Tales from the Unknown

[Dungeon Master]

Juiblex, The Faceless Lord

Juiblex does not have a physical form as we know it; those who have visited his dark, muddy realm claim he is a slime-like creature with glaring red eyes dotted all over his body. Juiblex supposedly can swallow creatures alive, spits acidic secretions and causes diseases in his victims which can be almost instantly fatal.

Juiblex is one of the lesser demon lords. Most other demon lords do not take him seriously. He himself hates most everything else, preferring the company of his shapeless minions: slimes, oozes, jellies and puddings. He shares the layer of Shedaklah with the Lady of Fungi Zuggtmoy: the demoness rules the surface, whereas Juiblex is confined to below ground.

When Zuggtmoy was imprisoned in the Temple of Elemental Evil, Juiblex took advantage of the situation and went on to conquer all of the layer's underground holdings, and parts of the surface as well.

[Dungeon Master]

Zuggtmoy, Demoness Lady of Fungi


As Lady of Fungi, Zuggtmoy as originally presented resembled a huge puffball fungus on top of four elephantine legs. A toadstool shaped head with squashed and vague humanoid-like features resided atop her body. She could extrude pseudopods from her bloated body and squash opponents. Canonically, Zuggtmoy can also appear as a feeble old crone or a ravishingly beautiful human female. When the Temple of Elemental Evil computer game was released in 2003, Zuggtmoy was given an updated image makeover. Instead of the almost comical puffball-mushroom look of T1-4, she was given a more fearsome appearance: resembling a blue-skinned demonic female with long sharp claws and whose lower body consists of strands of fungoid matter. Recent publications, such as Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss and Dragon, have Zuggtmoy retaining this more impressive appearance (see picture at right), whereas her original fungoid form has become an aspect.

In the T modules, Zuggtmoy is revealed to be a competitor and enemy of Lolth. She built the Temple of Elemental Evil along with her ally, Iuz. The forces of good launched a campaign against her, trapping her within the temple's confines. In the current Greyhawk timeline, Zuggtmoy is presumed released from the Temple.

Zuggtmoy rules the 222nd layer of the Abyss, officially called Shedaklah, although according to her creator Gary Gygax, it is called Mycorji. She shares this layer with Juiblex, the Faceless Lord. Also called the Slime Pits, Shedaklah is a duo-layer: its surface is overran by fungi and plant creatures while its underground corollary is infested with oozes and slimes. Zuggtmoy claims the surface realm whereas Juiblex is confined to below ground. As a result of her setbacks in the "T" modules, Juiblex has managed to lay claim to parts of the surface realm. It was with the efforts of Zuggtmoy's lieutenant, Yibiyru, the Rancid Lady of Bitter Bile, that Juiblex didn't conquer all of Shedaklah.

Zuggtmoy rules from the center of the layer in a palace that consists of two dozens or so gigantic mushrooms, each connected to each other by shelf-fungi, and each four miles tall. Numerous chambers and corridors has been carved within the mushrooms; it is said not even Zuggtmoy herself knows the full extend of the palace.

[Dungeon Master]

Malcanthet, Demon Queen of the Succubi

Malcanthet is the current holder of the title of Succubus Queen; other demon lords aspiring to the position include Lady Lynkhab, the currently imprisoned Shami-Amourae, and the exiled Xinivrae. Other rivals exists elsewhere in the Abyss, but they ultimately pose little or no threat to Malcanthet.

Malcanthet was among the first of the succubi to come into being in the Abyss. She obtained her current title after years of waging wars and committing savage betrayals upon her fellow "sister" succubi and former paramours. As a result of her ruthless climb to the top, she has cultivated a long list of enemies, which includes Graz'zt, Yeenoghu, and Baphomet. Her few allies include the Prince of Demons Demogorgon, with whom she birthed the monstrous Arendagrost, Pazuzu (from whom she mothered the succubus Red Shroud), her current consort Mastiphal the Hunting Sovereign, and Socothbenoth, a demon lord concerned with sexual taboos and perversions.

The Succubus Queen's realm is the 507th layer of the Abyss, and is known as Shendilavri. Once a disgusting layer of heaving and "shuddering flesh", Malcanthet has transformed it into a verdant paradise. But ultimately, it is a paradise for Malcanthet herself.

[Dungeon Master]

Baphomet, Lord of the Minotaurs


Baphomet has the appearance of a 12' tall humanoid with a bull's head, a bovine tail, and broad, stubby hands and feet. His body is covered with coarse black hair. His horns curve downward and outward. He wields a giant bardiche. Baphomet can spit out gouts of unholy water.

Baphomet hates Yeenoghu, and the two are bitter enemies. The two have been warring against each other for as long as they themselves could remember, and both have forgotten the origin of their feud. Baphomet's other enemies include the Demon Queen of Harpies Ardat.

