I'm working up a life domain cleric and thinking that she would venerate life and avoid taking it when she can. She'd also want to stop the forces of death and destruction. I imagine her being willing to kill a goblin or other "earthly" creatures when needed but then saying a little prayer and purification afterwards. But then I imagined something like a demon and I'm not really sure if they are considered living beings. Do they give birth to young and die of old age? And other related "life" questions, culture, society, etc.
I can do some of my own reading and research but thought I'd ask here first.
demons are mostly already dead they can reproduce by conventinional means and can not die of old age because they do not age
demons are born a chaotic evil creature dies in the material plane or just kinda randomly
they only die if killed in the abyss
some demons can also "reproduce" by killing creatures and possesing their bodies, straight up turning them into demons or even by infecting them and making their head sprout of their body and grow wings
Long answer: Demons are made of the stuff of the abyss itself, they cannot die as long as the Abyss exists. If killed anywhere, they return to the Abyss to be reborn. If killed in the Abyss, they merge with the stuff of the plane. Demons are also what becomes of Chaotic Evil souls, so they can't die due to already being in the afterlife.
I'd direct this question to your DM as well. Their cosmology might differ from "stock D&D."
Do demons die of old age? Some probably spontaneously combust due to chaos. Many live long enough to be eaten by other demons. It would be unusual for a demon to die of old age per se, since they're basically ideas, rather than biological life, but the Abyss churns out infinite numbers of them, so one of them could have done so at some point, just by accident.
Do they have a society? In "stock D&D" - kinda - although it's obviously very chaotic. Usually it's visualized as more fractious and factionalized, with powerful warlords controlling a layer or two of the Abyss and commanding a smaller retinue of followers, who follow partly out of fear and partly out of opportunism, like pilot fish swimming alongside a shark.
If you're looking to establish a "code against killing" a la Superman: Fiends are a good exception since they are only sent back to their home plane. Other usual exceptions would be things like Undead; Constructs; Elementals; and probably Oozes.
If you're looking to establish a "code against killing" a la Superman: Fiends are a good exception since they are only sent back to their home plane. Other usual exceptions would be things like Undead; Constructs; Elementals; and probably Oozes.
Not as an absolute stance, killing to protect life being sometimes necessary, but still not to be taken lightly.
Thanks though, that short list helps clarify the character a bit more.
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I'm working up a life domain cleric and thinking that she would venerate life and avoid taking it when she can. She'd also want to stop the forces of death and destruction. I imagine her being willing to kill a goblin or other "earthly" creatures when needed but then saying a little prayer and purification afterwards. But then I imagined something like a demon and I'm not really sure if they are considered living beings. Do they give birth to young and die of old age? And other related "life" questions, culture, society, etc.
I can do some of my own reading and research but thought I'd ask here first.
demons are mostly already dead they can reproduce by conventinional means and can not die of old age because they do not age
demons are born a chaotic evil creature dies in the material plane or just kinda randomly
they only die if killed in the abyss
some demons can also "reproduce" by killing creatures and possesing their bodies, straight up turning them into demons or even by infecting them and making their head sprout of their body and grow wings
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Short answer: no
Long answer: Demons are made of the stuff of the abyss itself, they cannot die as long as the Abyss exists. If killed anywhere, they return to the Abyss to be reborn. If killed in the Abyss, they merge with the stuff of the plane. Demons are also what becomes of Chaotic Evil souls, so they can't die due to already being in the afterlife.
I'd direct this question to your DM as well. Their cosmology might differ from "stock D&D."
Do demons die of old age? Some probably spontaneously combust due to chaos. Many live long enough to be eaten by other demons. It would be unusual for a demon to die of old age per se, since they're basically ideas, rather than biological life, but the Abyss churns out infinite numbers of them, so one of them could have done so at some point, just by accident.
Do they have a society? In "stock D&D" - kinda - although it's obviously very chaotic. Usually it's visualized as more fractious and factionalized, with powerful warlords controlling a layer or two of the Abyss and commanding a smaller retinue of followers, who follow partly out of fear and partly out of opportunism, like pilot fish swimming alongside a shark.
If you're looking to establish a "code against killing" a la Superman: Fiends are a good exception since they are only sent back to their home plane. Other usual exceptions would be things like Undead; Constructs; Elementals; and probably Oozes.
Not as an absolute stance, killing to protect life being sometimes necessary, but still not to be taken lightly.
Thanks though, that short list helps clarify the character a bit more.