Bestiary: the Denizens of the Multiverse

A

Abyssal Princes and Lords (Tanar'ri): those rare few tanar'ri who live long enough, and gather enough power, can ascend past the known, common forms their race takes as they evolve, in order to become unique. Even fewer of these rule a layer of the Abyss itself! Availability:

Alkiliths (Tanar'ri): wretched corruption personified, alkiliths are virtually formless horrors that work to spread the horrors of the Abyss throughout the multiverse. They ruin everything they can get their pseudopods on, and delight in doing just that. Availability:

Alu-fiends (Tanar'ri): horrible offspring of succubi and non-tanar'ri, alu-fiends posses of many of their mothers' abilities. They also have the ability to learn the secrets of sorcery, and often carry impresive magical items to make up for their lack of physical prowess. Availability:

Armanites (Tanar'ri): seeming masters of the 377th layer of the Abyss, the hordes of armanites populating that plane resemble nothing more than pale, undead centaurs. They wander the land in troupes, selling their services to whoever offers them enough plunder - and fresh meat...! Availability:

B

Babau (Tanar'ri): babau are greater tanar'ri that assemble the vast armies required to wage the Blood War. They conscript their least and lesser cousins into the fight, while themselves avoiding the front lines as long as they can keep the 'recruits' coming. Availability:

Balors (Tanar'ri): the most powerful of true tanar'ri, balors are few and far between. However, the staggering, blazing power they wield is enough to cow even the most arrogant tanar'ri into submission - further aiding their crusades against the hated baatezu! Availability:

Bar-lgura (Tanar'ri): bearing a strong resemblance to conventional orangutans, the bar-lgura aren't much smarter than those mundane creatures. Of course, normal animals don't bear an arsenal of demonic powers, much less blinding rage against anything besides themselves... Availability:

Bulezau (Tanar'ri): rumored to originally be the creation of mad tanar'ri lord Baphomet, the ill-tempered bulezau are hate-driven murder machines. Though somewhat concentrated in the 600th layer of the Abyss, one can find them all over that plane these days. Availability:

C

Cambion (Tanar'ri): horrible offspring of tanar'ri and mortals (succubi-spawned alu-fiends notwithstanding), cambion are half-breeds born into a world that hates and fears them. Either in the 'real' world or in the Abyss, they are the subject of scorn because of their origins. Availability:

Chasme (Tanar'ri): inhuman monstrosities, chasme are more mosquito than man. These blood-sucking insectoid horrors flit about the Abyss, relentlessly seeking out deserters from the Blood War front and feeding upon them with the blessings of the Abyssal lords. Availability:

D

Decatons (Modron): caring for the base modrons beneath them, the one hundred decatons are the lowest level of hierarch modrons. Each of Regulus' 64 cogs and each of its 36 great armies are managed by one decaton, who also perform other duties as is needed. Availability:

Dretches (Tanar'ri): when a manes shows some spark of self-awareness, if often grows into a dretch. The first form of 'actual' tanar'ri, the teeming masses of dretches are small, dim-witted and petty, and long to gather enough power to rise from their lowly station - no matter the cost! Availability:

Duodrones (Modron): a minor evolutionary step above monodrones in capability and intelligence, duodrones are beings capable of speech and limited problem solving abilities. More importantly, they work as intermediaries between tridones and the masses of monodrones. Availability:

G

Glabrezu (Tanar'ri): towering fiendish terrors, glabrezu stand fifteen feet tall. These horrific creatures, with their doglike heads and superfluous limbs, readily answer summons by foolish mages in order to spread the power and terror of the Abyss far and wide. Availability:

Goristroi (Tanar'ri): hulking behemoths, the goristroi often reach as high as twenty four foot tall! They are a frightening cross between man and bison, with large ape-like arms, dreadful horns, and a voracious appetite that can strip land bare for miles in no time! Availability:

H

Hextons (Modron): the thirty six hextons are busy entities. Each has one of Mechanus' great armies at their disposal, but that's not all. Sixteen of them oversee four octons (thus four cogs), while the rest serve in the towers of the tertians, the secundi, or Primus itself. Availability:

