Demon (Species)

''“Knowledge forbidden? Suspicious, reasonless. Why should their Lord Envy them that? Can it be a sin to know? Can it be death?” -- John Milon, Paradise Lost ''

Demons are malevolent spirits residing in the Lower Plane of Hell. The original demons (called Balor, or Greater Demons) were Fallen Angels, the remainder of the Rebellious Host that were cast out of Heaven after the First War. The vast majority, however, are corrupted human souls (known as Tanar'ri, or Lesser Demons) that have endured extensive torture and transformed into this new form. No matter the variety, demons are extremely powerful and utterly evil.

History
The first demons were once angels, dwelling in Heaven. When God finished creation, he told the angels that humanity was his most perfect creation and to love them more than Him. Lucifer, the Archangel of the Second Choir, refused to bow before such lowly creatures and in time, started a rebellion against his bretheren. A third of the entire Heavenly Host was claimed in the First War.

In the wake of the war, Lucifer and his Host lost their Grace and were banished to the lower Plane of Hell. However, all was not lost. Lucifer retained some of his power, which he shared with his nine most loyal subordinates, who became the Archdukes. Each of them, in turn, shared their newfound power with their own subordinates, creating the host of Balor, or Greater Demons.

Lucifer's first move against Creation was to send the demon Apothis to the Garden and convince Eve and Adam to eat of the Forbidden Fruit. This, of course, signaled the Fall of Man and started the course of history. Lucifer was caged up for this transgression, leaving the ruling of Hell to his Nine Archdukes, who split the realm between them; each took up the mantle to rule over one of the nine Circles of Hell.

Since then, demons have constantly worked to tempt and destroy humanity. Before long, corrupted human souls were added to their power, making the Hosts of Hell even more dangerous. Demons often worked to corrupt and tempt humans into darkness and many played a role in the early spread of monsters.

Demons have, through the long course of human history, been behind many, many of the massacres, disasters, wars and plagues humanity has suffered. The two World Wars are both notable examples.

Characteristics
Tanar'ri, also known as Lesser Demons, are the result of human souls going to Hell and being tortured until no humanity is left in them, thus turning into Tanar'ri--dark, malicious spirits that revel in pain, chaos and death. Most demons have forgotten what it even means to be human. In general, demons engage in torture and destruction either for fun or to avoid being tortured themselves.

Tanar'ri serve at the basic foot soldiers in the demonic hosts, and most demons active in the Material Plane are Lesser Demons either sent up to cause trouble or acting on the orders or on the behalf of Greater Demons.

Greater Demons are even worse. As fallen angels, they are made of completely negative energy. They feed off of misery and hatred, and are much more powerful than the Tanar'ri. Greater Demons not only delight in pain, despair and torment, but it is what they live for. Each and every Greater Demon finds a perverse sense of justice and joy from it.

Neither Lesser nor Greater Demons have much of a problem with torturing their own kind to achieve their goals. All demons are natural schemers, always plotting action to gain prestige and power. When pitted against other demons due to these individual goals, a demon will kill their own kind without a second thought; Greater Demons do it casually, and some find it good sport.

The Nine Archdukes are among the most malevolent, vile, disgusting, corrupt and powerful beings yet known. Dwarfing even Greater Demons in power, the Archdukes are capable of truly blasphemous miracles. There is no force that can match them in their ambition, their cruelty or their sheer power. They embody terror, despair and hate.

Something all demons can agree on is that goodness, beauty, love and friendship are a disease and a poison. Humanity is a virus, less than worthless and everything they touch is worthy of destruction. Only by utterly corrupting and destroying the human race, and by bringing Heaven crashing down around their self-righteous former bretheren, can they finally know peace as rulers of all Creation.

But first they need to stop double-crossing and killing each other.

Appearance
When on the Material Plane, Lesser Demons take the form of a long, slender cloud of noxious black smoke. This disembodied form is difficult to pin down and while powerful, does not have access to its supernatural power. To exist on Earth for any real length of time, they must possess a human being (see Possession, below). A Tanar'ri's eyes are full-black.

A Greater Demon, on the other hand, was once an angel that fell from Grace. They have two forms, a True Self and a human form. Their true self is a twisted, vile form too terrible to behold; its flesh is a mottled charcoal grey, with a horrible mouth, with an unhinged jaw and jagged teeth. They posses horns (often like a ram's, but not always), bat-like wings, four clawed fingers on each hand and a long, powerful, slender spaded tail. Every Balor's true form differs slightly from another's; some have hooves or a lower body resembling a Satyr. Apothis' true form is known to possess a forked tongue, while other demons do not. To look upon the true self of a Greater Demon would drive most humans mad, or cause them to go on a murderous rampage. Their human forms are surprisingly consistent in their base appearance, and is the primary form they take when on the Material Plane.

