Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss

[BOZ]

We're still here, never fear! We're just in observer mode... it's not at a point where we can talk openly about what's going on with the book.

yay!

We're also still writing, so suggestions are very helpful.

i kinda figured. i know you have a page limit, so of course you can't fit every single bit of info there is, but of course that is up to your discretion to decide what is most important.

have my hints been helpful? shall i keep digging? if you guys have already looked at all the things i've pointed at then there's no reason for me to continue, but i don't mind spending some time looking around for things if you're getting some use out of them.

 

[Psion]

Really, maybe I'm remembering wrong. I thought that was the name of the demon that had the random table for rolling and figuring out what they looked like/were. I assumed (frankly, I haven't looked in years) they were demons.

There was a random DEMON table in the 1e DMG.

Hordelings, though not chaotic, appeared in the MMII and were sort of a "lite" version of the random demons with fewer variables and less power. And yes, they were NE and native to the Grey Waste/Hades.

 

[Pants]

No - ebay has copies going for upwards of $200 occasionally. You may find one cheaper by posting a wanted thread in the trading/classified forums here.

Well, guess I won't be picking that up.

Hordlings are Evil with Chaotic tendencies

I see them as Chaotic Evil with Neutral Evil tendencies.
I was rereading FoE, and it pretty much paints them as an unruly, unorganized mass of Gray Waste excrement overcome by their own twisted hatreds.

We really need a new prime race to be the front man worshippers of Demogorgon. Ixitchtachil (sp! ) just don't inspire fear due to their rarity. What alignment are the Taer?

OR, flesh out those evil-manta rays (I'm not even trying with spelling...) and make them menacing.

I kinda like them actually, for whatever reasons.

 

[zoroaster100]

A really cool idea from Gygax's books about the Abyss was the layer that was made up of a vast demon of virtually infinite size, Ujakalazogadit. There the entire layer is a living thing, with the very ground being made up of a mutable fleshy substance that occasinally sprouts tentacles, huge mouths, sores, etc. and which randomly attacks or devours creatures moving on top of it on occasion. It would be great to have rules for running an overland travel over such a layer-spanning semi-sentient demon.

 

[Pants]

Stuff I'd like to see in the book:

1) The Molydeus, Nabassu (from Dragon), Cataboligne Demon, Eyewing (2e Monstrous Manual), turagathshnee (Dragon, the Ebon Maw Article) all included.

2) Viper Trees - Native to Graz'zt's layer of the Abyss, found in Planes of Chaos. Trees with vipers for branches. They're not technically fiends, but... whatever

3) Update some other 3e fiends to 3.5.

 

[BOZ]

aw, who am i kidding, i get a kick out of this stuff. i'll keep looking it up unless you guys tell me not to bother!


Orcus and Demogorgon also appeared in the basic D&D rules (I forget exactly where), so there is always the potential for a Mystara connection.


Back to the archives CD...

Leomund's Tiny Hut (#76): Hey, since the death master is returning in the Dragon Compendium, you have a potential for a crossover here when mentioning their master Orcus...

Demonology Made Easy (#20): There's a cool picture of Orcus here. Useful article, too.

Setting Saintly Standards (#79): St. Kargoth, King of the Death Knights, appears. Also St. Bane the Scourger, who killed Orcus' servant the witch-ghoul Khuul and nearly Orcus himself.

A Touch of Evil (#126): Suggests that death knights are bound to Demogorgon, and that the ghast is powerful due to "continued exposure to the magical forces of the Abyss." Likewise, Orcus and Demogorgon are blamed for skeletal warriors, and Orcus claims vampires as his servants.

Clerics Must be Deity-Bound (#85): The suggestion is made that Anubis probably hates Orcus, most likely due to portfolio conflicts.

The Ecology Of The Ixitxachitl (#85): Since the evil rays serve Demogorgon, Orcus sends marine undead (such as lacedons) to oppose them.

The Known World Grimoire (#196): The orcish Tribe of the Sea Plague have their patron as Oruguz (a.k.a. Orcus).

Patron Demons (#42): The topic should be obvious from the title!


Other named major demons (form ye olde Monster Manual II index):
Type VI: Alzoll, Balor, Errtu, Ndulu, Ter-Soth, Wendonai
Type V: Aishapra, Kevokulli, Marilith, Rehnaremme
Type IV: Bilwhr, Johud, Nalfeshnee

 

[BOZ]

Eyewing (2e Monstrous Manual)

the main issue i have with the eyewing is that it originally came from Dragonlance. now, as you may or may not know, "the Abyss" had a very different definition in Dragonlance than it did in the other campaign settings...

 

[Grover Cleaveland]

There was a random DEMON table in the 1e DMG.

Hordelings, though not chaotic, appeared in the MMII and were sort of a "lite" version of the random demons with fewer variables and less power. And yes, they were NE and native to the Grey Waste/Hades.

The idea in the MMII was that Hades had two major races, hordlings and diakka. Hordlings were slightly more chaotic, while diakka were slightly more lawful. In the MMII hordlings were listed on the encounter charts for most of the lower planes, however, including the Nine Hells.

In the encounter charts in the second Planescape Monstrous Compendium Appendix, hordlings are listed as encounters in only Carceri and the Gray Waste. In their actual description in the PSMCA volume 1, the Habitat/Society section says "There are an infinite number of hordlings on the infinite layers of the Abyss," but this is probably some sort of misprint.

 

[BOZ]

Lords of the Abyss (mixed in with some Tome of Horrors lore): http://pub123.ezboard.com/fnecromancergamesfrm31.showMessage?topicID=518.topic

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=65324
http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=78968

 

[Pants]

the main issue i have with the eyewing is that it originally came from Dragonlance. now, as you may or may not know, "the Abyss" had a very different definition in Dragonlance than it did in the other campaign settings...

Yeah, I knew about the different 'Abysses.' Didn't know about Eyewings being native to DL though...

They could still easily fit in the Core DnD cosmology though...