Thursday, June 28, 2012

Some Demon Lords of Nightwick

This is a bit of a companion piece to yesterday's post.  I have not included the information for summoning these entities because too many of my players read this blog.  The entries are based off of the format presented in the Dictionnaire Infernal.

Armadeus
One of the Grand Princes of the Pit, Armadeus is also known as the Damned One and the Master of All Knowledge.  He appears as an empty, black cloak that floats as though there were a human of enormous stature inside.  His eyes are red and bright as fire.  Ancient texts claim he once appeared as a handsome, well muscled scholar with teeth, tongue, and skin as black as night, but even these state that this was millennia in the past.  He answers questions relating to the past and the present, reveals hidden treasures, teaches the magical arts, and reveals the ultimate desires of men.

Crapoad
This Grand Duke of the Pit is also known as the Lord of Toads and Master of Hags.  He appears to the conjurer as an impeccably dressed frogling with eerily human skin that is bruised pallid.  His eyes are large, human-like, and bloodshot.  He is always genial and well-spoken and observes all the courtesies of human society.  Crapoad makes frogs and toads into familiars, turns froglings into bullywugs, and curses both men and women.  He is a patron to witches and the slaad are his servants.

Forcas
He is the Grand Duke That is Buried in the Earth and the Father of Goblins.  He appears to conjurers as a bloated dwarf with the ears and nose of a bat.  His skin is mangy and scabrous and his beard is patchy and grey.  He reveals the secrets of gems, advises men on how to obtain wealth, delivers treasure, turns dwarves into goblins, and bestows the love of beautiful things.

The Horned One
He is a Great Prince and Master of the Sabbath.  He appears a large man with the head and feet of a goat, skin as hard and grey as steel, and hair like copper wire. He smells of sandalwood and all about him can be heard a faint chanting in an unknown language.  He leads Black Sabbaths, delivers women to men and men to women, makes men into monsters, ruins churches, makes children deformed, and baptizes the faithless in blood.  His servants are devil-men and beastmen of all sorts, and he is a patron of witches and hags that rivals Crapoad.

Malphas
This Knight of the Pit is often called Hell’s Chief Architect.  He appears to the conjurer as raven of normal size but sinister aspect, and always approaches from behind the conjurer’s left shoulder.  Some say that in the Pit he appears as a withered man with the head and wings of a raven.  He builds fortifications, towers, and cathedrals, destroys the same, advises commanders during sieges, and can make men invisible for a time.

Moloch
This Grand Prince of the Pit is known as He of the Fuel-Less Fire.  He was worshiped as a god in the Desert Lands, where children and priests were given to his fires.  He appears to conjurers as an enormous man with the head of a bull.  He is reported to be covered in blood and the tears of mothers, and it is said that these floods constantly bubble and simmer as though his skin was amazingly hot.  He appears naked except for the crown and cloak of an emperor.  He accepts sacrifices, turns men into githyanki, makes warriors strong, and topples kingdoms.

Ozgin
He is the Lord of Madness and the Master of Terror.  When summoned, Ozgin rides out of the west riding a horse made of blood-red fire such as to appear that the sun is rising in the wrong direction.  He appears as a tall and slender man of middling years with a trimmed beard and pointed ears.  He wears well made clothing in a style unfamiliar to the people of the World of Nightwick, in all the colors of the rainbow.  He carries a sword and pistol bearing incredibly intricate decorations.  He teaches the magical arts, shows things that were not meant to be shown, and makes men mad.


Note that this is by no means an exhaustive list and that the legions of the Pit are ever-spawning and infinite. The categorization used to delineate demons of the sixth circle, princes, dukes, etc. is an inherently lawful structure forced onto beings of pure chaos.

2 comments:

  1. Cool. A lot of appropriate Medieval-ly flavor.

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    Replies
    1. Great stuff! Really evocative; particularly "turns men into githyanki". Creepy.

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