B is for Baalseraph

Eldritch Witchery is my next book coming out.  It is for the Spellcraft & Swordplay game and covers some of the same ground that my last book, The Witch, did for Basic D&D.
One of the special features though of Eldritch Witchery is the inclusion of Demons and Devils much like the original (and inspiration) Eldritch Wizardry did for Original D&D back in 1976.

With my book I wanted to capture everything eldritch about the witch class.  So unlike some of my other books, this book also has a Warlock class.  It is also different from my Basic D&D book "The Witch".  Though all three classes together would make a nice full picture of the witch as she has appeared through out the history of RPGs.
Plus this book is designed to be used with the Spellcraft & Swordplay game.  It *can* be used with OD&D/S&W, but you would need to modify some things a touch.

But the biggest draw for both books is the inclusion of Demons.

 

When writing about demons, devils and the hells for D&D it is very hard to break out of the Gygaxian classifications of who is what and what is what.  A look at the history of the Succubus in D&D reveals that. So I had to make a conscious effort to break it.  I did and everything is now a "Demon".  There are many different types of demons though.

The Baalseraph are powerful demons that were once the forces of good.  They fought against their brethren and masters, becoming twisted and evil.  They were cast down into the pits (which we call Hell) and there they subjugated the demonic races already living there.

To non-gamers: The Baalseraph are the fallen Angels and gods from various myths.
To gamers: The Baalseraph are the unique "Ruling" class of devils.

In EW demons, devils and other creatures were put together and resorted in to Calabim, Eodemons, Lillim and Shedim.  The Baalseraph rule over the Shedim (Demons of Rage) with an iron fist.  They have alliances with the Lillim (Demons of Seduction) and the Eodemons (Proto-demons) and fight against the legions of Calabim (Demons of Destruction).

The rulers of the Baalseraph are Astaroth, Asmoday, Baalberith,  Beelzebub, Gressil, Sonneillon and Verrine.  I am also working up backgrounds and stats for Belial, Mammon, Mephistopheles, Moloch, and Dispater.  Once I have them all plotted and stated out I want to have seven Princes, each in charge of other courts and representing one of the Deadly Sins; somthing I have discussed before.  Belial, Moloch and Baalberith I have used before in my Ghosts of Albion games, so coming up with something brand new for them will be key.

Hopefully I can get this all sorted out this month!

Monstrous Monday: Aamon, Grand Marquis of Hell

Another social media-inspired post today.  My wife was reading something on Geek Girls and she got very excited about the idea of there being border-lands in Hell. Which naturally got us talking about my Demons for Basic Bestariy III.  Not knowing anything about the D&D Blood War, she thought the idea of multiple demonic species in "Hell" a really fun idea.  She was really excited when I mentioned that my Basic Bestarity Demons come in 12 different species, or what I am calling Lineages.

What D&D calls unique devils I refer to as the "Baalseraph" or the Devil Lords.  These are the ones that fell to Hell after losing the War in Heaven.  Each Baalseraph is unique and each one had a previous name from when they were spirits of good.   

Today I want to investigate both of these topics and also show why I also like using OGC monsters.  In this case, I am updating "Amon" from the Tome of Horrors Complete from Necromancer Games and Frog God Games.

Aamon, Grand Marquis of Hell

"Amon, or Aamon, is a great and mighty marques, and commeth abroad in the likeness of a Wolf, having a serpents tail, [vomiting] flames of fire; when he putteth on the shape of a man, he sheweth out dogs teeth, and a great head like to a mighty [night hawk]; he is the strongest prince of all other, and understandeth of all things past and to come, he procureth favor, and reconcileth both friends and foes, and rule forthy legions of devils."

- Johann Wier (1583) Pseudomonarchia Daemonum.

Large Fiend (Diabolic, Baalseraph)

Frequency: Unique
Number Appearing: 1 (1)
Alignment: Chaotic [Lawful Evil]
Movement: 180' (60') [18"]
Armor Class: -2 [21]
Hit Dice: 22d8+44****** (143 hp)
 Large: 22d20+44****** (165 hp)
To Hit AC 0: 6 (+14)
Attacks: 1 weapon or 2 claws, 1 bite

Damage: 2d6+6 (+3 weapon, +3 strength) or 1d6+3 x2, 1d8+3
Special: Baalseraph powers and immunities, magic resistance (75%), regeneration (3 hp/round), spell-like abilities, summoning, teleapthy 100 ft. (see below)

Save: Monster 22
Morale: 12 (NA)
Treasure Hoard Class: XVI, XII (G,K)
XP: 16,250 (OSE) 16,750 (LL)

Str: 19 (+3) Dex: 17 (+2) Con: 16 (+2) Int: 18 (+3) Wis: 16 (+2) Cha: 18 (+3)

Aamon, also called Amon and Nahum, appears as a wolf-headed humanoid standing 9’ tall. His fur is brownish-black and his eyes and teeth are yellow. His great clawed hands are brownish in color and covered in shaggy fur.  He has a long tail like a snake.  

Aamon is a vassal in service to Geryon, commanding no less than 3 legions of bone devils and 40 legions of lesser shedim (devils) on his home plane in Hell. Amon wields a +3 great-mace with two hands. He can also bite in the same round for 1d8+3 hp damage.  If pressed he can attack with his two massive claws instead of his sword. Amon is only harmed by +3 or better weapons. Amon is very strong (STR 19), receiving +3 to hit and damage in melee combat. He regenerates 3 hp per round.

Aamon has the following spell-like abilities, usable at will: animate dead, charm monster, detect invisibility, detect magic, dispel magic, fear (as the spell), fly, geas, know alignment, polymorph self, produce flame, read languages, read magic, suggestion, teleportation, wall of ice, and limited wish (for another being only). In addition, one time per day he may employ a symbol of hopelessness and gate (60% probability of success) 1d4 bone devils. He is able to summon all wolves in a 1-mile radius and control them to do his will.

Like all Baalseraph, Aamon has the following damage modifiers.  He takes no damage from fire (mundane, magical or dragon), normal weapons, or poison (ingested).  He is immune to the effects of mind-affecting magics like charm, ESP, hold, and sleep.  He takes half the damage (and saves for no damage) from cold, electricity, and poisonous gases.  Finally, he takes full damage (or saves for half where applicable) from acid, magic missile attacks (or similar magical energy), blessed, magical, or silvered weapons.   He has magic resistance of 75%. 

Prior to his fall, he had been the spirit known as Nahum, which means "who induces to eagerness."   He was summoned as an impartial judge in disputes between friends.  Now as one of the fallen he creates strife between friends. 

As a Grand Marquis Aamon commands his troops to fend off the hordes of invading Asuras, Calabim, Tarterians.

--

Aamon is not just a great example of a Grand Marquis, he is a great example of an OGC monster.   He is used in Pathfinder, Swords & Wizardry, Advanced Labyrinth Lord, and others along with its original use in AD&D.

Section 15 for this monster follows:

Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

System Reference Document. Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

Swords & Wizardry Core Rules. Copyright 2008, Matthew J. Finch
Swords & Wizardry Complete Rulebook. Copyright 2010, Matthew J. Finch.

Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games.

Amon from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; based on original material by Author Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax.

I am choosing to cleave close to the original material and the OGC material because I feel that anyone using this monster (or later using the Basic Bestiary) to be able to slot him right into an ongoing game without too many "continuity errors."  So I include his "mythological" background (description, legions controlled) and his "D&D" background (allegiance to Geryon).  I also include more details that are solely from my own games (Baalseraph, borderland disputes). 

My Aamon is expanded and changed, but I can see where you can use Amon and Aamon interchangeably. The ability to pick up one of my monsters and use them in any game is one of my main design goals.