Baphomet has an unknown relationship with Pale Night, who shares his layer.

It is suggested that Baphomet started his existence as a mortal creature; although it is unclear rather he was a beast that lived as a man or a man who lived as a beast. It is also suggested that he was cursed by the gods for daring to treat them like cattle, and thus banished to the Abyss. In any case, Baphomet reveled in his power, seeing the curse more as a blessing.

Baphomet's realm of the Endless Maze (in Gary Gygax's Gord novels, Baphomet's realm is called Shubgottia) is the 600th layer of the Abyss, supposedly infinite in size. Here, Baphomet dwells in his palace, the Lyktion, and spend his time creating various new demonic breeds in his infamous Tower of Science. Some of his more successful creations are the goristroi, the bulezaus, the ghours, and more recently, the feral ankashars.

[Dungeon Master]

Dagon, Prince of the Depths

Dagon appears as a colossal-sized eel with the leering fanged face of a deep-underwater fish. Numerous suckered tentacles cover his body, two of which ends in finger-like digits tipped with long sharp talons.

Dagon is one of the few obyrith lords that are still in power in the Abyss, mainly from his isolationist nature and his sheer power. The hostile nature of his realm also protects him from any invasion attempts by rivals. When the Queen of Chaos tried to rally the obyriths in the war against Law, Dagon was one of those who refused her call, and one of the few who escaped her resultant wrath, mostly because the Queen feared his power. After the fall of the obyriths, Dagon remained as he always was, safe and secure in his deep realm.

Dagon's layer of Shadowsea is an underwater realm with a seabed dotted with ruined cities, but without a surface. At certain points, if one ascends or swims upward, he will find himself surfacing on the 88th layer, which is the Gaping Maw of Demogorgon. Dagon and Demogorgon have an alliance of sorts, and it is rumored that Demogorgon gained his power and influence from the unspeakable knowledge he has gleaned from the Lord of the Depths.

Other than his alliance with Demogorgon, Dagon has few allies, and fewer enemies, for most other demon lords prefer to leave Dagon alone in his deep realm; those who do not are now dead. Despite being an isolationist, many demons, lords or otherwise, pay tribute to Dagon in the hopes of gaining information about the Abyss from him, as he is also revered throughout the Abyss as a great sage and oracle. Dagon does have one active rival, the relatively minor demon lord Lascer, who poses little threat to the Lord of the Depths.

[Dungeon Master]

Kostchtchie, Prince of Wrath

Kostchtchie appears as a bandy-legged, yellow-skinned and hairless brute (other than his eyebrows) who carries a magic hammer which he squashes his victims with. In the game's first edition, Kostchtchie was a mere seven feet tall. In third edition, he is now more than 20 feet tall.

Kostchtchie is a demon lord who is so hateful and hideous that all other demons despise him. He himself hates most everything, as befitting his title as the Prince of Wrath. Even though he is a tanar'ri himself, he wanted to destroy the tanar'ri race as he never saw himself as one of them. Toward this end, he has tried to form an alliance with Obox-ob. Three of Kostchtchie's most hated rivals include Graz'zt, Malcanthet, and the frost giant deity Thrym.

Kostchtchie resides on the 23rd layer of the Abyss, called the Iron Wastes, a realm of mighty glaciers and plunging temperatures.

Kostchtchie started life as a hideous mortal human whose physical ugliness was matched only the ugliness of his soul. Rejection and derision from his own people only served to ferment his hatred. Kostchtchie eventually met the legendary witch Baba Yaga, who gave him a strange container of nested skulls into which he can store his soul. As long as the skulls remained hidden and unharmed, Kostchtchie was invulnerable to death. With his newfound immortality, Kostchtchie wreaked horrible vengeance upon all those who wronged and ridiculed him. Even then, his anger was not satiated and he went on to amass a huge army to spread more misery and destruction. Finally, a celestial paragon intervened and struck him down, sending his soul into the Abyss. There, it became lodged in the eternal ice of the Iron Wastes, a place as cold and pitiless as himself, and Kostchtchie began life anew, eventually becoming a demon lord.

[Dungeon Master]

Fraz-Urb'luu, Prince of Deception

Fraz-Urb'luu is one of the most hated of the Abyssal lords, as several demon lords are still smarting from the memory of their past "audiences" with the Prince of Deception. Some of Fraz-Urb'luu's enemies include Graz'zt, Demogorgon, and Ugudenk, the writhing obyrith Lord of Worms and Hungry Parasites.

The Prince of Deception had also sworn revenge against all of humanity for his imprisonment and humiliation, for it was Zagyg (at the time a mere human) who was responsible for his confinement and lost of status.

