Innate Spellcasting. Ahrimanes’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 18), He can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: detect magic, major image
3/day each: dispel magic, fear, invisibility, telekinesis, mislead
1/day each: teleport, feeblemind, project image
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Ahrimanes fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. Ahrimanes has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. Ahrimanes’s natural attacks are considered magical.
Multiattack. Ahrimanes makes two claw attacks and a bite attack. If an attack hits, he can cause it to create an additional effect of his choice or at random (each effect can be used only once per Multiattack):
1. The attack deals an extra 13 (2d12) slashing damage.
2. The target must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or be paralyzed until the start of Ahrimanes' next turn.
3. The target must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or be affected by the confusion spell until the start of Ahrimanes' next turn.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (1d12 + 9) slashing damage.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (1d10 + 9) piercing damage.
Ahrimanes can take 2 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Ahrimanes regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.
Swat Away. Ahrimanes makes a claw attack. If the attack hits, the target must succeed on a DC 24 Strength saving throw or be pushed 15 feet in a straight line away from Ahrimanes. If the saving throw fails by 5 or more, the target falls prone.
Sow Discord. Ahrimanes casts Crown of Madness or Dissonant Whispers.
Description
Ahrimanes, known as the Chief of the Cacodaemons, is the demon lord of exiles and wanderers. Ahrimanes is a naked nine-foot-tall humanoid with inky blue skin and blackened wings. His face is a knot of writhing larvae from which spews a swarm of flies.
Ahrimanes is a former planetar who fell from the Upper Planes before the creation of the mortal world. He considered the gods to be childish and capricious, and fomented rebellion against them. The gods banished Ahrimanes and his followers, using their servants, the still-angelic Baalzebul, Iblis, and Sariel, as instruments of their will. All three celestial beings would later follow Ahrimanes into exile after rebellions of their own.
Now an exile, Ahrimanes wandered the still-unformed cosmos for a thousand years until the creation of mortals and the subsequent rebellion of those who had once enforced the gods decrees (including Asmodeus, who Ahrimanes considered to be his heir). After laughing at the misfortune of his erstwhile tormentors, he finally ended his wanderings and established a realm of his own from which he does his best to corrupt mortals to send their souls on their own wanderings into the depths of the Lower Planes.
Ahrimanes dwells on the 452nd layer of the Abyss, known as Ahriman-abad.
Lair and Lair Actions
Ahrimanes' Lair
The Lair of Ahrimanes, the demon lord of exiles, found within the 452nd layer of the Abyss, is a place of perpetual torment and despair, designed to break the spirits of even the most resilient souls. The Lair is marked by towering obsidian gates, adorned with twisted symbols of suffering and agony. As you pass through these gates, the air grows colder, and the darkness becomes almost suffocating. The ground is littered with jagged rocks and bones, and the distant sound of moaning echoes through the cavernous halls. The Lair itself is a vast labyrinth of winding tunnels and caverns, illuminated only by the sickly glow of bioluminescent fungi clinging to the walls.
The architecture is nightmarish, with grotesque statues depicting scenes of torture and torment at every turn. At the heart of the Lair lies Ahrimanes' throne room, a chamber of pure darkness where the demon lord holds court over his legions of exiles. The throne itself is a twisted monstrosity of bone and sinew, surrounded by a swirling vortex of dark energy that seems to consume all light and hope. But perhaps the most chilling aspect of the Lair is the constant sense of isolation and despair that hangs heavy in the air. The souls trapped within its depths are doomed to suffer for all eternity, their screams echoing off the walls as a grim reminder of the futility of hope in this accursed place.
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Ahrimanes can take a lair action to cause one of the following effects; he can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row.
- Ahrimanes' voice booms throughout the lair. His utterance causes one creature of his choice to be subjected to power Word kill (save DC 23). Ahrimanes needn't see the
creature, but must be aware of the creature in the lair. - Ahrimanes casts Confusion (DC 17) on a creature in his lair he is aware of.
Regional Effects
The region containing Ahrimanes' lair is warped by his magic, creating one or more of the following effects:
- Within 3 miles of the lair, roads and paths seem to possess a consciousness of their own, shifting and transforming in response to the ever-changing whims of Ahrimanes.
- The air becomes filled with the stench of rotting flesh and buzzing flies grow thick within the region, even when there is no carrion to be found.
- If a humanoid spends at least 1 hour within 1 mile of the lair, that creature must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw or descend into a madness determined by the Madness of Ahrimanes table. A creature that succeeds on this saving throw can’t be affected by this regional effect again for 24 hours.
If Ahrimanes dies, these effects fade over the course of 1d10 days.
Madness of Ahrimanes
If a creature goes mad in Ahrimanes' lair or within line of sight of the demon lord, roll on the Madness of Ahrimanes table to determine the nature of the madness, which is a character flaw that lasts until cured. See the DM's Guide for more on madness.
Madness of Ahrimanes
| d100 | Flaw (lasts until cured) |
|---|---|
| 01–20 | “I get caught up in the flow of anger, and try to stoke others around me into forming an angry mob.” |
| 21–40 | “I convince myself that things are true, even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.” |
| 41–60 | “I rail against the laws and customs of civilization, attempting to return to a more primitive time.” |
| 61–80 | “I hunger for the deaths of others, and am constantly starting fights in the hope of seeing bloodshed.” |
| 81–00 | “I keep trophies from the bodies I have slain, turning them into adornments.” |
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