[JUST FOR A LIL BACKSTORY] My story is widely influenced by beings of other planes of existence and two that I have been on for a while with is Demons and Devils. Currently (The Players dont know this) The Islands of 1000 discoveries have been a high spot for the essence of magic and tearing of the planes which is causing the eruption of all these things coming to the land.]
Now upon wanting to incorporate this widely into my campaign i noticed that a general amount of them are stronger (more stronger ones than weaker) So i wanted to homebrew a couple to give the players a good fight but keep it lore friendly at the same time.
So my question to all of you browsing the forums is.... What are the innate abilities of What a demon/devil is? Like what is the foundation of what makes a Demon a Demon and etc. Any help or guidance would be much apreciated.
In a campaign I had participated in once, and this is probably true for just some basic D&D rules, Devils were the people in charge with Demons as their henchmen. Something interesting you could do would have a powerful Demon appear to be the main threat by running the other Demons, but then reveal that their just a figurehead for a bigger, badder Devil or Devil organization that has really been orchestrating the entire magical happenings of the campaign. But that's just a suggestion.
I wish the best of luck for you and your campaign.
My favorite Devil moments revolve around players agreeing to some kind of contract and then having it go sour on them because they weren't thinking too hard. Players with low wisdom scores, and questionable alignments, should be particularly susceptible to this kind of trope.
I've always played devils as the terrifying things that want to kill, eat or "sin" without any reason other than the fun and enjoyment of it. Low level demons might be responsible for eating too much food or drinking too much mead. Those are certainly low level adventures. Think of Slimer from the ghost busters. He doesn't really do anything harmful, but he always creates a mess and eats a ton of garbage food.
I also agree with the above post about Devils being in charge and Demons being the fodder for their plans. But never forget the Blood War. #neverforget
Ive never heard on the blood war... I guess I have some reading to do, hahah
I do not have a lot of specifics but from my understanding, it is basically an endless war between demons and devils.
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Devils and Demons have different goals (and alignment), live in different planes and follow different hierarchy structures. Depending on the theme of your campaign, one may be a better fit then the other. Also take a look at the Devil and Demons sections in the MM - they give some back story and abilities.
PS: At the end of the day, you're the DM - so if something sounds cool/fun/crazy awesome - do what you think is best. :D
So my question to all of you browsing the forums is.... What are the innate abilities of What a demon/devil is? Like what is the foundation of what makes a Demon a Demon and etc. Any help or guidance would be much apreciated.
First let me say, as others probably have that demons and devils are completely different in d&d and should not be lumped in with each other. It seems like you want to know about demons, so I will stick with them.
If you're wanting to know about mechanics, most demons have magic resistance, resistances to cold, fire, and lightning, as well as high strength and con scores. Demons are ranked in power by types with the stronger ones coming in at type 4 (Nalfeshnees), Type 5 (Mariliths) and Type 6 (Balors, and Goristros). Type 4 and up usually have high mental stats, the ability to teleport other lesser demons in to aid them, and the innate teleport ability that they can use as an action (these are not spells) with the exception being the goristro. If you want to make demons from scratch, start with these things in mind.
Narratively, demons come from a wound in the universe called the Abyss. It acts like a cosmic cancer and spawns innumerable horrors that prey upon each other and any other creatures or worlds that they can come across. Best comparison for a demon (you might laugh) but I have long believed that conceptually they are akin to evil pokemon. They grow in strength by fighting, killing, and devouring souls and when a particular demon has reached a certain point they evolve into a stronger demon. Nalfeshnee --> Marilith ---> Balor, not necessarily in that order either but you get my meaning. The ultimate goal of a demon is to gather enough strength to become a demon lord, which fits the criteria of Type 7, but they are so much more powerful and dangerous than regular demons that they aren't worth being included.
