More on Demon Lords

[BOZ]

If the demons are unique (and not just advanced versions of a type), I'll certainly take a look! Who knows what they'd be considered under 4E rules, so it's worth looking into.

 

[catsclaw227]

Catsclaw, that one is a devil rather than a demon

Duh... For some reason, I had my head in Devil-dom and I got my wires crossed. I clicked the link to the canonfire wiki and saw Nergel and started assuming devils, since he was a minor duke and part of the "rabble of devilkin". Is there a demon named Nergel and a devil named Nergal?

Though, looking at Nergal's description from the old Nine Hells article, he is described in 4e terms like a demon, more than a devil.

(not that 4e tropes are of much value in this discussion... )

 

[BOZ]

Is there a demon named Nergel and a devil named Nergal?

Yep! It happens from time to time.

 

[BOZ]

Having gotten that big list out of the way (much bigger than I had expected), I'm going to have a look at the distinct "eras" of demon lords within the game. We'll call this first one "In the Beginning". Just prior to first edition AD&D, demons were introduced to the game, and they and their lords have remained a popular part of the game ever since. In this era, the most well known demon lords were introduced by Gary Gygax, and were seen by some as little more than just powerful monsters to be defeated, even though they were really closer to being on the same level as the gods. The main batch of demon lords were well described, and got plenty of playtime.

Orcus and Demogorgon were the first two demon lords in print, appearing first in Eldritch Wizardry (1976). The following year, they appeared in the brand-new Monster Manual, along with Juiblex and Yeenoghu. Lolth then appeared in the D-module series, Queen of the Demonweb Pits, and the Fiend Folio. In 1982, the roster of demon lords was expanded in the module The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth to include Baphomet, Fraz-Urb'luu, Graz'zt, Kostchtchie, and Pazuzu, who were all reprinted the next year in Monster Manual II.

Also, the list on page 35 of the Monster Manual II included a few dozen demon lord names, most of which were not detailed until many years later. Zuggtmoy did appear soon after in the module Temple of Elemental Evil. Dagon and Obox-ob got mentions in the Demonomicon of Iggwilv series before getting detailed with statistics in FC1.

That said, the rest have yet to receive anywhere near as much detail in official canon D&D sources as those listed above, although that has slowly started to improve over the past decade.

Astaroth is mentioned as having been killed and replaced in the second edition Forgotten Realms book, Powers & Pantheons (1997) on page 22. Astaroth was further described in Dragon #357 (July 2007), in the article "Gazing Into the Abyss" on page 68, and played a role in the 2007 Savage Tide adventure path in Dungeon magazine #148 in the adventure "Wells of Darkness" on page 66.

Verin appeared in the Planescape supplement Faces of Evil: The Fiends (1997) on page 62 and was also detailed in FC1 on page 119.

Munkir and Nekir are depicted on the cover of Living Greyhawk Journal #3 (Feb 2001) battling the god Azor'alq at the gates of Heaven.

Gresil was briefly mentioned in the article "Artifacts of Oerth: Instruments of the Gods", a 2002 article which ran in both Living Greyhawk Journal #10, and Dragon #294 (April 2002) on page 97, where it was mentioned that his library has "millions of texts".

Socothbenoth was mentioned briefly in Fraz-Urb'luu's entry in "The Demonimicon of Iggwilv" series in Dragon #333 (July 2005) on page 29, and in Malcanthet's entry in Dragon #353 (March 2007) on page 27, and his realm was described in Dragon #358 in F. Wesley Schneider's article "The River Styx" (Aug 2007) on page 68.

Ardat was mentioned briefly in Baphomet's entry in "The Demonimicon of Iggwilv" series in Dragon #341 (March 2006) on page 24, and then received a full description in the "Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Apocrypha" edition in Dragon #359 (Sept 2007) on page 47.

Several of these demon lords also got some more details in FC1: Aldinach and Baltazo (p 115), Mastiphal (p 117), Asima (p 133; also in Demonomicon p 50), Areex (p 138), Cabiri (p 138, also Dragon #357 p 68-69), Azael (p 146), and Bechard (p 147).

Ansitif was detailed in FC1 on page 137. He was described as a vestige in Dragon #357 (July 2007), in the article "Gazing Into the Abyss" on page 67-68.

Soneillon was mentioned in the web enhancement for FC1: Fiendish Codex I: The Lost Entries

Ahazu played a role in the 2007 Savage Tide adventure path in Dungeon magazine #143 in the adventure "Tides of Dread" (Feb 2007), and he played a significant role in #148 in the adventure "Wells of Darkness" (July 2007).

Abraxas, Ahrimanes, Alrunes, Anarazel, Azazel, Barbu, Bayemon, Charun, Eblis, Laraie, and Nocticula have yet to receive much coverage beyond the index in the back of FC1 aside from trivial name drops. Bayemon was mentioned in FC1 as having been one of the few beings to escape from the Wells of Darkness.

