Homebrew Abishai Species Details

"Tiamat is a force of Chaos bound to a place of Law. Are abishai her servants or her jailors?"

— Mordenkainen

 

Description

Abishais appear to be archetypal devils due to their strong resemblance to gothic gargoyles, being thin, clawed reptilians with large, leathery, bat-like wings. Their tails are prehensile, constantly whipped around their bodies and are tipped with a hidden barb. An abishai's eyes are slanted and from their fanged, snapping jaws comes a rasping voice. Atop their visage is a pair of small horns, snake-like hair, and pointed ears. Strangely, their presence brings with them the smell of vinegar and a perceptible increase in the warmth of the air.

They come in five different colors: red, white, black, green and blue, but the scales that adorn their skin are duller than those of their true, chromatic counterparts. Their size is said to correspond to their station but in general they are 250‒500 lb  devils that can reach heights between 4‒8 ft  tall.

Personality

Abishais are arrogant devils that view themselves as the purest children of Tiamat and as such view themselves as superior to both her other underlings and other baatezu. They draw both their philosophical stances and demeanor from their queen and swear fealty to her.

Their sense of rivalry extends not only to other devils but to different breeds of abishai, and due to their intense sense of classism they only interact with abishais of immediately higher or lower rank, and even then on sufferance. At the same time, they are irritated by their own low status and state of servitude, and so take great pleasure in tormenting not only the few baatezu lower in the infernal hierarchy than themselves but also have a practically clinical fascination with discovering the depths of mortal suffering.

Society

Scaled devils are both the torturers and wardens of the Nine Hells, but particularly of the first two layers, responsible for keeping watch of captives and processing prisoners to the correct layers. Wings, two or three abishais, are the most common grouping of their kind, in charge of hunting down fugitives that escaped from the prisons of Hell. Wails are groups of three to twelve that operate the prison compounds and guard scores of captives. When not acting as prison guards abishais instead serve as low-level grunts in the Blood War, assembling into large legions alongside other devils to fight off demons and any others that would try to invade Hell. Lone abishais often have the task of sending messages or scouting.

Individual abishais are also given the task of tempting and corrupting mortals with gold, gems, and magical items, and as such often have access to great resources despite their low station. Mortals that agree to their vile pacts are often deceived as the abishais give magic of such intense power that those inexperienced in magic often lose control of it. Weaker abishai are some of the most commonly summoned devils, giving them ample opportunities to seduce mortals with offers of power, but they also disguise themselves as more powerful baatezu in order to tempt mortals that had willingly come to Baator. Contrary to what one might expect from dragon-like creatures, abashais do not personally care for gemstones and normally invest their wealth into protective magical implements, potions and coins, although rarely they can be found delivering gems to greater devils.

As a Player

Most Abishai who are out and about in the Forgotten Realms have been exiled from Tiamat's service in some way.  Perhaps they are being blackmailed into following orders.  Perhaps they encountered something which altered their alignment and they no longer wished to serve the Nine Hells, always on the run for their masters.  Or perhaps they still serve their orders and are in the world to tempt and corrupt.

Abishai Names

Abishai have names very similar to some kinds of traditional demons.

Male names:  Biurpan, Nobir, Crumiss, Hukkass, Othrus, Sthondiundew, Ghaalthixtriw, Yulmultiux, Ezurkoss, Sthaggoirtuhr

Female names: Bleathroa, Soirezi, Khonna, Gournoa, Vikiah, Choldauhloi, Stulmuntiaza, Dhiphuttui, Pauthraabatha, Cearnauzziuza

Abishai Traits

Through determination and clever thinking, even early mistakes can be overcome.

Ability Score Increase

Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.

Languages

You can read and speak Common, Infernal, and Draconic.

Chromatic Influence

Depending on the type of abishai, they have resistance to certain types of damage, and their tails cause a different effect tied to their chromatic type.

Size

Abishai can range from four to eight feet tall, weighing 250-500 pounds.  Your size is Medium.

Age

Abishai do not count their lives before their transformation in their ages.  However, they can live up to 1200 years.

Creatures of Hell

You are vulnerable to Radiant damage.