An Archduke is similar, possessing both a true self and a human form. However, they are much more corrupted and twisted than their suborrdinates. Their true selves are truly massive (standing about 20 feet high), their mottled flesh crawling with maggots and a deep red in color. Their horns are ashen black and each wears a spiked crown on their heads. Their wings are incredibly wide and made of fire. The very landscape around them warps and bends with their presence. Their human forms possess several distinct features; eyes that are not remotely human in appearance and their bans are much more noticable.

General Abilities
A demon's power varies slightly from individual to individual, depending on their job, their rank, et cetera. All demons, however, possess the following physical traits (note that an Exiled Demon loses certain powers, as marked by a *):

--Superhuman Strength: All demons possess strength that easily surpasses vampires or werewolves.

--Superhuman Durability: Demons have the capacity to withstand injury that would kill a human. They recover from wounds within seconds or minutes (though this has limitations; see Possession, below).

--Telepathy: All demons possess the ability to read the minds of mortals, though they cannot seem to do so against other Outsiders.

--Electromagnetic Interference: A demonic presence disrupts nearby electronics with their presence. Large numbers of them can cause a thunderstorm.

--Rituals & Spellcasting: All demons possess a degree of spellcasting ability, though some are obviously more talented and powerful in this regard than others.

--Telekinesis: All demons can manipulate their surroundings through sheer force of will.

--Possession: The act of a demon's spirit possessing a human body. A demon cannot posses a corpse, nor can it possess a non-human species (like a werewolf) or body that's already possessed. It's easier to possess a person in a state of heightened emotion or fear. Once in a human body, the demon has access to its full suite of abilities and the body will continually heal itself and regenerate...until the demon is exercised, at which point all of the damage that body has sustained will come back, normally killing the victim. Lesser Demons must possess a human to exist on the Material Plane, but Greater Demons and Archdukes do not, since they have human forms. They can both still possess human bodies, however; a Greater Demon's spirit appears to be a black cloud with rolling purple or red lightning, while an Archduke is a cloud of oily, red smoke. Doing so leaves their bodies behind, however, so many don't take the chance.

Balor
A greater demon has access to all of the previous abilities, as well as the following:

--Teleportation*: A Greater Demon can instantly travel a short distance through force of will, without actually crossing the distance.

--Pyrokinesis: Balor have the ability to start and control fires with their minds. Such flames are always blue.

--Electrokinesis: Many Balor are capable of manipulating electronic equipment or even channeling lightning through their bodies.

--Shapeshifting: All demons possess a limited degree of shapeshifting ability. For most, it is switching between their true self and human form, but they can also take the forms of certain animals (varying by individual). Chaos demons, specifically*, can change their shape to appear like other people, making them dangerous.

--Soul Reading: A demon can read the soul of a person to determine its purity.

--Thermokinesis: Greater Demons can alter the temperature with their minds, making it bitterly cold or horrifically hot.

--Weather Manipulation*: Many Greater Demons can change the weather, kicking up winds or driving winds, but others can create truly massive storms.

--Regeneration: A Balor is able to regenerate lost limbs. Any lost limbs turn to infernal ectoplasm once the new appendage grows in.

--Terrakinesis*: A Balor is able to generate minor tremors in the Earth.

Baatezu
The epitomy of demonic power, not only do Archdukes possess ALL of the above abilities, but also the following:

--Biokinesis: Archdukes can manipulate the biology of mortal beings, such as giving them a hemorrhage or causing them to cough up blood, and even stopping a human's heart.

--Dimensional Shifting: The Baatezu are capable of moving freely between Hell to Earth, and can even teleport between the different Circles of Hell.

--Dream Walking: Archdukes can enter and control the dreams of others.

--Mind Manipulation: Archdukes are capable of causing mental illness and can manipulate memories. Alternatively, they can heal mental illnesses as well.

--Exorcism: Baatezu can exorcise a Lesser Demon and force it back to Hell with a snap of their fingers.

--Black Light: Baatezy can generate a massive amount of negative, destructive energy that can obliterate large areas and powerful targets, capable of damaging even angelic beings.

Demon Deals
All demons can make a deal with a mortal, granting them a wish in exchange for their souls. Greater Demons seem to be able to do this easier and more often than Lesser Demons. Additionally, Lesser Demons tend to pervert the wish  in some way (possily from a lack of control), while Greater Demons display a greater degree of accuracy in terms of the wish being granted. A human who makes a Deal loses their soul but gains their specified desire. After ten years, the demon will return to collect. --Reality Warping: Demons are capable of limited reality warping, changing certain aspects of the fabric in order to grant wishes.

--Resurrection: Through the use of a demon deal, Demons are capable of Resurrecting a dead mortal.

