D&D General What Would Happen if Fiends Came to Fill the "Low CR Monsters" Niche?

[Voadam]

Shadow of the Demon Lord is its own D&D like RPG but it has a premise of a Demon Lord induced end of the world campaign so it can provide ideas or examples of a demon invasion of a fantasy setting.

 

[Hexmage-EN]

Recurring demon incursions would pretty much dominate the story of the campaign, but I'm not sure that's such a terrible thing. You should be fighting monsters associated with the main story, so if you want to do a story about a necromancer trying to take over the world... use skeletons..

My intention was to make demon incursions more along the lines of pest infestations that happen more often, but usually don't progress into goristros and balors or whatever showing up.

A few wandering dretches and manes and such in the area could be a sign that a temporary portal to the Abyss formed recently and dumped a bunch out somewhere close by. This could also attract mortal demon cultists and demonologists to the area who hope to re-open the portal and make it stable.

 

[jmartkdr2]

My intention was to make demon incursions more along the lines of pest infestations that happen more often, but usually don't progress into goristros and balors or whatever showing up.

A few wandering dretches and manes and such in the area could be a sign that a temporary portal to the Abyss formed recently and dumped a bunch out somewhere close by. This could also attract mortal demon cultists and demonologists to the area who hope to re-open the portal and make it stable.

And the queen who want the area settled to grow cash crops would even pay a bounty on destroyed demons if you can prove it...

It's not that hard to justify, really.

 

[bedir than]

Just give the antagonists reasons for being antagonists.

repeating for emphasis

 

[Lyxen]

repeating for emphasis

Because they are evil and want to eat you ?

 

[Oofta]

I suspect that if we did this, there would suddenly be a demand for fiends as a playable race and we'd be right back to square one.

You can certainly do it now. While the majority of enemies in my campaigns are human, the monstrous races I do have have ties to evil deities or origins. Orcs are not naturally born, evil goblins (there are a few that are not) have eyes that glow red because of their ties to a fiendish deity and so on.

Of course that will never be the "correct" justification for some people. Same thing would happen if fiends are everywhere.

 

[Scribe]

I suspect that if we did this, there would suddenly be a demand for fiends as a playable race and we'd be right back to square one.

Absolutely it would, it already happens and other systems have whole redemption arcs for Demon NPCs.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Reformed Fiend | Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous Wiki

 

[jmartkdr2]

I suspect that if we did this, there would suddenly be a demand for fiends as a playable race and we'd be right back to square one.

...teiflings?

You can certainly do it now. While the majority of enemies in my campaigns are human, the monstrous races I do have have ties to evil deities or origins. Orcs are not naturally born, evil goblins (there are a few that are not) have eyes that glow red because of their ties to a fiendish deity and so on.

Of course that will never be the "correct" justification for some people. Same thing would happen if fiends are everywhere.

I find it odd how few people are willing to just say "these goblins are evil, and you can tell because they wear evil overlord badges" and call it a day. It implies the existence of non-evil goblins but also makes it clear that these ones are kill-on-sight.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Absolutely it would, it already happens and other systems have whole redemption arcs for Demon NPCs.

And we already have tieflings in the game already.