Malach
Demon prince of slime, mold, ooze, and similar substances, based on Juiblex
Malach is a demon lord of oozes and shapeless things, a being that exemplifies the corrupting nature of The Pit and that is almost glorified in its unrivaled obscenity. Ridiculed by its peers as "Lord of Nothing", the Faceless Lord is, even to them, a demon as revoltingly vile in body as it is inscrutably aberrant in mind.
Description
Malach is, in short, disgusting, undoubtedly hideous to demons of all kings and perhaps the most foul of all demon lords and deities. Its abhorrent aura is as foul as its sickening, shapeless form, a primordial soup of bubbling bile and nauseating fluid bound by a thing epidermis bathed in oil and thick mucus. The amorphous mass is swirled and striated with a hideous mixture of hues, primarily streaks of black and green combined with bilious browns and yellows as well as translucent grays and ambers. Caustic slime of the same coloration is constantly secreted from the sludge-spewing horror and it is known to weep tears of encrusting black grime from the glaring red eyes that pulsate and shift across it, peering in all directions. The Faceless Lord is an appropriate name for the gelatinous monster since it lacks any kind of set form, adopting various sizes and shapes with ease. At rest, it is nothing more than a spread-out volume of reeking filth but at any point it can form a simply blob or gather together into an 18-20 foot tall pillar of unsteady ordure before collapsing into a rancid wave and stretching out into a voluminous pool of animated ooze. Most commonly however, when confronted by others, it gathers itself into a hideous heap, a 9 foot cone of glistening helly and shuddering slime. No matter the form, it can manifest dripping, trembling pseudopods in all directions to lash out and hungrily scoop up any creature that catches its attention.Behavior
Malach's mind is beyond the comprehension of mortals and alien by the standards of demons; conforming to no standards, it acts with unknowable purpose. Contrary to what one might assume of the Father of Slime based on the mindlessness of his spawn, he is an incredibly knowledgeable being of frighteningly vast intellect that moves with caution and subtlety while manipulating his minions with chess master prowess. The eldritch entity also knows the true name of each obyrith, coupled with an intuitive sense of their goals, and is one of the few beings that understands the true purpose of The Pit. Ironically, regarding Malach's own goals, he is possible the easiest of the demon lords to understand purely because his desires are so simple and uncomplicated. Rarely does he need to both plotting and planning because he is normally content just to continue existing, his only active goal being the corrosion of anything he can reach. The malevolent monstrosity cares little for intrigue and hates practically everything, perhaps enjoying only the act of destruction, and occasionally rumbling with some approximation of amused laughter with his more sadistic moves. If Malach can be said to have a grander, more philosophical mission, then it would be his ordinary goal on a greater scale, to dissolve all living things, flooding all of existence with his pestilent putrescence and leaving his shapeless reflections as the only remaining lifeforms. Relatedly, Malach is something of a recluse, rarely leaving his lair and reacting with violent anger at any intrusion. The oozes and slimes he surrounds himself with are the only beings that interest him outside of the context of consumption and corruption, and his viscous subjects quiver with something akin to pleasure when their Faceless Lord is near.Powers
Simply getting near Malach can be a serious ordeal; aside from the fact that he always attacks intruders to his domain, regardless of what they offer, his foul smell and loathsome look makes him almost impossible to tolerate. Even by accident, his shuddering mass can expel toxic materials around his space, endangering most life nearby. Organic and inorfanic materials alike quickly dissolve at his touch, particularly metal and wood, but while stone can also be melted it erodes at half the rate. Extreme agility is required by one wieldng weapons or wearing armor composed of corrodible materials to prevent them from being ruined after making contact. His touch is not only caustic but also corruptive, and if one isn't crushed or liquefied by his lashing pseudopods, there is a fair chance that they will be covered in a sheet of poisonous ooze. Malach's favored tactic is to make full use of his ooze-like qualities, closing the distance between hima nd his enemies by whatever means necessary. His gelatinous form allows him to swiftly squeeze through spaces smaller than an inch