Weaknesses
--Ban: All demons have a telltale trait that betrays their presence, as well as certain strange weaknesses called a "Ban". The ban differs from demon to demon. --Devil's Trap: This ancient sigil is capable of trapping a demon with in when places on a surface. While trapped, the demon cannot use their powers and are effectively helpless. The Devil's Trap works on demons of any level of power.

--Salt: Lesser Demons cannot cross a line of salt. Does not affect Greater Demons or Archdukes.

--Holy Water: Holy water burns Lesser Demons and Greater Demons like acid and has proven to be a good defense against them. It doesn't kill them but it hurts like hell. Archdukes seem more or less highly resistant to Holy Water, if not completely immune.

--Consecrated Water: Sort of Holy Water on crack, this is excrutiatingly painful for Lesser Demons and Greater Demons, and can affect Archdukes like Holy Water affects Lesser Demons.

--Iron: A weapon made of pure iron is capable of injuring any demon.

--Palo Santo: This sacred wood is painful to a demon like iron. If burned, its smoke acts like holy water and if stabbed through a demon's heart, acts like a Devil's Trap, trapping them to that spot until the stake is removed.

--Holy FIre: Setting holy oil alight, the resulting fire is extremely painful to a demon, though not fatal.

--Positive Energy: Positive energy, such as that generated by an angel, is deadly to a demon. However, the angel must be as powerful or more powerful than the demon they are attacking if the light is to have any effect beside giving the demon a sunburn.

--Free Will: Demon's cannot take away a human's free will and cannot excert any kind of domination or mind control, even through the use of Enchantment spells. Possession is an obvious loophole, however. --Exorcism: Exorcising a demon will force it from a possessed body. Lesser Demons are sent back to Hell, while Greater Demons are merely sent back to their human bodies.

Breeding
Greater Demons cannot create more of themselves, but are capable of reproducing with a human host. The resulting half-demon creatures is known as a Tiefling or a Cambion.

Lesser Demons have no such ability, but they are being constantly created through the method of corrupting souls in Hell.

Habitat
Demons originate from the Lower Plane of Hell. Many demons complain that the Material Plane is too cold.

Diet
Demons don't need to eat, though many enjoy it. Demonic tastes vary wildly, with some preferring to eat human food and others preferr to eat humas as food. When they do eat or drink, they binge, indulging well past the point of reason.

Classification
Demons are classified both by their type and their job:

Type
--Tanar'ri: Lesser Demons.

--Balor: Greater Demons.

--Baatezu: Archdukes.

Role
Every demon has a role to play in the grander scheme of Hell's work. A demon's role influences their specific capabilities, as well as their strongsuit when it comes to sowing pain and misery.

--Amaimon: Also known as Interrogators, the Amaimon specialize in ruthless, cruel and diabolic methods of torture and inquisition. Amaimon know exactly what their victims are afraid, and often employ this knowledge to torment a victim in every way they fear. Their questions twist through the mind of the victim like a snake until they get the information they seek and often even after.

--Ayngavhaul: Also known as Heresy Demons, the Ayngavhaul specialize as scholars of despair, spreading heresies and apocrypha, sowing disbelief and corruption among the righteous.

--Barbazu: Also called Tormentors, these demons specialize not only in flaying and violence, but in sowing terror in humans. They often stalk and terrorize entire families for weeks, starting small and growing in intensity and evil over time.

--Choronzon: Also called Chaos Demons, the Choronzon specialize in deception, chaos, mischief and commiting evil acts for their own sake. God help any community if a Choronzon becomes bored. Unpredictable and capable of shapeshifting to a higher degree than other Balor.

--Hala: Also called Disaster Demons, the Hala spcialize in bringing storms and disasters. These disasters are often natural disasters, but can also be plane crashes, fires, train wrecks, freeway collisions, electrical outages and other such things.

--Herzou: Known also as Plague-Bearers, the Herzou spread disease, sickness and famine wherever they go. The Herzou delight in creating new sicknesses and many possess or disguise themselves as doctors.

--Lilitu: Also called tempters, these demons are the eponymous "devils on the shoulder", becoming invisible and whispering to mortals, weaking their moral resolve. Lilitu specialize in longterm mental torment, though it is very subtle and includes insomnia, constant subtle reminders of the temptation at hand and increased reward when they give in. At first. Soon, the temptation becomes a torment in and of itself.

--Magi: Demons who specialize as lore masters and ritual casters.

--Phistophilus: Also called Crossroads Demons, the Phistophilus are master negotiators, diplomats and salesmen. Even the least skilled crossroads demon could sell blood to a vampire. These demons specialize not only in granting wishes, but in the actual act of the hard sell. Phistophilus demons are, by nature, honest, rarely lying (if ever) due to the nature of their work.

Notable Demons
The following is a list of notable demons who have appeared in a campaign.