Links

• Wikipedia, Aamon
• Wikipedia, List of Demons in the Ars Goetia
• Pathfinder, OGC
• Swords & Wizardry, OGC
• Amon, Duke of Hell (D&D Wiki)

K is for Kôkabîêl

The fallen angel Kôkabîêl is not just another fallen angel.  He was one of the 20 Watchers or Angels that were supposed to watch over mankind.  Instead he, like his brothers, fell in love with human women.  The offspring of these unions were the Nephilim. The angels themselves became the Grigori.

Kôkabîêl then is not just a demon or even a Baalseraph. The Baalseraph openly defied their Lords and were cast into Hell, the Grigori betrayed the trust of their lords and were cast out.  While the differences between these groups can be somewhat academic at least the Grigori do not hate humankind.

Kôkabîêl is/was the angel of the stars and constellations. He taught men and women the secrets of astrology.  He can provide a boon of good luck if he knows a person's birth date and time.  This boon is a one time +4 on any one roll at a specific date and time.

He appears as a tall handsome man with dark skin and black wings. He wears loose, flowing robes of regal nature favoring whites, purples and deep blues.  His head is bald and his eyes glow with star light.

Kôkabîêl

Alignment: Lawful Evil
Movement: 120'/240' (flight)
Armor Class: -4
Hit Points (Hit Dice): 180 hp (26 HD)
Attacks: sword (x2)
Damage: 1d12/1d12 +flame
Special: +3 or better weapon to hit, immunity to fire, electricity and poison, regeneration (4 hp/round), see in darkness, magic resistance (75%), telepathy 250 ft., undead destruction
Save: F26
MORALE: 12
XP: 20,000

Like all Grigori Kôkabîêl has a sword of flame.  He loathes to enter combat, but he is more than capable of it.  Also like all Grigori he can invoke the remains of his angelic powers to destroy undead as cleric of 20th level.

Grigori
There 20 Grigori that were cast out of Heaven.  They seem most similar to the Baalseraph; both were agents of good, angels and now evil.  But there is where the similarities end.  Each Grigori commands 10 fallen Angels and any number of their own monstrous children, the Nephilim. Unlike the Baalseraph they are not bound to Hell and do not need to be summoned.  They may roam any plane they choose, save for the upper planes they were removed from.

If you like Nephhilim then please check out Halls of the Nephilim!

M is for Mammon

Mammon, also know as the "Lord of this World" or "Lord of Greed" in my games made his AD&D debut in "From the Sorcerer's Scroll: New Denizens of Devildom," in Dragon #75 from 1983.  He later was featured in the Monster Manual 2.  Though the Mammon he is based on is actually a much more interesting character. He appeared in the Milton's Paradise Lost, Edmund Spenser's The Faërie Queene, the New Testament and has roots in earlier myths as well.  There is a lot of debate about the roots of his name, but it is almost always connected to money and/or greed.

He is almost always depicted a large, fat devil with red skin, bald head.   I most respects his appearance is supposed to represent the over-indulgence that greed and avarice can lead too. Compare if you will the AD&D version and the DC Comics version I posted on Saturday.

Not really all that different.

In my games Mammon is the lord of Greed and one of the Baalseraph.  Not all characters have to be complex and Mammon is a good example.  He fell because he wanted more. He was greedy and that lead to his downfall.

It is believed that he is akin to the Roman god Pluto who also protected the riches of the world.  This in a way makes him kin to Dispater (another AD&D Devil) who also has his roots in Pluto/Hades.  So in my games I would make Mammon and Dispater bitter rivals. Each trying to out-do the other in opulence and overt expressions of wealth and greed.  Mammon would be the physically more powerful devil, but Dispater may have more influence.

It is not a stretch to think of Mammon a bit like Jabba the Hutt. In fact that may have been the idea on his new form in the 3rd and 4th edition materials.  Another good example is Kingpin from Marvel Comics.
Mammon is the archetype of the fat, bloated crime boss surrounded by loyal henchmen, women (in this case Succubi) and wave upon waves of goons.

Mammon

Alignment: Lawful Evil
Movement: 90'/180' (flight)
Armor Class: -2
Hit Points (Hit Dice): 140 hp (22 HD)
Attacks: sword (x2)
Damage: 1d10/1d10 +flame
Special: +2 or better weapon to hit, immunity to fire, electricity and poison, regeneration (2 hp/round), see in darkness, magic resistance (75%), telepathy 250 ft.
Save: F22
MORALE: 10
XP: 17,500

When a mortal makes a deal with a demonic entity for riches, it is most often Mammon at the root of it all.   His "standard contract" is wealth and power for a set number of years. Afterwards the contracted party forfeits his soul to the Baalseraph lord and all the riches return to him.  There are plenty of tales where the summoner, knowing his time is running out, attempts to trick or fool the devil into letting him out or granting him more time.  Mammon is very cunning and usually gets his way.
He rarely if ever enters into combat himself. He has a retinue of lesser Baalseraph, Pit fiends and other demons to aid him.  If he must enter into combat he is perfectly capable of defending himself.

G is for Geryon

Every D&D player from the late 70s and 80s knows about the Arch Devil Geryon.  He never really seemed to fit well with the other Arch Devils/Dukes of Hell.  For example, most devils have horns, Geryon did not.  The other devils were fallen angels or appeared in various Christian demonologies.  Not so for Geryon.
He was described as "The Wild Beast" which I took as being a reference to the Great Beast, but still he wasn't more or less beastly than some of the other devils.

Geyron is based on the character from Dante's Inferno who lives between the Seventh and Eighth Circle of Hell.  He bares no resemblance to the mythical Geryon of the Twelve Labors of Heracles.

In later Planescape-related D&D Geryon gets kicked out of Hell, though he is still around.  In my campaign from the late 90s, A Sojourn in Hell, (which merged my old 80s D&D game with my more modern horror ones) Geryon was killed outright.  In the official treatments he was exiled because he thinks that there is some task he needs to do so terrible that he could not perform it as an Arch Devil. I have to admit I kinda like that.

Maybe it was the classic Clash of the Titans, but I have always thought Geyron needs a huge bow.  Play up his hunter-like qualities.

Despite my previous use of him I think I might take him back to his hunter-like role.  He haunts the wilds of the Seventh Circle of Hell

In my update Geyron is no longer a devil or Baalseraph, but he is the archetypical rage demon or a Shedim.

NAME: Geryon
Alignment: Chaotic (Evil)
Movement: 90'/120' (flying)
Armor Class: -2
Hit Points (Hit Dice): 150 hp (20 HD)
Attacks: claws (2), tail sting or bow
Damage: 1d10/1d10/1d8+poison or 2d8+posin
Special: Fear gaze, spells, bull’s horn, summon shedim, +2 or better weapon to hit, immunity to fire and poison, regeneration (3 hp/round), see in darkness, magic resistance (65%), telepathy 100 ft.
Save: F20
MORALE: 11
XP: 10,000

Geryon is a massive beast. He towers over most creatures at 15' tall. His head is massive, nearly three times as wide as a human's with features of both human, lion and ape.  His head can rotate 180 degrees around, so he can see directly behind himself. He is barrel chested, with massive arms that resemble that of a gorilla ending in lion-like claws.  His 40' long body ends in a snake like tail tipped with a poisonous tip like that of a scorpion.  His massive bat-like wings gives him the overall impression of wyvern.
His eyes burn with intelligence and hate.

Geryon patrols his lands in search of prey to hunt. Normally he hunts the wild kine of the hells, his favorite prey of course is human.  He can attack with his massive claws (he has the strength of a cloud giant) and his tail sting.  The poison of the sting does no additional damage, but the victim must save vs. poison or die in agony.  He prefers to hunt with his bow.  The arrows from this massive bow do more damage than mortal weapons and the arrows are also often tipped with the same poison found in his tail.  The bow itself is so huge that a normal human can not use it and it would require a Strength of 24 to use.