Hezrou (Tanar'ri): hezrou are the middle administrators of the tanar'ri Blood War effort. They are given commands by their superiors, which they can then interpret as they see fit - usually a necessity, since managing a band of tanar'ri is similar to herding cats...! Availability:

L

Larvae: when evil mortals die, their souls wend their way to the lower planes. If no particular power holds sway over their afterlife, these souls manifest as larvae. Sickly, worm-like creatures, the near-mindless larvae are nigh-helpless, and are quickly slain, eaten or transformed. Availability:

M

Manes (Tanar'ri): the spirits of particularly chaotic and evil dead made manifest in the Abyss, manes are the lowest form of tanar'ri (or just powerful petitioners). Weak and spiteful, they lash out as directed... or merely at anything that crosses their paths. Availability:

Mariliths (Tanar'ri): genius tacticians, the six-armed mariliths are dangerous creatures, indeed. Even without their plethora of magical and psionic powers, mariliths are incredibly deadly enemies, and are a match for almost any foe, mortal or otherwise. Availability:

Maurezhi (Tanar'ri): ghoulish through and through, the maurezhi stalk the multiverse in search of victims to consume. Those they eat - body and soul - surrender everything they know, along with some of their personal power... allowing the maurezhi to grow even more terrible! Availability:

Modrons (in general): creatures of flesh and gears, this species evolved in the plane of absolute law: Mechanus. Led by Primus, the One and the Prime, the modron race strives to bring order (as they understand it) to the rest of the universe and its accursed chaos. Availability:

Modrons (Rogue): while Mechanus is a nigh-perfect example of law and order, it's still subject to occasional chaos. Usually introduced from without, this often results in a modron who manifests individual will, and eventually feels compelled to express this will at all costs! Availability:

Molydeus (Tanar'ri): the only known form of guardian tanar'ri, the molydei are true tanar'ri who have been empowered by an unknown agency to further the Blood War effort - and these fanatical fiends have the considerable power to keep the true tanar'ri on task! Availability:

Monodrones (Modron): these lowly servitors are the absolute bottom level of modron society. Non-sentient and barely intelligent, the endless throngs of monodrones are ultimately what really keeps the gears of Mechanus forever turning against the chaos of the multiverse. Availability:

N

Nabassu (Tanar'ri): first stage of the 'greater' tanar'ri, Nabassu serve a curious role for their 'brethren'. They exist solely to spread the terror of the Abyss to other planes, and thus wait to be summoned forth in order to rampage on the earthly planes! Availability:

Nalfeshnee (Tanar'ri): these immense, boar-like monstrosities are frighteningly intelligent and possessed of power just shy of that the balors themselves wield. This makes the nalfeshnee endlessly plot and scheme for supremacy from their Mountain of Woe. Availability:

Nonatons (Modron): the eighty one nonatons serve several odd functions, mostly involving the communication of information up and down the modron hierarchy. They monitor the decatons below them, and work with the penatrones (through decaton underlings) to enforce the law. Availability:

O

Octons (Modrons): there are always sixty four octons. Each one of Regulus' 64 cogs (even if the day to day management is left to the decatons). This gives them considerable power, which they have absolutely no problem bringing to bear against the forces of disarray. Availability:

P

Pentadrones (Modron): the most intelligent and powerful base modrons, the curiously shaped pentadrones serve as the core level of law enforcement amongst their kind. They continually patrol Regulus, realm of the modrons, in a constant search for rogues and troublemakers. Availability:

Pixies: the diminutive pixies were once simple humans, but have drifted away from the mundane world and all its silly constraints. Living through the ages and blessed with minor magic skills, pixies like to amuse themselves at humanity's expense - a lot! Availability:

Primus (Modron): the One and the Prime, Primus is a singular entity, unlike all other modrons. Having no peer, Primus is allowed individuality within the confines of Mechanus' ultimate law, and consistently strives to bring law and order to the multiverse. Availability:

Q

Quadrones (Modron): Mechanus' elite labor force, the clever quadrones can decide how best to accomplish tasks assigned from their pentadrone superiors, and delegating smaller chunks of said tasks to tridrones. Quadrones also serve as field officers in modron armies. Availability:

