Beowulf, The First Archdemon

"Throughout my many years, I have amassed almost every secret the Yggdrasil has to offer. But the truth about The Archdemon is one of my favourites. You see, most lords of the abyss are spawned from... well, the abyss. But not Lord Beowulf. I had the pleasure of meeting him many times... when he was just a man." ~ Silenda, Scholar of Secrets

Once a lowly mortal, The tortured soul once known as Garm was an adventurer travelling throughout Midgard alongside The Griffterz, protecting the innocent and hunting the wicked, promising he would repay their cruel misdeeds a thousand times over. Having struck an arcane deal with a hag known as The Dream Eater in his childhood, the blood of the ancient demigod Fenrir runs through his veins. After Yeenoghu, The Gnoll King and Beast of Butchery was defeated, Garm left behind everything he knew and loved to usurp the Demon Lord's reign of The Death Dells. The half-orc Lycanthrope then came to be known as Beowulf, The War Wolf, Killer of Killers and The First Archdemon of The Abyss, swearing that the affairs of Demonkind will never touch Midgard again.

Origin

After the massacre of Tarak Heill's wolf pack in The Sordid Spires, his anguished mind fractured in two. The fracture became an entity within The Half-Orc's psyche; a rageful beast known as The Other. Despite his bottomless anger and resentment of the world he was spawned into, The Other loved only one thing; the very broken soul that created him. He devoted his existence to protecting Tarak, promising to help him achieve everything he would ever desire, and to this end, The Other created the Mantra the two would forever live by: "Lament not our solitude, for it is our blessing. Seek not love, for it is our shackle. Seize every power, for it is our right. And bring vengeance, for it is our purpose." Although the two would often disagree, their bond ran deeper than any blood tie could ever hope to, and from their Yin and Yang duality, Garm was born.

Years later, having found himself among a congregation of misfits and outcasts, Garm became a founding member of the heroes known as The Griffterz, alongside the mild-mannered Peregrine Of Strawnest, the eccentric Prince Fenwick of King's Grove, and the radiant Marla of The Feywild. Together, they travelled all throughout Bahoch, and became renowned heroes of Midgard against the forces of evil. Garm, growing ever dissatisfied, gained a reputation as the most controversial party member due to his extreme and often cruel methods. After the death of Baaltro Thesis, a trusted friend and 5th member of The Grifferz, Garm would sacrifice his own right hand to fuse with a powerful demonic blade known as the Zealot's Carpal Sword, the very weapon that plunged through the heart of his dear friend. Many months and countless adventures later, after finding himself betrayed by the Aesir, Garm had an epiphany: No matter how many acts of good The Griffterz spread throughout the lands, their legacy was a mere blink in existence. Their greatest adversary, The Demon Lord Yeenoghu, was neither the the only threat to Midgard nor was he the most powerful. And the late Vampire Lord Carlisle D'amor, as spiteful and bitter as he was, was correct; The gods cared nothing for Midgard, and they would bring no salvation, now or ever. It was then that Garm realised what he must do; he could never stop evil. But maybe he could control it.

Under the guidance of The Other, Garm began to toil in secret. The Zealot's Carpal Sword, now named The Usurper's Carpal Sord, was just the beginning on his path to becoming the Demon that would hunt all other demons. From there he would amass a great army in the Carrion Wastes, made up of Yeenoghu's own converted Gnolls and a Snivelling white dragon named Isklo. Garm would even study the theory of liches and their phylacteries, and use the knowledge to turn his own body into an anchor for The Other's new spectral vessel. Finally, in a fleeting moment of clairvoyance, Garm would use his friend, Stolas of Fataal, to extend an olive branch towards the gods that betrayed him; "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Though they would never make amends, Garm would allow Hel to use Garm's abyssal layer as a base of operations, allowing them to coexist and cooperate in their shared war against demonkind. The only condition of this arrangement was to turn over the imprisoned Fenrir to Garm's custody, where they would be free to roam and kill to their heart's content alongside one another, free from the oppression of The Aesir. Upon finally slaughtering Yeenoghu and seizing his throne, Garm changed his name one final time to Beowulf, at last liberated of his prison of flesh and bone, unshackled from the chains of dogma and decadence. He turned his hatred to all beings of The Abyss, from the lowliest Ghoul to The most powerful Lord, swearing to eradicate them all from existence, even if it takes until the end of time.

Beowulf's lair in the Abyss is an enormous cave called Gnipahellir II. Outside, The heart of a great storm rages, and seldom a minute passes without the deafening crash of lightning. The surrounding tundra's are vast and lethal, burying any relics of Yeenoghu's rule beneath dozens of feet of snow and ice. The area is populated by Gnolls, Werewolves, Tanarruk, and Beowulf's beloved wolf spirits. Devils from Hel's forces are occasionally sighted in the region; a testament to the tenuous alliance between The Death Dells and The Nine Hells. Inside the cave is a domain of blood and savagery, where Beowulf sits atop a throne of bones and The Other skulks amongst the shadows; ever ready to strike. Beneath the cave is a colossal pit where Beowulf's pet resides; a Goristro named Gaismagorm. Strewn throughout the lair are the many corpses and weapons of Felled Demon Lords, Lesser Fiends and any Devils or travellers foolish enough to enter. Beowulf is seldom in his own layer; often preoccupied with his eternal war, and rarely leaves his lair when he is home. To behold him outside of Gnipahellir is a telling omen: the war begins once again.

The region containing Beowulf's lair is warped by its magic, creating one or more of the following effects:

• Beasts within 6 miles of the lair become frightened and disoriented, as though constantly under threat of being hunted, and might lash out or panic even when no visible threat is nearby.
• Within 1 mile of the lair, a terrible blizzard of blood ice and red lightning rages, making navigation of the area exceedingly difficult.
• If a humanoid spends at least 1 hour within 1 mile of the lair, that creature must succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or descend into a madness determined by the Madness of Beowulf table. A creature that succeeds on this saving throw can't be affected by this regional effect again for 24 hours.

If Beowulf dies, these effects fade over the course of 1d10 days.

Madness of Beowulf

If a creature goes mad in Beowulf's lair or within line of sight of the demon lord, roll on the Madness of Beowulf table to determine the nature of the madness, which is a character flaw that lasts until cured.

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Beowulf can take a lair action to cause one of the following effects:

Beowulf chooses a weapon claimed from a slain Demon Lord and moves up to its speed, then makes an attack with the chosen weapon. It cannot use the same weapon two rounds in a row. Roll (1d6) to determine the weapon used:

• 1-2: Yeenoghu's flail: Beowulf makes three attacks. Melee Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, reach 10ft, one target. Hit: (3d12 + 10) Bludgeoning Damage.

• 3-4: Baphomet's Heartcleaver: Beowulf makes four attacks. Melee Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, reach 10ft, one target. Hit: (2d10 + 10) Force Damage.

• 5-6: Graz'zt's Waves of Sorrow (Greatsword): Beowulf makes three attacks. Melee Weapon Attack: +18 to hit, reach 10ft, one target. Hit: (4d6 + 10) slashing damage plus (3d6) acid damage.

Beowulf creates a howling storm of blood ice and red lightning in a 40ft cone within range. Until the next initiative count 20, the area is heavily obscured by the swirling storm. When the storm appears, each creature in the area takes (4d8) cold damage and (4d8) lightning damage, or half as much damage with a successful DC 23 Constitution saving throw. A creature also makes this saving throw and takes damage when it enters the area for the first time on a turn or ends its turn there. In addition, a creature that takes damage from this spell has disadvantage on Constitution saving throws to maintain concentration until the start of its next turn. Beowulf is immune to this effect.