Bebelith not Tanar'ri?

[0-hr]

BEBILITH
Huge Outsider (Chaotic, Extraplanar, Evil)

Hit Dice: 12d8+96 (150 hp)
etc.

They do not list Tanar'ri in their type (like the other demons do). So they do not get the resistance to fire, etc. etc. listed under Tanar'ri traits at the start of the demon section right?

 

[Caliban]

They do not list Tanar'ri in their type (like the other demons do). So they do not get the resistance to fire, etc. etc. listed under Tanar'ri traits at the start of the demon section right?

That's right. Just like Chain Devils (Kytons) do not get the baatezu qualities.

 

[Eldren]

Bebilith have never been tanar'ri, even when the term was first coined in 2nd Edition (in an attempt to move away from the term "demon", which set too many of the religious right against the game). By their very description, they're demon-hunters. That's what they do in their native Abyss: They crawl around the various layers of the Abyss and they hunt demons, for no purpose other than it seems to be their natural function. It makes little sense, even amongst the Chaotic Evil tanar'ri, to have a tanar'ri that hunts other tanar'ri as a natural function of its ecology.

However, 3rd Edition has been really good about insuring that types stay pretty consistent, so that a Dungeon Master can assume certain standards when using a creature that's part of a greater overall type like demon or devil or dragon. There are certain qualities that all demons have, and anything under the "Demon" heading in the Monster Manual is assumed to have those qualities. So you could probably assume that, unless its description indicates otherwise, a bebilith is going to have all proper demon qualities. However, there's a type of demon called tanar'ri, and those have their own qualities, because "tanar'ri" is a separate kind of demon. If you'll notice, a bebilith is just listed as a Chaotic Evil Outsider, and it doesn't have the tanar'ri subtype. So no, it isn't going to gain any of the standard tanar'ri abilities.

 

[Alzrius]

The real kicker though is should the Abashai in Monsters of Faerun have the Baatezu subtype? They were baatezu in previous editions.

(I know the monster update in the PGtF doesn't give that to them, but that update is rather error-riddled.)

 

[Eldren]

Yes, abishai should most definitely be baatezu. I would give them that subtype if they don't already have it.

 

[Olive]

Yes, abishai should most definitely be baatezu. I would give them that subtype if they don't already have it.

They don't according to the FR monsters update.

 

[Alzrius]

They don't according to the FR monsters update.

As I mentioned though, that update isn't trustworthy. It has quite a few things omitted that need to be there. For example:

Shades, as Outsiders, should have a subtype (either Extraplanar or Native), but aren't given one.

White Abashai are also not given any subtypes at all...which is very strange considering the other types all got the Evil, Extraplanar, and Lawful subtypes.

The Tomb Tapper doesn't have the bonus hit points it should get for being a Construct listed.

The Spiderstone Golem doesn't have the bonus hit points it should get for being a Construct listed.

The Jade Spider doesn't have the bonus hit points it should get for being a Construct listed.

...and these are just the errors I can see from a casual perusal, there were even more listed when we did a thread on this back over on, IIRC, the Conversion section of the Creature forums. Given that quite a few errors were in regards to subtypes, it does seem somewhat suspect that the Abashai don't have the Baatezu subtype.