Geryon can be pressed into service by occultists that know the secret means to do so.
Geryon himself can summon other, lesser Shedim to aid him.  He rarely does this though as he sees himself as superior to all around him (save for maybe the Baalseraph Dukes).  Because of his renown as a hunter in the Hells he is often sought after by Baalseraph and Calabim Lords as an assassin.

OGL Section 15.

Geryon from the Tome of Horrors Complete, Copyright 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Authors Scott Greene and Clark Peterson, based on original material by
Gary Gygax.

Monstrous Mondays: Angels

One of the things holding up my completion of Basic Bestiary I is honestly what am I going to do about Angels?  By that, I mean Good Aligned Outsiders that populate the upper planes and are the servants of the various forces of good.

I have posted a couple that are largely near-complete drafts, the Dirae and the Lunars. Here are my problems as they stand.

1. I have a large number of various angel-like begins that need to be classified and codified.
2. I want parallels between my forces of good (angels) and my forces of evil (demons) where they are appropriate.
3. I want to include angel-like begins not just from the history of D&D (and OGC) but also from other cultures.

Much like the demons had to be spawned off into a whole other book, the angels have grown.  Though I am not likely to make a whole book for them since for the most part these are not really monsters to be fought, but you could interact with them.  Oh, I suppose evil characters could fight them.

In my research (or more accurately, literature review) I also came up with a fourth problem. Though this is one that began to creep into my High Witchcraft book.

4. There is a lot of literature on Angels and their role in Witchcraft.

Just go to pagan publisher Llewellyn and do a search on Angels, you get over 350 publications.  The idea of Angels in Witchcraft is not just a new-agey one.  There are many pagan belief systems that have had angel-like beings.  I even mentioned last week that British Occultist Aleister Crowley had a pact with an angel he called Aiwass.  So for my High Witchcraft book including angels makes a lot of sense.

But which ones? And how?

And that is where I had stalled. But I think I have it worked out now. Rereading Gygax's descriptions of Devas, Planetars, and Solars in Dragon Magazine help jell my ideas.  

The Classification and Hierarchy of the Good Outsiders

It is said that demons are legion. It is true that their numbers far exceed that of the forces of good, but it is also true that "demon" is often used to describe any fiend of the lower planes, whether they are classified as a "Demon" or "Devil" or as a "Calabim," "Yaoguai," or a "Baalseraph."  Likewise, there are "angels" and there are "Angels."

angels (lowercase a) refer to any good-aligned outsider creature that serves the forces of good.  They are often synonymous with "Good Outsider" or "Celestial."  They often have both a humanoid (profane) and a divine appearance.  Their profane appearance is what they use when visiting the prime material and dealing with mortals. The more powerful the angel the more "inhuman" their divine appearance can be and often the more harm it will cause a mortal. For example, the divine appearance of an archangel can burn a mortal to ash. 

Angels (uppercase A) are a particular group of Lawful Good Celestials that serve primarily in The Seven Heavens of  Mount Celestia.  Their groupings include Powers, Principalities, Seraphim, Thrones, Virtues, and the mighty Archangels.  This is the group that the Baalseraph once belonged to before they fell.

Archons are Neutral Good Celestials that act as guardians and warriors for the causes of good. Their roles are clearly defined in their names; Hound, Trumpet, Harbinger and Gate Archons are among the many types.

Agathós (from Agathodaemon) are mostly Chaotic Good Celestials. There are some that serve forces of Law and Neutrality within Good and their alignments will be that of whom or what they serve.  For example, the Lunars are mostly Lawful Good.  These celestials include the ranks of Devas, Planetars, Lunars, and Solars. Given the image above I should also include Auroras.

--

Anyone that has followed my blog over the years will not see a huge surprise here.  These are roughly the same classifications I was using when I was running my Buffy RPG I just didn't have a solid name yet for the "Independent Servitors of Good" aka the Chaotic Good ones. 

I still have some details to work out. What are the various powers common to all these types? Should I move the Dirae from Angels to Agathós? What other sorts of creatures need to be added to these groups? Are these the only groups?

Plus I need to make sure that whatever I come with they need to be able to stand toe to toe with the most powerful demons.  

I will say this, it has been a really fun experience sorting all this out.

Monstrous Monday: Malarea, Outcast Duke of Hell

I do love a good research project. 

Last week I posted This Old Dragon #91, which listed many outcasts devils for the AD&D 1st Edition game. Among these was Malarea (an obvious play on Malaria, and pronounced Mahl-ah -ree -ah).  Of course, I wanted to learn more about her, but there is precious little about her in the article.  So I started my deep dive.  

This is almost, but not quite, detailed enough for an In Search Of... style post, but it is perfect for a Monstrous Monday.

What Is Known

The Dragon article reveals that she is a former Duke (Duchess) of Hell. She wanted to be counted among the consorts of the Archdukes of Hell, even to the point where she had assaulted an unnamed Duke's consort and would kill all the other consorts to get her way. She is violent and erratic.

At some point after her exile to Avernus, she sought out the courtship of the up-and-coming Bel only to be rejected by him.

She is described as:

... tall, human-like female with huge black wings, which tower 6 feet above her own head when furled; in short, rather like an erinyes. Her eyes are fiery red, her hair long, greasy, and black, her body sleek but powerfully muscled and of a faintly luminescent, "ghostly" white hue. Her hands have long claws, and she has large, vampire-like fangs.

- Dragon Magainze (91), October 1984, p. 24

And...that is largely it to be honest. She has stats in Dragon 91 and a mention in Fiendish Codex II: Tyrants Of The Nine Hells for D&D 3.5.

So let me look into who might have been likely to interact with her.

Connections

Bel

The former Archduke Bel was once her quarry, but he had rebuffed her. This had to have made her even more furious than being rebuffed by any of the other Archdukes. After all, Bel was essentially just an elevated Pit Fiend, and she was an Archdevil. I would imagine that she would do anything to see him defeated or humiliated in some way.

Malagard

These two share similar names and some physical appearances, but they are quite different. I mention her here because, for a bit, I considered making them the same person. The deeper lore of both prevents this, really.

Tiamat

We know that Malarea went out of her way to avoid Tiamat. This was back in the AD&D 1st Ed lore when Tiamat was the ruler of Avernus. It has since been retconned that Zariel was the ruler, and Bel overthrew her.  So maybe, from this point of view, Malarea avoided Zariel. 

Zariel

The former and current ruler of Avernus is the former Angel Zariel. If we follow the 4e and 5e notions that all the Erinyes were former angels, it stands to reason that Malarea was also one. Malarea and Zariel are physically strong, given over to fits of rage and violence, and have similar appearances and backgrounds. Are they the same? Again, I am going to go with no. Both have elements in their backstory that are largely incompatible. Malarea seeks to be counted among the consorts of Hell. Zariel wants to destroy all the devils and rule Hell on her own.

Malarea Today

What would Malarea be up to today? I imagine her status has not changed much. While there have been great upheavals in Hell in the last 40 years, change still moves slowly for the most part. 

Malarea, Outcast Duke of Hell

Large Fiend (Diabolic, Baalseraph)

Frequency: Unique
Number Appearing: 1 (1)
Alignment: Chaotic [Lawful Evil]
Movement: 90' (30') [9"]
  Fly: 240' (90') [24"]
Armor Class: -1 [20]
Hit Dice: 21d8****** (116 hp)
 Large: 21d20****** (137 hp)
To Hit AC 0: 6 (+14)
Attacks: 1 weapon or 2 claws, 1 bite, wing buffet
Damage: Weapon +2, 1d4+2 x2, 1d4, 1d12
Special: Baalseraph powers and immunities, magic resistance (70%), regeneration (1 hp/ 2 rounds), spell-like abilities (see below), summoning, +2 or better weapons to hit
Save: Monster 21
Morale: 12 (NA)
Treasure Hoard Class: See Below
XP: 15,250 (OSE) 15,750 (LL)

Str: 17 (+2) Dex: 17 (+2) Con: 13 (+1) Int: 16 (+2) Wis: 14 (+1) Cha: 14 (+1)

From Dragon Magainze (91), October 1984, p. 24-25:

Malarea is a bitter and envious devil. She despises many of the consorts of the Nine Hells and desires (to the point of mania) to join their ranks. If she has to slay them all to claim her rightful place among them, she will do so unhesitatingly, but rude defeats on the occasions of her bold, direct assaults in the past have made her more cautious.

