature in Dragon #361.

Codricuhn was the first brand-new demon lord to get his own feature in the Demonomicon column in Dungeon #168.

Rimmon was mentioned in the fourth edition's Monster Manual 3 on page 15 as having been destroyed in the destruction of the god Amoth.

Oublivae was introduced in the 2010 book Demonomicon, where her full description and statistics are given on page 130, which also states that she slew Ugoreth. Phraxas (who is apparently really just Anthraxus renamed) is likewise described in the book on page 134, having replaced Mydianchlarus (see also page 50); both were yugoloth lords in Planescape.

 

[CapnVan]

Hacamuli (Dragon #42, p.8): Not necessarily a demon lord, he is a unique demon who serves as a messenger for Orcus.

 

[BOZ]

Forgot about that one, thanks!

 

[BOZ]

I think this one is also a demon lord?

Salis Thik is a demon that appears in the novel Abyssal Warriors (1996) by J. Robert King.

 

[James Jacobs]

Malcanthet first appeared in Dungeon #112 and #124 in the Maure Castle sequels, and was featured in a big way in the Demonomicon series and FC1, so her absence in the index must just be an editorial error.

I can confirm that Malcanthet missing from that list is indeed nothing more than an editorial error.

 

[CapnVan]

Forgot about that one, thanks!

Are you looking only for demon lords, or "might be demon lords"? There are several unique demons detailed in Van Richten's Guide to Fiends, for example, but they are clearly not lords. They might be considered "advanced" versions under 3.x, but...