The demon prince Fraz-Urb'luu was one of the first tanar'ri to rise to power in the Abyss after the fall of the obyriths. Although he was never the most powerful of the demon princes, his vast intellect has enabled him to outlive countless rivals. Fraz-Urb'luu eventually mastered the art of summoning, to the point where he could forcibly summon other demon lords into his court in order to humiliate and degrade them for his own amusement. Fraz-Urb'luu's staff and his control of every aspect of his layer discouraged any retaliatory strikes against him from his revenge-seeking "guests," so they conspired for a more subtle punishment.

These demon lords fashioned an artifact called the Ichor Lance, which they gave to the mad archmage Zagig Yragerne. Zagig summoned Fraz-Urb'luu and tried to use the lance on the Prince of Deception. Fraz-Urb'luu seized the lance and used his power to disjoin the artifact. However, as a side effect of destroying the lance, the demon prince lost all of his innate magical powers, which enabled Zagyg to imprison the demon prince in a bas-relief in the dungeon beneath Castle Greyhawk. For centuries, many adventurers in the dungeon were destroyed after speaking to this imprisoned form. The demon recently managed to escape by tricking a wizard and a cleric into freeing him. He then transported these fools, probably Erac's Cousin and his adventuring companion Ayelerarch, back to the fiend's domain on the Abyss and enslaved them.

Fraz'Urb'luu rules the 176th layer of the Abyss. This realm, called Hollow's Heart, had reverted in Fraz-Urb'luu's absence to a wasteland of white dust under a black, starless sky. Various minor demon nobles had moved into Hollow's Heart during his imprisonment in order to stake out their own territories. Upon his return, Fraz-Urb'luu began the process of driving these squatters out of his domain.

At the height of his power, the demon lord could control the features and terrains of his layer at a whim, creating mountains and gorges within seconds. However, this required the use of the powerful Staff of Fraz-Urb'luu, which was stolen at the time of his imprisonment and has since been sundered into several pieces, all of which are scattered across the various planes of existence. The Prince of Deception therefore now focuses his attention on searching for his staff so that he may regain full control over his realm.

[Dungeon Master]

Obox-Ob, Prince of Vermin, former Demon Prince


Obox-ob was once the Prince of Demons, but was killed once by the Queen of Chaos. He managed to survive death, however, and now commands an entire layer of the Abyss, a hideous world known as Zionyn. Unlike many of the infamous demon princes, Obox-ob is an obyrith, a type of demon far older than the tanar'ri. He despises the tanar'ri and hopes to cleanse them from the Abyss, taking back his title from Demogorgon and leading the obyriths against the eladrin, who played a part in his downfall.

Obox-ob resembles a giant, platter-shaped centipede, with three scorpion-like tails serving as his heads. Curiously, he has a vaguely humanoid head at the tip of his segmented tail, which roars blasphemous litanies and senses the air with a long, razor-edged purple tongue.

His realm is the 663rd layer of the Abyss.

[Dungeon Master]

Pale Night, Abyssal Lord


Pale Night lives in a bone castle which sits on a vast plateau in the Endless Maze of Baphomet, on the 600th layer of the Abyss. She has a strong alliance with Baphomet, the Prince of Beasts, and has lived on his layer since long before he became a demon lord. They do not work together, but each will defend the other's home from assault. Pale Night's castle looks like a giant grasping hand and is guarded by ambulatory bones and appendages. She rarely leaves this castle. It is said that those who stumble into her domain become new guardians for it.

Pale Night also rules the 471st layer of the Abyss, called Androlynne. Long ago, by guile and trickery, she trapped a whole generation of eladrin children on her layer with the intent of hunting them down one by one at her leisure. Since then, the layer has become a battlefield between the forces of the demoness and the celestials that have come to protect the children.

Pale Night's form is incorporeal, and she appears as an empty flowing white shroud with the suggestion of a shapely female body underneath. It is said that Pale Night's true form, as befits an obyrith, is so hideous and terrifying that reality itself rejects it. The shroud that she "wears" hides it. To glimpse Pale Night's true form risks madness and death.

Ancient texts claim that Pale Night is the mother of Graz'zt, Lupercio, and Vucarik in Chains. If she is indeed the mother of Graz'zt, she would also be the grandmother of Iuz, and possibly the mother of Rhyxali. She speaks only very rarely and has not confirmed this. She seems to have a mutual defense alliance with Baphomet.