Malarea remains a fiercely combative, fractious devil, given to sudden berserk rages and wild physical attacks. This temperament cost her a consortship or other position in the hierarchy of the hells, and has undoubtedly earned her her present exile. She has learned little, however: if she recognizes an archdevil, duke, or unique greater devil, she will pause to ascertain their situation and intentions before she attacks - but she almost always attacks eventually, except when faced with impossible odds. Lesser devils and intruders are her prey - she will attack any such creatures immediately, swooping at them to bite (1d4 damage) and strike with a lance, spear, or other weapon gained from a previous victim, or bare-handed with her iron-hard claws (1d4+2). Malarea is a strong flyer, and often buffets airborne opponents with her great wings, or rams into them at full speed (1d12 damage).

Malarea can use the following spell-like powers at will, one at a time and once per round:  pyrotechnics, produce flame, wall of fire, detect magic, dispel magic, detect invisibility, hold person, and polymorph self. She can shed fear in a 2' radius at will (save vs. spell to avoid), and can cast a delayed blast fireball (5d6) three times per day. 

Malarea appears as a tall, human-like female with huge black wings (28' wing span), which tower 6 feet above her head when furled; in short, she is like an Erinyes. Her eyes are fiery red, her hair long, greasy, and black, her body sleek but powerfully muscled and of a faintly luminescent, ghostly white hue. Her hands have long claws, and she has large, vampire-like fangs. She

is usually encountered wearing some gaudy trophy of a previous victim - a gleaming necklace or jeweled belt, but she cares nothing for the value of such items and will carelessly discard one for another of gaudier appearance

This was Malarea as of the mid-1980s and 1st Edition AD&D.  We know from the Fiendish Codex II that she was still an outcast as of the mids 2000s and 3rd Edition D&D.  She seems to be too strong willed and angry to have changed her status. 

How desperate is she today? Would she even approach Zariel for her consortship? I can see Malarea considering it but not Zariel. Besides, both devils are far too angry at their own situations.

I think if I were to update her some more (and I have an event coming up in my games that would fit the bill) I might make her the captain of the Erinyes. Her name has Latin roots (sorta) so I might rename her into something with Greek roots. Her name is close enough to Megaera ("the jealous one") for me to work with.  I have done a lot of work with the Erinyes, the Keres, and the Dirae, so I am "in the market" for a leader of this group of devils. Someone other than Glasya. I just need to figure out who Tisiphone and Alecto are. Alecto, in particular, will be a challenge since some of her myths overlap with Nemesis's. 

This works in another way since the Eriyes/Furies were said in Ovid's Metamorphoses to guard the gates to Dis. In D&D geography, this would put them in Avernus. 

Now I just need two more unattached archdevils.

Links

• Greyhawk Wiki: Malaera
• Greyhawk Online: Malaera
• Forgotten Realms Wiki: Arch Devils, Malaera (described here as an Archdevil)

Which Witch is Which? Swords & Wizardry Edition

This month see the release of my version of the Witch for the Swords & Wizardry White Box.  If things go as planned I'll have the Winter Witch out this Yule and some others after that.

It has gotten some people asking if the books are all compatible (they are) and what features each book has to make it "Special".  I hope this help clears some of that up.

For starters, yes, there is some overlap.  The table of experience points and spells per level are all 100% the same.   There some spells in common.  For example, the 3rd level spell Bestow Curse appears in multiple books since a curse is so central to the archetype of the witch.  There is also a lot new material in each one.

The Witch for Swords & Wizardry White Box

• The Witch class, levels 1-10
• The White Witch Tradition
• 76 unique spell (out of 183 total spells)
• Monsters, treasures, and magic items

The Witch: Hedgewitch for the Hero's Journey RPG

• New Race: The Gnome
• New Professions
• The Witch class, levels 1-10 
• Hedge Witch Tradition
• 80 spells new to The Hero's Journey
• 15 new monsters

The Green Witch for Swords & Wizardry

• The Green Witch tradition 
• The Green Knight and Huntsman classes
• New race for S&W Complete: Forest Gnomes
• 200+ witch spells
• 91 Druid Spells
• 61 Magic-User spells
• 43 Cleric spells
• Places of Power for Witches and other Spellcasters 
• Monsters
• Magic Items
• The Grand Coven of the Earth Mother for Witches and Druids

The Warlock for Swords & Wizardry

• The Warlock class and Traditions
• New race: The Tieflings
• Rules for goblin, hobgoblin and bugbear warlocks
• 160+ spells
• 50+ Warlock invocations
• New monsters including the Baalseraph, Calabim, Lilim and Shedim demon groups.
• Animal Lords and Faerie Lords
• New magic items

The Witch: Aiséiligh Tradition for Swords & Wizardry

• The Aiséiligh witch Tradition
• The Daughters of the Flame Coven
• 70+, new to Swords & Wizardry spells including never before published spells.

The Witch for Swords & Wizardry Continual Light

• The Witch for S&WCL
• Three new Traditions, The Light, The Dark, and Twilight Witches
• New Spells
• Seven New Monsters

The Witch for Swords & Wizardry Light

• The Witch for S&WL

Additionally, I have my other two OSR Witch books.

The Witch: A sourcebook for Basic Edition fantasy games
This book is designed with the "Basic" rules in mind.  So Holmes, Moldvay, or Mentzer or them modern clones like Basic Fantasy or Labyrinth Lord.  Largely compatible with my Swords & Wizardry line.  In includes:

• The Witch Class
• Six Traditions (Aquarian, Classical, Faerie, Family, Maleficia and Eclectic)
• 381 New Spells
• Monsters
• Magic items

Eldritch Witchery for Spellcraft & Swordplay
Again this book is largely compatible with the S&W line, though in different ways than the Basic Witch is.  It includes.

• The Witch and Warlock classes (slightly different than the ones above)
• New Witch traditions, Craft of the Wise, Tradition of the Magna Mater,  Demonic, Faerie and Gypsy.
• New Warlock Lodges, The Dark School of the Scholomance, Fraternity of the Bones, Goetic, The Hermetic Lodge and The Secret Masters of the Invisible College.
• New Demons, the Calabim, the Shedim, the Lilim, and the Baalseraph.
• 248 spells

So 17 Witch traditions and 761 total spells!

Currently in the works:

The Winter Witch. the Winter Witch tradition, the Pact of Winter for the Warlock. New monsters and magic items. Lots of new spells.  New races

The Black Witch.  A B/X dedicated witch, levels 1 to 13.  The Black Witch Tradition (no, it's not what you think it is), lots of new spells, new magic items and maybe some monsters. Hags as a playable race.

and finally The Complete Witch a book that combines all these books into one.  Maybe...have not decided yet.

E is for Eodemon

Eodemons are another "new" race of demons I am working on.  Eodemons are the "Dawn Demons" or Proto Demons.  These are the demons that were already old and evil and sulking in the Hells.  Unlike the "devils" that were once good and then fell or "demons" that are relatively new to the scene, the Protodemons were old and evil. Their motivations are often alien to mortals and other demons.  Their numbers are few, but each one is extremely powerful.  Many are worshiped as gods, or at least, dark gods.

