Demon (Overview)

Demons as a planar monster type in OD&D

Demons are evil, extra-planar beings who populate the various demi-planes of Chaosium. All demons are Chaotic and they thrive on misery and disorder. For the unitiated, the demi-planes of Chaosium are summarised below:

Demonic society is a loose amalgamation of varied motivations and self-interests. Demons lack any compassion or remorse, though they are usually intelligent (or cunning, at least). As a result, they prey on and torment any being weaker then they, but they will, at least outwardly, defer to more powerful creatures as the situation (and their advantage) warrants.

Being Chaotic, demons do not organise themselves into any structured order or hierarchy. Rulership is based on power and the ability to wield it. Demon "lords" may hold sway over as few as a dozen underlings or as many as hundreds, and they may be in power only long enough to achieve some personal goal, avenge some wrong, obtain something of value, corrupt an influential mortal, or satisfy an agreement with some other planar entity. Of course, with each demon serving nothing so important as his own agenda, loyalty to liege or vassal is transient, and it's quite common for a demon lord to be deposed by underlings who manage to gain—however temporarily—the upper hand.

As a result of such disparate motivations, demons are a restless lot, and when they are not waging open war amongst each other, they engage in multi-layered power struggles that span Chaosium. In these struggles, demon lords wield their underlings like pawns, heedless of the casualties they might suffer or the pain and misery they cause.

All demons have true forms and true names, and they are acutally the product of chaotic souls from the Prime Plane. When a soul first enters Chaosium, it undergoes a transformation as its essence is bound to the demi-plane on which it arrived. The binding process takes one full game year per HD of the demon formed from the soul (DM discretion). Demons cannot be killed outside Chaosium, and when vanquished elsewhere (as, for example, on the Prime Plane), only their physical form is defeated. Their essence is transported back to Chaosium, where they must undergo the binding process anew. In game terms, this means that the demon cannot leave his demi-plane for one year per hit die. Any attempt to control, banish, or slay a demon through magical of divine means is improved by +1 if the demon's true name is known.

Despite their myriad variations, all demons share a number of characteristics:

All demons possess the following spell-like powers: darkness, dimension door, and protection from good. Each power conforms to the spell of the same name, and each may be cast once per turn. Demons may also gate in a certain number of other demons (once each day per 2HD; success equals 15% +5%/HD). Demons are able to see in darkness as well as in light; this power is not infravisual, and is therefore not affected by temperature variations.

Demons are affected by attack forms differently than other creatures, as summarised on the table below:

Finally, all demons possess a unique form of telepathy which allows them to communicate with any intelligent life form, regardless of actual language known.

(DM Note: for purposes of determining experience point value, the powers above are equivalent to six special abilities, or 6 asterisks.)