[shadowhart]

[glow=red,2,300]WOW!!!!!!!!!!! [/glow]

[glow=red,2,300]IS THERE A HIGH LEVEL CAMPAIGN TO DEFEAT ALL OF THESE CREATURES? IF YOU HAVE PLEASE COUNT ME IN. WHAT LEVEL DO WE START? [/glow];D

[Dungeon Master]

shadowhart said:

[glow=red,2,300]WOW!!!!!!!!!!! [/glow]

[glow=red,2,300]IS THERE A HIGH LEVEL CAMPAIGN TO DEFEAT ALL OF THESE CREATURES? IF YOU HAVE PLEASE COUNT ME IN. WHAT LEVEL DO WE START? [/glow];D

Yes that would be nice, Maybe!!!!!!

[Dungeon Master]

Pazuzu, Prince of the Lower Aerial Kingdoms


In his true form, Pazuzu is a 7' tall well-proportioned humanoid with four wings. His face combines the features of a handsome man and a hawk. His hooked beak is filled with sharp teeth. He has a noble brow, a large head, and glowing red eyes. His avian feet have long, sharp talons. He wields a + 5 anarchic greatsword of speed, and can breathe swarms of locusts and acidic, poisonous clouds.

Pazuzu commands a retinue of six balors, who are known as the Six Wings of Pazuzu and serve as his bodyguards and assassins.

Pazuzu is one of the oldest demon lords in the Abyss, as he is one of the few surviving obyrith demon lords. While the Queen of Chaos was in power, Pazuzu remained an independent demon lord. This saved himself during the tanar'ri revolt against the Queen of Chaos, as he was not affiliated to her. Following the tanar'ri conquest of the Abyss, Pazuzu was quick to adapt with the change. This has manifested in several ways: While most obyriths, having been conceived out of the Abyss's chaotic will itself, have characteristically bizarre physical appearances, Pazuzu appears as human-like as any tanar'ri. Pazuzu's abilities have changed as well: He can now summon tanar'ri, and the obyrith form of madness ability has changed as well. While most obyriths' visages are so chaotic that merely looking at one causes insanity, Pazuzu's newfound appearance has changed his form of madness into an "Aura of Servile Avians." This ability causes all evil flying creatures to feel an affinity towards Pazuzu, making it hard for them to bring themselves to attack the demon lord.

Pazuzu is viewed by the denizens of the Abyss with resentment and grudging respect. Unlike most demon lords, he is not interested in conquest of the Abyss. His main concern is winning followers on the Prime Material Plane by tempting or deceiving those of good alignment. He aids any good creature who summons him, in order to tempt him or her to evil. In the Monster Manual II, he is said to be on good terms with daemons (now known as yugoloths) and the dukes of Hell.

In the "Demonomicon of Iggwilv" and "Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss," Graz'zt is listed as Pazuzu's most notable enemy. Graz'zt alone takes umbrage at Pazuzu's claim to dominion over the skies of the Abyss, though the Prince of Tyrants has never taken action against him beyond the occassional insult. Pazuzu is also opposed by the obscure demon lord Lamashtu, "She Who Erases", the Demon Queen of Monstrous Births and Deformity. Lamashtu, a former consort of Pazuzu, is the only being who knows Pazuzu's true name. She betrayed him, and in response he ate her eyes and imprisoned the Queen of Monstrous Births on Torremor, where she has remained ever since.

[Dungeon Master]

Minor Demons

Nabassu


Nabassus are demons very close to undead creatures. Nabassus resemble dark horned demons with bat wings, evil glowing eyes, sharp teeth and long talons. The life of a nabassu is composed of two stages: during the first one, the juvenile nabassus reside on the Material Plane, looking for victims in order to feed on and evolve; during the second one, the mature nabassus come back to The Abyss where they usually live in an Abyssal fortress or become a servant of Orcus.

[Dungeon Master]

Rutterkin


Rutterkins are deformed demons composed by the union of some manes. Disdained by other demons, they serve as infantry in the armies of The Abyss. When not on active service, they use to wander in group on the layer of the Abyss bullying every weaker creatures they meet.


Mane

It is the lowest rank of demon in The Abyss.

Manes resemble little fat deformed men, and have no will of their own. Thanks to their recklessness they are used by more powerful demons as the simplest soldiers of the Abyss: they build up the core of the army of every demon lord and they are also the first demons to be sacrificed, whenever necessary. In large number they can be a dangerous enemy.

Bar-lgura

Bar-lguras are savage and cruel demons resembling fiendish orangutans. They normally reside in isolated and inaccessible areas of The Abyss. Sometimes groups of bar-lgura gather up and form a tribe. They love spreading destruction everywhere, even if they are often employed by powerful demon lords as scouts.

The demon lord Ilsidahur is the patron of the bar-lgura demons.

[Dungeon Master]

Goristro


Goristros are huge demons resemblig man with the head of a bison. Goristros are rude and violent enemies, often employed on the battlefield by demon lords as siege engines. Because of their limited intelligence, Goristros lack the ability to weave intrigues and to plot against other demons, so they often serve the demon lords of The Abyss as elite troops.