D&D 5E Hezrou demon redesign

[dave2008]

I was thinking that hezrou could include a whole gamut of pestilent up-jumped animalistic looking demons elevated from fiendish familiar root stock. So, there'd be hezrou with bat, cat, frog, raven, weasel, et cetera themes.

That is an interesting idea.

My idea was that the neckline of the owl version hid a toothy maw.

I noticed that, a bit of a "Where the Wild Things Are" vibe.

 

[Quickleaf]

@dave2008 I think it is called into question a bit when you have other animal-themed demons like barlgura (ape), bulezau (goat), and vrock (vulture)... though those animals have never been familiars in any edition of D&D. So the idea would be restricted to tiny insignificant creatures that are commonly used as familiars.

Of course, narratively the question is "Well, why have we only seen toad-themed hezrou?" And if there needs to be an answer, it would probably relate to the Demonomicon of Iggwilv in some way. Maybe Iggwilv cast a powerful spell placing a moratorium on the creation of further hezrou, except those created from toads.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

I could see a creature that is mostly a large assembly of diseased small animals/familiar covered by a large tainted burlap bad with a hole for the ''mouth'' and only toad-ish hands and legs emerging from the bag. Like a mix from the crones from the Witcher 3 and the Oogi bougey man from Nightmare before christmas. When you hit it, it releases swarms of diseased critters. If can also grab you and ''into the bag with ya'', where your restrained, blinded and are slowly consumed/scratched/bitten by dying creatures.

 

[Quickleaf]

Playing around with the empowered fiendish familiar idea... tried to make evil twists on D&D familiar tropes...

Table: Hezrou Fiendish Familiar Origin

d6	Familiar Origin
1	A mangy cat that delights in gloating over profane triumphs and making others uncomfortable by its close physical proximity.
2	A blood-eyed hare obsessed with seeing how mages see the world…by gouging out their eyes as keepsakes.
3	A crowned owl that vindictively kills familiars first…to “liberate” its lesser kin.
4	A sniveling rat that expects to go unnoticed, even as it’s glutting itself in plain sight.
5	A pox-ridden toad ever seeking a new master, but the lengths it will go to constantly lead to disaster.
6	A dirty weasel wistfully recalling and seeking to find a way back to its favored pocket dimension.

 

[dave2008]

Playing around with the empowered fiendish familiar idea... tried to make evil twists on D&D familiar tropes...

Table: Hezrou Fiendish Familiar Origin

d6	Familiar Origin
1	A mangy cat that delights in gloating over profane triumphs and making others uncomfortable by its close physical proximity.
2	A blood-eyed hare obsessed with seeing how mages see the world…by gouging out their eyes as keepsakes.
3	A crowned owl that vindictively kills familiars first…to “liberate” its lesser kin.
4	A sniveling rat that expects to go unnoticed, even as it’s glutting itself in plain sight.
5	A pox-ridden toad ever seeking a new master, but the lengths it will go to constantly lead to disaster.
6	A dirty weasel wistfully recalling and seeking to find a way back to its favored pocket dimension.

That very interesting. Are these just story ideas or do they have mechanical implications as well. If roll a 2 do i get a different Hezrou than if I roll a 5? I think that could be quite interesting. In that case you could have a base Hezrou and then depending on what you roll on the origin table you get a set of traits and/or actions that you can add to the base hezrou.

 

[Quartz]

As an alternate origin, I recall that the Death Slaad is a Grey Slaad corrupted by evil. Perhaps hezrou are lesser slaadi corrupted by evil?

If you go this way, you could also have good hezrou - slaadi corrupted / redeemed by Good.

 

[Quickleaf]

That very interesting. Are these just story ideas or do they have mechanical implications as well. If roll a 2 do i get a different Hezrou than if I roll a 5? I think that could be quite interesting. In that case you could have a base Hezrou and then depending on what you roll on the origin table you get a set of traits and/or actions that you can add to the base hezrou.

Just stories to spark imagination for how to use the hezrou as more than a combat monster, provide the DM some guidance in how to depict a hezrou, and a bit of twisted levity. It certainly makes the hezrou far more interesting than "raging demon foot soldier." The table helps lend the hezrou backstory, motivation (however maddening), and character.

There's a demonic customization table in MToF where, for example, you might roll "7. Silver Bones. The demon's natural weapons are considered silvered" or "16. Blimp Body. The demon can float at will as if under the effect of the levitate spell (no concentration required). While it has half its hit points or less, it loses this ability."

I wasn't really thinking of this mechanically, but yeah it could become something like that.

 

[Quickleaf]

I could see a creature that is mostly a large assembly of diseased small animals/familiar covered by a large tainted burlap bad with a hole for the ''mouth'' and only toad-ish hands and legs emerging from the bag. Like a mix from the crones from the Witcher 3 and the Oogi bougey man from Nightmare before christmas. When you hit it, it releases swarms of diseased critters. If can also grab you and ''into the bag with ya'', where your restrained, blinded and are slowly consumed/scratched/bitten by dying creatures.

Yeah, that is from a Roman punishment called poena cullei which was used to punish those who'd killed their parent(s) or parent-like guardian. It's a strong design move that suggests certain lore – namely, that the hezrou acted against its creator/commander in some way.

Which ends up being the opposite of how they're depicted in past edition D&D lore – as unusually loyal and steadfast for demons. And it's the opposite of the historical figure – Hezro of Carmelite – who seems to have been one of Gygax's creative inspirations for the hezrou.

Not that it's totally irreconcilable, but there'd need to be some really strong lore-building to support such a divergence.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Yeah, that is from a Roman punishment called poena cullei which was used to punish those who'd killed their parent(s) or parent-like guardian. It's a strong design move that suggests certain lore – namely, that the hezrou acted against its creator/commander in some way.

Which ends up being the opposite of how they're depicted in past edition D&D lore – as unusually loyal and steadfast for demons. And it's the opposite of the historical figure – Hezro of Carmelite – who seems to have been one of Gygax's creative inspirations for the hezrou.

Not that it's totally irreconcilable, but there'd need to be some really strong lore-building to support such a divergence.

You see it as if the Hezrou was on the receiving end of the poena cullei, but since its a demon that force loyalty and act as a taskmaster, I'd rather see them as the living incarnation of the poena cullei: creatures and lesser demons that want to betray their superiors are taken ''inside'' the Hezrou to be punished. Anyway, just an idea I had.

 

[Quickleaf]

You see it as if the Hezrou was on the receiving end of the poena cullei, but since its a demon that force loyalty and act as a taskmaster, I'd rather see them as the living incarnation of the poena cullei: creatures and lesser demons that want to betray their superiors are taken ''inside'' the Hezrou to be punished. Anyway, just an idea I had.

Ah, I see what you're thinking now. You know how the 2e hezrou grabbed you in a bear hug and the 3e hezrou had improved grab? Making them the embodiment of the poena cullei punishment for betraying superiors has the happy effect of weaving story around a mechanic that used to be central to the hezrou's fighting style in past editions. Very interesting idea.