The Abyss in Abholos 8

Pale Night

A strange shimmering in the air announces the arrival of a shape, little more than a billowing white diaphanous sheet. Closer inspection reveals a lithe and manipulative form beneath the sheet, a feminine figure indistinct and hazy. Now and then the edges of the sheet rise a little too highly on the netherwind, yet never rise high enough to reveal the details that writhe beyond

Pale Night Lore

Characters with proficiencies in religion or arcana can learn more about Pale Night. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs.

DC	Result
15	Pale Night is an ancient demon, rumoured to be the mother of many of the more powerful denizens of the Abyss.
20	Pale Night’s touch drains away personality and emotion, leaving nothing in its place but depression and self-loathing.
25	Any creature that succumbs to Pale Night’s embrace is transformed into a phantasmal projection of its once living form. Victims of such a fate can be restored to existence only by the most powerful magic.
30	Pale Night’s true form is said to be so horrible that reality itself rejects it. To gaze upon this madness is to invite certain death.

Strategy and Tactics

Pale Night prefers to summon demons to fight her fights, but if pressed, she trusts to her incorporeality and swoops in to attack. Her first action in any combat is to reveal the truth beyond the veil, followed by her touch attacks. Her speed coupled with her Mobility and Spring Attack feats allow her to move in and out of melee quickly. If surrounded, she uses Whirlwind Attack to swipe at all adjacent foes at once. If she has time to prepare for combat, she finds a demon (or any other nearby host, even one she summons) and uses magic jar to possess it. Pale Night’s shroud acts as the gem required to store her soul—any creature that Pale Night possesses becomes wrapped in an invisible shawl that can be observed by creatures using see invisibility or true seeing. Once she has secured a host, Pale Night uses the body to ruin before abandoning it for another.

Servants, Enemies, and Goals

Pale Night is an enigma. An obyrith who was ancient even during that race’s reign on the Abyss, Pale Night dwells in a bone castle located on the 600th layer of the Abyss since long before Baphomet claimed that layer as his own. Pale Night is also the matron of Androlynne, where she still torments the ancient off-spring of the Eladrin host that tried to cleanse the Abyss of the obyrith presence after their defeat on the Fields of Pesh. Much has been written about this mysterious demon lord. The Mors Mysterium Nominum claims she is the mother of several tanar’ri lords, including Graz’zt, Lupercio, and Vucarik of Chains. The Black Scrolls of Ahm claim she is the mother of nothing less than the tanar’ri race. Iggwilv’s Demonomicon, on the other hand, portrays her not as a mother of demons but as a mother of several notorious and monstrous Material Plane races such as the harpy and the lamia. What seems certain is that Pale Night is viewed as a mother figure by not only her cultists but also by many of the denizens of the Abyss itself. Pale Night’s reaction to visitors in her realm depends upon her mood at the time of their visit. Sometimes, she merely sends them on their way. Others she embraces and adds to her haunted gallery of stolen lives.

Demon Lord Relationships

On the Material Plane, Pale Night’s cult is virtually unknown. Cultists that do exist are few in number, usually consisting of only three or four spellcasters who seek ways of introducing horrific new races of demonic terror on the world by impregnating female creatures of all kinds with raw Abyssal chaos. The issue of these births is always a half-fi end, and often one with unique and distinctive abilities beyond the norm for their kind.
Baphomet’s maze avoids a particular stretch of existence around Pale Night’s castle, and he has never openly attempted to influence matters within her realm.
Clerics of Pale Night have access to the domains of Chaos, Corruption, Evil, and Knowledge. Her symbol is a billowing white sheet draped over a starry field.

Pazuzu

Although he’s a tall, well-proportioned man, this figure’s demonic features cannot be ignored. His powerful birdlike talons scrape the floor as he approaches, and two feathered wings shine with oil and writhe with smoke on his back. His head combines the features of a brutish man and a feral crow, his cruel, hooked beak filled with a forest of needle teeth.

Pazuzu Lore

Characters with proficiency in Religion or Arcana can learn more about Pazuzu. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs.

DC	Result
15	Pazuzu is the demon lord of the Lower Aerial Kingdoms, and is served by evil flying monsters, kenkus, and those who have been corrupted by his offers of aid.
20	Speaking Pazuzu’s name three times in rapid succession allows the demon to contact the speaker. Often, he offers the speaker aid.
25	Accepting Pazuzu’s aid is a surefire way to ruin. He takes great delight in offering aid that seems helpful but in fact causes great evil.
30	Pazuzu can breathe a cloud of ravenous insects, and he commands the obedience of all evil creatures that fly.

Strategy and Tactics

In a fight, Pazuzu leads with his greatsword, a murderous weapon said to have been a feather he plucked from the body of a massive demonic bird. He uses Combat Expertise to full effect, often making disarm or trip attacks with one of his natural weapons—if he flies, he can use his talons to slash at prey. He uses his breath weapon and spell-like abilities against other spellcasters or those who don’t dare enter into melee combat with him.