Quartons (Modron): the sixteen quartons oversee the octons (if somewhat indirectly) in the management of their domains. This ties up most of their time, though one will occasionally spy a quarton assisting in the transfer of data up and down the modron hierarchy. Availability:

Quasits (Tanar'ri): like manes, some argue that quasits aren't 'real' tanar'ri. They're formed from special larvae to aid tanar'ri in the temptation of mortals with deep, evil passions however, and if they serve well, quasits can ascend into greater tanar'ri forms. Availability:

Quintons (Modron): as are the hextons before them, the twenty five quintons are busy in every moment of their existence. There is always one in each tower of the quartons and the secundi, relaying data back and forth in the modron hierarchy, and five within Primus' tower. Availability:

R

Razorvine: insidious weeds with a fiendish origin, razorvine originally grew in the Abyss, but was spread far and wide through the planes by foolish travelers. Now it grows to threaten many planes and Sigil itself, its horrific bladed edges being used for many purposes. Availability:

Rutterkin (Tanar'ri): while rutterkin are more powerful and more intelligent than the teeming hordes of dretches and manes, they are not used by the tanar'ri in Blood War efforts. No, for reasons unknown, the rutterkin are generally shunned by their demonic fellows instead. Availability:

S

Secundus (Modron): almost godlike, the very existence of the four secundi is something few are aware of, as they only associate with the nine tertians below them - and Primus itself. Each secundi is responsible for the overseeing of four quartons (and thus, sixteen cogs). Availability:

Septons (Modron): the forty nine septons primarily serve as messengers, relaying commands between the hextons and octons. However, several septons also serve within the tower of Primus itself, where they serve special duties as assigned by their hexton masters. Availability:

Succubi (Tanar'ri): eerily beautiful seductresses, succubi journey forth from the Abyss to take advantage of the dark passions of mortals. Succubi feed upon the energy of mortals directly, or often just abduct them to the Abyss to serve as slaves (or worse, food). Availability:

T

Tanar'ri (in general): occupying the plane of roiling chaos married to blackest evil, the tanar'ri are demonic horrors without peer. They are mercurial hatred and insane passion given form, and subsequently tempered in the crucible of the harshest group of planes known to existence! Availability:

Tertians (Modron): incredibly powerful, the nine tertians are awesome beings. The final arbitrers of all legal disuptes in Regulus - and usually Mechanus by proxy - they're the equivalent of a modron 'supreme court'. They also pass sentence on all captured rogue modrons. Availability:

Tridrones (Modron): the lowest variety of sentient modrons, tridrones are elite combatants in the modron armies. Capable of rapid assaults in any direction thanks to their curious anatomy, tridrones are particularly effective opponents for the mere mortal enemies of law. Availability:

V

Viper Trees: horrible hybrids of reptiles, demons and plants, the viper trees are a strange predator of sorts in the chaotic lower planes. They grow thickest where great concentrations of death occur, which make them good markers for past Blood War battles. Availability:

Vrocks (Tanar'ri): the first form of tanar'ri considered to be 'true' members of their race, the vulture-like vrocks serve as the aerial defenses of the Abyss. When not acting as elite shock troops in the Blood War, they are often hunting victims for fun and sustenance. Availability:

W

Wastrilith (Tanar'ri): the so-called Water Lords, wastriliths are solitary stalkers of the depths. They prefer to be left alone in their cold, dark undersea lairs, and cheerfully attack and devour anything dumb enough to intrude upon their (huge) territories. Availability:

Y

Yochlol (Tanar'ri): the so-called Handmaidens of Lolth, the yochlol are specially transformed lesser tanar'ri that the drow goddess uses as her personal servitors. These demonic terrors may take many forms, and when not in the Demonweb Pits roam the material planes! Availability:

Z

Zombies: whether raised by magic or chemicals or viruses, zombies are a grave (pardon the pun) threat to humanity as a whole. Though usually mindless and incredibly awkward, zombies can be tenacious in their pursuit, and terrifying in large numbers. Availability:

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