with ease, crawl across vertical inclines and ceilings, and maneuver unhampered underwater. He attacks as many foes as possible, snatching them from the surrounding area and altering his form to engulf them with intent to watch them painfully melt. His ability to build himself up before crashing down as an avalanche of ooze is particularly useful for catching multiple targets. Malach's amorphous body is part of what makes him especially dangerous since he lacks any kind of targetable anatomy and is just generally difficult to injure. Trying to harm him with acid, diseases, and poisons is obviously useless, as is using blunt weapons and impact force, lightning, water, cold, or deadly gases. Radiant eneergy and fire are some of the few things that can prevent him from regenerating, although given his ample nature, fire can be an unreliable weapon, and cold iron or good-aligned weapons can overcome his resilience. While clever enemies might attempt to exhaust Malach's ability to move towards them and then attack him from a distance, the Slick of Foulest Humors will find it all too umorous to send airborne foes hurtling toward the ground. Every now and then, Malach can vomit a particularly vile excrement, forming a 3-foot cube of a toxic substance that combines the effects of ochre jelly and green slime that he spews several feet into the air. For similar reasons, he can also spew out patches of green slime, as well as to delay his enemy's approach, or break off parts of his own body to create lesser versions of himself to assist him.Supernatural
Many of Malach's spell-like abilities are related to blighting and befouling areas or desecrating and despoiling specific targets. Often times his first move is to hide, possibly turning invisible, before engulfing multiple foes and unleashing a contagion on the first. Other powers allow him to dominate and restrain powerful beings, such as using hold monster to augment his attacks, or advance on far away foes, like greater teleport, fly, or phase door. Also among his supernatural powers is the ability to shed a circle of darkness, which he can see through and that no light can dispel, as well as a circle of frigid cold in a radius around himself, which both follow him wherever he goes and which he can activate and deactive at a whim. If seriously injured, Malach can be made to retreat, probably through teleportation, although such an escape is likely temporary. In such a situation, he will attempt to summon oozes or tanar'ri to keep his enemies busy during his recovery period, but fitting his lack of association with most of demonkind he has few options. Once per day, he can call upon a mob of stinking dretches, a few fetid hezrou, or an acidic alkilith to aid him, and either a couple of gray oozes, ochre jellies, or black puddings.Lord of Oozes
Malach is often regarded as one of the weakest demon lords, and the way he normally is, this is accurate. However, all of Malach's powers seem miniscule in the face of his most threatening ability; the power to control any ooze from anywhere. Oozes are inherently tenacious creatures, able to exist in some of the most hostile corners of the universe, and all Malach has to do is focus his power to control them. In a sense, Malach's true form is not the one that dwells in his abyssal layer but the combined volume of every brainless slime, pudding, and jelly in existence. The omnipresence of oozes throughout reality raises the question of why he doesn't simply takeover the universe at his whim. In truth, despite his great intellect, the vastness of Malach's true body far outmatches his capacity of his comparatively small mind, and he is incapable of dividing his attention and ordering all of his servants at once. Malach's mere presence in an area can make the oozes of the region more aggressive and intelligent, although not necessarily both. Some oozes are no more capable than before but show signs of malevolent intent rather than mere, mindless hunfer, while others gain human levels of intelligence and telepathy without a hint of ill will towards sentient beings.Possessions
Malach's underground sanctum contains many useful treasures, some of which he is known to wear and use, ranging in usefulness from rings of plant control to a talisman of ultimate evil. Certain items are inexorably tied to the Faceless Lord or can be things he considers useful to his plans.Realm
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Children
The Slime Lord
Father of Slime
Patron of Pestilence
The Fetid Prince
Indescribable Darkness
He Who Slithers
Glistener
The Unspeakable
The Unnameable One
The Formless One
The Oozing Hunger
Slick of Foulest Humors
Demon Lord of Ooze
Lord of Nothing (derogatory)
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