Servants, Enemies, and Goals

Pazuzu is a unique example of survival in the Abyss. Originally one of the more powerful obyrith lords, his independence was a constant thorn in the Queen of Chaos’s side. As it turned out, Pazuzu has since evolved with the new rule of the Abyss. While he is still an obyrith, he has been accepted by tanar’ri and represents a sort of “missing link” between the two races. Due to this duality of nature, Pazuzu’s form has taken on a less horrible appearance with the passing of eons, and his form of madness ability has transformed into his current aura of servile avians. He has also gained several tanar’ri-like qualities, including the ability to summon tanar’ri. Although Pazuzu commands the respect and loyalty of all evil things that fly in the Abyssal skies, he is rarely forced to call upon these creatures. Perhaps alone in the Abyss, Pazuzu has no active enemies. The other demon lords seem to begrudgingly award him the skies above their realms, if only because there seems to be little there to claim.

Pazuzu does not lust for the rule of a realm in the Abyss (although he nonetheless controls the 503rd layer of the Abyss, and his presence is nearly constant on the 1st layer), nor does he wish to rule over his fellow demons. His goals are higher—he lusts for innocence, purity, and honesty. These sweet nectars are his greatest vice, and as he consumes them, he leaves bitterness, cruelty, and wickedness in the shells of those he has corrupted. Since these qualities are so alien in the Abyss, he logically has little interest in what dwells therein and instead turns his attentions to the Material Plane. Pazuzu has tested his ability to manifest on Material Plane worlds without drawing the undue attention of the gods who protect them for some time, and in that time has mastered the art of telling mortals what they think they want to hear.

Demon Lord Relationships

Graz'zt alone has been known to speak ill of Pazuzu, yet he has never taken direct action against him. The one demon lord that could be counted as his enemy is wretched and deformed Lamashtu, although the Queen of Monstrous Births has been imprisoned by Pazuzu on Torremor for countless ages, so she is hardly a threat to the demon prince.

Pazuzu’s cults start with a single soul who cries out to the demon prince for aid. Pazuzu gives this aid, and those who call on him grow dependent on his aid. They crave the power his touch can bring. Within a year, those who have called upon him invariably join or found a new cult dedicated to his teachings, where they seek to capture and convert new innocents to his vile worship. Clerics of Pazuzu have access to the domains of Air, Chaos, Evil, and Temptation. His symbol is a twisted bird talon.

Yeenoghu

This gaunt, 12-foot-tall humanoid demon is covered with mangy patches of grey fur and has burnt, rotting flesh showing where the fur is absent. His face is that of a leering, blood-shot hyena, and he wields a massive flail with three spiked heads.

Yeenoghu Lore

Characters with proficiency in Religion or Arcana can learn more about Yeenoghu. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs.

DC	Result
15	Yeenoghu is the Demon Prince of Gnolls and demands the servitude of legions of ghouls as well.
20	Yeenoghu rules the 422nd layer of the Abyss. He can call upon not only tanar’ri but also upon legions of ghouls and gnolls to aid him.
25	Yeenoghu once had a mortal form, split from his original place of power, into a mortal on Greyhawk, which soon became a powerful foe for any and all on the Plane.
30	The triple-headed flail Yeenoghu wields can deal punishing damage. Those struck by two heads become dazed, while those struck by all three heads are also paralyzed.

Strategy and Tactics

Bestial and straightforward, Yeenoghu is more likely to charge into melee growling and screaming epithets before doing anything more subtle, although his first action in combat is almost always to cast spells that increase his strength on exclusively himself. If faced with large numbers of foes, he’ll summon gnolls, ghouls, and demons for support.

Servants, Enemies, and Goals

Yeenoghu is one of the lesser demon lords, yet he still commands a large empire on the 422nd layer of the Abyss, a region known simply as “Yeenoghu’s Realm.” He spends much of his time hunting lesser creatures or captured mortals and idly plotting assaults on the holdings of powerful demonic entities who are not themselves demon lords quite yet.

One of Yeenoghu’s great desires is to see to the prosperity of his people, the gnolls. He envisions a Material Plane dominated by his children, where elves and humans and dwarves and halflings are slaves at best and food at worst. Yet he realizes that all the gnolls in the Material Plane could not achieve such a goal—as a result, he actively supports cultists of other races who turn to him for support. The enigmatic leader of the Maure family once represented his most powerful cult among humanity at the time, yet internal strife caused by rival demon lord Malcanthet saw to the ruin of this resource. Today, Yeenoghu counts the Queen of Succubi as one of his greatest enemies and periodically raids her realm. He is always turned back by her defenses, but one day he hopes to gain enough allies to see to her ruin.