These are not to be confused with the Eudaemons, or beneficial demons.  Also many believe that Lilith herself is an Eodemon, but this is something she denies.  Also some scholars use the more archaic form Eolim to describe these demons.  Not to be confused with Elohim, which are also servants of Good.

For my take on these demons I am taking really, really old myths.  The one that everyone knows is Pazuzu.
How do you know him?  He was the demon in The Exorcist.

Only five Eodemons are being detailed. There maybe more, but they have thankfully remained unknown.  As a group they are more powerful than the Baalseraph, but are too independent and chaotic to work to the same ends.

While I am connecting the Baalserasph Lords with the Deadly Sins, I see the Eodemons as representing a classical element.

Dagon: Lord of the depths. This Eodemon combines the worst aspects of fish, octopi, sharks and strangely mankind.  Like most Eodemons his form constantly shifts and rearranges itself to suit his need, environment or whim.  One constant is his large, dead looking eyes. Always described as the “eyes of a fish” or a “drowned man”.
His element is Water.

Leviathan: It is supposed that this is the oldest of all the Eodemons.  Leviathan is so ancient that even other demons seem in awe of “his” age and power.  It assumed that it is a he though there is no evidence to suggest either way. Leviathan exists only for one purpose; to feed.  Leviathan can be found in the Astral realms devouring entire worlds.
"He" represents the Fifth Element of Quintessence.

Pazuzu: The Lord of the East Wind is a demon of the skies. He appears to be a well proportioned athletic male human with bronzed skin. His head is a bizarre combination of human, dragon and hawk.  His double set of wings could indicate a semi-divine nature but Lord Pazuzu denies such things.  Lord Pazuzu says a lot actually, he is the most active Eodemon in the affairs of mortals.
He represents the element Air.

Tiamat: The Queen of Monsters and Primal Chaos.  Tiamat was once a primal goddess of creation. But she desired only to destroy.  She was cast out and was already old in the hells when the Baalseraph arrived.  Evil Dragons and evil monsters still revere her as their queen and goddess.
She represents the element Water.

Tsathogga: This great demon appears as some sort of titanic frog-like monster.  It appears to be at least 50’ long or as much as 75’. There is a vague humanness about this this demon, but it’s countenance is one of an evil frog. It’s mouth is filled with rows of sharp, shark-like teeth the length of a grown man’s  arm.  It’s body is covered in open sores where oozes pour out.   Tsathogga does not bother to attack mere humans and will summon 4-9 (1d6+3) Demodands loyal only to him. Tsathogga, when he does attack, will use his tongue to attack the nearest opponent.  Human cultists worship Tsathogga, but the Demon Lord cares little for humanity.
The Lord of Toads represents the element Earth (I know, not a great fit).

So a nice collection of different myths here.

N is for Nergal

Nergal comes to us from Mesopotamian mythology, the same that gives us Pazuzu, Tiamat and Lilith (after a fashion).  He is an old god of the noon day sun, war, pestilence, disease and the planet Mars.  It could be said that he even symbolizes the worst aspects of the god that would later go on to become Ares/Mars.
Like most old gods he was later demonized by Christian authors.  He even appears in the Hebrew and Christian bibles as one of the few named demons (2 Kings, 17:30).
Christians would equate him with the Devil.  Earlier Zoroastrianism would connect him with the Angra Mainyu, or their evil spirit.

In many of the myths/stories of Nergal he is the lord of underworld, but not the sole lord.  It is a task he shares with his lover Ereshkigal, or as I like to call her, the world's first Goth chick. Depending on the story Nergal either rapes Ereshkigal, she tricks him into staying in the underworld or they have a loving relationship.  All could be true.

In various games Nergal usually gets demoted. In AD&D 1st ed and D&D 3rd ed he gets only a mention as being one of the Rabble of Devilkin.  Again this is unfortunate since it lacks a lot of what Nergal interesting.  He gets a much better writeup in the 1st Ed Deities & Demigods and his girl friend is central to many adventures and games.  I used her in my Army of Darkness/D&D mash up and again in my current 1st ed game with my kids.

Nergal

Alignment: Neutral Evil
Movement: 120'
Armor Class: -3
Hit Points (Hit Dice): 110 hp (19 HD)
Attacks: Rod (x2)
Damage: 1d8/1d8 +save vs. death on critical hit
Special: +1 or better weapon to hit, command undead, immunity to fire, electricity and poison, regeneration (1 hp/round), see in darkness, magic resistance (55%), telepathy 150 ft.
Save: F19
MORALE: 11
XP: 13,000


Nergal is the Lord of the Underworld.  While his origin is more closely aligned to the Baalseraph, he is closer in nature to a Demondand or Shedim.  He is a demon that had been a god, but was killed and returned.  He shares this quality with a number of other demon lords including Orcus.
He appears as a tall, older man with thick black hair and beard.  He stands 7' tall, but can appear taller.He wears clothing fitting a king of his time (ancient Babylon) and carries a long rod that he uses in combat.
Like most kings he prefers to stay out of combat himself.  Instead he can summon up to 4 dead enemies from a person's past to fight on his behalf.
He can also command any undead as if he were a 19th level evil cleric.
When angered his countenance changes to that of a lion with a long black mane and skin pocked as if with disease.
Nergal prefers to stay out mortal affairs except in times of war.  Other powerful demon lords (typically Shedim and Baalseraph) employ him as a general or war marshall for their wars against each other.
While Nergal has lost much of his former power he still considers himself a god and not a demon.

Links
http://www.gatewaystobabylon.com/gods/lords/undernergal.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nergal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ereshkigal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nergal_(Dungeons_%26_Dragons)
http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Nergal_(deity)
http://zyntara.com/VisualAstrologyNewsletters/van_April2006/VAN_april2006.htm

J is for Jann/Jinn

Yesterday I talked about Iblis and the demons he rules, the Shayṭān  Today I want to talk about the lesser races of the Shayṭān, the Jann or Jinn.  Now Jann have appeared in games before (and still) but they felt a little watered down to me. So if the Baalseraph are the fallen Angels or forces of good, then the Shayṭān are the fallen forces of the d'Jinn and other elemental creatures.
Jann are the weakest, being made of all the elements.  Jann are also one of the most common of the lesser demons.

Jann look human, and that is also their greatest strength. They can move about human society without anyone being the wiser.  They are not human and are quick to remind anyone that knows them that they are not.  The purpose of Jann is sow discord in human lives.  They do this through lies, theft, seduction and murder.  Their methods are very human, but they can also use magic as if they were a magic-user of 5th level.
Their demonic natures though show up in their propensity for quick anger and violence.
When Jann reach 0 hp their bodies are consumed in smokeless fire leaving only ashes.

Jann
Alignment: Chaotic (Evil)
Movement: 60'
Armor Class: 6
Hit Dice: 5 (20 hp)
Attacks: sword or by spell
Damage: 1d8
Special: Elemental protection (+1 to saves against all elemental magic)
Save: W5
MORALE: 7
XP: 300

Jann have elemental protection. Any attack that is connected with an element (fireball, lighting bolt, breath weapon) they gain a +1 bonus on their saves. This includes poison, but not gaze attacks.

Jann fill a niche for me.  Let's call them the Charmed demon-niche.  Many of the demons on Charmed looked human. They did this because it allows demons to move around in the human world easier (since there were no real restrictions on demons getting out of the Underworld) and it is cheaper on special effects.
I also like the idea of a low-level demon that can move about in society AND look completely human till you fight them.

Want to read more about Jinn?  Head over to Clare Dugmore's blog.  She is doing them today too!
http://claredugmorewrites.blogspot.com/2013/04/j-is-for-jinn.html#more

#AtoZChallenge2021: Q is for Qliphoth

One of the things I want to establish in my Basic Bestiary II is there are a LOT of different kinds of "demons" out there.  In AD&D we basically had two, then three, major groups, demons (chaotic evil), devils (lawful evil), and the awkwardly named daemons (neutral evil).  When 2nd ed came around the publisher caved to the angry mom crowd the authors came up with the replacements Tanar'ri, Baatezu, and Yugoloths respectively.  While many of us chaffed under these names they did open all the fiends up to reinterpretation.  And that was a good thing.  Also, I preferred Yugoloths over Daemons anyway. 