Very few demons make it this far because of the volatile nature of the abyss, it is literally a plane filled with blood thirsty psychopathic entities running around killing and eating each other in a constant cycle of chaos and death. Like a twisted version of Jurassic park after the dinos get lose. The demons that make it to demon lords gain reality warping abilities and can exude control over different demesnes in the plane called layers. These demon lords act much like feudal warlords and are in a constant state of war with one another.
So, now that you know a little bit about demons and the Abyss, I can wrap up your last question. The foundation of a demon is a creature birthed by a vast cosmic evil force, these creature's goals are to cause destruction madness and terror wherever they go. This allows them to grow in power and hopefully evolve into even bigger threats to the realm. Thankfully for everyone else, most demons are in the Abyss and don't have a method of getting to the material plane. Sometimes though, there are evil spellcasters that summon them, demon cysts (places where the material plane and the abyss intersect and allow creatures from the Abyss and material to cross between the two planes) or a demon lord uses their magic to cross over bringing others with them. These events should be treated as a threat to cities and even nations if they are left unchecked.
The Blood war is still on going, although not to the extent that it once was due to Asmodeus's ascension to godhood and intervention. It doesn't have to be a part of your campaign. Basically the devils act like the jailers for demon kind and prevent them from spreading through the lower planes like an epidemic.
[JUST FOR A LIL BACKSTORY] My story is widely influenced by beings of other planes of existence and two that I have been on for a while with is Demons and Devils. Currently (The Players dont know this) The Islands of 1000 discoveries have been a high spot for the essence of magic and tearing of the planes which is causing the eruption of all these things coming to the land.]
Now upon wanting to incorporate this widely into my campaign i noticed that a general amount of them are stronger (more stronger ones than weaker) So i wanted to homebrew a couple to give the players a good fight but keep it lore friendly at the same time.
So my question to all of you browsing the forums is.... What are the innate abilities of What a demon/devil is? Like what is the foundation of what makes a Demon a Demon and etc. Any help or guidance would be much apreciated.
Demons are CE. Devils are LE. Most other fiends are NE.
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In a campaign I had participated in once, and this is probably true for just some basic D&D rules, Devils were the people in charge with Demons as their henchmen. Something interesting you could do would have a powerful Demon appear to be the main threat by running the other Demons, but then reveal that their just a figurehead for a bigger, badder Devil or Devil organization that has really been orchestrating the entire magical happenings of the campaign. But that's just a suggestion.
I wish the best of luck for you and your campaign.
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My favorite Devil moments revolve around players agreeing to some kind of contract and then having it go sour on them because they weren't thinking too hard. Players with low wisdom scores, and questionable alignments, should be particularly susceptible to this kind of trope.
I've always played devils as the terrifying things that want to kill, eat or "sin" without any reason other than the fun and enjoyment of it. Low level demons might be responsible for eating too much food or drinking too much mead. Those are certainly low level adventures. Think of Slimer from the ghost busters. He doesn't really do anything harmful, but he always creates a mess and eats a ton of garbage food.
I also agree with the above post about Devils being in charge and Demons being the fodder for their plans. But never forget the Blood War. #neverforget
Ive never heard on the blood war... I guess I have some reading to do, hahah
GM of The Bonus Role - We are playing a 5E game set in my homebrew world of Audra check us out Sunday's at 10 AM CST and follow us at the following social media links.
https://www.twitch.tv/thebonusrole
@BonusRole
Devils and Demons have different goals (and alignment), live in different planes and follow different hierarchy structures. Depending on the theme of your campaign, one may be a better fit then the other. Also take a look at the Devil and Demons sections in the MM - they give some back story and abilities.
PS: At the end of the day, you're the DM - so if something sounds cool/fun/crazy awesome - do what you think is best. :D
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The Blood war is still on going, although not to the extent that it once was due to Asmodeus's ascension to godhood and intervention. It doesn't have to be a part of your campaign. Basically the devils act like the jailers for demon kind and prevent them from spreading through the lower planes like an epidemic.