Demon Lord

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    Demonic powers swarm throughout the lower planes without number. Ancient beasts fade from mortal history, only to reappear eons later when their schemes draw them back to the Material Plane.

    Demon Lord of Cockroaches

    Of all the demons lurking in the Abyss, few are as vile and disgusting as the lord of cockroaches. His filth-slicked mandibles clack ceaselessly for the flesh and souls of humanoids.

    Civilization’s Corruption. Although the lord of cockroaches has sired an entire race in his image, he craves followers among humans, elves, and other races as a means of corrupting civilization, rotting it from within. Despite his repulsiveness, Akyishigal has followers among the urban dispossessed, the slum-dwelling poor, and those who lurk in lightless undercities. His shrines are tended in abandoned houses, tanneries and butcher yards, as well as in sewers and similar places.

    Filth Sacrifices. In these shrines, kidnapped victims find themselves submerged in filth up to their necks. While the demon lord’s cultists chant, sacramental roaches feast on the prisoner’s eyes and tongue. A victim who survives the rite is dumped back onto the streets.

    Persistent Cults. Akyishigal’s cults are almost as difficult to stamp out as real cockroach infestations. No matter how they are driven off or crushed, followers resurface among the teeming mobs of the downtrodden. Typical worshipers include evil humanoids, particularly kobolds and goblins as well as roachlings, minor demons, slaves, thralls, and shadow creatures of all stripes.

    Demon Lord of Night

    The Silent Black, Eyes in the Night, the Dark Hunter, is the demon lord of night and the creatures that prowl it. He has a particular affinity for owls; the stryx and owl harpies are both offshoots of his influence. Any shadow or dark corner at night might carry whispers to his ears. The Demon Lord of Night delights in music, though his favorite songs are said to grate mortal sanity to shreds. His huffed breath reeks of carrion.

    He is composed mostly of darkness, with some features of a monstrous owl. He stands over 15 feet tall, and dark gray feathers with lighter speckles and bands cover his body. His head is that of a great owl with back-swept horns and massive, bulbous eyes that gleam yellow. His body is thin and such a deep black that it drinks in light. His feathery wings are long enough to wrap around his whole body.

    Demon Lord of Bats and Fire

    Camazotz looks like a hunched, lean man, covered in short black fur and with large membranous wings. His lips, pulled back in a sinister smile, reveal a mouth lined with crooked, needlelike teeth. His eyes glow red like burning embers of hate. Long arms end in cruel claws, and the air around him shimmers with waves of intense heat.

    Underworld Bat Lord. Camazotz is a being of pure savagery and hatred-a vile demon that holds sway over bats, vampires, and the lightless places of the underworld. In the deep recesses of the earth and the caves connecting to the surface, he waits restlessly until the slow creep of night engulfs the land, releasing him to feed and spread terror.

    New Fiery Mantle. Recently, Camazotz stole the fire aspect of the decrepit Huhueteotl, Lord of the Hearth and the Fire of Life.

    With his new prestige, Camazotz has attracted new followers, served notice to the gods of his ascendancy, and solidified his place in the Abyss as a power to be reckoned with. Cults of derro, goblins, and humans praise his name in the darkness.

    Emerging from Darkness. With his blindsense, Camazotz much prefers darkness to light, but with his new ability to play with fire and light, he grows increasingly confident in daylight.

    Demon Lord of Cannibal Apes

    A yellow-green fire burns atop the head of this towering, red-furred demon, which resembles an enormous mandrill. It has massive, muscular arms tipped with razor-sharp claws, and a slavering jaw filled with huge fangs and tusks that curl back almost to its blue cheeks. Standing 25-feet-tall, Mechuiti can stand erect like a human or walk on its knuckles, like a great ape.

    Bloodskull Island. After being expelled from the sweltering jungles and deadly swamps of the Hell of Cannibals, Mechuiti was coughed out of a volcanic portal into an island prison called Bloodskull. Here he schemes and plots his revenge while breeding demonic minions: tieflings, fiendish beasts, and behtu.

    Bound But Dangerous. Despite being imprisoned on his island, Mechuiti has remained a terror through the ages. Only with the most powerful magic and technology did the ancient humans bind him within the volcano-the best they could accomplish, since they couldn’t destroy him.

    Maker of the Behtu. Mechuiti first enthralled a small band of cannibal pygmies, known as the behtu, by visiting their leaders and priests in dreams and nightmares. After crossbreeding them with carnivorous apes, he infected them with his demonic ichor and taught them tattoo magic to give them fiendish power and strength. The behtu have not found the key to secure their master’s release, but they still torture and ensorcel any unlucky explorers who stumble into their abode, hoping to find someone who knows how to unlock their master’s prison.

    Mechuiti commanded the behtu to breed many fiendish beasts and lizards with his blood: dire apes, fiery giant lizards, and even demonic spiders. He has raised generations of flame dragons, which lair in the volcano’s caldera, to guard his temple-fane and deal with any threats beyond the behtu’s reach.

    Demon Lord of Worms

    Qorgeth, the Writhing Prince, Pale Maw, the Devourer, is lord of worms and decay, a massive undulating form that crushes trees and cracks stone. Its presence seeps into the world of mortals via the trails of worms and maggots through rotting flesh.

    The demon lord views all things that live, or once lived, as its property in the making. Everything becomes its food eventually.

    An impossibly massive, pale-fleshed worm, Qorgeth’s segmented body is road-mapped with pale veins of pink and blue. When it opens its massive maw, it reveals a writhing mass of smaller worms, many of which are adorned with wailing or enraged humanoid heads.

    Section 15: Copyright Notice

    Tome of Beasts. Copyright 2016, Open Design; Authors Chris Harris, Dan Dillon, Rodrigo Garcia Carmona, and Wolfgang Baur.

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