As the editions continued on the "Species" of fiends also grew.  The official D&D products in the 3e era added the Obyriths and Loumara types of demons to represent to oldest and youngest races respectively (not subject to the OGL) and other companies began to add their own as well. 

I myself have added the Lilim, Eodemon, Shedim, Baalserph, and Calabim fiends.  I have a few more as well.  Personally, I like the idea of all these competing hordes of fiendish creatures, fighting each other as much as they want to fight the power of good. 

Some of the newer types are not included in the SRD or part of the OGL.  For example, I can't use Obyriths in my books. I can use Pazuzu who is described as an Obyrith, I just can say anything about his "species."  I do say he is an "Eodemon" or "Dawn Demon" which is what the obyrtihs are trying to do.  Pazuzu is from world mythology so he is fair game.  Pale Night, a very powerful obyrtih is not.

This brings me to the Qliphoth.  The Qliphoth is open in terms of the Open Gaming License. The term, קְלִיפּוֹת, itself comes from Jewish Kabbalah.  So I am free to use that.   The Qliphoth in Pathfinder have a particular background.  I want something a little different, though I am likely to keep them similar just to aid people moving from system to system.  Rereading "Eodemon" as "Obyrith" is no big deal.  Having a name refer to two completely different sets of creatures is something else.   

Borrowing from the Kabbalah where Qliphoth means "Peels", "Shells" or "Husks" (mostly husks) here is what I am saying the Qliphoth are.

Qliphoth

Æons before the first demons crawled out of the Primordial Chaos or the first Angel fell to become a Baalseraph there was a race of beings of surpassing knowledge, grace, and power. Akin to gods they were and like gods they wished to be.  Not for power or glory, but for the purpose of knowing the fundamental workings of the cosmos to become one with it.  Their success was gained when they came upon a plan to shed all that was impure, unholy, and evil in their natures and discard them.  They sluffed off this evil and became luminous beings of pure energy and light.  Leaving behind the husks of what they were, tainted with unspeakable evils as only an immortal race of super-beings can produce.  These husks began of a "life" of their own. Evil, knowing they had been discarded, and festering in the darkest parts of Chaos.  It took them millennia, and in that time other creatures had come to populate the sinkholes of evil they had called their prison and home.  They despised these creatures as much as they despised their former selves and their new selves.  The Qliphoth had been born.

Qliphoth inhabits the same areas that are inhabited by the Calabim, demons of destruction, the chaotic demons that call the Primordial Chaotic abysses their home.  They share some qualities, immune to poison, possessing telepathy, and darkvision. Like other demons, they take only half damage from electricity and fire, but also acid.  Their minds are so alien to humanoids that they are resistant to any mind-affecting magics like sleep, charm, and hold spells.  All Qliphoth are the stuff of nightmares and only vaguely resemble something the human mind can process, so a save vs. Petrify or Paralysis is required when they are first seen. If the subject fails they cannot attack for 1d4 rounds.

It is said that Qliphoth exists for one reason alone, to reunite with the begins that cast them off.  Each subtype of Qliphoth is connected to a particular individual.  If they can reunite then all of that type will cease to be.  Otherwise, they will attempt to kill and devour the being that abandoned them.  Until such time they will kill and devour anything else in their path of destruction.

The Qliphoth are named for the part of the Tree of Death they are said to have originated in. 

Nehemoth.  These are whisperers or the night specters.  They are the weakest of the qliphoth having only spirit forms.

Gamaliel. These are the "obscene ones" and appear as nightmarish distortions of human figures with exceptionally large and exaggerated sexual organs. They were the unnatural sexual urges cast off by the Luminous Ones.

Samael. These Qliphoh appear as beautiful humans but all their words are lies. They drip poison and are a horror to behold in their true form which takes the shape of nightmares.

A'arab Zaraq. These are the Ravens of Dispersion.  They appear as hideous demon-headed ravens with wings of molten lava. 

Tharirion. These are are the Zomiel, giant demons coated in dark black blood that burns to the touch. They constantly fight amonst themselves unless ordered by a stronger creature.

Golachab. These creatures are demons surrounded by fire. They constantly burn the exist only to cause destruction and pain.

Gha'agsheblah. These creatures are giants with the heads of demonic cats. They eat everything they can.

Sathariel. These creatures are heads surrounded by swirling black mists. Only their glowing red eyes can be seen.  Their riddles cause madness.

Ghagiel. Huge demons with serpents wound around them.  They are found of destroying libraries and other institutions of learning and wisdom. 

Thaumiel. The most powerful of the Qliphoth. The shadow of their former selves.  Appears as a towering beast of shadow and destructive purpose. 

--

Ok. No stat block on this one yes because I am not far enough along yet to merit one.  Plus I need to get these demons to really be scary. Right now they are not.  And I'll need to read some more Kabbalah to get a good feel about what these creatures do and how to tease them apart from other types of demons.

I have some time. This is just the first draft of these guys.

Gog and Magog for Advanced Era Games

Don't you love it when you are doing a bit of research on a couple of different things and suddenly you read one thing and all these disparate threads come together as a nice whole?  Jung used to call it Synchronicity.  I say that if you bury your head in something for long enough your research numbed brain will see connections everywhere.  In either case this is some thing that clicked for me the other day.

I was doing research on the the original Balor/Type VI demons in 1st Ed AD&D and how there are only six of them.  The DMG lists them as Balor (their leader and the largest), Errtu, Ndulu, Ter-Soth, Alzoll, and Wendonai.  Wendonai.  Doesn't exactly fill you with fear does it.  Since I am using the OGC Balor as the basis of my own Baalor in my games I wanted to expand them a bit.  So these names are purely off limits (save for Balor).

That tied in with all the myths I have been reading (well, since forever) of Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales (er Walesland?).  There was a Balor there too.  Only he was a giant with one eye on his forehead and another on the back of his head. I was reading about all these giants when I came across Gogmagog.

I had been familiar with Gog and Magog and Gogmagog because of an off-hand reference on Doctor Who years and years before.  I had scribbled down that Gog and Magog were akin to Ogres, but divine.  I choose ogres because of something the Doctor said "Gog, Magog and Ogre",  pronounced 'O-gree'.  In the book of Revelations Gog and Magog were the ultimate enemies of God's people.  Though to be fair Gog and Magog hopscotch all over the Bible and one is never really sure if they are individuals, peoples, or lands.  Gog and Magog also appear in the Qur'an as a monster (the monster of Gog and Magog) or again as a land.

Recently I reread the Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien.  The chief of the Balrogs was a being known as Gothmog.  I knew I was on to something.  Obviously Tolkien, a professor of English literature and languages (especially Old English) knew of Gogmagog. In some early versions of Tolkien's work Gothmog is even described as a "son of Melkor and the ogress Fuithluin",  Later a "Gothmog" was also the orc in charge of Mordor's army in the Return of the King.  Obviously named after the Balrog (and less confusing than Glorfindel of Rivendell vs. Glorfindel of Gondolin).

All of this though has given me some ideas.

Here they are using OSRIC and  LL Advanced  Edition Companion.  All text below is considered Open for use under the OGL.

Section 15: OSRIC Chapter V copyright 2007-08 by Stuart Marshall, Chris Hopkins, James Boney, Robert Ross, Jeremy Goehring, Mike Davison, Daniel Proctor, B. Scot Hoover, Chris Cain, Bill Silvey, Floyd Canaday, Vincent Frugé and Matthew James Stanham.
Advanced Edition Companion, Copyright 2009-2010, Daniel Proctor. Author Daniel Proctor.
Adventures Dark and Deep^TM Bestiary, Copyright 2011-2013 BRW Games, LLC.
Gog and Magog for Advanced Era Games, Copyright 2015 Timothy S. Brannan.