Demon Lord Relationships

One of Yeenoghu’s greatest and earliest triumphs was the subjugation of Doresain, the King of the Ghouls. Once a vassal of Orcus, the King of the Ghouls controlled his own layer of the Abyss until Yeenoghu’s army invaded and conquered the layer and its undead ruler. The King swore fealty to Yeenoghu and continues to pay him homage to this day. Doresain still rules the White Kingdom today, but as a sworn ally of the more powerful Prince of Gnolls. Orcus’s attention has been elsewhere, and so far, he has not acted against the Prince of Gnolls for the theft of one of his subjects.


Only Yeenoghu’s eternal war with Baphomet nears the level of his hatred for Malcanthet. The source of the confl ict between the Prince of Gnolls and the Prince of Beasts is unclear, likely forgotten even by the two demon lords themselves, yet they show no signs of ceasing their eternal hostilities.

Clerics of Yeenoghu have access to the domains of Chaos, Death, Grave, and War. His symbol is his triple-headed flail.

Zuggtmoy

"This foul demoness resembles a human only from the torso up. This portion of her body is composed of thick rancid sheets and coils of fungus that just happens to have grown into the shape of what would otherwise be an attractive woman. Four fibrous antlers grow from her brow, and her hands bear cruel talons. Her lower torso is a coiling pillar of lashing ropy tentacles and other fungus growths. Her skin is a nauseating swirl of grays, beiges, purples, and blacks. Corruption at it's finest, and deadliest,"

Zuggtmoy has a dangerous interest in the Material Plane, where her secretive and foul cults are behind far more of the world’s ills than one might guess. 

Zuggtmoy Lore

Characters with proficiency in Religion or Arcana can learn more about Zuggtmoy. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs. 

DC	Result
15	Zuggtmoy is the Demon Queen of Fungi, and her worshipers envision a world consumed by the fungus host. She nominally rules the 222nd layer of the Abyss, but her rulership is challenged by Juiblex, the Faceless Lord.
20	Zuggtmoy can absorb creatures she grapples into her body, where they are quickly eaten away by powerful flesh-eating fungous growth.
25	Zuggtmoy’s body consists of Abyssal fungus, and as such she possesses many of the defenses that plant creatures enjoy.
30	Zuggtmoy can transport herself instantaneously at short range through surrounding wood or earth.

Strategy and Tactics

Zuggtmoy has no fear of combat. Given the opportunity to smash and ruin living fl esh, she rarely backs down. She is seldom encountered without a contingent of fungus monsters and vrocks, whom she uses as a buffer against melee fi ghters while she spends the fi rst few rounds of combat casting wall of thorns to separate allies from each other, greater dispel magic to remove any spell effects her enemies might have in place, and polymorph any object on rogues or arcane spellcasters to transform them into violet fungi. Once combat begins, she uses a quickened contagion each round to augment her physical attacks. 

Servants, Enemies and Goals

Zuggtmoy has long struggled with maintaining viable cults on the Material Plane; as it turns out, most humanoids have little interest in worshiping fungi. To combat this, she often establishes cover cults that are subservient to her actual worshipers. Her greatest triumph (and possibly her greatest error) in this arena was the creation of the Temple of Elemental Evil. This facade cult consisted of four cults dedicated to the intrinsic evil within the four elements. These four cults would work together against their enemies, yet had a built-in competition between themselves that ensured they would never grow too powerful for Zuggtmoy’s true cultists to manipulate. The Temple of Elemental Evil’s popularity among local humanoid cultures proved to be its undoing; they grew too potent too quickly and attracted the attention of the potent Circle of Eight, a consortium of powerful wizards. The Circle of Eight defeated the temple’s army at the Battle of Emridy Meadows and imprisoned Zuggtmoy in the temple’s dungeons. She escaped many years later, but not without being forced to abandon a significant portion of her essence on the Material Plane. Since then, she’s been rebuilding her strength and power on her Abyssal realm of Shedaklah (layer 222). 

Demon Lord Relationships

Zuggtmoy often fi nds herself at odds with other demon lords who share similar interests in the Material Plane. For some time, Lolth was her greatest competition for dominance of the Underdark, but the Spider Queen’s recent ascension as a deity has effectively elevated her out of contention. Cultists of the two still clash now and then, but these are minor skirmishes rather than a war. Of more immediate concern to Zuggtmoy is Juiblex, who shares her realm. The two demon lords have long warred for dominance over Shedaklah, with Zuggtmoy traditionally holding control over its surface and Juiblex being forced to lurk in the deepest caverns below. With Zuggtmoy’s recent period of imprisonment on the Material Plane, Juiblex was able to greatly expand his hold on Shedaklah. 

Clerics of Zuggtmoy have access to the domains of Chaos, Evil, Ooze, and Plant. Her symbol is a jawless human skull with a large mushroom growing out from within.