Aseroth and his realm of Soulfreeze were described in Demonomicon (2010) on page 78.

 

[TarionzCousin]

Originally Posted by catsclaw227
Is there a demon named Nergel and a devil named Nergal?

Yep! It happens from time to time.

Has anyone ever seen them in the same room at the same time?

 

[BOZ]

They actually are the same guy, but when he wants to be the devil he wears glasses - fools people all the time!

 

[BOZ]

The Gygax era ended in the mid-1980s, bringing about in turn an end to what you might call the "Golden Age" of the demon lords. The main players had been set, and in the minds of most die-hards (including the designers of FC1), the ones considered most important didn't really change over the years. In the wake of his departure, other designers began introducing other demon lords over the remaining years of the game's first edition, and even more sparingly in the early days of second edition, in what we might call "The In-Between Time". While some of them were mentioned in passing, the ones intended to be part of an adventure or a campaign followed the same ethic as those designed by Gygax in that they were given a good description and a full set of game statistics because, after all, heroic characters should want to fight and destroy these evil creatures!

Aside from those mentioned earlier which did not appear in the FC1 index, we have from this time period:

Kerzit made his debut in the adventure Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure (1984), where he is given statistics on page 27. Kerzit played an important role in Dungeon #112 in the sequel adventure "Maure Castle" (2004), with statistics on page 96-98.

Shami-Amourae debuted in Dungeon #5 (May/June 1987) in the adventure "The Stolen Power", where she is given statistics on page 27 and had the power of a demigoddess. In FC1, it is revealed on page 139 that she was imprisoned in the Wells of Darkness as a result of her war with Malcanthet. Her ultimate release from her prison is the goal of the adventure "The Wells of Darkness" in Dungeon #148 (2007).

Ilsidahur made his debut in Dungeon #10 (March/April 1988), in the adventure "The Shrine of Ilsidahur", which took place in an abandoned temple located in the Amedio Jungle in the World of Greyhawk campaign setting; his statistics appear on page 8. He is mentioned in FC1 on page 141, "The Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Demogorgon" in Dragon #357 (2007) on page 25, and in Demonomicon (2010) on page 70.

Eltab was first mentioned in Dreams of the Red Wizards (1988) on page 17, and appeared with game statistics in the Forgotten Realms boxed set Spellbound (1995) in the Monstrous Compendium booklet on page 5, and is fully detailed in Champions of Ruin (2005) on pages 130-135.

Arzial first appeared in the adventure "The Ruins of Nol-Daer" in Dungeon #13 (Sept/Oct 1988), where he is first mentioned on page 4. He was also mentioned in "The Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Graz'zt" in Dragon #360 on page 18.

Sch'theraqpasstt was described in Dragon #151 (Nov 1989) in the article "The Ecology of the Yuan-Ti" on page 33, with statistics on page 34.

Siragle played a role in the adventure "Sleepless" in Dungeon #28 (March/April 1991), with his role in the adventure described on page 26, and his game statistics given on page 28. In FC1, Siragle is described as one of the few beings who is reported to have escaped from the Wells of Darkness on page 137.

Sess'Innek was introduced in Monstrous Mythology (1992) by Carl Sargent on page 98 with a full description on page 102, where he is described as both a god and a tanar'ri lord. More information for him in the Forgotten Realms setting is provided in Serpent Kingdoms (2004), particularly on pages 41-44 and in the list on page 189.

 

[Voadam]

Sch'theraqpasstt was described in Dragon #151 (Nov 1989) in the article "The Ecology of the Yuan-Ti" on page 33, with statistics on page 34.

Sess'Innek was introduced in Monstrous Mythology (1992) by Carl Sargent on page 98 with a full description on page 102, where he is described as both a god and a tanar'ri lord. More information for him in the Forgotten Realms setting is provided in Serpent Kingdoms (2004), particularly on pages 41-44 and in the list on page 189.

Are either of these the one from the 3e Elder Evils? I vaguely remember from flipping through it in a store that it had a snake demon lord somehow connected to Yuan-Ti.

 

[havard]

Assuming this is for D&D in general rather than Greyhawk, are you considering including any of the BECMI Immortals of Entropy?

Alphaks in particular comes to mind.

-Havard

 

[BOZ]

Are either of these the one from the 3e Elder Evils? I vaguely remember from flipping through it in a store that it had a snake demon lord somehow connected to Yuan-Ti.

Maybe? I don't think so, but it's possible - I'd have to check that book.

Assuming this is for D&D in general rather than Greyhawk, are you considering including any of the BECMI Immortals of Entropy?

Not at this time, no. I've got enough of them to work with already, without throwing in a whole other cosmology.