Succubus

Of all the demonic denizens of the Abyss, the succubus is admired by mortals because it usually appears in the shape of someone especially desirable. Of course those mortals are very, very stupid if they think they're going to get a good time from this demon without having to give anything in return. The succubus is, after all, a soul-sucking monstrosity. They feel like ice. You will not have fun. Then you'll die.

Every culture has its version of the succubus, that is to say the seductive, disease-bringing, man-eating demon that serves as a warning against getting yourself some strange. The male equivalent, the incubus, isn't quite as common and usually extra rapey.

Some Christian texts claim that the incubus and succubus are the same demon shape-shifting between male and female forms. Angelic and demonic beings are supposedly unable to procreate the biological way. To get around this, the succubus steals semen from her victim, then shapeshifts into an incubus to impregnate a female victim. Despite the human source, the demonic transportation ensures that any child born of this union isn't completely human. Merlin is said to be the result of a union between an incubus and a human woman.

Something I really resent with depiction of succubi/incubi, especially modern depictions, is the focus on the sexiness of the demon. It's very much an "ooooh nooo, I'm getting seduced by this hot chick/dude with horns oh wellllll..." with none of the "btw this is sexual assault it hurts i'm literally wasting away please call a priest" part of the legends. These sex demons were associated with nightly emissions, sleep paralysis, sexual anxiety, rape... There's a reason these guys go after you in your sleep. So I really wanted so create a really repugnant image. Something that really showed the predatory sexual horror that this demon is supposed to represent.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Blanca's Tumblr

Nashrou

Nashrou are among the many animalian predators that are scattered about the Abyss. Their intelligence is comparable to wolves, as are their pack hierarchy. They're rarely alone, but a solitary nashrou could be a good or bad thing. Good may mean that it's been separated. Or it could mean that they're a scout and the rest of the pack is shortly behind them.

Though fierce, these creatures have a big flaw: they're extremely vulnerable to specific hit. You hit one in an especially vulnerable point (i.e. score a critical hit) and you've got a pretty good chance of killing one instantaneously.

This was a blind monster (name and image blacked out) given to me by Joe. I'm pretty pleased that the image looks nothing like what's in the book, though I do regret that the one has a way more interesting body in an abstact geometry kind of way.

Dretch

Among the demonic hordes of the Infinite Layers of the Abyss, the Dretch is undoubtedly the most pitiful. Small, stinking, blubbery midgets, they are only barely intelligent enough to comprehend speech and cannot approximate it themselves - instead relying on a crude form of telepathy. Which is not to deny that Dretches are cruel, monstrous creatures who seek out murder and destruction for the sheer joy of it; merely that where there is a Dretch, there is also most likely a more powerful demon somewhere behind, goading it into action.

I finally bought a cintiq last week! This makes two entries so far made using a cintiq on this blog - this one and the Rogue Eidolon (which I made at a place where I was working last year). They both have a kind of painterly look, which is something the cintiq helps with. This guy was fun to draw, especially the graphic, simian face. I tried to get a balance between him looking scary/silly, it's a balance I like to straddle. What do you think?

- Joe

Retriever

Though classified as a demon, the Retriever only fits that category loosely, in that its a thing created by demons for the purpose of hunting down and bringing back certain targets that the boss demon doesn't feel like chasing. This may be other demons, troublesome mortals or those who are trying to skip out of their end of the Faustian pact.

Retriever demon also comes with eyebeams which can be set to heat, electricity, frost or petrify. Available now for the tender heart of a newborn babe.

Quasit

Quasits are among the weaker of the demons. They're small, measuring about a foot long, though still kinda strong, have a poisonous bite and can turn into some potentially dangerous animals. Quasits are the Abyss' equivalent to imps, which are similarly intelligent shapeshifting winged tiny devils. However, unlike an imp, which probably has ambitions of power, a quasit is more likely to cause mayhem and will ally itself with someone that can accomplish that.

A quasit can be bound into the service of evil spellcasters. A valuable tool for any malevolent mage as imps can speak with other members and lords of the Abyss to get some information back.

GUEST WEEK: Nalfeshnee by Matt Dicks

The Nalfeshnee is an enormous demon and denizen of the chaotic Abyss. It appears as a huge gorilla-like creature, standing three times the size of a man and weighing more than 8,000 pounds. It flutters obscenely on impossibly-small bat wings, taking horrible enthusiasm in its task: the torturing of damned souls.

In D&D, Devils and Demons are two distinct families of hell-kin; the former reside in the Nine Hells of Baator and represent the Lawful Evil alignment - Devils are evil but generally live by a lawful system, and are more likely to play "within the rules". By contrast, Demons are always Chaotic Evil, and their home - the Abyss - is a lawless place, governed by whoever happens to be strongest at the time (and often-changing).

The Nalfeshnee is brought to us by one Matt Dicks, another illustrator friend of ours. Although perhaps not the greatest enthusiast of role-playing-games, Matt is in posession of a truly amazing and distinctive style, kinda Ralph Steadman in its violence but always with an intelligent restraint. I thought a demonic creature would suit the style well, and I really like what he's given us.