Gog and Magog
Class F Standard Order (true) Demons
Frequency:  Very Rare (Unique Demons)
No. Encountered:  2
Size: Large, 13' (Gog), 13' 5" (Magog)
Move: 60 ft; 150 ft flying (AA:III)
Armor Class:  -3 (Gog) / -4 (Magog)
Hit Dice*: 10d8+10 (Gog), 10d8+21 (Magog)
Attacks: 1 bite or by special attack
Damage: 1d12+4
Special Attacks: Flaming great sword (2d8) (Gog) or Flaming great axe (2d8) (Magog) + 3d6 fire
Special Defenses: +2 or better magic weapon to hit
Magic Resistance: 75%
Lair Probability: 0%
Intelligence: High
Alignment: Chaotic evil
Level/XP: 9/3,750 + 13/hp**

Gog and Magog are two unique demons of the same sort of Balor.  While they are larger and more aggressive than their kin, their natures preclude them from ruling large numbers of lower demons as their brethren might.   Gog and Magog are described as "brothers" and this has never been proven by any occult scholar.  They share a physical similarity to each other.  Gog is large, predominantly red in color with black hair and beard. He wields a large flaming sword in battle.  Magog is larger, predominantly black in color with red hair and beard.  He wields a large flaming great axe.  Either causes an extra 3d6 points of fire damage per hit.
Gog and Magog can also use the following powers at will: detect invisibility, detect magic, dispel magic, fear (as the wand), pyrotechnics, read languages, read magic, suggestion, telekinesis (600 lbs.), and symbol (despair, fear, sleep, and stunning).   A +2 or better magical weapon to hit.
Unlike other demons, Gog and Magog cannot gate in lesser true demons.  Instead they may summon 2d6 demonic Ogres each.  These creatures appear as normal ogres save that their skin is red and they are immune to fire, poison, sleep and charm spells.  They also need a +1 or better magical weapon to hit.  Demonic ogres always have the maximum hitpoints for ogres.
Much like other demons, these two will bicker and fight and even plot against each other.  However when confronted with a common foe the will work together to defeat them.  They are completely loyal only to each other. They are often found in each other's company.
They are most often found on the Material Plane, the summoning ritual for one will also summon the other and only rarely in the Abyss.
They are violent, aggressive and constantly angry.  Neither is much for planning, but when pressed they are good strategists and have been used as generals by stronger Demon Lords and Princes.  They have even been known to serve the Baalseraph Ahriman, also known as Angra Mainyu.  A common tactic among the Demon Lords that engage their services are to choose a location and let the brothers go.

*Many "Advanced Era Games" use a d8 for monster HD. I prefer to use a d10 myself.
** Adjust according to your preferred system.

Monstrous Mondays: Devil, Valac

I went on a Conjuring bender last week and I lamented I did not include the demon/devil Valac in my The Left Hand Path. Well. Here is where I can fix that.

Demon or Devil?

Since I am basing this on the "historical" Valac and not the movie Valak, I need to make some choices, and these are choices I have to make pretty much with any creature. The world doesn't fit into Gygaxian taxonomy. 

Valac appears in The Lesser Key of Solomon, the demonologies of Thomas Rudd, the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, Liber Officiorum Spirituum, and the Munich Manual of Demonic Magic. Quite the CV for him, really.  In the Lesser Key, the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum and the Munich Manual of Demonic Magic, he is listed as a President of Hell.  The Liber Officiorum Spirituum lists him under two different names, Coolor or Doolas, and Rudd calls him Valu.

My typical stance is that if the demon is named and found in one of these grimories, then I tend to think of them as a "devil." Given that Volac is also a President of Hell and has an angel archenemy, I am inclined to continue that thought.  So, in Gygaxian (which we can pretend is also from Iggwilv) taxonomy, Valac is a Devil. In my classification, he is a Baalseraph.

Valac

Valac is described as having command over household spirits and serpents, which, in this case, I am going to say means poltergeists and other harmful ghosts and demonic spirits.  So he is a devil who will summon and use demons. 

DEVIL, VALAC (President of Hell)

Frequency: Very Rare
No. Appearing: 1 (unique)
Armor Class: –1
Move: 12” / 18” (flying)
Hit Dice: 13+13
% In Lair: 25%
Treasure Type: V (×2), Q (×10 gems), plus special
No. of Attacks: 3 (2 bites, 1 staff) or special
Damage/Attack: 2–12 / 2–12 / 1–8, or special
Special Attacks: Command serpents, summon spirits, cursed treasure, poison
Special Defenses: +1 or better weapon to hit, immunity to poison, half damage from fire, protection from good 10’ radius
Magic Resistance: 65%
Intelligence: Exceptional (15–16)
Alignment: Lawful Evil
Size: L (15’ tall, three-headed)
Psionic Ability: 170
-- Attack/Defense Modes: All / All
Level/XP Value: X/14,000+

Valac, also called Ualac, Volac, or Valak, is one of the Five Infernal Presidents who serve the Archdukes of Hell. He appears in his true form as a winged humanoid 15' tall and covered in scales. A child’s head rises from between two great dragon heads, borne aloft on scaled wings. He most often appears as an angelic child riding a two-headed dragon. These are seperate creatures, the child and the dragon are all one creature. His voice is gentle and coaxing, belying the cruelty within.

Valac commands serpents, both natural and monstrous, and exerts dominion over wandering household spirits, poltergeists, and harmful shades. These he calls from the Lower Planes or from the restless dead, unleashing them to plague the living. Unlike most devils, Valac traffics freely with demons, summoning them to fight in his name, though always bound by infernal compacts that assure his own mastery.

He is also known as a finder of hidden treasures, though every hoard he reveals is tainted, cursed with possession, bound to restless spirits, or poisoned by infernal enchantment. To accept Valac’s gifts is to welcome corruption into one’s home.

Valac avoids direct battle when he can, preferring to drown his enemies beneath waves of summoned serpents and spirits. In combat, each dragon head may bite for 2–12 damage, while the child’s form wields a staff of serpents (1–8 damage, plus poison save at –2).

• Summon Serpents: Once per turn, Valac may summon 1–4 giant serpents, 1 basilisk, or 1 hydra (50%) as if by gate.
• Summon Spirits: Once per day, he may summon 2–8 wraiths or 1–3 shadows to serve for 12 turns.
• Cursed Treasure: Any treasure he reveals carries a curse or haunting. Roll as per Book of Curses, or DM’s choice.
• Spell-like Abilities (at will): charm person, snake charm, invisibility, ESP, locate object.
• 3/day: true seeing, teleport without error, magic jar.

Valac’s cults are rare but feared, often operating in rural places where snakes are plentiful and tales of haunted houses spread quickly. His followers keep cursed relics and treasure-troves that spread corruption as surely as any plague.

Witches and warlocks who serve Valac gain serpentine familiars or restless household spirits, but their “blessings” always bear a hidden snare.

P is for Paimon

Paimon is another demon that was once an Angel.  When he was a Angel he was is in Lucifer's* service and remained there after the Fall.  Paimon is a great king of Hell and he commands 200 legions of demons, a full 25 legions of these demons are his personal retinue of musicians and singers that announce his arrival.  Another 10 are his court, followed by his marshals, generals, and captains. All in his court are scholars of fine learning and repute. These demons are not soldiers and are not expected to go into battle.

Paimon is great scholar in his own right, in fact he may be the greatest mind in the infernal court.  He has no desire for personal power, but he has amassed so much knowledge that no plan gets enacted that he does not know about.  His familiars granted to mages and witches never fail to teach his subjects whatever knowledge they need to know.  All he requires of course his their ever-lasting soul.
While he gives out good familiars he is never summoned himself.  It is said that in order to summon Paimon the would be conjurer first needs to learn his secret language; no small feat.  Then properly summon Paimon in this language and converse with him in it.  Anyone that attempts to summon him will instead get his two chief advisers Beball and Abalam.

Paimon appears as a man with an effeminate or even a woman's face. He ride on a camel that breathes fire.   He is richly dress and always appears kingly.  He carries a rod that he uses to command  or on the rare times that he partakes in combat.
If attacked Paimon sees fighting beneath him and will send his legions in his stead. If he found alone he will summon Beball and Abalam to fight for him.

All other Baalseraph fear him but they also value his sage advice and knowledge. None dare openly plot against him.

Paimon

Alignment: Lawful Evil
Movement: 180'
Armor Class: -2
Hit Points (Hit Dice): 125 hp (24 HD)
Attacks: Rod
Damage: 1d8 +save vs. death on critical hit
Special: +2 or better weapon to hit, immunity to fire, electricity and poison, regeneration (1 hp/round), see in darkness, magic resistance (75%), telepathy 300 ft., knows everything
Save: F24
MORALE: 11
XP: 25,000

Beball and Abalam fight as powerful (full hp) Pit Fiends.  Paimon's mount is a camel, but it possess all the same powers of the Shedim including a fire breath weapon like a red dragon.

*For the record, while I have nothing against adding Lucifer to my games it seem far to Judo-Christian for my tastes.  Especially when I can achieve the same goals using the D&D version of Asmodeus or Tharizdun.

Monstrous Mondays: Qliphoth, Gamaliel

One of the things I am most looking forward to in my Basic Bestiaries is developing new and different demonic lineages. One of these I have spoken about in the past is the Qliphoth.

The Qliphoth are the discarded husks of primordial beings.  It is natural to think of them like the husks or used exoskeletons of cicadas, or even the skins of snakes. Since these beings were more than mortals currently are and became even more ascended, their husks are more than just leftover skins or skeletons.

Case in point the Gamaliel.  

When the Primordials shed their "husks" or "peels" to be the Luminous Beings, one such husk was their dark sexual desires.  As hyper-intelligent immortal and immoral kindred, their desires were particularly dark. As they shed their evil desires their conscious and subconscious sexual desires and yearnings became the Gamaliel.

Gamaliel
Medium Fiend, Qliphoth (demon)

Frequency: Very Rare
Number Appearing: 1 (1d6)
Alignment: Chaotic [Chaotic Evil]
Movement: 120' (40') [12"]
Armor Class: 8 [11]
Hit Dice: 6d8+6*** (45 hp)
Attacks: 2 hands, 1 tongue + special
Damage: 1d6+1 x2, 1d4+1
Special: Cause delirium, Qliphoth immunities
Save: Monster 6 
Morale: 12 (12)
Treasure Hoard Class: None
XP: 1,250 (OSE) 1,280 (LL)

Str: 14 (+1) Dex: 14 (+1) Con: 18 (+3) Int: 12 (0) Wis: 7 (-1) Cha: 2 (-4)

The Gamaliel, or the Obscene Ones, were among the first of the Qliphoth to be formed.  They appear as medium-sized nearly humanoid-looking creatures.  Their hands, feet, lips, tongue, and sexual organs are enlarged to grotesque sizes in comparison to their otherwise small bodies.  They always appear nude as a mockery of the forms their progenitors eventually took on. They may appear as male or female.

Gamaliel lives for one thing only, sensory stimuli. They want to feel everything, touch, taste, smell and hear everything they can.  Yes, when possible they also try to copulate with anything and everything they can.  They lack the subtlety of the Liliam or Baalseraph or even the guile of Calabim or Shedim.  They are nearly mindless beasts that take no heed of anything but their own twisted desires.

They can attack with their huge hands for 1d6+1 points of damage each.  They may also attack with their tongues at 1d4+1.  Their saliva is such that anyone exposed to it via an attack or touch must save vs Paralysis or become delirious.  This state lasts for 2d6 turns in which case the victim is completely unaware of what is going on around them.  There is a 1 in 6 chance that if they were in a combat situation they will keep on fighting with melee attacks. Targets are chosen at random.

Gamaliel can be easily distracted by auditory and visual illusions. They save at a -2 penalty against such magics and can be effectively distracted long enough to be attacked. 

Like all Qliphoth Gamaliel have the following adjustments to damage types: 
Immune: Mundane/Cold Iron/Silver weapons, Poison
Half Damage (save for none): Acid, Cold, Electricity, Fire (Dragon/Magic/Mundane), Gas
Full Damage: Magic Missile, magic weapons, holy/blessed weapons

Unlike other Qliphoth, death (theirs or others), is not the goal of the Gamaliel.  A dead foe might have an interesting smell or touch, a live one is more interesting and you can do more with them.  For this reason, the Gamaliel are sometimes considered to be not as evil as other Qliphoth; this is a very erroneous and dangerous assumption. They are every bit as evil.  A quick death is far more merciful than being captured and becoming the plaything of a Gamaliel.

--

The mental image I had of the Gamaliel was immediate. They were life-sized versions of the "Sensory Homunculus" we used to talk about back in cognitive psychology undergrad days.  I always knew I was going to make a monster out that one day.

They are the Qliphoth counterparts to the succubi with roughly the same HD and some powers.  As I define the Qliphoth more I might increase or decrease various abilities, powers, or HD/hp. I might even make them Small sized.  Still working out all the details, but that is where the fun is!

The Witch and Eldritch Witchery

I am working hard on putting the final touches on my next two books.  The Witch and Eldritch Witchery.

They are not quite ready for full on press releases or product announcements yet,  but I am very, very excited about them.

The Witch

"The Witch" is designed to be used with "Basic Era" games.  Games that were released in the late 70s and early 80s and whose legacy is being continued with games like Labyrinth Lord and Basic Fantasy RPG.

The Witch will feature a new character class, the witch, and witchcraft Traditions so you can play any type of witch from fantasy, pulp or faerie tale.  In addition there are going to be new monsters associated with the witch as well as tons of new spells and magic items.  Many of which I have playtested over the last 12 years and some even dating back to my original notes I had written on the witch back in 1985.
Also included are appendices for extending the "Magic-User" class into a proper Wizard and Demi-human witches, something I had never considered doing in '85.


Eldritch Witchery

Eldritch Witchery is a bit different.  First it is for the Spellcraft & Swordplay game specifically.  Though it should be compatible with nearly any "old school" game or clone.

Many of the ideas that were used in "The Witch" found a home here as well, though in a different way that makes this a very different sort of class.  Actually it makes it two different sort of classes since Eldritch Witchery includes a witch and a warlock class.  As to be expected there are magic items and spells for both classes included.  This book also extends the magic of wizards, clerics and necromancers found in the S&S core rules and Monstrous Mayhem.

This book will also introduce demons to the S&S game and a new demonic hierarchy.  Make sure you know your stuff before you go into battle against the demons, a Baalseraph will have different abilities than the Calabim who are different still from the Lilim.

Which Book should You Get?
I am hoping both!  There is some overlap (I can only say "an athame is a ritual knife..." so many ways) but I am taking great pains to make sure each book has their own feel and unique material.  You could in fact get both and have three different takes on the witch, each one doing their magic a bit differently.  The traditions and lodges are not repeated between the books (save for one at present, but it makes sense to do so). Eldritch Witchery has demons, but the Witch goes into greater detail with everything.   I would say that either can be played with any version of the World's Greatest Fantasy RPG circa 1975 to 1985 and any clone based on it.

Stay tuned, I'll be posting some characters created with both books and we can see how they fare.

The planned release date is right around Halloween.